This week’s study
- Yom Teruah (Festival of Trumpets, Rosh Hashanah) readingsThe first day the seventh month on Israel’s calendar is a biblical triple-header memorial festival: Rosh Chodesh (New Moon), Yom Teruah (Day of Blowing Trumpets) and Rosh Hashanah (New Year). There are also a number of connections between and lessons in the mentions of trumpets in the Apostolic Writings (New Testament) and the themes of this festival. Here are Bible readings related to the festival and other details to get you ready to celebrate.
Related readings
See the full year of readings from First Fruits of Zion and TorahResource (one-year cycle or three-year cycle). For a schedule of readings to go through the Apostolic Writings and Prophets & Writings, see the Scripture-reading cycle at MessianicJudaism.net.
Latest study notes and audio recordings
Awaken to the true meaning of Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets, aka Rosh Hashanah) — far beyond shofars and New Year customs like apples and honey. This study explores the biblical call to “blow the trumpet in Zion” (Joel 2), stay alert amid rising lawlessness (Matthew 24), and resist “spiritual gravity” in an age of comfort and distraction. Discover how repentance (teshuvah), watchfulness, and the armor of God prepare believers for the Day of the LORD without fear, panic or failed end-times date-setting.
The first day the seventh month on Israel’s calendar is a biblical triple-header memorial festival: Rosh Chodesh (New Moon), Yom Teruah (Day of Blowing Trumpets) and Rosh Hashanah (New Year). There are also a number of connections between and lessons in the mentions of trumpets in the Apostolic Writings (New Testament) and the themes of this festival. Here are Bible readings related to the festival and other details to get you ready to celebrate.
Discover how a “boring” census in the opening chapters of Numbers, a mysterious river in Ezekiel 47, and the parables by Yeshua (Jesus) in Luke 15 all tell one unified story: God counts every name, pursues every lost one, and turns spiritual deserts into places of living water. This study weaves together Torah, Prophets and Gospel to confront lone‑wolf faith, expose our ideas of holiness and reveal why Heaven refuses to accept “acceptable losses” in the family of God.
What does it really mean when Yeshua (Jesus) says, “Follow Me”? In Luke 9 and the closing chapters of Leviticus, we discover that Biblical faith is not intellectual curiosity or a social‑media “follow,” but a costly, urgent, all‑in commitment. This study traces the pattern of hear, commit, do. We unpack Yeshua’s hard words about delayed obedience, and explore vows, tithes, and Jubilee as Heaven’s training ground for a people who keep their word because they carry the Name of the King before the world.
We rightfully cringe at the bondage described in Leviticus 25:39–26:2. But are the chains of debt on us today somewhat similar? In this study, we look at the Jubilee and Shemitah laws against today’s student loans, consumer debt and collapsing social trust. Parallel passage Isaiah 24 exposes what happens when nations cross God’s economic and moral boundaries, while John 13 reveals a radically different Master who uses authority to serve. Discover how biblical freedom resets identity, land, wealth and power in a world trapped by debt and chronic anxiety.
How are the Bible’s weekly Sabbath, sabbatical years and the 50-year Jubilee actually linked? And what do they reveal about debt, poverty, land use and Israel’s modern history? In this deep-dive study of Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Jeremiah, we connect Torah cycles to Mark Twain’s haunting visit to Jerusalem, modern agriculture and God’s long memory. Discover why ignoring divine rest laws reshapes economies, communities and even empires — and why generous release of debts may still change our future in ways we rarely expect.
How does an ancient prophet’s broken marriage, a pierced divine name and a golden lampstand burning pure oil reveal what real repentance looks like today? In this study of Hosea 14, Leviticus 24, and James 3, we explore why it’s more than guilt. Rather, it’s returning from false saviors to the God who heals our apostasy and restores His reputation through us. Then He calls us to shine as His light-bearing, priestly people in a dark, confused world, hungry for mercy, truth and wholeness.