YOM KIPPUR

“It is to be a permanent regulation for you that on the tenth day of the seventh month you are to deny yourselves and not do any kind of work, both the citizen and the foreigner living with you.”
Leviticus 16:29

As we are now just days away from Yom Kippur, I wanted to take some time to review with you just what this holiday is all about. Before I go on, however, I want to point out something from our main text, Leviticus 16:29. With many of the Jewish holidays, people assume that if they are not Jewish, they do not have to celebrate. This is not correct. In becoming adopted into God’s family, (Rom 8:14-17), you also became subject to His feast, celebrations, and appointed times. Leviticus 16:29 states specifically that Yom Kippur is not just for the citizen (the Jew), but also for the foreigner (the Gentile). With this clarified, let us learn about Yom Kippur.
It is on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, that we want to find an AT-ONE-MENT with God. The Day of Atonement is God’s biblical holy day established on Israel’s sacred calendar as a covenant of repentance and promise. It is on this day that the fullness of his blessings and presence come into our lives. It is on this day in history that once a year, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and make atonement for the nation. It is a perfect illustration of regeneration for those who follow God's atonement.
To be so blunt, Yom Kippur is the equivalent of the church goers who attend church on Christmas and Easter. If a Jewish person goes to synagogue on no other day, he will make an effort to not miss this holy day. The Jewish people on this day will refrain from work, fast, and attend synagogue services. As during the Days of Awe when God inscribes our names in His books, on Yom Kippur the judgment is sealed. This day is, essentially, our last appeal, our last chance to change the judgment and demonstrate our repentance and make amends. After the sealing, the destiny of the person is set for the next year.
Let us consider the fast related to Yom Kippur as we read of in Leviticus 16:29. The focus of this fast is the depriving of ourselves so that we may focus fully on God’s Word. This holy day is considered a complete Shabbat, meaning that no work can be performed. This also includes the refraining of eating and drinking for the 25 hour period, starting before sunset the evening before (this year being Sept 13, 2013) until after nightfall on Yom Kippur (Sept 14, 2013). Let me add to save us from any confusion that the Jewish days begin at sunset as opposed to sunrise. While additional restrictions are named in the Talmud, the Bible speaks nothing against bathing, wearing perfumes, leather shoes, or being intimate with your spouse. These truly named restrictions within the Bible can be lifted where a threat of life is concerned, and the fast is not mandatory for children under age twelve and women who are pregnant.
The term Yom Kippur is seen in the Bible as plural, written as Yom Ha-Kippurim, indicating the process of cleansing from transgressions, iniquities, and sins. The term also alludes to the two great atonements given by God. These include the nations turning to Jesus for cleansing and forgiveness, as well as the purification of ethnic Israel during the great Day of the LORD in the end times.
Kippurim translates into “a day like Purim”. If you recall the spring festival of Purim, you may also recall it was the celebration of the salvation of the Jewish race under Esther. Promoted as Queen, God placed Esther in a key position for a specific time. Her act of bravery in going before the King uncalled and requesting he come to a dinner she was having, in which she begged for the lives of the Jews, brought about not only the death of Haman, but also the salvation of the Jews. It is this same truth that we find relating to us at this holiday as Yom Kippur celebrates our deliverance and salvation for which Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross, delivering us from the hands on our enemy.
While being delivered is enough in and of itself, we must make a choice at this time. Will we come back? Will we repent for our sins, seek forgiveness of God and others, and offer forgiveness to those who have offended us, or will we deny this chance. I ask because as I stated above, this is our last appeal, our last chance to change the judgment and demonstrate our repentance and make amends before the sealing of the books. Where will your name land? The books that will be sealed include the names of those who will live verses pass away, of those who will have a blessed life, and of those who will live a cursed life during the next year. Forgiveness plays a huge part in this decision. So where will your name be found?
While the details of the fast are important for Yom Kippur, there is a deeper detail found earlier in this same chapter of Leviticus. Leviticus 16:5-10 reads,
5 "He is to take from the community of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering
and one ram for a burnt offering. 6 Aaron is to present the bull for the sin offering which is
for himself and make atonement for himself and his household. 7 He is to take the two goats
and place them before ADONAI at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 8 Then Aaron is to
cast lots for the two goats, one lot for ADONAI and the other for 'Az'azel. 9 Aaron is to
present the goat whose lot fell to ADONAI and offer it as a sin offering. 10 But the goat
whose lot fell to 'Az'azel is to be presented alive to ADONAI to be used for making
atonement over it by sending it away into the desert for 'Az'azel.”
