Just yesterday on the way to church we forgot something and had to go back home and get it. Luckily, we weren’t that far from home, but still. Arrgh, I hate going backwards. The Latin phrase “semper prorsum” means “ever forward” and since it’s the first of the year, I’ve been seeing mentions of it more than usual. You know the old trend that comes with each and every new year, “new year, new you.” People make resolutions and promises to get in shape, lose weight, kick bad habits, improve relationships and pretty much just “get better all around.” You know, basically fix their entire lives in the month of January. But without true motivation and inspiration, those best laid plans will fall to the wayside quietly as the strong, stubborn old habits easily defeat the new weakling ones.
But I do see much validity in the rally cry of Forward Ho! Ever forward, never backward. Always onward and so forth. Life is always about moving forward. Moving ahead and beyond the effects and baggage of the past. The good stuff is ahead. I’ve always seen life as a staircase. A series of steps that you must face. Moving through life is about seriously addressing that next step and what it takes to get a leg up and propel yourself forward and upward. If you paralyze in fear and stay on the same step, life can stall. Semper Prorsum, indeed.
This morning in Numbers chapter 10 we see a big step taken by the Israelites at the behest of God. The Israelites finally move out on their journey to the Promised Land. Unfortunately for them, it will take about 40 years longer than they expect. Remember that the journey from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea was only about 175 miles, a journey that should have taken about 11 days. Yet because of blatant disobedience to God, He takes them on an extended tourist route of the beautiful desert wasteland.
The first thing God does to get the Israelites ready to move out is create a signal. To do this, He has Moses create two silver trumpets. (Num 10:2) These trumpets will alert the people to various events. To break camp and move out, to gather the tribal chiefs, to ready for war, to gather for Holy Days and for offerings and sacrifices. Think of it like a school bell, different lengths and different patterns alerted the people to where they were to be and when. You would hear the specific trumpet blast of the Lord and you reacted accordingly.
The significance of the trumpet is great in God’s Word. We’re told by John in Revelation 1:10:
“On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet”
Who’s voice was "loud like a trumpet?"
“I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Revelation 1:12-17
What a stunning visual we get here of the Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven. Notice that in seeing Jesus in this Holy state made John, “fall at His feet as though dead.” The glory and power of Jesus made John simply pass out. He went rag doll. Wow. But part of John’s observation before he collapsed, was that Jesus’ voice was like that of a trumpet. And in one of the most promising and exciting verses for believers in Christ Jesus, we find this verse in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
As the trumpet calls the Israelites to move forward and follow the very presence of God in the cloud, one day when Jesus Christ returns, His trumpet will call all believers to be reunited with their creator, Almighty God in Heaven. What a day that will be when Jesus returns to claim His people with the mighty sound of God's trumpet!
Forward HO! Ever forward, never backward. Go with God. However, you choose to describe the trumpet of God, He is calling you forward today. If you have called upon Jesus as Lord, you have a great task today, to become more like Him. He has given us all the tools that we need to embrace and pursue this transformation. His Holy Word is one of those tools, a God given study guide to become more like King Jesus. I pray that you are engaging in a thorough daily study of His Word, Christ speaks greatly and powerfully to us through the Bible. If you’re not regularly studying God’s Word, you’re stuck on a step on the staircase of life, not able to move forward to the next.
It’s now officially 2020 and as you hear all of your friends making resolutions to exercise their bodies, make a different kind of New Year’s Resolution. Make a resolution to exercise your spirit and become strong in the Lord. Make a resolution to grow strong and healthy in God. To do that? Simply open up God’s Word each day and experience the goodness He has waiting for you there.
"This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do." Joshua 1:8
God bless your journey as you take the next step God has for you.
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