The atonement instructions were given to
Moses for the priests who entered the Holy of Holies once a year. To begin with
that priest was Aaron and later it was a priest, always in the tribe of Levi,
chosen for that particular duty. More instructions were given in Leviticus,
particularly chapter 16, for the duties and responsibilities of the priests.
Yom Kippur, which for this year was last Wednesday, is that Day of Atonement
that is described in the following verses. It is the Day of Atonement for the
people—but they didn’t have to do anything. The priest alone went into the Holy
of Holies, before God, and atoned for all the people’s sins for that past year.
The people were just to rest—no work on the Sabbath—nothing to do.
"This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month,
on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work,
whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you; for it is on this day
that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all
your sins before the LORD. It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, that
you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute. So the priest who is
anointed and ordained to serve as priest in his father's place shall make
atonement: he shall thus put on the linen garments, the holy garments, and make
atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of
meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for the priests and for
all the people of the assembly. Now you shall have this as a permanent statute,
to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every
year." And just as the LORD had commanded Moses, so he did. Leviticus
16:29-34.
This was to be an annual event—a permanent
statute. Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year. It is still a holy day that
Jews today observe. One of the similarities is that it is still a day of
fasting. It is a day of repentance. Unlike the Israelites in the day of Moses, no
longer is it just to watch while a priest makes atonement for their sins in the
past year. Today everyone takes part in
the repentance observation. Person and public prayers of repentance are
important.
Prayer
~ Holy Spirit—thank you for showing me the importance of repentance—and Yom
Kippur. God, You are worthy of my repentance—and I give up to You my sins—my shortcomings—my
attitudes that are not pleasing to You. Renew a right spirit within me…Create
in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm
51:10). I long to obey your commandments! Renew my life with your goodness. (Psalm
119:40 NLT).
© 2015 by Mickey
M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise
noted.
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