Shana Tova and Shabbat Shalom. God bless you everyone. Please open your Bibles. We are going to read a few verses from both Old Testament, that is the Tanakh, as well as the New Testament, that is the Brit HaChadasha, in connection with the Feast of Trumpets, or as it's known in the traditional Hebrew language, it's called Rosh Hashanah, the Head of the Year. And this is a very special day in the time of our people Israel, the beginning of a new civil year, which began really in the month of Tishrei. I'd like to read, if you turned with me, please, to Leviticus chapter 23, verse 23, 24, and 25. And so I'm reading.

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, Shall ye have a Shabbat, a memorial of blowing of trumpet, and holy convocation? Ye shall do no servile work therein, but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. Now put your finger here with me and turn to the New Testament, And there I would like to read a verse in Matthew chapter 24. The verses that I want to read there for this ministry meeting is those verses just in the middle there. Matthew chapter 24 verse 29, 30 and 31. And I'm reading.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light. And the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn. And they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and he shall send his angels with a great sound of the shofar of the trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from the one end of heaven to the other and I would like you to put your finger here and go back to Genesis chapter 22 please And there I want to read the first few verses of the story of Abraham, Abraham, and Isaac, Yitzchak, his son.

And so we read in Genesis chapter 22, in verse 1, And it came to pass, after these things, that God did test Abraham. And he said unto him, Abraham, and he said, Behold, here I am, Hineni. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his ass and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son and claved the wood for the burnt offering and rose up and went unto the place of which God had told him.

Then on the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass and eye, and the lad will go yonder and worship and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son, and he took the fire in his hand and a knife, and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father and said, My father? And he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they went, both of them, together. And they came to the place which God had told him of. And Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. Come, and he said, Hineni, here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the land, neither do thou any thing unto him.

For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me. 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. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Jireh. As it is said to this day, in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore, and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.

And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. Beloved brothers and sisters, let me just mention a few things with respect to Rosh Hashanah. You know very well that Rosh Hashanah is a Hebrew word to say Rosh, head, Shana, year, the head of the year. For our people, the Jewish people, Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the new civil year. In fact, beloved brothers and sisters, the people of Israel have two new years. The first one is in the spring, the second one is in the fall. The first one is found in Exodus chapter 12 and verses 1 and 2 where God has redeemed the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

and this is what we would call the biblical Jewish Israeli New Year but then we have a civil New Year that over the generation have been tagged by the spiritual leaders of Israel as the head of the year for the people of Israel it's not the biblical New Year it is more or less a civil New Year and it is really found in Leviticus chapter 23, verses 23, 24, and 25. You will not find in the Bible the name Rosh Hashanah. It's not a name that was given in biblical time, but in the Bible it was given the Feast of Trumpet. In Hebrew it's called the Day of Tro'ah, Yom Tro'ah, the feast, the day of the blowing of the Shofar.

And so over the years, beloved brothers and sisters, God had given to Israel seven feasts, the four feasts of the spring season and the three feasts of the fall season. And right now, under the biblical calendar, we find ourselves in the fall feasts of the Lord. And of course, the first day of the month of Tishay, it is the feast that is called the Feast of Trumpets. Over the years, the rabbis have given that name, but notice what the rabbis and the Jewish leaders of Israel often teach us, that on the first day of the month of Tishrei, God created the universe. Therefore, in sixth day, he created the universe, and he rested on the seventh day, and therefore they teach and believe that God created the universe on the first day of the month of Tishrei Rosh Hashanah, the head of the year we're often being taught by the spiritual leaders of Israel that on that particular day God is sitting as a king who will judge the whole world and all the world is passing by before him as sheep as a flock one by one and on that day this day of judgment God evaluates the lives of every individual here in this world and in fact it is on that time that all the people you might say presented before him and God will judge them whether they have going to stay to live another year or whether they will pass away out of this sin.

God, apparently, according to the teaching of our own religious leaders, the rabbis of Israel, God opened three books. The one book is called the book of the righteous. The other book is called the book of the wicked. And there is a third book of the one that neither righteous nor wicked. and every person is called to repent before the Lord that his name or her name will be placed in the book of life. And that's why you will notice many times you hear from one another, from among our people, a Shana Tova, I mean a Happy New Year. May your name be inscribed in the book of life.

