THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
Beginning from the evening of the 9th to the evening of the 10th of October is the most Holy day of the year in the Jewish Calendar and rightfully so because it is the Day of Atonement. This is the one and only day in the year that the high priest enters the Most Holy place to present the atonement sacrifice both for himself and the whole nation of Israel.
The LORD said to Moses, “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. Anyone who does not deny himself on that day must be cut off from his people. I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on that day. You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. It is a sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath." (Lev 23:26-32 NIV)
How does this affect us? Under the old covenant, the high priest had to do all that the Lord commanded in Leviticus 26 to make atonement once a year for all the sins of the Israelites. This had to go on year after year because the blood of animals could not take away our sins. This ritual could only make them outwardly clean (Hebrews 9:13). To be clean from the inside out, a more superior sacrifice had to be offered and that not in a man- made tabernacle, but in the real tabernacle in heaven, one not made by human hands. This is where Jesus our Kinsman redeemer comes in (Hebrews 9:11-15).
Let’s go back to the resurrection morning as recorded in the book of John – Early that morning; Mary went to the tomb, found it empty. She ran to the other disciples to report the situation. They followed her back, checked out her story found it was true, startled but went back home. Mary stayed behind, decided to take one more peak into the tomb and behold she saw the likeness of the mercy seat!
You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat (Ex 25:17-19 NKJV)
She saw two angels in white seated at where Jesus (our atonement sacrifice) had been, one at one end and the other at the other end! (John 20:10-12). The Angles ask mary why are you weeping? She told them she was crying because someone had removed Jesus’ body. At that Jesus showed up but Mary did not recognize Him thinking He was the gardener! Now pause for a minute and think about it? Mary was one of Jesus’ closest friends, how could she not have recognized Him and mistake Him for a gardener? Then Jesus calls her name in way only He used to and immediately she knew who He was. Mary reaches out to touch him and He instructs her not to hold on to Him because He has not yet ascended to His Father? Now what’s up with that?
The answer to all this is hidden in the book of Leviticus 26. The high priest on the Day of Atonement did not wear his regular garment; he wore special clothing (Leviticus 16:3-4, 23-24) (which according to history was similar to what gardeners wore in those days). Jesus being our high priest was dressed like God commanded the high priest to be on the Day of Atonement. Mary of course had never seen Jesus in such an outfit (especially with a turban on His head), and not expecting to see a high priest by the tomb mistook Jesus for a gardener. Jesus was on His way to the Father, to fulfill the Day of Atonement and told Mary not to hold on to Him.
Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" (John 20:10-17 NIV)
Have you ever wondered why prior to Jesus, no man had ever made it into heaven? When Jesus died, the bible records that the tombs broke open and the bodies of many patriarchs were raised to life.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people (Matt 27:51-53 NIV)
I want you to use your imagination right now, at Jesus’ resurrection, the likes of Moses (he finally got to step into the Promised Land!), Abraham, David, Samuel, Elisha, Samson, Jacob, Isaac, Joseph e.t.c got to take a stroll around the promise land and introduced themselves to some people! Awesome! Wao! What a day that was! But they couldn’t go up with Jesus just yet. Why was that so? Again Leviticus 26 has the answer – No man was allowed to be in the tent of meeting when the high priest went into the Most Holy Place. Jesus had to go it alone. But after He returned from appearing for us in God’s presence, He opened the gates into heaven!
It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him (Heb 9:23-28 NIV)
I have told you all these to show you how the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed and the New is in the Old Testament concealed. Our God is indeed an awesome God! The Day of Atonement should rightly be the Most Holy day of the year, because it marks the day that we as believers gained our independence from Satan. It marks the day God ‘signed the treaty’ with Jesus that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). It marks the day our obligation to Satan and our sinful nature was terminated.
Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Romans 8:12-14 NIV)
I want to encourage you to wait upon the Lord on this Day of Atonement. Let it indeed be a holy day unto you; make out time to linger in God’s presence on this day. This was the Day about two thousand years ago, that God received the payment for our sins, past present and future. I believe it was Adam’s happiest day, for finally the acceptable price was paid and his seed can now be fully reconciled to God. What a glorious event! Make it a special day!
