What is the Meaning of the Shofar?

For seven days the nation of Israel marched around the city of Jericho. God had told them to be silent as they walked for seven days On the last march there was silence among the Israelites. The next sound they hear is the thundering blast of the ram’s horns. As they hear the shofars, all the people shouted out with them. The walls began plummeting down. Their enemies were stunned. While many did not see it, these ancient trumpets have a very important meaning.

The first mention of the ram’s horns is when Abraham was going to kill his son. God told him stop, and the Bible tells us, “Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.” (Genesis 22:13). The ram’s horn symbolizes Christ death on the cross. When the shofar is sounded, it is a proclamation that our sin debt has been paid.

Colossians 2:17 explains how these things, “… are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.” This verse tells us that while there is importance in the shofar, the prayer shawl, and other parts of the old covenant, these are only shadows. The shofar is a picture of believers proclaiming Christ death. Not only did He die, but He was raised again on the third day. What the enemy planned for evil, God turned it around for good.

Just as the walls of Jericho fell to the sounds of the trumpets and peoples voices so can your walls fall as you are hearing about Christ. That wall of condemnation, anxiety, and unworthiness will fall as you listen to what God has done for you.

Mount Moriah, the same mountain where Abraham was willing to give up his one and only son, God provided a male ram. Mount Moriah is the same mountain that Christ was crucified. Why did God call the priest’s to sound the ram’s horns? Because a ram has to die in order to make that sound. It is a picture of Christ dying for our sins. When you hear that sound, it is the sound of your forgiveness.