The desire of every Jewish person is that their name will be inscribed in the book of the living, in the book of life, rather than in the book of the unrighteous. And that's why, brothers and sisters, when the Jewish people began the new year, it's completely different than any other new year of all the nations of the world. While the nations of the world celebrate and maybe have drinking and have all kind of things that they are doing. Because it's a new year began for the Jewish people. It's very solemn. Very serious. Because they know that if God will inscribe them in the book, as it says, of the wicked, they will die.

They will pass out of this sin in that coming year. And they want that their name will be written in the book of life. And they never have this assurance. And of course, you and I know very well that as believers in Yeshua, the Messiah, Yeshua said in the Gospel of Luke to his disciples, Rejoice because your names are written in heaven. You as believers in me, Yeshua is saying, have this assurance that your name are already written in the book of life, in the book of the Lamb's book of life, in heaven, because you have accepted me as Yeshua, as the Messiah, who died for you and paid for your sin.

But our families don't know that. Those from among our people who do not have their sins forgiven through Yeshua the Messiah long for forgiveness of sins. And Rosh Hashanah begins at ten days of awe. From the first day of the month of Tishrei until the tenth day of the month of Tishrei where Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement is being, you might say, celebrated that the people of Israel wish that it's not only that the name had been written in the Book of Life but it's been sealed in the Book of Life because on the Day of Atonement God is sealing the name of the people who will remain to live another year.

But brothers and sisters, those things are very traditional But we know from the word of God certain things that will help us to understand why it was so, so important for the Mashiach to come and to give his life as a ransom for sin and to die for us as a substitute, the just for the unjust, to bring us to God, that we will have this assurance that we belong to him and that our names are already inscribed in heaven and that we belong to the Lord for eternity. And so on that day, the blowing of the shofar is being done about a hundred times.

The sound of the shofar is being blown by the people of Israel. In fact, there are reasons why the shofar is being blown. The first reason it's being taught, because it is to awaken the Jewish people to repent. To recognize that they need to be right with God. And the shofar is being blown, so the people of Israel will repent before the Lord. Will realize that they have sinned. That's why, you remember, we have just recited the Avinu Malkeino. Our Father, our King, we have no king but thee. Our Father, our King, deal with us kindly for the sake of thy name. Our Father, our King, renew for us a good year.

Our Father, our King, we have sinned before thee. That's why there's this recital. Every Rosh Hashanah, every Yom Kippur, the desire for sins to be forgiven. Those of us who believe in Yeshua the Messiah, we know. Thou shalt confess with your mouth Yeshua as Lord, and believe in your heart that God had raised him from the dead. You shall be saved. Shaul Paul wrote to the Roman believers in Romans 10. And so how important it is to realize there is a second reason why the shofar is being blown on this Rosh Hashanah. It is to remind God of the covenant that He has made with His people Israel.

You remember when we read in Leviticus chapter 23 it is called the memorial of the blowing of the trumpet. Leviticus 23 and verse 24, the word memorial in Hebrew is zikaron, lizkor, to remember. And of course, we know that God does not need to be reminded. He knows all things, but nevertheless, he called it a memorial of the blowing of the trumpet. When the shofar, when the trumpet is being blown, Israel will remember to turn back to the Lord. God will remember his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he will forgive the sins of the people of Israel. But there's another reason why the shofar is being blown on the first day of the month of Tishrei.

It is also to confuse Satan, the accuser of the nation of Israel. According to the book of Zechariah chapter 3 and verse 1, Satan was accusing the people of Israel constantly. According to Revelation chapter 12, Satan is called the accuser of the brethren. And all the time, Satan is still accusing the nation of Israel. He's still accusing believers in Yeshua the Messiah, trying to find something wrong with the people of God in order that they will be disciplined by God. And so we find out the reason that the shofar is being blown by the people of Israel. It is called the ram horn, Kerenail. And you notice that?

