Numbers 10:8-13: a reflection

8“The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. This shall be to you for a statute forever throughout your generations. 9When you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets. Then you will be remembered before the LORD your God, and you will be saved from your enemies. 10“Also in the day of your gladness, and in your set feasts, and in the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be to you for a memorial before your God. I am the LORD your God.” 11In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle of the covenant. 12The children of Israel went forward on their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud stayed in the wilderness of Paran. 13They first went forward according to the commandment of the LORD by Moses.

God gives Israel instructions for the trumpets, and notice the two very different occasions on which they were to be sounded. When you go to war against the adversary who oppresses you, God says, sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you will be remembered before the LORD and saved from your enemies. But also, in the day of your gladness, and in your set feasts, you shall blow the trumpets over your offerings, for a memorial before God. The trumpets sounded in trouble and in joy alike, bringing both before God.

Notice that the trumpets brought both Israel's distress and Israel's gladness before God. In war, in the day of trouble and oppression, they sounded the alarm and were remembered before God and saved. And in gladness, in their feasts and celebrations, they sounded the trumpets too, bringing their joy before God as well. Both the trouble and the joy were brought before God; neither was kept from him. In distress they cried to him, and in gladness they rejoiced before him; God was present in both.

That is worth taking to heart, for we can bring one to God but not the other. We may bring our troubles to God, crying out in distress, but forget to bring our joys, celebrating apart from him; or we may seek him only in trouble and neglect him in gladness. But Israel brought both to God, sounding the trumpets in war and in feast alike. Bring both your trouble and your joy before God, as Israel sounded the trumpets in distress and in gladness; do not cry to him only in trouble and then forget him in your joy. In your distress, sound the alarm before God and be remembered; and in your gladness, bring your joy before him too, rejoicing in his presence. Let both the hard times and the glad times be brought before God, as the trumpets sounded over Israel's wars and over their feasts, so that neither your trouble nor your joy is kept from him, but both are lived before his face.

Lord, you gave Israel instructions for the trumpets, and notice the two very different occasions on which they were to be sounded. When you go to war against the adversary who oppresses you, sound an alarm, that you will be remembered before the LORD and saved. But also, in the day of your gladness, and in your set feasts, blow the trumpets over your offerings, for a memorial before God. The trumpets sounded in trouble and in joy alike, bringing both before you. Show me that the trumpets brought both Israel's distress and Israel's gladness before you. In war they sounded the alarm and were remembered and saved. And in gladness they sounded the trumpets too, bringing their joy before you. Both the trouble and the joy were brought before you; neither was kept from you. Take that to my heart, for I can bring one to you but not the other. I may bring my troubles to you, crying out in distress, but forget to bring my joys, celebrating apart from you; or seek you only in trouble and neglect you in gladness. But Israel brought both to you. Help me bring both my trouble and my joy before you, as Israel sounded the trumpets in distress and in gladness; keep me from crying to you only in trouble and then forgetting you in my joy. In my distress, help me sound the alarm before you and be remembered; and in my gladness, help me bring my joy before you too, rejoicing in your presence. Let both the hard times and the glad times be brought before you, Lord, so that neither my trouble nor my joy is kept from you.