Yom Kippur

"Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God."

- Leviticus 23:27-28

Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, is perhaps the most important holiday of the Jewish year. Yom Kippur is observed on the 10th of Tishri. This year Yom Kippur will begin at sunset on October 1 and end at nightfall on October 2. Yom Kippur is considered the holiest and most solemn day of the year. It is a day of repentance and reconciliation. Yom Kippur is a Sabbath day. Therefore most Jews refrain from working and will attend synagogue services. It is also traditionally a day of fasting. It was on this day - the only day - that the High Priest was able to enter the Holy of Holies, and then only after elaborate ceremonial washings, offerings, and associated rituals. This was also the day that two goats were selected, one for an offering and one as the "scapegoat." As many aspects of the feasts were prophetic, the scapegoat is also Messianic. The ceremonial acts that were to be carried out by the High Priest on Yom Kippur are described in Leviticus 16 (see also Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 23:27-31, 25:9; Numbers 29:7-11).

Since the loss of the Temple in 70 A.D., the God-centered observances of the Torah have tragically been replaced with a man-centered, good works system of appeasement through prayer, charity, and penitence. Yom Kippur traditionally ends with one long note of the Shofar, a musical instrument usually made from a ram's horn. The significance of the ram's horn is traditionally rooted in Genesis 22. Here God commands Abraham "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." Abraham is called upon by God to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, as a test of his faith. After God halts the sacrifice at the last minute, Abraham spies a ram trapped by his horns in a nearby thicket and offers the animal instead as a sacrifice. It is interesting to note that the first instance in which the word "love" appears in scripture is when God commands Abraham to sacrifice "thine only son Issac, whom thou lovest." Compare the commandment God gave to Abraham with John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Woven throughout the Old Testament feasts is the foreshadowing of God's plan for the redemption of mankind. Those of us who have placed our trust in Jesus Christ are able to enter behind the veil and stand in the Holy of Holies. We have forgiveness because of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross.

I am painfully aware of how many Christians never take the time to study the scriptures to develop an appreciation for God has done through his chosen people. Everything in the Old Testament points to the culmination of the return of the Messiah.

Many of my Jewish friends believe that the return of the Messiah is near. They point to the reestablishment of the nation state of Israel after World War II. And, many orthodox Jews are ready to rebuild the temple now. They believe that if they can just re-establish animal sacrifice that this will allow all the commands of the Torah to be completed which will usher in the return of the Messiah. I think that they may be right!

We would do well to re-examine our lives and confess of unrepentant sin through fasting and prayer. Yom Kippur can teach many of us a deeper relationship with a living God who cares about our conduct.