When you are fighting an enemy who attacks you in your own land, blow the trumpets loudly. The Lord your God will take notice of you and will save you from your enemies.
God himself is with us as our ruler. His priests blow the trumpet to call us to war against you. Men of Israel, don’t fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors, because you won’t succeed.”
When the soldiers of Judah turned around, they saw Jeroboam’s army attacking both in front and back. So they cried out to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets.
The Lord says, “Shout out loud. Don’t hold back. Shout out loud like a trumpet. Tell my people what they have done against their God; tell the family of Jacob about their sins.
Oh, how I hurt! How I hurt! I am bent over in pain. Oh, the torture in my heart! My heart is pounding inside me. I cannot keep quiet, because I have heard the sound of the trumpet. I have heard the shouts of war.
“Announce this message in Judah and say it in Jerusalem: ‘Blow the trumpet throughout the country!’ Shout out loud and say, ‘Come together! Let’s all escape to the strong, walled cities!’
The Lord says, “The time will come when I will make Rabbah, the capital city of the Ammonites, hear the battle cry. It will become a hill covered with ruins, and the towns around it will be burned. Those people forced Israel out of that land, but now Israel will force them out!” says the Lord.
“Run for your lives, people of Benjamin! Run away from Jerusalem! Blow the war trumpet in the town of Tekoa! Raise the warning flag over the town of Beth Hakkerem! Disaster is coming from the north; terrible destruction is coming to you.
“Tell the people of Israel: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you must have a special day of rest, a holy meeting, when you blow the trumpet for a special time of remembering.
When you go to war against your enemies and you see horses and chariots and an army that is bigger than yours, don’t be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, will be with you.
They will make one long blast on the trumpets. When you hear that sound, have all the people give a loud shout. Then the walls of the city will fall so the people can go straight into the city.”
In the same year those people destroyed the Israelites who lived east of the Jordan River in the region of Gilead, where the Amorites lived. So the Israelites suffered for eighteen years.
When their enemies hurt them, the Israelites cried for help. So the Lord felt sorry for them and sent judges to save them from their enemies. The Lord was with those judges all their lives.
He said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I led Israel out of Egypt. I saved you from Egypt’s control and from other kingdoms that were troubling you.’