Elul calls us to seek His face, and the shofar calls us to get ready for the King.
Why Do We Worship Elohim?
Because there is no one like Him. He is unique. He is Creator, King, Judge, Redeemer, Father, and the source of life itself. Worship is not about supplying Elohim with praise that He somehow lacks. Worship is humanity finally recognizing reality.
הָבוּ לַיהוָה כְּבוֹד שְׁמוֹ הִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לַיהוָה בְּהַדְרַת־קֹדֶשׁ׃
“Give to Adonai the glory due His name; worship Adonai in the beauty of holiness.”
Psalm 29:2 — תהילים כ״ט:ב׳
We live in an age of enormous human confidence. Universities, governments, scientists, philosophers, leaders, and ordinary people sometimes speak as though humanity has figured everything out.
Then Elohim asks Job a wonderfully inconvenient question.
אֵיפֹה הָיִיתָ בְּיָסְדִי־אָרֶץ הַגֵּד אִם־יָדַעְתָּ בִינָה׃
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.”
Job 38:4 — איוב ל״ח:ד׳
Were we there? No.
Humanity can study atoms, quarks, galaxies, DNA, gravity, quantum fields, and the immense universe, but we are investigating something we did not create.
That should produce humility.
שִׁוִּיתִי יְהוָה לְנֶגְדִּי תָמִיד
“I have set Adonai always before me.”
Psalm 16:8 — תהילים ט״ז:ח׳
When Elohim is before us, everything else finds its proper place.
Seek His Face
One of the great themes running through Scripture is the face of Elohim.
יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהוָה וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ׃ יָאֵר יְהוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ׃ יִשָּׂא יְהוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם׃
“May Adonai bless you and keep you. May Adonai make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May Adonai lift up His countenance upon you and give you shalom.”
Numbers 6:24–26 — במדבר ו׳:כ״ד–כ״ו
What does it mean for His face to shine? It speaks of His presence, favor, grace, revelation, attention, and life.
לְךָ אָמַר לִבִּי בַּקְּשׁוּ פָנָי אֶת־פָּנֶיךָ יְהוָה אֲבַקֵּשׁ׃
“My heart says concerning You, ‘Seek My face.’ Your face, Adonai, I will seek.”
Psalm 27:8 — תהילים כ״ז:ח׳
His face shines upon us, and our response is to seek His face.
Then Paul gives us an extraordinary picture.
וַאֲנַחְנוּ כֻּלָּנוּ, בְּפָנִים גְּלוּיוֹת, רוֹאִים אֶת כְּבוֹד אֲדֹנָי וּמִשְׁתַּנִּים לְאוֹתוֹ צֶלֶם מִכָּבוֹד אֶל כָּבוֹד.
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of Adonai, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 — השנייה אל הקורינתים ג׳:י״ח
We do not merely learn about Him. We behold Him, and we are transformed.
His face shines upon us. We seek His face. The veil is removed. We behold His glory. We are transformed from glory to glory.
The Word, the Light, and the Clash of Kingdoms
John begins with the language of Genesis.
בַּהַתְחָלָה הָיָה הַדָּבָר, וְהַדָּבָר הָיָה עִם אֱלֹהִים, וְהַדָּבָר הָיָה אֱלֹהִים.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim.”
John 1:1 — יוחנן א׳:א׳
וְהָאוֹר מֵאִיר בַּחֹשֶׁךְ, וְהַחֹשֶׁךְ לֹא גָבַר עָלָיו.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:5 — יוחנן א׳:ה׳
This is a clash of kingdoms.
But Scripture immediately prevents us from reducing it to human tribes fighting other human tribes.
כִּי לֹא עִם בָּשָׂר וָדָם מִלְחַמְתֵּנוּ, אֶלָּא עִם שָׂרִים וְשִׁלְטוֹנוֹת וְכֹחוֹת הַחֹשֶׁךְ.
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, authorities, and powers of darkness.”
