PLAYING THE SHOFAR

THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE

By David Ben Yakov

© 2006 David Ben Yakov / Delusion Resistance

Those of us who see the importance of getting back to our Hebrew roots have taken great interest in what is known both Biblically and in the modern Jewish realm as a SHOFAR. The word is pronounced just like it's spelled, (show-far). In the Bible, whenever you see the word trumpet mentioned to call the people to assembly, or in a warning or a call to war, it is the Hebrew word Shofar. There are a couple of instances where a silver trumpet is mentioned, but as far as I can ascertain, they were metal instruments that were used in the service of God's Temple. The following is a result of a search for the definition of Shofar on the Internet:

The Shofar is a trumpet made of an animal's horn, preferably a Ram's horn. A cow's horn is not acceptable Nor are the antlers of a deer or similar animals who's horns are a solid piece.

The Shofar is traditionally played during the month of Elul, which is the last month in the Hebrew calendar, and during the first ten days of the Hebrew year (the days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur). A person should hear 100 blasts from the shofar on each day of Rosh HaShana.

There are three sounds made with the shofar:

• Tekiah - One long blast
• Shevarim - Three shorter blasts
• Teruah - A series of quick blasts

The significance of the Shofar

The sound of the shofar arouses our souls to repentance.

We blow the shofar to show that we accept God as our king, as it says in Tehillim (Psalms) 98:6, "With trumpets and the sound of the shofar make a call out before the King, God".

 

The shofar was heard when we received the Torah at Mount Sinai as it says in Shemot (Exodus) 19:16, "And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there was thunder and lightning, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the shofar extremely loud; so that all the people that were in the camp trembled." Thus when we hear the shofar we are reminded to strengthen our commitment to the Torah.

The Shofar reminds us of the ram God brought to Abraham just as he tied down his son Isaac in preparation for the ultimate sacrifice.

Information obtained from: http://www.judaica-guide.com/shofar-shofars.htm

One might ask why a cow's horn cannot be used for a Shofar? Well, according to tradition, the cow's horn cannot be used because the cow is representative of the rebellion of Israel while Moses was on Mount Sinai; where they had Aaron form a golden calf from their golden belongings and worshipped it.

On today's market you can get many types of Shofar's. Why you ask, are there so many types of Shofars? Well, the answer to that is because of the Diaspora (dispersion of the Jews by the Romans) which started with the Jewish rebellion of 70 AD, where the majority of the Jewish population was exiled from Israel and the second Jewish revolt, known as the Bar Kokhba (Coke-Bah) rebellion, which ended in 135 AD. After that date, there were three separate Jewish communities around the world. The Jews that were exiled to the Roman Empire as slaves and menial workers were known as the Ashkenazi Jews. The Jews who remained in the Middle East became known as the Sephardic Jews and there was a sizable Jewish community in Ethiopia. The Jewish community used horns from a sheep ram for their shofars because that was the kosher animal that was most plentiful in Europe. The Jews who lived in Arabia and other parts of the Middle East used a shofar that is made from the horn of the African Kudu. It is possible that they used other horns over the ages, but the Kudu horn is known as the Sephardic horn. I cannot find any information about the Ethiopians using any sort of horn. The only information I could find is something that said that they used a shofar for a short while but it was after they learned the practice of the Ashkenazi Jews and the abandoned the practice not long after they learned it.

Today there are horns available from many kinds of animals. Here is a list:

Gemsbok, Waterbuck, Merino Ram, Sable, Scimitar, Blesbok, Bushback, Eland, Impala, Sitatunga, Pronghorn, Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep, Aoudad and Springbok.

More information can be found at a wonderful site www.theshofarman.com . He has many shofars and offers advice to shofar care, maintenance and even repair.
 

THE USE OF THE SHOFAR IN THE BIBLE:
 

There are references to the blowing of the shofar all over the Bible. We'll look at the uses and the scriptures that back them up. This list is long, but quite informative.

• The ram's horn, the Shofar, is a reminder of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac and God's provision of a ram as a substitute.   

  And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. Genesis 22:13
  *While not actually an account of blowing a ram's horn, it is the first mention of one as far as I can tell.

• The Torah was given to Israel with the sound of the Shofar from heaven. 

  And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. Exodus 19:19

• The Shofar was blown at the start of the year of Jubilee on Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets).

