A look into the mysteries about the observance of Yom Kippur-The Day of Atonement
 
“Mercy triumphs over judgment” 
James 2:13b
 
Yom Kippur is known as the solemn Sabbath for Jews. It’s a day of repenting. Tradition has it that from the time the Trumpet is blown on Rosh Hashana, we enter into the ten “days of awe” when repentance is supposed to take place. The first trumpet is symbolic of heaven opening up the scroll of the “Book of Life” and names are considered by G-D during this time. On the tenth day, Yom Kippur, one is supposed to confess and afflict their soul. This is supposed to absolve them from their sins committed in the previous year and permits their name to be written in the Book of Life for yet another year. It is believed at the close of Yom Kippur, the names are inscribed that are permitted, (and often that banks on whether one has fasted that day) then another long trumpet is sounded and Heaven’s scrolls are rolled up. During these days of awe, folks greet one another with “Shana Tova” which is good new year, and often it’s followed with, “may your name be inscribed in the book of life.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked, “do you fast on Yom Kippur” “sure” I tell them, and then they give me a satisfied nod, or sometimes even a sigh of relief-that as if fasting one day a year secures my eternal life. This, is what modern day Judaism has made this sacred day out to be. I must confess though, I have learned a reverence from these people on this day-because, if no other time, one day a year, I watch a nation (or the majority of it) fear the L-rd. Even those who are regular drunkards, druggies, thieves, and though their lifestyle’s unfortunately don’t change for the permanence, for one day a year, they fast, attend synagogue, and dress in nice clothes. I have learned as a believer with a relationship with the One True G-D, that I, as His bought w/ Messiah’s blood child, have not even observed this day with half the strength, honor, or reverence as some of my non believing neighbors have. Thus, this has brought on me great conviction to my soul, and, I have learned after observance these last three years, and studying a bit on the holiday a yearning to share with you about this awesome illustration that the L-rd has given us through the observance of this great and yet terrible day.
 
The term, Yom Kippur, or, Day of Atonement, could also be called “Day of Covering”. Kippurim in Hebrew means cover, which is also referred to the actual mercy seat itself on the ark of the covenant-it “covers” the ark-or it’s the box cover. 
 
If you ever watch the fancy cop shows you hear, “cover me” or, “I got you covered.” One’s back is being watched when said in this context, or, being protected. Even in potential danger, the police count on one another - and trust each other- to cover one’s back.
Did you know that Yeshua covers you? In all things, those of us who call upon His holy name are “covered”. Our sins are covered, “though they were scarlet, they are now white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18)
 
Once again, G-D’s ordained feasts of the bible have given us the picture of our covering, our Atonement-in the Day of Atonement. This day will be fulfilled on the day of Judgment in a physical sense, when we are “face to face” with Him. All nations will be judged on that day. But for now, for those who call upon His name, this day has indeed been fulfilled in the spiritual sense, for Yeshua said, “it is finished” when He hung on that tree. (John 19:30).
 
Our main reading will be in Leviticus, chapter 16. (I ask the reader to read this chapter now to familiarize oneself with the text before continuing on with this study.) This entire chapter is devoted to instructions about this particular day. It starts out with mention of Aaron’s sons being killed for offering profane fire unto the L-rd. (This is a subject entirely all itself, so we won’t touch on that today.)
In vs. 4, Aaron, the high priest, is informed that he shall be Mikveh’d (bathed) and put on his holy, priestly garments. He was to meticulously dress himself. G-D was very concerned about his dress, and how clean he was. Scholars note that the high priest had to wash himself and his clothes, or change his clothes five times that day due to all the sin offerings. He had to change garments in-between each sacrifice. This was so that a “clean slate” was portrayed each and every time. 
 
Verses 6 and 11 say that Aaron was to kill a bull as a sin offering, for himself and his household. The point that stands out to me here is that he was to offer this particular sacrifice first, and offer it first, and sprinkle it’s blood on the mercy seat first for himself and his household before he could intercede for the remaining house of Israel. (vs. 14). Interestingly, he even did this before slaying the goat. The picture I get is this: a bull is much more bigger than a goat. The sin offering for Aaron and his household was far larger than an offering for the entire nation of Israel. Immediately, I reflected back to a word picture of a certain plank and speck: 
 
Luke 6:42
Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
 
Now I realize this is a bit of a stretch, and some might seem an attempt to spiritualize this illustration, but what I received out of this word picture was that my G-D, the G-D of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the whole of the Universe, is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His principals have been spelled out for us in His ordinances. His character that Yeshua worked so humbly to teach us such as in Luke was also subtly illustrated in the large sacrifice for one man and his household as opposed to a smaller sacrifice for an entire nation of those laden down with sins. Scholars say it’s due to Aaron having to enter into the Holy of Holies, lest he die-while true enough, and I do not argue that fact. The purpose here is to dive in even more, to see the hidden mysteries of this truth-we also, as believers enter in now by the blood of the Lamb, yet, we must have “clean hands and a pure heart” (Ps 24:4) because “a man w/ sin in his heart, G-D does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2) How can we be hypocrites and minister to our fellow man? Just as Aaron had to remove his plank (the bull) before plucking out the speck (the goat) for the nation of Israel.
 