Ephesians 6:12 — אל האפסים ו׳:י״ב
The ultimate conflict is the Kingdom of Elohim against rebellion, light against darkness, truth against deception, life against death.
The Watchers, the Giants, and the Actual Qumran Evidence
This is where the ancient Jewish background becomes fascinating.
הַנְּפִלִים הָיוּ בָאָרֶץ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם
“The Nephilim were on the earth in those days.”
Genesis 6:4 — בראשית ו׳:ד׳
Later Second Temple Jewish literature develops this mysterious passage dramatically, particularly the Book of the Watchers, preserved within 1 Enoch, and the related Book of Giants.
This is not merely a tradition surviving in a late manuscript somewhere far from Israel. Pieces of these traditions were physically found among the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran.
The official Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library identifies 4Q201, also called 4QEnochᵃ, as an Aramaic manuscript found at Qumran Cave 4. It is classified as a Hasmonean-period parchment manuscript.
Scholarly mapping of 4Q201 shows that surviving fragments correspond to portions of 1 Enoch 6–12, including material corresponding to approximately 1 Enoch 6:4–8:1 and 8:3–9:3. In other words, portions of the Watcher rebellion, the giant tradition, and the forbidden-teaching material are physically represented in an ancient Aramaic manuscript from Cave 4.
That matters.
We are not claiming that every sentence in the later Ethiopic 1 Enoch survives word-for-word at Qumran. It does not.
But the underlying Watcher tradition itself is unquestionably ancient and physically attested in Second Temple-period Aramaic fragments.
The Book of Giants in Four Different Qumran Caves
The related Book of Giants has an even broader manuscript footprint. Fragments assigned to the Book of Giants include manuscripts such as:
- Cave 1: 1Q23 (1QEnGiantsᵃ) and 1Q24, another possible witness
- Cave 2: 2Q26
- Cave 4: 4Q203, 4Q530 (4QEnGiantsᵇ), 4Q531 (4QEnGiantsᶜ), 4Q532 (4QEnGiantsᵈ), and 4Q533, whose precise classification has been debated
- Cave 6: 6Q8
A standard English collection of the Dead Sea Scrolls lists the Book of Giants material under 1Q23–24, 2Q26, 4Q203, 4Q530–533, and 6Q8.
The Israel Antiquities Authority independently identifies 1Q23 as an Aramaic Book of Giants manuscript from Qumran Cave 1, and identifies 4Q530, 4Q531, and 4Q532 as Aramaic Book of Giants manuscripts from Qumran Cave 4.
So when we say “Book of Giants,” we are talking about an actual ancient manuscript tradition represented by multiple physical witnesses discovered in multiple caves.
4Q531: Giants, Monsters, Corruption, and Devouring
Then we come to the remarkable manuscript 4Q531, technically 4QEnGiantsᶜ, from Cave 4.
The official Israel Antiquities Authority archive identifies it as 4Q531, 4Q EnGiantsᶜ:
- Qumran, Cave 4
- Aramaic
- Hasmonean period
- Parchment
A widely cited reconstruction and translation of 4Q531 fragment 2 contains language rendered along the lines of “They begot giants and monsters…”
It continues with the corruption of the earth, bloodshed, attempts to devour many, and a reference to monsters attacking. Because the fragment is damaged and contains reconstructed lacunae, we should say precisely what the evidence permits: “giants and monsters” is a published reconstruction and translation of a fragmentary Aramaic text, not a perfectly preserved uninterrupted sentence.
That distinction actually strengthens the argument because we are not exaggerating the evidence.
Other material connected with 4Q531 mentions the produce of the earth, great fish, beasts, reptiles, and creeping things. The related Enochic tradition describes escalating corruption involving humans and the animal world.
The better-known preserved tradition in 1 Enoch 7 describes the giants consuming what humanity produced, then turning upon human beings when humanity could no longer sustain them, followed by violence involving animals and blood.
