On the day of your gladness also, and at your appointed feasts and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings. They shall be a reminder of you before your God: I am the Lord your God.
Numbers 10:10
Two silver trumpets were constructed by Israel in the wilderness at the command of God. They served several purposes. Primarily they were used to signal all the assembly when it was time to set up a new camp or to move on. They were an early warning system meant to muster troops to defense. And they were blown to signal great occasions of joyful celebration. All these were useful applications for the people of Israel.
But the trumpets also served a distinct purpose in worship specifically for God. They were sounded over offerings. The music from the trumpets was a “reminder” before God of the obedience of His people and the atonement provided by the sacrifices. In that way the sound of the trumpets was a part of real worship. And when God heard the toning of the trumpets, He knew His people were honoring Him as the LORD their God.
The trumpets then were useful instruments of the covenant Israel enjoyed with God. They served a functional as well as ceremonial purpose. The trumpets called the nation to literally follow God across the wilderness. The horns signaled times of alarm, but also occasions of joy. And most importantly, they trumpeted out a regular reminder of God’s faithful, merciful provision for the sin of the nation.
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