That was really a horn that was taken out of a ram's horn. An animal, a ram, was the one that was caught by the horn in a thicket, as we read in Genesis chapter 22. And therefore, a ram's horn is being blown to remind the people of Israel of what happened at the time when Abraham was willing to offer Isaac his son. And so please, as you read with me, I want to just go over for these few moments together about the beautiful story that is found in Genesis chapter 22. Look at this as I'm going through these verses. In the first two verses of Genesis chapter 22, we see that God tested Avraham Avinu, Abraham our father.

He said to Abraham in chapter 22, in verse 1, And it came to pass after these things that God did test Abraham and said unto him, Avraham, and he said, Here am I. And he says, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him therefore a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell thee of. Now that was rather a strange request from God. In fact, you would ask our Jewish people today, and you ask, why would God request from our father Abraham such a request? To take his son and to offer him as a sacrifice upon an altar, upon one of the mountains which he will tell him of.

Why would God expect this from Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel? In fact, what happened is waiting for this son Isaac for many, many years. And now that finally God has given him this son by the name of Isaac, Now God expects him to take his son and to allow him to be killed upon an altar? Why would God ask something like that? Well, you notice that, by the way, brothers and sisters, the way in which it's being said in verse 2, it is said, take now thy son. And I mentioned that many times before. Abraham had more than one son. Abraham would probably say, oh, okay, God wants me to take my son.

Well, I'll take my son Ishmael. He is the son of the servant. But then God continued and he said, no, no, Abraham, I want you to take your only son. Abraham made reason in his mind and he will say, well, God, that's fine. Isaac is my son from Sarah and Ishmael is my only son also from Hagar. And he might say, okay, I will come and I will bring for you my son Ishmael. But then God continued and he said to him, and you notice that he says, Whom thou lovest. Abraham, do you think for a moment, beloved brothers and sisters, that Abraham did not love Ishmael?

He loved Ishmael. He was his son, even though he was born unto Hagar, the servant, yet he was his son as well. He came out of his bowels. He was so important for him as well. But then God said to him, no, no. It's not thy son, thine only son, Yishmael, but it is Isaac. It is Yitzchak. Abraham, take this son that he called the son of promise. The son through whom God gave the promises that one day a nation will come out of this son by the name of Isaac and a blessing will flow to this world. Abraham, I want you to take this very son by the name of Yitzchak, Isaac.

and I want you to offer him. Imagine, beloved brothers and sisters, what kind of a feeling, what kind of experience Abraham had in his own heart. He loved his son so much, Isaac. He loved him so much, he was hoping that finally, after he had gone to the year 100, and God had given him this son of his love, the son from Sarai, his wife, whom he loved, And now God asking him to take him to the land of Moriah and to offer him? Well, beloved brothers and sisters, we learn of the obedience of Abraham in the next verses. You notice, beloved brothers and sisters, from verse 3 of Genesis chapter 22 to verse 10, we find the obedience of Abraham.

Just recently in our Bible study we talk about the importance of obedience. Sin entered into this world simply because of disobedience. When Adam was told not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And when he disobeyed God he plunged all human race into sin. And that's why we all have inherited a sin nature. And so God is saying to Abraham, Abraham, I want you to offer this one son, the son that you love from your wife Sarai, your only son from Sarai. I want you to offer him on that mountain. So Abraham in obedience to God. And I think it's such a precious lesson for us to see without delay the obedience of Abraham.

In fact, it says in verse 3, he rose up very early in the morning. And Abraham rose up early in the morning. He saddled his donkey and he took the two young men with him and Isaac his son and he claved the wood for the burnt offering and he rose up and he went unto the place which God had told him of. Complete submission. Obedience to the word of God. If the Lord will ask us to do something such as this you and I might very well delay. We'll say, you know what? I'll do it a little bit later on, God. I will delay. I would slow down to get a little bit more time with that son that God has called me to offer upon one of the mountains called the Mount Moriah.