Before Aaron could enter into the Holy of Holies, he had to burn incense and place it on hot coals and fill up the room with the perfume before entering. (vs. 12,13) It was a “smoke screen” if you will, because the L-rd’s presence is so holy that not even a chosen high priest could enter into the room without first filling it up with billowing smoke. It has been noted through Jewish writings in illustrations of the temple and it’s operations, that Aaron had to first put just an arm inside the veil with this censer of burning coals and incense and wave it around to get the smoke filling in there before he could enter. Such great painstaking procedures had to be taken as precautionary measures lest one little slip up could mean the death of Israel’s high priest. It’s a no wonder at the length and great suffering our L-rd went through for us on that day He was bruised for our iniquities, the day the Lamb of G-D was slain.
 
In vs. 8 we read that lots were cast for the goats. Now this really gets interesting. The goats were the sin sacrifices for Israel. One was to be offered as a sacrifice, and one was to be a scapegoat and let go into a “land uninhabitable”. We know that Yeshua was the sin offering for the entire house of Israel and for all of the world, and, we also know they cast lots for His clothing. Was this a mockery? Yes, it was intended to be as such, but for the Jews of that time, this was a profound illustration to which any believer today could actually miss if they had not known that lots were cast, (and commanded as such to do so) to determine which goat would be “let go” and which would be sacrificed. 
 
Psalm 22:18
They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. 

Mark 15:24
And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take. 
 
Now we will turn our attention on perhaps what I find the most interesting of all that was required in the observance of this most solemn of Sabbaths, the scapegoat. As I mentioned, the scapegoat was to be released into the wilderness, or a “land uninhabitable” according to the directions in vs. 22. Jewish tradition did take this a bit further in times after Torah was written and they made sure the goat was killed by pushing it over a cliff. It is believed this was a frivolous attempt to be sure that the sins would be “wiped out” but Alfred Edersheim believes that it was G-D’s intent to let the goat go, to send a message, “see, they’re still out there” it’s never done, that was, until the final sacrifice of Yeshua came. Hence, once again, Yeshua’s mentioning “it is finished” makes this analogy an even more bold one. Edersheim also has another interesting view that he only briefly mentions on page 256 of The Temple, in footnote # 23, he says, it’s quite possible that the scapegoat also is a picture of Christ descending into Hades on our behalf.
 
Again, while I have no doubt these are possible accuracies, there is another word picture I believe I received from the Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit) when I was reading about the scapegoat. When the scapegoat was prayed over, the high priest had laid his hands on the head of the goat, and the confessed sins of the house of Israel were placed on it’s head. Well, again we can see the consistency of our Father’s character through these scriptures. You see, when we confess our sins G-D chooses to forget our sins. I call it “casting them into the Sea of forgetfullness.” 
 
Jeremiah 31:34- “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” 
 
G-D remembers our sins no more, and, notice it also says that man will not have to say “know the L-rd”………I can’t think of any better way of getting to know the L-rd of the bible other than observing all that He has commanded us to observe in the bible!!
 
There’s a popular story in the Mishna, (the greater writings of the Talmud) that speaks of a miracle that happened in temple times during the observance of this day. Somehow tradition evolved to tying a scarlet sash to the horns of the scapegoat so that the goat was marked once the lots were cast as to which goat was unto the L-rd and which was the scapegoat. When the scapegoat would be prayed over and handed to the escort to remove it to the wilderness, a portion of the sash would be cut off and tied to a pillar of some sort in the temple. When the scapegoat was released (at this time tradition had the goat pushed off the cliff), the scarlet sash was reported to miraculously turn white, as a symbol that the L-rd had accepted the offering for their sins. Once again, “white as snow”! The Mishna also reports that 40 years prior to the temple’s destruction, simultaneous with the time of Yeshua’s death, the miracle of the red sash turning white ceased. How they can not see? I do not know.
 
