Yom Kippur / Day of Atonement
Leviticus 23
April 3, 2022
Today we’re looking at the 6th of the 7 feasts of Israel. This is the most holy and solemn day on the Jewish calendar. It is the day of atonement. It’s God’s decision day. Will you or won’t you be inscribed and then sealed into the book of life for another year?
Have you been good enough, contrite enough, have you expressed sorrow at your sinfulness? Have you sought to make amends for your sins? Have you returned what you stole, have you asked others to forgive you? Most importantly, have you turned to God and asked God to forgive you for your sins for the past year?
This is the day. This is the deadline of all deadlines.
It started with Rosh Hashonah, the Feast of Trumpets on the 1st day of Tishri, now it’s the 10th of Tishri. During the period between these two feasts you are to seek God’s presence through prayer and repentance. In fact, the entire chapter of Leviticus 16 is devoted to the duties of the priest on this one day. That’s how important it is to God. We’re going to look at passages from Leviticus and Hebrews to better understand this holy day and see where Jesus fits into it.
In Leviticus 23, The Lord told Moses - - -
27 “Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the Lord.
28 And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God.
29 For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people.
30 And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people.
31 You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.
32 It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves.
On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath.” - Leviticus 23:26-32
When you read this passage, understand that the word afflict has several different meanings in Hebrew. It means we’re to humble ourselves, bow down, be afflicted ... and the belief is that by fasting, we afflict and humble ourselves before God.
So when you see the word afflict, it’s a call to fast before God. And the fast goes as you see in the last verse from sundown to sundown. It’s a 24 hour fast. I’ve been there. It’s a long 24 hours too. When I was growing up we would have a final meal and brush our teeth. Understand this is a total fast for whoever’s able. No sips of water or brushing your teeth. Nothing enters your mouth.
We would go to Temple on the night of Yom Kippur. The temple was packed. There were extra seats. The service would last about 2 hours and we’d go home. The next day there was an ongoing worship, which in reality lasted pretty much all day. You could go at any time and just pick up where they were in the service.
It would end around 3 PM, and we would come home, then go back for the final portion of the Yom Kippur worship. Finally, it would be over and we’d break our fast by eating a breakfast. The worst time for me was the final 2 hours in temple. My stomach was crying out for food and what made it worst one year was when I had a couple of sips of orange juice, and felt totally full and couldn’t eat for another couple of hours.
So, let’s look at Yom Kippur and see what happened on that day, because there’s a great deal of symbolism which takes place which we can certainly relate to and see Jesus in the midst of this holy day.
I’m going to read portions of Leviticus 16, it includes a great deal of very detailed instructions for the High Priest. There were a number of very specific rituals he was to perform on the Day of Atonement. More are mentioned in Numbers 29 too
The High Priest was to bathe a number of times this day. He would start the day with a bath, then put on his priestly garments. Then he would come before the people and sacrifice a bull to atone for his sins and the sins of his household. He would take some of the blood of the bull inside the Holy of Holies and sprinkle it on the altar. This was the only day of the year when the priest could enter the holy of holies and enter into the inner sanctum of the temple.
Leviticus 16 tells us - - -
7 Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel.
9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering,
10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel. - Levitucs 16:7-10
So we see that one goat is going to be sacrificed as a sin offering, but the other goat is not going to be sacrificed. It’s actually going to be sent away, to be freed.
We see this later in Leviticus 16 - - - -
21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins.
And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.
22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness. - Leviticus 16:21-22
Aaron would take 2 identical goats, one was going to be sacrificed to the Lord as a sin offering, but the other one would be freed. Scholars say “Azazel” comes from the Hebrew “azel,” meaning “escape.” This has led to calling this goat the “scapegoat” for it escaped death and was driven into the wilderness.
So, that’s what happens with the goat who remains alive. It’s freed into the wilderness, but only after the High Priest has confessed the sins of the people of Israel upon that goat. The goat is then sent away into the wilderness showing that God had carried away their sins until they would do this again the next year.
As I grew up, we would come home in the afternoon to rest for a bit, then return for the final part of the Yom Kippur worship. It begins at sundown and is called Neilah. In some ways it can be terrifying when you picture the imagery that’s going on for this final portion of Yom Kippur.
