MONDAY September 12, 2022 

The Day of Atonement 

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.”
Leviticus 23:26-27

Yom Kippur––the Day of Atonement––is considered to be a High Holy Day in the Jewish faith. It is celebrated on the tenth day of Tishrei, the seventh month on the Jewish calendar, usually during September or October on the Western calendar. 

Israel lived by God’s Law, and according to the Law, on this most holy day of the year, the High Priest offered sacrifices for the atoning or covering of Israel’s sin. The English word atonement in the Hebrew language is kapar, and this word means “a covering.” 

The High Priest confessed his own sin and the sins of the people before entering the Holy of Holies in the Temple, where the blood was sprinkled on the Ark of the Covenant. He laid his hands on the top of the heads of two rams. One of the rams was killed as a sacrifice, and the other ram, called “a scapegoat,” was released into the wilderness. The laying on of the hands symbolically transferred the sins of the people onto the ram. Once the ram was out of sight and thought lost, the men on watch in the wilderness would blow their trumpets, and everyone would rejoice. 

In Israel today, there is a “10 Days of Repentance” kept before the Day of Atonement. During this time, Jews will try to make amends for their sins committed throughout the year, by fasting and doing good deeds to cover for them. But there needs to be a blood sacrifice! In Hebrews 9:22, we see that the shedding of blood for forgiveness of sin is necessary: And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. 

According to the Old Testament Law, think how difficult it was to have your sins forgiven, but they were only covered. Jesus came and shed His blood for us so that our sins are completely forgiven––erased––forgotten. 

There may be sins of which a man cannot speak, but there is no sin which the blood of Christ cannot wash away.
~C.H. Spurgeon~

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