Scriptures that refer to the Shofar:
In the Old Testament, the Shofar was used to:
Gathered God’s people at Mt. Sinai
- Exodus 19:13
When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”
- Exodus 19:16-17
Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightning, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
To Proclaim the Year of Jubilee
Leviticus 25:9-10
Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.
At the close of the great day of atonement, after the evening sacrifice, the blow of the shofar proclaimed the year which restored to the people the freedom and the blessings of the covenant in the year of Jubilee.
To Signal the Defeat the Enemy
Joshua 6:2-5
And the LORD said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”
Joshua 6:20
So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
When the shofars were blown and the people shouted the Lord destroyed the walls of Jericho and their enemies were defeated.
To Celebrate the Ark of the Covenant
2 Samuel 6:15
So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.
To Rally for War
Jeremiah 4:5
Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say: “Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry, ‘Gather together,’ And say,’Assemble yourselves, And let us go into the fortified cities.’
Jeremiah 6:1
“O you children of Benjamin, Gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem!Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, And set up a signal-fire in Beth Haccerem;
1 Samuel 13:3-4
And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal.
To Overcome the Enemy
Judges 7:19-21
So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers — they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing — and they cried, “The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!”
To Signal a Change or Announcement
2 Samuel 2:26-29
Then Abner called to Joab and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the latter end? How long will it be then until you tell the people to return from pursuing their brethren?” And Joab said, “As God lives, unless you had spoken, surely then by morning all the people would have given up pursuing their brethren.” So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still and did not pursue Israel anymore, nor did they fight anymore.
To Warn of Judgment for Sin
Ezekiel 33:3-6
When he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’
To Warn of the Coming Day of the Lord
Joel 2:1
Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming. For it is at hand.
To Announce the Establishment of a King
1 Kings 1:34
There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel; and blow the horn, and say, “Long live King Solomon!”
2 Kings 11:12
And he brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, and gave him the Testimony; they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said,”Long live the king!”
2 Kings 11:14
There was the king standing by a pillar according to custom, and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets.
To Declare a New Beginning
Numbers 10:10
Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be a memorial for you before your God: I am the LORD your God.”
Psalm 81:3
Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, At the full moon, on our solemn feast day.
To Accompany the song of the Lord
Chronicles 29:26-29
The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. Then Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD also began, with the trumpets and with the instruments of David king of Israel. So all the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished.
Gather people to worship
Isaiah 27:13
So it shall be in that day: The great trumpet will be blown; They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, And they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, And shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
To Praise & Worship God
Psalm 47:5-6
God has gone up with a shout, The LORD with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
Psalm 98:6
With trumpets and the sound of a horn; Shout joyfully before the LORD, the King.
Psalm 150:3
Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
The Shofar was used in worship on multiple occasions. Many of them are recorded in the book of Chronicles. 1 Chronicles 13:8,15:24-28,16:6,42 and 2 Chronicles 5:12-13,7:6,13:12-14,15:14,23:13,29:26-27
In the New Testament the Shofar is used to:
To Declare the Lord’s Return
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
For the Lord, Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
To Gather God’s People to Himself
Matthew 24:31
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
1 Corinthians 15:52
…in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
To Declare Judgment on the earth
Revelation declares six times Angels sound the Shofar bringing six different plagues on the earth.
Revelation 8:7 – Vegetation destroyed
Revelation 8:8- The seas struck
Revelation 8:10- The waters struck
Revelation 8:12- The heavens struck
Revelation 9:1- Locusts
Revelation 9:14- 1/3 of the people of the earth struck
To Declare the Establishment of God’s Kingdom
Revelation 11:15
Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying,”The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”
How to Use the Ram’s Horn to Teach
This is a visual tool that can be used alongside numerous Bible stories, in describing worship (Ps. 98:6), for a description of evangelism (based on Ezekiel 33:3-6) and warning, to introduce a lesson on the second coming, as a demonstration that the Lord can use things that are common and plain to announce His plan and purpose, etc.