  And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. Leviticus 25:9-10

• The trumpet was blown to announce the beginning of the festivals. 

  Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God. Numbers 10:10

• Israel conquered in the battle of Jericho with the blast of the Shofar. 

  So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. Joshua 6:20
  Interesting article about walls at: www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v21/i2/jericho.asp

• Gideon and his army confused and scattered the enemy with the Shofar.

  And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian. And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.

  So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath. Judges 7:15-22

• The Shofar was blown to signal the assembly of the Israelites during war.

But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered after him. Judges 6:34

And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel. 2 Samuel 20:1

My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Jeremiah 4:19

Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillars. Jeremiah 51:27

In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us. Nehemiah 4:20

Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it? Amos 3:6

• Seven Shofar were blown before the ark of God. 

And Shebaniah, and Jehoshaphat, and Nethaneel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, did blow with the trumpets before the ark of God: and Obededom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark. 1 Chronicles 15:24

So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. 2 Samuel 6:15

•  They took an oath before the Lord…..with trumpets and rams’ horns.

  And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. 2 Chronicles 15:14

• The Shofar was used for the coronation of kings. For example, King Solomon. 

  And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.....And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and the people said, God save king Solomon. 1 Kings 1:34, 39

• The Shofar is a reminder that God is sovereign.

  God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet. Psalm 47:5

• The Shofar was blown to celebrate the new moon each month.

  Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. Psalm 81:1-3

• The Shofar was used to accompany other musical instruments during  temple ceremonies in Jerusalem and in praise and worship. 

  With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King. Psalm 98:6

  Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD. Psalm 150:3-6

• The Shofar will be blown at the time of the ingathering of the exiles to Israel. 

  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem. Isaiah 27:13

• The blowing of the Shofar is a signal for the call to repentance. 

  Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Isaiah 58:1

  Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law. Hosea 8:1

• The Shofar were blown as a warning.

  If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. Ezekiel 33:3-6
   

  And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. Numbers 10:9

  All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. Isaiah 18:3

• The blowing of the Shofar ushers in the day of the Lord.

  Blow ye 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 cometh, for it is nigh at hand; Joel 2:1

• The Shofar is blown to call the sacred assembly.

  Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: Joel 2:15

• Israel will be advised of the advent of the Messiah with the sound of the Shofar.

  And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the LORD God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south. The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar. And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. Zechariah 9:14-16

•  The Shofar is sounded at the harpazo (rapture) of the saints.

  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

• The Shofar (trumpet) is the sound of God's voice.

  I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Revelation 1:10

• John was taken up to Heaven in the Book of Revelation by the sound of the Shofar.

  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. Revelation 4:1

• Seven trumpets (Shofar) are sounded when God judges the earth during the tribulation.

  And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

  The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

  And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

  And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

  And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhibitors of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

  And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

  And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. Revelation 8:1-10:7

THE SHOFAR FOR SPIRITUAL WARFARE:

It is important to realize that physical things tend to impact the spiritual realm and the spiritual the physical realm. Several years ago, while I was a believer who was walking in the flesh, I was told this by the Lord. I can't really remember what the circumstances was, but I can remember after completing whatever act it was, the Lord showed me that the spiritual realm is filled with entities that watch us all the time. What we think we do in secret and what we think we get away with is actually witnessed by a host of angels and demons and of course the Lord Himself. It's like we're in a play, performing in front of a large audience; unaware that the audience is there. Frankly, I believe that if Christians would realize that and remember it, we would not do some of the things that we do.

It is also important to realize that the good things that we do; the things we do in Yeshua's name, are also seen by the whole audience. I'm comforted by the scriptures that read:

The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. Psalm 34:15
 

For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings. Proverbs 5:21
 

The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. Proverbs 15:3
 

He's watching us all the time. I usually don't like to quote secular sources, but there is one song that I hear on the work radio that always reminds me of the Lord. It is sung as a man to a woman, but it can so aptly be used in a plea from God to His Children. I've omitted the chorus because it deals with human relationships:

Sting - I'll Be Watching You (Feat. The Police) Lyrics

Every breath you take
And every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching you

Every single day
And every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
I'll be watching you

Oh, can't you see
You belong to me
Now my poor heart aches
With every step you take

Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I'll be watching you

Oh, can't you see
You belong to me
Now my poor heart aches
Every step you take

Every move you make
Every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake
I'll be watching you

Every move you make
Every step you take
I'll be watching you
I'll be watching you

It's really funny that although the lyrics above were written as from a man to his lover, every time I hear it I immediately think of our Lord Yeshua and how He constantly monitors every move and thought that we make. When the song plays it is a sobering thought to stay vigilant in a righteous walk with Yeshua. It would make a dynamite song to sing in Church.