The ceremony begins with two goats. One goat was named the Chatat and would be slain as a blood sacrifice, a symbol of the covering of sins for the people. The second goat was named the Az’azel, or Scapegoat, and would be brought before the priest. The priest would lay his hands on the goat's head as the sins of the people were confessed. Whereas the first was slain, the Scapegoat was released into the wilderness as a representation of the sins being removed from the people. But one important detail concerning this needs still to be made known. Watchmen were planted on the borders of the land to make sure that the goat did not return. As this goat was their sin, the sin was not wanted back in the land. It is for this fact that I question of us – do we have watchmen set out in our land to make sure the sin does not re-enter?
When Jesus our Messiah died on the cross, He did so for our sin. Jesus, who knew no sin, became our sacrifice and Scapegoat. As his body was beat and cut, He became our Chatat with His blood being spilled out for us. Yet He also became our Az’azel in that He took our sin away from us. It is only because of His sacrifice and forgiveness of our sins that we have the ability to stand in His presence. The Greek word KAPPARAH means propitiation. In Greek mythology this word was used in showing appeasement to the gods. But this word also means atonement. On the cross, Jesus was displayed as our kapparah, our sacrifice, the fulfillment of all that is celebrated at Yom Kippur. The atonement has been made and forgiveness is offered.
It is in Leviticus 17:11 we read that the blood of the sacrifice paved the way for our atonement. The verse reads,
“For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement
for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.”
Without this price paid or atonement made, our sin would continue to separate us from God. It is because of His love for us that we have been redeemed and given access. It is because of His payment that we have been sought after for unity with Him. It is because of His atonement – His at-one-ment, that we are able to have relationship with Him.
The message within all the Bible is simple – God is holy and we also must live our lives to reflect His holiness. As such we read of the things that are clean, blessed, and right in contrast to those that are dirty, cursed, and sinful. We are to be holy as He is holy. But we are human and prone to sin. God knew this would be a fact for we have freewill. Yet He did not create us and leave us to live without a chance. Rather He made a way for us to be redeemed from the curse. Jesus Christ, our Messiah, is our high priest and has offered a true atonement for our sin. He has paved the way for our at-one-ment, so let us then come before Him, confessing our sin and turning from our wrong way to embrace the oneness with Him.
Lastly, let us look at Yom Kippur in relation to Jonah 3:10, which reads, “When Adonai saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened."
It is in the book of Jonah that we see the truth of confession. If we confess and turn from our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us as He did the people of Ninevah. Because of the great wickedness of Ninevah, God had determined an exact time in which He would destroy the city. However, before He did so He gave warning. God asked Jonah to go and proclaim that His destruction was coming. After Jonah ran from Him, spent a few nights inside a fish and was vomited out, and then finally obeyed, the proclamation was made. When the people heard this warning, however, they began to believe the words. In fact, the city people declared a fast. Yet once the king caught a hold of this warning, he too declared a fast. The king went even so far as to declare a fast not only of the people, but also of the animals (Jon 3:7). He reasoned, "Who knows? Adonai may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish." Talk about a serious change of direction for Nineveh.
As God watched the change in the hearts of the city, He relented. Jonah 3:10 goes on to say that, "When Adonai saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened." I don't know about you, but I read that and find myself stirred with hope. He knows the many stupid things I have done, and the sins I have committed both on accident and on purpose. Yet in reading this account I am encouraged to consider that maybe God is saying the same thing to me. Perhaps He is warning me to get right so as to avoid destruction. It would only seem to make sense. And truth be told, that is exactly right. He will forgive us all.
From the beginning in Genesis, God has only wanted for us to obey His decrees, follow His ways, and serve Him only. Is that any different than what He desired from Nineveh? Is it any different from what He desires from us now? So then maybe instead of being hard headed and walking around with cotton balls in my ears, I should listen and obey. Maybe it is time for a fast, a change, and a requesting of Adonai to forgive me as I recommit the path I am on in this new year. There is hope for us all that He will relent, but we first must admit our errors and change our ways as Nineveh did.