It is a very somber part of the worship in which you picture the closing of the gates of heaven. The service ends with a final blast of the shofar, the rams horn, which indicates that the opportunity for repentance has ended and that each person’s judgment has been sealed.
I mean think about what’s going on here! The gates have closed and there are no more chances to repent. No more chances to ask God to extend His grace and mercy upon you. No more forgiveness. It’s done, over! Time to go home and eat and hope for the best.
The High Priest would again bathe and perform more sacrifices, bathe again and this process was repeated for different reasons, with different animal sacrifices. It was very intricate and the most detailed of all the feasts.
Now, let’s look at where we see Jesus in this day. We can see how God has moved and how Jesus extends God’s grace to us in ways which are on the one hand understandable and on the other hand, totally incomprehensible.
Hebrews 9 is a crucial chapter when it comes to the atonement. I’m going to read sections of Hebrews 9. Actually, lots of scripture. So, let’s look at Hebrews 9 - -
6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties,
7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.
8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing
9 (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper,
10 but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation. - Hebrews 9:6-10
The first point is that the priests are only allowed into the holy of holies once per year, on the Day of Atonement. And in order to enter, he must have a blood sacrifice, because blood gives us life. We can’t live without blood. And that’s why the Jewish people were not to eat blood, because life is contained in blood.
And the writer of Hebrews tells us that the inner sanctum was not opened as of that time, because Jesus had not yet come for the people. So, he wrote and this is really important because this is where we’re headed - - - ‘the gifts and sacrifices are offered cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper.’
You see, sacrifices only take us so far. We need more than these ritual animal sacrifices. That’s where the writer’s going with this passage. We need more scripture to get what is meant here, because we need to see what Jesus did for us.
11 But when Christ appeared as a High Priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)
12 He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
15 Therefore He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance,
since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
Ah, do you see what’s happening? This is so cool! Jesus not, the high priest, enters the Holy of holies on our behalf and shed His blood to redeem us! That’s great news!
We continue in Hebrews 9 - - -
27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
This is talking about the second coming of Jesus, when we will be judged, yet, if we’re in Christ, we don’t have to fear that judgement. This is why Jesus came . . . to redeem us, to save us, to give us eternal life and hope.
So, now we jump to Hebrews 10, which still focuses on the sacrifices and Jesus - - -
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, He said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; 6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”
10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God,
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
OK!! Whew! I don’t know about you . . . but as I read these scriptures I was so excited for what Jesus did for us.
The saying, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven” is illustrated by the scapegoat. It’s freed by the sacrifice of another; but the high priest still laid hands on it and confessed the sins of the people. In other words, though we’re still guilty, the good news is that we’re forgiven.
A “Scapegoat” is someone who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others. The scapegoat on the Day of Atonement portrays you and me, we are sinners, so God sent His Son, Jesus, the innocent One who died in our place so we who are guilty might go free.
We’re saved from sin’s penalty, like the scapegoat, we are freed from the hold and bondage of sins impact. But like the scapegoat, we still wander in the wilderness of this world. But let’s remember the lesson from the Feast of Trumpets: the shofar was used on the Day of Atonement to announce the Year of Jubilee, when all slaves were freed, debts forgiven, and lands returned to the original owners.
Everything was set back to how it was before people messed things up. In the same way, when Jesus returns, He’ll set things back to how they were before we messed things up.
All of us were separated from God at one time because of our sin. But the good news is that The Day of Atonement proves that God loves us so much that He’s provided a way for our sin to be covered, and we can find redemption and healing so that we can be reconciled to Him.
But the even better news is that through Jesus that reconciliation has been made permanent for those who trust in Him. And the assurance from knowing that makes it possible for us to have a lasting intimate relationship with the One who created us.
At one time the priest was the only one who could enter into the holy of holies, but when Jesus died that curtain which separated the holy of holies from the rest of the temple was torn in two, and now we had full access to God. No need to go through an intermediary. No need for animal sacrifices . . .
We now had the One, the lamb of God, the great Shepherd, who came and died for you and I to give us life. Through His wounds we are most certainly healed. Again, the question for you and I is this . . . are you healed? Do you know Jesus?