But Abraham obeyed the Lord. In verse 4, notice that he traveled for three days. On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and he saw the place afar off. It must have been a long journey, taking with him Isaac, taking with him the wood, taking with him the two young men, saddling the donkeys, sitting upon them and walking and traveling for three days. All the way until he approached Mount Moriah. Now to remind you, beloved brothers and sisters, that Mount Moriah mentioned first time in the Word of God is in the book of 2 Chronicles 3, verse 1. This is the very same place where Shlomo, the king of Israel, later on would build a temple that is found there in the city of Jerusalem.

In 1 Chronicles, earlier a little bit, chapter 21, David, the father of Shlomo, he purchased this property from a man called Ornan. And there God gave instruction for him to build the temple for the nation of Israel. but at this point of time in Mount Moriah was before Abraham later on it became such a prominent place in the history of our people the people of Israel in verse 5 Abraham instruct the young men and I want you to see beloved brothers and sisters not only the obedience of Abraham but the faith that he had in God look what he's saying to them in verse 5 Abraham said unto his young men Abide ye here with the ass and I and the land will go yonder and worship and notice that he said and come again unto you you see if Abraham was expected to offer his son Yitzhak upon an altar on Mount Moriah he might have said to these two young men Young man, we are going to go yonder and I will return back to you.

Because after all, he was called to offer his son Isaac on the altar. But you see, Abraham had faith in God. He believed God. That's why the Bible oftentimes called Abraham as the father of all believers. He's called the father of faith. He's the one that we could see that he believed. that if God promised him that through Isaac blessing going to flow to this world and on the other hand God asked him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice on an altar then he committed everything to the Lord. He says the Lord is able to restore Isaac at some point of time that through him a blessing will flow unto the nations of the world.

Abraham had faith in God. Just hold on for a moment here. Turn to Hebrews chapter 11 with me for one moment to connect with these verses 17 and 18. This is the chapter of faith that we have in the Brit HaChadashah in the New Testament. We read there in chapter 11, verse 17, those words. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, he offered up Isaac. And he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called, accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure.

You see, Abraham was a man of faith. And Abraham believed God, that if God had promised that through Isaac blessings will come, and now he's asking God to offer his son Isaac upon an altar, he believed that God is able to raise him from among the dead. And so back in Genesis chapter 22, and in verse 6, Abraham and Isaac went both of them together now imagine what a beautiful sight it is it says there in verse 6 and Abraham took the wood notice that beloved brothers and sisters he took the wood for the burnt offering he laid it upon Isaac his son he took the fire in his hand and the knife and notice this expression and they went both of them together Ha'abba ve'ha ben the father and the son walking together now can you imagine brothers and sisters when Abraham knows what God is expecting from him to do to his young son whom he loves so much yet both of them went together one step at a time moving forward towards that Mount Moriah climbing the mountain It says here that Abraham took the wood, he laid it upon Isaac his son.

Can you imagine Isaac was actually carrying on his back the wood upon which he will be laid and become an offering there. Imagine what a beautiful lesson that we see here. A picture of the way of God's dealing with humanity and the plan that God has for the human race. that ultimately we see a picture and a type of God the Father and God the Son, who ultimately the Father sent the Son to become the Savior of this world. And so we read in verse 7 and 8 that Abraham is really questioned by Isaac, his son. Notice that. It says here in verse 7, Isaac spake unto Abraham, his father, and he said, Abba, my father.

And he said, here am I, my son. And he said unto him, behold, here is the fire and here is the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Abba, father, here is the wood, here is the fire, but where are we going to have a lamb? Where are we going to have that lamb that will become the burnt offering? Where is the sacrifice? I really don't understand. And you notice how beautiful that Abraham, his father, who believed in God, he said, Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. Notice that. It is interesting in the Hebrew construction.

It's not only God will provide for himself a lamb, But God will provide himself to become a lamb for a burnt offering. Abraham understood that God is planning to provide someone in certain days in human history as a sacrifice for the need of this world. So he's answering his son's question, my father here is the fire here is the wood but where is the lamb for a burnt offering and Abraham answered my son God will provide himself now I wanted to notice how important it is to connect this with the Brit HaChadasha when you read the gospel of John it was Yohanan HaMadbil John the baptizer when he saw Yeshua the Messiah he looked upon him And he declared to everybody, he says, behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of this world.