One more noteworthy ritual of this text is the cleansing of oneself before coming back into the camp. The garments had to be washed, the priests bathed, remains had to be burned, escorts of the goats and any involved in the temple rituals had to be bathed. (vs.’ 24, 26, and 28) This is a picture of restoration. For those of us in the body to be reconciled one to another. These men had the blood of sin offering on their hands/bodies literally. They were declared impure until the cleansing. We know that Yeshua cleanses us from ALL sin for good. We also know that G-D wants us to forgive one another, or He will not forgive us. (Matt 18: 21-35) This is also a good picture that is mentioned in 1 Corinthians about putting those of the faith who are ensnared to sin “outside of the body”. (1 Corinthians 5:11) What does this have to do directly with the Day of Atonement? Besides the fact that all our sins are atoned for, we still see a consistency of G-D’s unchanging character and grace. We read in Leviticus 16:28 that after he completes the necessary duties for cleansing, he can be allowed to re-enter the camp. We know that G-D desires for restoration for relationships between brothers and sisters, and also for those who have strayed from the faith. (Galatians 6:1, James 5:19,20). 
 
Proverbs 28:13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
 
And so, the ark of the covenant, upon which the sin offerings blood must have been sprinkled, was covered with the mercy seat!  We know that this day, this Sabbath of inflicting ones soul was standard for a ritual to escape judgment, yet we can see the pictures of mercy all throughout.  Praise the L-rd we have such a wonderful Heavenly Father that He has covered all our sins and provided us with mercy, to be faithful and just to forgive us our sins!
 
Finally, we read in verse 29 that this is an ordinance that shall be kept forever, for those of the household (Jews/Israel) and for the stranger dwelling in the land. (Gentiles/Romans 11-grafted in gentiles into the commonwealth of Israel.) G-D has adopted those who are not of the household of Israel to join in His family, both spiritually and in a physical sense. He commands these observances, and no where in scripture do we find where we are told “G-D changed His mind” and they are no longer for today. True enough the sacrifices are finished, but G-D knew that before He wrote these verses. It is agreed among common Christian beliefs that the L-rd knew He was sending Yeshua before Adam sinned. If this is such a common belief, then I challenge the common doctrines of man today that the observances of the Feasts are “obsolete” or “legalistic” if, in fact, G-D truly knew Yeshua was coming since day one of creation, then why would He command that these feasts would be as an ordinance forever. Not just Day of Atonement, but Passover, Tabernacles, and so on. 
 
So, just how do we observe this particular day if we are already believers? For a more in-depth look at some ideas, get yourself a copy of Celebrate the Feasts by Martha Zimmerman. But for now, here’s a simple list of how to:
 
The day is a day of “inflicting the soul” which is translated as fasting. Yeshua mentions fasting even in the sense of He expected those of whom He was talking to that they would indeed fast (Matt 6) no doubt, at least one day for sure, Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) fasting would be practiced. Children, sick, weak or ill people, and especially diabetics are NOT encouraged to fast. There are other ways to inflict ones soul-perhaps do not eat sweets, do not watch television, no internet surfing, no pleasure reading/telephone calls, etc. Let it be a solemn observance. 
 
The day begins with a last meal. It’s advised to not be salty or spicy foods as to induce thirst, but one has to decide if they will fast from drinking water as well. This is a personal choice, or level of observance between the observer and the L-rd.
 
After the meal, at sundown, the day begins. It’s a 24 hour period till the next sundown. It starts out w/ quiet contemplation, between one and G-D. 
 
1) Confession- “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.” 1 John 1:9
 
2) Restore relationships if this has not already been done. (Matt 6:14,15)
 
3) Dress nicely-just as the priests wore their priestly garments, we are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:5) and Yeshua told us that when we fast, to dress as though it’s like any other day. (Matt 6:16-18)
 
4) Read the story of Jonah. This is traditional at this time of year-the lessons of judgment and mercy show forth in this classic illustration. Especially good for children.
 
5) Since the holiday is focused on ones name being written in the Book of Life, it’s a day to set aside for prayer-for interceding on behalf of those who are unsaved, and pray that their names may be added to the Lamb’s book of life. (Rev 20:15, 21:27)
 
24 hours later:
 
Break the fast with a nice meal (prepared the day before, since no work is to be done on this day). And, begin building your Sukkah, for the Festival of Booths!
 
I encourage the reader, if you do not already honor the L-rd in keeping His feasts, to start today, tonight, at sundown. If you have been unable to read this before the given day (Wed Oct. 12th at sundown till Thurs at sundown), then I encourage you to start w/ the Feast of Tabernacles starting on Mon eve, lasting 8 days. The above mentioned book on the Feasts is an excellent resource, as well as numerous sites on the internet to help you get started. Feel free to email me personally with any questions.
 
I pray that all of you have a blessed remainder of the High Holy Day season and may you all find the true, hidden mysteries revealed in these glorious feasts that the L-rd wants to reveal to YOU personally, as you grow even more intimate with Him at taking His Word and making it even more your own!
 
Blessings and Shana Tova from Zion!  Jennifer