So the ancient picture is:
- Watcher rebellion
- Forbidden knowledge
- Giant offspring
- Corruption of the earth
- Violence and bloodshed
- The created order falling into disorder
- Then judgment
Azazel and Forbidden Knowledge
1 Enoch 8 associates Azazel and Asael with teaching humanity weapons and techniques connected with ornamentation and beautification. The tradition includes swords, knives, shields, metalworking, ornaments, precious stones, dyes, and beautification of the eyes.
Other Watchers are associated with additional forms of knowledge. Kokabel or Kokabiel is associated with the constellations, not technically “galaxies.” Baraqiel is associated with astral knowledge. Ezeqeel with clouds. Shamsiel with the sun. Sariel with the course of the moon.
Significantly, Aramaic manuscript evidence from Qumran Cave 4 preserves portions of this Watcher-teaching tradition. 4Q201 and related Aramaic Enoch manuscripts are among the earliest textual witnesses to the Book of the Watchers.
Why Does This Matter for Our Message?
Not because 1 Enoch or the Book of Giants replaces Scripture. It does not.
These are Second Temple Jewish writings that help us understand how ancient Jewish readers interpreted Genesis 6 and supernatural rebellion.
Our authority remains Scripture.
But Qumran proves that these ideas were circulating among Jews long before the medieval period and long before modern conspiracy theories decided to adopt every ancient monster they could find.
Messiah Has Triumphed Over the Powers
Whatever we understand about the ancient rebellion, the Apostolic Scriptures do not leave us staring nervously into the darkness. They announce victory.
הוּא מָחַק אֶת שְׁטַר הַחוֹב אֲשֶׁר עָמַד נֶגְדֵּנוּ, וְהֵסִיר אוֹתוֹ מִדַּרְכֵּנוּ בְּמַסְמְרוֹ אוֹתוֹ אֶל הַצְּלָב.
“He canceled the certificate of debt that stood against us and took it away, nailing it to the cross.”
Colossians 2:14 — אל הקולוסים ב׳:י״ד
הוּא פֵּרֵק אֶת הַשָּׂרִים וְהַשִּׁלְטוֹנוֹת מִנִּשְׁקָם, הֶעֱמִיד אוֹתָם לְרַאֲוָה וְנִצֵּחַ אוֹתָם.
“Having disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them.”
Colossians 2:15 — אל הקולוסים ב׳:ט״ו
Our debt was real. Our sin was real. The accusation was real.
But through Yeshua:
- The debt is canceled
- The record is wiped clean
- The certificate against us is removed
- The accuser loses his case
- The rulers and authorities are disarmed
- Messiah makes a public spectacle of their defeat
Kingdoms clash, but the final outcome is not uncertain. The King has triumphed.
Elul: All of Us Like Sheep Have Gone Astray
And this brings us directly into Elul. Elul is traditionally a season of teshuvah, repentance and returning.
כֻּלָּנוּ כַּצֹּאן תָּעִינוּ אִישׁ לְדַרְכּוֹ פָּנִינוּ
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way.”
Isaiah 53:6 — ישעיהו נ״ג:ו׳
The key word is כֻּלָּנוּ, Kulanu, all of us. Not merely them. Us.
שֻׁבוּ עָדַי בְּכָל־לְבַבְכֶם
“Return to Me with all your heart.”
Joel 2:12 — יואל ב׳:י״ב
During this season, Jewish tradition calls us toward self-examination, asking forgiveness for intentional and unintentional offenses, repairing relationships, and praying to be inscribed in the Book of Life.
Imagine if the nations embraced even part of this practice.
Instead of first asking, “Who offended me?” we ask, “Whom have I offended?” Instead of “Who is wrong?” we ask, “Where have I been wrong?” Instead of “Who owes me an apology?” we ask, “Whom do I need to ask to forgive me?”
Even believers can agree on Yeshua, redemption, Scripture, the Kingdom of Elohim, and the resurrection, and then destroy relationships because they disagree about the exact timing of Messiah’s appearing.
