Out of Zion

Dr. Susan Michael: Well, on the Hebrew calendar, we are now in a 10-day period of awe, during which we are to reflect and to have a time of repentance in preparation for the biggest day of the year: Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. What can we Christians learn from all of this?

Welcome to this week's Shabbat Shalom devotional, as I seek to share just a little inspiration and bring a little peace to the close of your very busy week. Yom Kippur is on the 10th day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, and it is to be a day of prayer, fasting, and repentance. It's a Sabbath day; there's to be no work.

It's a day of holy convocation. This is the day the high priest made atonement for the sins of the nation. You could say that Rosh Hashanah, or the Feast of Trumpets, and this 10-day period of awe was for personal repentance leading up to this day, which was also going to be for national repentance, as the sacrifice was going to be for the sins of the nation.

Now, the high priest had to do everything just exactly right. If he did not, the presence of God in the Holy of Holies could actually be fatal for him, because sin and disobedience cannot exist before God—cannot stand before His presence. For this reason, the high priest had a lot of preparations he had to go through.

He also had little bells on the hem of his garment in the form of little pomegranates. Those bells had several roles. They alerted the priest outside of the Holy of Holies that the high priest was still alive and moving around inside. If the bells ever stopped ringing, they had to pull him out because they had tied a rope around his leg, just in case he died in there; they couldn't enter to go get him.

So, these are the special requirements for the Day of Atonement. Another interesting aspect of this day was the sacrifice of two goats. They had to be equal in size and weight, and lots were then cast for which one of the goats was going to be sacrificed on the altar and its blood spread around for the forgiveness of sin, and which goat was going to be used as a scapegoat.

So, for this second goat, the high priest would lay his hands on it and confess the sins of the nation. It was then sent into the wilderness, so the sins of the nation were carried away on this scapegoat. Now, the Jewish people have not had a temple for 2,000 years, so they've developed an emphasis on prayer and repentance to receive forgiveness of sins.

For Christians, we recognize that we do not need an annual sacrifice because Christ died once and for all. He was our scapegoat. Our sins were put on Him, and He was banished and died on our behalf. His death is sufficient for us forever. But understanding the biblical requirements of Yom Kippur will help us to understand just what Christ did for us.

Jesus did not make a sacrifice and enter into the Holy of Holies in the earthly temple, but Hebrews 9 says that He entered into the holy place of heaven, into the presence of God, on our behalf. And of course, Jesus was sinless, so He didn't have to wear bells on His garment; He was welcomed into the presence of God.

So, as you and I take a break this weekend, use this time for some introspection, repentance, and intercession for others as they're doing the same. But end your time with a time of rejoicing and thanksgiving for what Christ's sacrifice has done for us: that our sins have been taken away, and that Jesus is in the heavenly Holy of Holies making intercession for us right now. So, with that, I wish you a Shabbat Shalom.