THE MOST AMAZING DAY IN
HISTORY
This
evening begins the Holiest day on the Jewish calendar and in the life of the
Jewish people. However, this important day isn’t just for the Jews. Once the
sun goes down this evening, for the twenty-five hours, Yom Kippur will be
observed and remembered. God mapped this whole thing out for His people back in
Leviticus.
Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the
seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land.
(Lev.
25:9)
Let
me give you some background. The people will refrain from work, fast, and
attend synagogue services tonight and tomorrow. “Yom Kippur” means “Day of
Atonement,” and it is a day set aside to “afflict the soul,” to atone for the
sins of the past year.
Many religious Jews believe that in Heaven the books recording all the deeds of mankind are opened on Rosh Hashanah beginning an annual review of man’s behavior.
Those
whose behavior has been exemplary in every respect are given another year of
life, those who have demonstrated no redeeming qualities are scheduled for
death, and those who fit neither category are given 10 days until Yom Kippur to
right all the wrongs committed during the year just past.
These
10 days are called the Days of Awe because each man’s destiny
hangs in the balance as he goes about asking forgiveness for sins committed
against Him (violations of His Law) and from friends and neighbors for wrongs
done to them. On Yom Kippur, the judgment entered in these books is sealed and
the books are closed for another year. So this day is, essentially, their last
appeal, their last chance to change the judgment, to demonstrate their
repentance and make amends.
Yom
Kippur is a Holy Sabbath; no work can be performed. Jews refrain from eating
and drinking even water. It is a complete, 25-hour fast beginning before sunset
on this evening and ending after nightfall tomorrow.
In
bible times through the life and times of Jesus, until the destruction of the
Temple in AD 70, Yom Kippur was the only day of the year when it was
permissible to speak the unspoken, sacred Name of God. During a great and
solemn ceremony at the Temple two goats were brought before the High Priest.
One was a goat “for the Lord” to be presented as a sin offering as commanded in
Lev. 16:7-10. The other was called “the scapegoat” because all the sins
of the nation were symbolically placed upon its head, and it was led outside
the city. The goat for the sin offering had done nothing to deserve this, but
was killed to remind the people that only the shedding of innocent blood
could atone for their sins. The death of the two goats symbolically set
aside the sins of the nation, made their offering acceptable and gave them
another year of peace with their Creator.
A
bull was selected and slaughtered, its blood captured in a temple vessel and
the High Priest would go into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood on the Mercy
Seat. This would atone for those priests who served throughout the year
who were not pure.
Following
that process, two goats were brought before the High Priest, their respective
roles in the ceremony were determined by lot. Two golden lots were placed in a
golden bowl and as he placed his hand upon the head of each goat, the High
Priest reached into the bowl and pulled out one of the lots. One of the goats
would be the scape goat, and the other would be the sacrificial goat. Before
the cross the goat that was to be presented to the Lord as a sin offering was
always on the right hand of the High Priest. Tradition says that
after the cross it never was.
While
the High Priest was confessing every conceivable sin to God, and everyone in
ear shot was offended by the confession, a scarlet ribbon was tied to the scape
goat. According to tradition, a priest would walk that goat out into the
wilderness. While this is taking place,
the sacrificial goat would be slaughtered, its blood caught and then the High
Priest would take that blood, once again into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle
it on the Mercy Seat. As the sin
offering was made, and the blood applied, a miracle would take place out in the
wilderness. The moment when God accepted the sin offering and confession of the
people, the ribbon on the scape goat would turn from crimson to white,
fulfilling the passage from Isaiah 1:18, “Though your sins are like
scarlet, they shall be white as snow.” After the cross this never happened
again.
The
Feasts and Festivals of Leviticus are Only A Shadow ... A Picture of Yeshua
It’s
easy to see the Lord in the role of our sin offering, whose shed blood
purchased our pardon forever (Hebrews 10:1-4). And at His trial before
Pontius Pilate, wasn’t He chosen to bear our sins while Bar Abbas was released?
But He was also our peace offering. For God was pleased to have all His
fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to Himself all things,
whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood,
shed on the cross (Colossians 1:19-20). He is our peace, who has broken
down every wall (Ephesians 2:14).
So
why was the goat chosen for the Lord never on the right hand again? And why did
the ribbon no longer turn white at the death of the scapegoat? The One Who had
fulfilled the role that the two goats only symbolized had come. It is He Who
sits at the right hand of the Father and it is He Who has forever taken away
the sins of all who would accept Him. Where the reality has come the shadow is
no longer effective.
The
prophetic fulfillment of Yom Kippur will come at the end of the Millennium at
the Great White Throne judgment, when all the unsaved dead are brought back to
life to be judged according to their works. (Revelation 20:11-15). The
books will be opened for the last time and those from all ages who have refused
the pardon purchased for them at the cross will bear the full responsibility
for their sins against God and man, destined to spend eternity in shame and
torment. But those who have accepted the Lord’s pardon are at peace with God,
and will spend eternity with Him and shine like the brightness of the Sun. Do
we not serve the most amazing God? To
have given His Son for our sin, what a God, what a Jesus, what a miracle.
I
am wishing each of you a blessed and meaningful Yom Kippur. Why not take some time during the next 25
hours and consider carefully what the Savior has done for you? Perhaps there’s a person that you need to
forgive, or maybe even someone you need to seek forgiveness from.
I
can’t wait to see you this Sunday for another outstanding Lord’s Day at Deer
Flat!
Loving
You and Him,
Pastor
D
BTW
– Jer would love to have any of you ladies who can to join her this Saturday
morning in the lobby of the church for some coffee and a chat!
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