What in the world is a Shofar horn…?
I’m glad you asked! A Shofar horn a long, spirally instrument made from an antelope or rams horns, with subtle yet significant biblical meaning. Most commonly today it’s used in synagogue services at the end of Yom Kippur or before and after prayers on Rosh Hashanah.
Now that’s nice and all, but what does it have to do with me, or more specifically, this trip?
It started yesterday. I went into work just as normal, and the day was dragging on as usual too. Sundays are pretty slow at the shoe store I work at, and I was watching every minute, waiting for the clock to turn to 4:00p.m. so I could finally head home. It wasn’t till closer to the end of my shift that three customers walked in, and one had a very, very odd looking ‘thing’ slung across his back. I had absolutely no idea what it was, and definitely had never seen one before, but I got called to help another customer before I could ask him about it. A little while later I made another round through my department, cleaning here and there and checking on customers. In the very last aisle I found the man, his wife, and the African American man who was with them. I asked him the usual, “Are you finding everything ok?” to which he said yes, but thought about it again and asked if I could help him find his size. I spent about fifteen minutes with him, helping him find a style he liked that we had available in his size, all the while his wife sat waiting and the African American man followed, listened, and told the other man that he should listen to my opinion on colors because, “I’m a lady and I know what I’m talking about.” (Yes, yes I do, thank you sir). Eventually, we settled on ordering him a pair shoes that everyone liked. With that settled, I decided that this was the perfect time to ask about the weird ‘thing’ he had brought in. It was pretty large, definitely not just a cool little pocket sized thing to take with you shopping, so obviously he had brought it in with the intent of being able to tell someone about it. I asked if it was an instrument, a weapon, or both, and his face instantly lit up with a smile. He began by asking me if I was familiar with the Bible. Well, yes, just a bit. He then continued by asking if I was familiar with (insert book of Bible here), to which I’d say yes. He went on to give five different examples of this device, called a Shofar horn, found in five different books of the Bible. He told me how they were used or referred to in a particular story or verse, and why they are in fact both an instrument and a weapon. I can’t remember all of the five he told me, but there’s one that stuck out to me the most, found in the book of Joshua. During the fall of Jericho we see Joshua being directed by the Lord to “…carry trumpets of rams’ horns…”, and that in sounding them as they marched around the city, on the seventh day the walls would fall. Joshua 6:1-5
This example alone shows how a simple instrument, when used in accordance to God’s directions, is quite a powerful weapon. This applies to us, too. We might feel simple and insignificant, but if we listen to God’s callings for us and follow them in obedience, we have the power to change lives, even if it’s just being kind to the lady at the shoe store and telling her about the Shofar horn.
I wish I would have asked him more. I wish I wouldn’t have been so concerned with leaving work and getting home that I stopped to talk on my way out. I wish I hadn’t been so unnecessarily rushed, and had gotten to ask the African American man where he was from, and complement his awesome accent.
We are so rushed. It’s like we’re always working towards this never-ending goal of something, but we don’t know what, so we just keep going and going and going till we get there or burn ourselves out just trying to find it. Why? I’ve been really bad about this, especially with this trip. I want so badly to just go already and be graduated and not have to work part-time. Or yesterday, when all I wanted was to get myself home for some food and pj’s. I missed a perfectly good opportunity to talk with someone great and learn more and a neat tool God gave us called a Shofar horn. Reading about it, I like to think of it as a sort of add-on to the Armor of God.
Coming back from India, I’ve tried my best to slow down, and to be more intentional with my time. Yesterday was definitely a ‘wake up kid’, ‘take a chill pill’ message from God. I have so much to look forward to this September, but there’s also so much time in between I have to look forward to as well. Even at work, I learned about some crazy looking shiny thing called a Shofar horn, and that God uses it for multiple purposes, just like He does with us. It might seem like such a small and insignificant thing, but it was just the reminder I needed right now, and it came in the weirdest, most bizarre looking, yet beautifully declaring form possible.