Now when it comes to a meeting of the minds, no such thing can exist because the carnal mind cannot understand the mind of God, as we see in the following scripture:

I highlighted part of the passage above because I want to bring something to light. Back when I worked in construction we had a little saying, which for the sake of Christian readers I'll clean up a great deal. We used to have a scoring system called "atta boys" and "oh craps." When any person did something that would save the boss money, or if you went the extra mile for a coworker you would get an "atta boy." If you did something that threw a wrench into the works, cost the boss extra money or made any sort of a mistake, you would receive an "oh crap." As the saying went, "one oh crap erases all atta boys. And isn't that like the world today? In any sector in society more attention will be paid to one "oh crap," than will be paid to hundreds of atta boys. That is the way that the world works. But God, as evidenced by the scripture above and most of the Bible, says that one atta boy erases all of the oh craps. God's ways seem foolish to the natural man, but God says to that:

So why have I written all of that in a section about the Spiritual Warfare aspect to blowing the Shofar? Well because frankly, to the carnal mind, something such as that is foolishness. The carnal mind doesn't, for the most part recognize that there is a spiritual realm and those carnally minded who do have the recognition usually adhere to the wrong side in the war. There are even some in God's Body who might see blowing the Shofar in spiritual warfare as being foolishness. Some might even condemn it as superstitious or some other sort of foolishness. But is it really foolishness? I happen to subscribe that there is factual proof that blowing the Shofar does indeed fit into spiritual warfare. The illustrations are all above for you to see. Gideon had his men blow the Shofar and that, combined with the broken lamp pitchers caused the enemy to turn upon themselves and kill themselves. Of course we know that a lot of what happened there was confusion caused by God and his angels. No sane army is going to kill itself by just hearing horns and seeing lamps. When the Shofar blew it actually caused confusion in the unseen entities that were driving the enemies of Gideon and Israel, and ultimately the enemies of God Himself. The fact that the Jewish warriors all yelled out, "the sword of the Lord," leads me to believe that there was angelic intervention. One has to be careful is ascribing foolishness to blowing of the Shofar. One has to ask the question of oneself that if they call it foolishness today are they calling God foolish. After all, God is the one who inspired the writers of the Bible to pen the accounts. We have to remember that, as it is written:

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Hebrews 13:8

God never changes and His ways remain the same forever. What was acceptable in His eyes 3500 years ago still applies today.

One might ask why it would cause confusion among the evil angels and the demons that accompany them? Well, we have to assume that Satan and his minions know scripture. They probably know it better than any Christian alive because frankly, they know battle tactics and they've had thousands of years to study human beings and to apply their terroristic ways toward mankind and they've had thousands to study Scripture as it's been revealed by God to mankind. In their knowledge of Scripture, they have seen the deeds of God in past times and they have read about what God will do in the future. For instance, they know that the Rapture will be preceded by an angel blowing a Shofar. They know that John the Apostle was summoned to Heaven by the blowing of a Shofar. They know that there will be Seven Trumpet Judgments during the time of Jacob's Trouble. Can you imagine what must be going through their diseased minds when they hear a Shofar blast. Immediately it reminds them of their failures in the past and their ultimate doom in the soon to be future. If there was a psychiatric hospital in the demonic realm it would probably have little imps lined outside the door waiting to report their latest anxiety attack.

Modern armies have used a bugle, a modern form of the Shofar in the same was that the Jewish armies once did. The armies of the British used it for a long time before they started using the bagpipes to lead their men into battle. Their choice of the bagpipe was probably due to the fact (in my opinion anyway) that that musical instrument is quite annoying and the enemy would probably retreat just so that they could have the serenity of not hearing it. Apologies to all you bagpipe fans, but we all can't be the same, can we? If you've watched any cowboy and Indian movies you've seen the cavalry coming to the rescue. The bugler sounds attack when advancing or retreat when ordered to do so. He also blows the bugle to assemble the troops or to sound when they should retire to bed. As the writer of Ecclesiastes wrote:

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9

The Chinese used a tactic during the Korean war that affected the American Army in ill ways. They would blow trumpets on an encampment that they had surrounded and would literally try to cause the Americans so much grief with trumpet playing at all hours of the day and night, that they would want to give up. Rent the movie, "Porkchop Hill" if you want to see the effects; it's an oldie but a goodie.

