Message Summary:

This message, given during the season of Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah), explores God’s call to renewal and choice at the heart of His covenant. Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets, announces the fall festivals and points prophetically to God’s recreation, when all things will be made new. Through the accounts of Hagar, Sarah, and the binding of Isaac, we see God as both Judge of all creation and the One who steps into history as Provider. Deuteronomy 29–30 reminds us that blessing and curse are not abstract categories, but the result of choosing or rejecting God Himself. When Israel roots itself in self-righteousness, the fruit becomes wormwood and poison. Yet God’s discipline, even in exile, is His grace to uproot His people from destruction and call them back to Himself.

The message connects this theme to Amos, where justice turned into wormwood reveals the danger of undermining God’s righteousness, and to Paul in Romans 10, where the word is declared “very near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” Messiah Yeshua is revealed as the goal of the Torah, the One in whom life and salvation are found. As the shofar sounds this season, we are reminded to repent, to turn (shuv) to Him, and to proclaim with our mouths and believe in our hearts that Yeshua is Lord. The choice set before us is life or death, blessing or curse — and the call is simple yet profound: choose Him.

Key Points & Takeaways:

• Yom Teruah announces not only the festivals to come but the greater new creation when God will dwell with His people.

• Genesis 21–22 presents God as both Creator-Judge (El) and Provider who sees (YHWH Yireh).

• Deuteronomy 29–30 shows covenant renewal is for all generations — every person present and those not yet born.

• Wormwood imagery reveals the danger of drawing from self-righteousness instead of God’s righteousness.

• Captivity, while painful, is God’s gracious uprooting from poisonous roots to preserve His people.

• Shuv (repent/turn) is central: when we turn to God, He turns away our captivity and gives us a new heart.

• Paul ties the Torah to Messiah, showing that salvation is near, accessible, and offered to Jew and Gentile alike.

• The proclamation “Yeshua is Lord” is the covenantal “Amen” — confirming faith and entering life.

• The good news must be carried with the countenance of the Lord, so that our feet are called “beautiful” because of the message we bring.

Prayer Points:

• Thanksgiving: Thank God that His Word is near, His mercy abounds, and His voice still calls us to life.

• Guidance: Ask for a softened heart to continually turn (shuv) to Him and for discernment to recognize self-righteousness that leads to wormwood.

• Intercession: Pray for those yet to hear — that faith would come by hearing, and Israel and the nations would be inscribed in the Lamb’s Book of Life this season.

Living Out Love:

Live out your faith by showing love or offering a word of encouragement this week. Share the simplicity of God’s call: that He is near, His Word is in our mouths and hearts, and choosing Him brings life. Look for ways to embody the beauty of the good news — not in pride or self-righteousness, but in carrying the countenance of the Lord wherever you go.

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