Look, he said, he's not a four-legged animal. He's a two-legged man who became the Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of this world. Why Yohanan the baptizer understood that? because all the sacrifices that our own forefathers put on a Jewish altar every one of these sacrifices pointed to a coming day when the Mashiach will come and he will become himself the ultimate sacrifice and he will not only atone and cover sin but he will remove that as far as the east is from the west and that would happen when Yeshua the Messiah came and so the question was asked by Yitzchak and the answer was given by Abraham his father he says God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering and then they continue at the end of verse 8 so they went both of them together the father and the son the father and the son Ha'abba ve'ha ben the father and the son walking together when we think of the work of Yeshua the Messiah on the tree it was not only him alone though He bore our sins in His body on the tree.

But can you imagine what God the Father felt when He sent His Son, Yeshua the Messiah, to this world? Can you imagine? No wonder we find out the pain God had to give His Son. But in order to give Him, He provided redemption for the human race. The Bible tells us in various passages how Yeshua cried on the tree He says, Eli, Eli, lama shvaktani My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

But God had to forsake this Mashiach, this Messiah because had he not forsaken him he would have forsaken you you and I would have need to be judged but he forsook his son, the Mashiach so you and I will never need to be judged and as we sing that song our father our king we have sinned before thee and God can tell us I provided for you an answer for your sins I've sent the Mashiach for God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish but have everlasting life and so in verse 9 of Genesis chapter 22 he's binding Isaac it moves my heart

when I think about it notice it, verse 9 and he came to the place which God had told him of and Abraham built an altar and there he laid the wood on the altar and then he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood in Hebrew we call it Akedat Yitzhak the binding of Isaac can you imagine Abraham at this point of time believed that God will raise him in his time but now he has to do the job he has to offer him on the altar so he tied him he bound him and then he placed the wood on the altar and then he laid him on the altar,

bound.

Can you imagine how he felt? Can you imagine what pain gone through his heart as he was anticipating to obey God's word to offer his son Isaac? And on the other hand, beloved brothers and sisters, look at this. We never read of Isaac resisting his father. You know, if you and I would have been there, we would say, what are you doing? What are you doing? I've already asked you, where is the lamb for the burnt offering? What are you doing? Abba, why are you taking me? But you never hear a word from Isaac. Because Isaac is a picture of Yeshua, HaMashiach. The one who never said a word.

When he was reviled, he reviled not again. When he was threatened, he threatened not, but committed himself to God.

when they took Yeshua as a lamb we read in Isaiah 53 he was led to the slaughter and he didn't open his mouth like a lamb that he's taken to the altar he didn't say a word when Pilate took him and when the soldiers beat him when the religious leaders spit at him when men gone against him he didn't say a word he didn't say a word he submitted himself unto God who does righteously it's amazing beloved brothers and sisters how Isaac is depicting the Mashiach Yeshua and how Abraham is depicting God the father who sent the son to be the savior of the world and in order for you and I sinners who deserve

to be punished the sins of the past the sins of the present and the sins that we will commit in the future all those sins and the sin nature were laid on his body on the tree that's what Yeshua have done for us and so we find out in verse 10 Abraham is willing to go all the way through and to knife his son and kill him because it says in verse 10 and Abraham stretched forth his hand and he took the knife to slay his son amazing see no wonder among our Jewish people the question is asked why would God are such a thing from our father Abraham?

Why would he expect from Abraham Avinu, the father of the son Isaac, to offer his son? Why? Well, if you only read up to the end of the book of Malachi or the end of 2nd Chronicle, you will never find the answer. The answer is found very clearly in the Brita Hadashah in the New Testament, the New Covenant. When the Messiah Yeshua was born to the Virgin Miriam and lived here in this world for the express purpose that in the fullness of time he will become the Lamb of God that will take away the sin of this world. That's why Jesus the Messiah came. That's why he was led to the cross, to the Roman cross.

