The Great Shout

Surely you have heard that Joshua won the battle of Jericho . . . and the walls came tumbling down. But do you know the Biblical word for the Great Shout they all gave after marching around the city for seven times on the seventh day? The word in Hebrew is Teruwah! If you know no Hebrew the word means nothing to you, but in the Bible this Great Shout occurs again and again. Often it was   accompanied by loud blasts from trumpets and rams' horns.

• On the Day of Atonement — Leviticus 23:24 and 25:9. 
• When Israel set out to war — Numbers 31:6
• Before Jericho's walls — Joshua 6:20
• When Israel foolishly brought the Ark of the Covenant into camp — 1 Samuel 4:5
• When David led his people to bring the Ark into Jerusalem — 2 Samuel 6:15
• When the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt under Ezra and Nehemiah — Ezra 3:11

Ethan the Ezrahite writes of this Great Shout in Psalm 89:15 - "Blessed are the people who know the Great Shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face, who exult in your name all the day."

In but a few days the Great Shout will be heard again around the world as Christians gather to celebrate the Great Feast, the Festival of the Resurrection. On that day wherever they gather believers will shout "Christ is Risen!" And all will respond, "He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!" 

I pray that you and I will be among that festal crowd as we again hear our Lord proclaim on Good Friday of this most Holy of weeks, "It is finished!" He has made atonement for the sins of us all and now we await the Good News of the Easter celebration. Blow the trumpets and let all the people loudly proclaim the return of our King from the dead. Now He leads us in triumph into the eternal Jerusalem where we shall celebrate forever (Revelation 21:9-27). We join now in the Great Shout, the Teruwah—"Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!"