There is a difference between standing for truth and breaking fellowship over every secondary disagreement.
The Kehilah must stand firmly for truth while also being marked by humility, forgiveness, repentance, reconciliation, and love.
The Shofar Sounds
Then comes Yom Teruah.
יוֹם תְּרוּעָה
“A day of trumpet blast.”
Numbers 29:1 — במדבר כ״ט:א׳
זִכְרוֹן תְּרוּעָה
“A memorial of trumpet-blasting.”
Leviticus 23:24 — ויקרא כ״ג:כ״ד
Biblically, it occurs in the seventh month. The Torah does not originally call it the New Year.
הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם רֹאשׁ חֳדָשִׁים
“This month shall be for you the beginning of months.”
Exodus 12:2 — שמות י״ב:ב׳
The shofar carries numerous meanings throughout Scripture. At Sinai it announces the appearing and presence of Elohim.
וַיְהִי קוֹל הַשֹּׁפָר הוֹלֵךְ וְחָזֵק מְאֹד
“The sound of the shofar grew louder and louder.”
Exodus 19:19 — שמות י״ט:י״ט
The shofar gathers. The shofar warns. The shofar calls to repentance. The shofar announces the King. The shofar accompanies victory. The shofar proclaims Jubilee and freedom. The shofar gathers the scattered.
וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִתָּקַע בְּשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל
“And it shall come to pass in that day that a great shofar shall be blown.”
Isaiah 27:13 — ישעיהו כ״ז:י״ג
Then the Apostolic Scriptures point toward the appearing of Messiah.
כִּי הָאָדוֹן עַצְמוֹ יֵרֵד מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם… וּבְשׁוֹפַר אֱלֹהִים.
“The Lord Himself will descend from heaven… with the trumpet of Elohim.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16 — הראשונה אל התסלוניקים ד׳:ט״ז
בַּשּׁוֹפָר הָאַחֲרוֹן… יִתָּקַע הַשּׁוֹפָר וְהַמֵּתִים יָקוּמוּ.
“At the last trumpet… the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised.”
1 Corinthians 15:52 — הראשונה אל הקורינתים ט״ו:נ״ב
The Greek Apostolic text uses σάλπιγξ, salpinx, “trumpet,” rather than specifically saying a ram’s-horn shofar, but the Jewish biblical echoes are unmistakable: Sinai, gathering, kingship, Yom Teruah, and Isaiah’s great shofar.
So what does the trumpet say? Wake up. Return. Repent. Gather. Prepare. The King is coming.
Will We Be Good and Faithful?
יָפֶה, עֶבֶד טוֹב וְנֶאֱמָן.
“Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Matthew 25:21 — מתי כ״ה:כ״א
That is ultimately what matters.
Not whether we became famous. Not whether everyone agreed with us. Not whether we won every argument. Not how impressive our organization looked.
Were we faithful? Did we love Elohim? Did we love people? Did we serve the immigrant, the poor, the wounded, the lonely, and the vulnerable?
Did we forgive? Did we reconcile? Did we make disciples? Did we proclaim truth? Did we remain faithful when nobody was watching? Did we advance the Kingdom? Did we prepare people for the King?
This is the message of Elul and Yom Teruah.
His face shines upon us. We seek His face. With unveiled face we behold His glory. We are transformed.
We recognize that all of us have gone astray. We return.
Through Yeshua our debt is canceled. Our sins are washed away. Our record is wiped clean. The rulers and authorities are disarmed. Messiah triumphs publicly over them.
The shofar sounds. The King is coming.
So may we be found walking in the light, serving His Kingdom, repenting quickly, forgiving generously, standing firmly for truth, loving one another, and preparing for the appearing of Messiah.
And may our names be inscribed in the Book of Life.
Continue in this series with One Shepherd, One People, One Mission and The Shout of the King Is in Our Midst, or browse everything on our Resources page. You can read Leviticus 23 in full at Sefaria.