Shalom!
With Warmth
Angela
The LORD said to Moses, “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. Anyone who does not deny himself on that day must be cut off from his people. I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on that day. You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. It is a sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath." (Lev 23:26-32 NIV)
How does this affect us? Under the old covenant, the high priest had to do all that the Lord commanded in Leviticus 26 to make atonement once a year for all the sins of the Israelites. This had to go on year after year because the blood of animals could not take away our sins. This ritual could only make them outwardly clean (Hebrews 9:13). To be clean from the inside out, a more superior sacrifice had to be offered and that not in a man- made tabernacle, but in the real tabernacle in heaven, one not made by human hands. This is where Jesus our Kinsman redeemer comes in (Hebrews 9:11-15).
Let’s go back to the resurrection morning as recorded in the book of John – Early that morning; Mary went to the tomb, found it empty. She ran to the other disciples to report the situation. They followed her back, checked out her story found it was true, startled but went back home. Mary stayed behind, decided to take one more peak into the tomb and behold she saw the likeness of the mercy seat!
You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat (Ex 25:17-19 NKJV)
She saw two angels in white seated at where Jesus (our atonement sacrifice) had been, one at one end and the other at the other end! (John 20:10-12). The Angles ask mary why are you weeping? She told them she was crying because someone had removed Jesus’ body. At that Jesus showed up but Mary did not recognize Him thinking He was the gardener! Now pause for a minute and think about it? Mary was one of Jesus’ closest friends, how could she not have recognized Him and mistake Him for a gardener? Then Jesus calls her name in way only He used to and immediately she knew who He was. Mary reaches out to touch him and He instructs her not to hold on to Him because He has not yet ascended to His Father? Now what’s up with that?
The answer to all this is hidden in the book of Leviticus 26. The high priest on the Day of Atonement did not wear his regular garment; he wore special clothing (Leviticus 16:3-4, 23-24) (which according to history was similar to what gardeners wore in those days). Jesus being our high priest was dressed like God commanded the high priest to be on the Day of Atonement. Mary of course had never seen Jesus in such an outfit (especially with a turban on His head), and not expecting to see a high priest by the tomb mistook Jesus for a gardener. Jesus was on His way to the Father, to fulfill the Day of Atonement and told Mary not to hold on to Him.
Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" (John 20:10-17 NIV)
Have you ever wondered why prior to Jesus, no man had ever made it into heaven? When Jesus died, the bible records that the tombs broke open and the bodies of many patriarchs were raised to life.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people (Matt 27:51-53 NIV)
I want you to use your imagination right now, at Jesus’ resurrection, the likes of Moses (he finally got to step into the Promised Land!), Abraham, David, Samuel, Elisha, Samson, Jacob, Isaac, Joseph e.t.c got to take a stroll around the promise land and introduced themselves to some people! Awesome! Wao! What a day that was! But they couldn’t go up with Jesus just yet. Why was that so? Again Leviticus 26 has the answer – No man was allowed to be in the tent of meeting when the high priest went into the Most Holy Place. Jesus had to go it alone. But after He returned from appearing for us in God’s presence, He opened the gates into heaven!
It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him (Heb 9:23-28 NIV)
I have told you all these to show you how the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed and the New is in the Old Testament concealed. Our God is indeed an awesome God! The Day of Atonement should rightly be the Most Holy day of the year, because it marks the day that we as believers gained our independence from Satan. It marks the day God ‘signed the treaty’ with Jesus that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). It marks the day our obligation to Satan and our sinful nature was terminated.
Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Romans 8:12-14 NIV)
I want to encourage you to wait upon the Lord on this Day of Atonement. Let it indeed be a holy day unto you; make out time to linger in God’s presence on this day. This was the Day about two thousand years ago, that God received the payment for our sins, past present and future. I believe it was Adam’s happiest day, for finally the acceptable price was paid and his seed can now be fully reconciled to God. What a glorious event! Make it a special day!
Shalom!
With Warmth
Angela
posted by Angela Lougee | 12:38 AM
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