That's why he died for us on the tree. that's why he was the just one for you and I the unjust in order to bring us to God it was necessary for him to come to pay the penalty of sin and the story of Abraham and Yitzchak is read in our synagogue on Rosh Hashanah on the Feast of Trumpet to remind us of what Abraham had done but there's something missing if our Jewish brethren do not see that it goes beyond the story of Abraham and Isaac to show us the father and the son God the father and God the son as if it were going together to the altar to the cross where the son was there hanging between heaven and earth and God as a judge now had to discipline his son on behalf of the sin of this world.

And so we read, brothers and sisters, in the next verses here, verses 11 to 14 of Genesis chapter 22. Look what we read. It says, and I'm reading verse 11 to 14, look at God's provision. God's provision. Do you think he needed Isaac? He wanted to teach us a lesson. And so we read, And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and he said, Abraham, Abraham, and he said, Hineni, here am I. And he said, Let not thine hand upon the land, neither do thou anything unto him. For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

See, God said to Abraham, Abraham, I really didn't need Isaac. I needed you to submit to my authority. I needed you to trust me. I needed you to trust me. And that's what God is expecting from humanity. To believe God. To trust what he says. To expect his word to be appropriated to our own hearts and life. To say, God, you are right and I'm wrong. You have an authority and I am to submit to your authority. You are from above and I am from beneath. You are the creator and I am the creature. You are my God. And so we read that God provided a substitute for Isaac.

And so we read, notice that in the next verses 13 and 14. Listen to this. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and he looked and behold, behind him there was a ram. caught in a thicket by the horns. And Abraham went and he took the ram and he offered him up. Listen to these brothers and sisters. He offered him up for a burnt offering instead of his son. You see, beloved brothers and sisters, for Isaac, there was a substitute. God did not want Isaac. God really wanted Abraham to submit to him. And now God provided a substitute for Isaac. So he allowed the ram to be caught by the horns in a thicket.

And believe me, we understand the way of the Lord. The Lord had led that ram to come nearby. And he had led him to be caught by the thicket with a horn. And then we find out that Abraham took this very ram and he offered him instead of Isaac, his son. But let me tell you, brothers and sisters, for Isaac, there was a substitute. But not for Yeshua. For Yeshua, there was no substitution. He had to die on the tree. He had to suffer for the penalty of sin. God did not spare his son. Because had he spared his son, you and I would have no hope of salvation.

He must die. Sin has to be judged. He had to become the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of this world. There was no other solution. You see, it's rather sad that our own people are going to be in the synagogue on this first day of the month of Tishrei and asking for forgiveness from the Lord. They're going to chant that song, Avinu Malkenu, Our Father, Our King. We have sinned before thee. Our father, our king, annul the plans of our enemies. Our father, our king, remove pestilence, sword, famine, captivity, destruction, iniquity, and persecution from thy people, the people of thy covenant. But how can God remove that?

How is it possible? How can sin be atoned for unless blood is shed and the life of an innocent individual is taken away on behalf of others? There is no other solution. No good works, no good deeds can avail for salvation. What's avail? You know, we sometimes sing, what shall wash away my sins? And the answer is nothing but the blood of Yeshua HaMashiach. He was the sinless one and we are the sinners. He was punished on our behalf. You see, beloved brothers and sisters, how important it is to understand why the Mashiach had to come. And so look at God, he provided substitution for Isaac and he provided the ram.

And that ram is a picture of the Mashiach who took the place of Isaac, who took your place and of mine, and he became the suffering one. Like Isaiah said, all we like sheep have gone astray. Isaiah 53, 6. We have turned everyone to his own way, but the Lord laid upon him the iniquity of us all. You don't need to look to the Brit HaChadashah to find those teachings. It's found already in the Tanakh, in the Old Testament, in the Hebrew Scriptures. And so notice what God gave him now to conclude here. In verses 15 to 18, which we read, God is confirming his covenant to Abraham, the Abrahamic covenant.