And finally, there are those who are going to ask if I know of any instances where the Shofar has worked in a spiritual warfare instance. Well, I know of two or three, and two that were personal. The first I will only touch on as I don't feel that it is right to divulge names especially since the person involved wants to remain in anonymity. A leading Christian UFO researcher has documented a case where a person was being harassed by extraterrestrials and was quite scared when they called the researcher. After a bit of talk and prayer the entities were still manifesting to this person. So, the researcher, who was in the company of another Christian (who had a Shofar) had the victim hold their phone out into the room while the other Christian blew his Shofar into his phone. When the victim came back onto the phone they reported that the entities had departed when they heard the Shofar. Both the researcher and the person who was being harasses are credible people.

The second instance happened to me at my workplace. I work with a young Jewish man who shares interests in playing the Shofar. I had just bought my Shofar and was having a hard time trying to play it. I have a natural cut on my Shofar whereas some get a bell carved into their horn. Anyway, my Jewish friend took the horn and blew it in the Pharmacy a couple of times (much to the annoyance of the pharmacist) and was told to go outside. He blew it out there for about half an hour and then came in. Now, one has to understand the mechanics of my workplace. There is always a spirit of oppression there, partly due to the fact that I have a coworker that's a witch, but also because of all of the humanism that exists there. Sometimes I think that the only four Christians working there are the only ones that keep the place from imploding. Anyway, it was a Saturday when we were working and our boss believes in understaffing our pharmacy, especially on Saturdays. Up until that day, every Saturday was bad, the tempers flared in many, and by the end of the day we all felt like we'd had our minds and spirits fried. But on the Saturday when Robert blew the Shofar, things seemed to go great and the workload, although the same, was handled without any problem. You could call it coincidence or just dumb luck, but it happened, and I know why it happened. It was because the enemy who causes all of the problems ran away when they heard the Shofar.

And as a final note, if you have seen the video of our trek out to the crash site down in Roswell, you have seen that Joe Jordan blew the Shofar there. While walking into the site (about two miles) I noticed that there was an oppression over us. It wasn't the heat because having lived in the Sacramento Valley I'm used summer days over a hundred degrees. It wasn't the hike because I like to hike. The oppression was spiritual. After Joe blew the Shofar, David Flynn of The Watcher Website www.watcherwebsite.com came up to me and showed me his arm. The hair on his arm was standing up! The rest of the site visit and the hike out was great and even the kidney stone that the evil one planted in my system didn't hurt as much as I've heard they do.

Summary:

Well, that ends out short study of the Shofar and the spiritual implications of playing it. If you are interested in buying one you can pick one up fairly cheap. At Christian Book they sell them and the horns they sell are made in Israel. I like the sound of a Yemeni Shofar as it has a better tone to me but some prefer the sheep's horn. If you've ever played a brass instrument you'll adapt to playing the Shofar pretty quickly. All of those baritone lessons I had in school finally paid off; thanks Dad!

If you have close neighbors you'll find out real quick if they're believers or not. Bless the Lord that I've been blessed to live in an apartment that has thickly insulated walls. For my neighbor's sake I play it at night when I get home. As I play it I get pictures of how God used them in the Jericho and Gideon scenarios. I get a feeling that I'm carrying on a tradition that God commanded; and being Christians, we're grafted into the Jewish Tree. I do not see it as an obligation, but a blessing placed upon me and I love it. What I also like about it is that since I've come to know the spiritual impact that the horn playing has, I find comfort in that the little bugaboos that hang around me trying to make my life miserable are loosing their little spiritual bowels as they run away from the sound. As you can well understand, being the administrator of The Delusion Resistance and the AACCOA has put me on the enemy's "to do" list and every chance I get to  harass them before they get to me is one more notch on my Shofar. Be blessed in Yeshua, one and all.

David Ben Yakov