And he made a promise. And here's the promise. Notice what it says. The angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, verse 15. Verse 16, and he said unto him, I have sworn by myself I have sworn says the Lord for because thou has done this thing and has not withheld thy son thine only son that in blessing I will bless thee and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is upon the seashore and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies in verse 18 he gives us this promise of the Messiah where he says in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed that seed, Zerah is the seed, the descendants of Abraham and then Isaac and then Yaakov and then the tribe of Judah and the family of Jesse and the son of Jesse David and through David came the Mashiach Yeshua who was born in the city of Bethlehem to the virgin by the name of Miriam through that seed who came to this world some 2000 years ago from our invention point of time and he is the one the Mashiach of Israel and the Savior of the world who died for us on the tree and finalized and finish the work upon the cross and redeemed us and saved us.

Now I would like to conclude here with a verse or two from the New Testament. So please turn with me to the Gospel of John. Yohanan, who wrote this Gospel, very, very important Gospel. He wrote about the coming Mashiach. And I want you to notice in John chapter 8, and there notice I'm reading verse 56, when Yeshua spoke to the leadership of our people Israel, 2,000 years ago, when he was in Yerushalayim, in the land of Israel, he said to them, listen to what he says to them, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. And he saw it. And he was glad.

You remember, brothers and sisters, when Abraham said, you remember when Abraham after the ram was caught in the thicket and he brought the ram and he placed him upon the altar instead of Isaac his son, you remember he gave to this place a name and he says in Genesis 22 verse 14 he called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh Jehovah Jireh God will see to it God will provide the Lord will provide as it is said unto this day in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen it shall be provided and lo and behold beloved brothers and sisters in the Gospel of John we find out that when Yeshua spoke to the

Jewish leaders of our own people he said to them your father Abraham he rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and he was so glad because Abraham received a revelation from the Lord at that time that is coming a day when the Mashiach will come and upon this mountain he will offer himself as the one that will become the lamb to take away the sin of this world and so we read and I'm finalizing this message with chapter 19 of the gospel of John with reading these final verses as it says here in John chapter 19 and remember the story there of the Lord being on the tree we read that Pilate it

says in verse 17 of John 19 he, this is Yeshua, bearing his cross he went forth into a place that is called the place of a skull which is called in the Hebrew Golgolet Golgatha, that is Mount Moriah where they crucified him and two others with him the one on the one side and the other on the other side and Yeshua was in the midst of them Pilate wrote this title put it upon the cross then the written word Yeshua from Nazareth Melech Hayehudim Yeshua from Nazareth the king of the Jews and then we find out a little bit later in verse 29 there was set a vessel full of vinegar they filled a sponge

with vinegar and put it upon a hyssop and they put it at his mouth and when Yeshua therefore received the vinegar he said it is finished and he bowed his head and he gave up the spirit that's it beloved brothers and sisters Yeshua fulfilled exactly what was predicted through the various prophecies in the Hebrew text in the Hebrew scriptures and specifically what was promised to Abraham upon Mount Moriah in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen and so we find out that he cried that cry it is finished God had been satisfied sin had been met God now can forgive a sinner and remove his sin as far as the east is from

the west because the Mashiach gave his life and he finished the work nothing to add nothing to take away God is satisfied and the work had been completed.

And how thankful you and I have to be today as believers in Yeshua the Messiah. And I trust all of us belong to him. And if you don't, I can tell you one thing. That you will never have assurance of forgiveness of sins unless you turn your heart to Yeshua the Messiah. You will never find satisfaction. you will try through religious practices, everything that you will try will never avail for the sin that you and I have committed. The only ground upon which you and I can receive forgiveness of sins is on the ground of the finished work of our Lord Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah, who said, it is finished.

It is done. I have paid the price. All what you need to do is to come to me and turn your heart towards God and He will accept everyone who come to Him by faith. May the Lord help us this Rosh Hashanah season to share the Gospel, to let people know about what Yeshua has done for us. And as we listen to the sound of the Shofar, we're going to have it listened at the end of the meeting in a few moments. Let us remember that it's speaking to us, awakening us to realize what the work that Yeshua had accomplished for us and the tree and to be thankful for what he had done for us.

To pray for our brethren, the people of Israel and to ask the Lord to open the hearts of our friends, our family and our people that many from among our own people will also come to know their Mashiach. Even this Rosh Hashanah. Can we say amen to that? Amen.