Yom Kippur; the Day of Atonement. When you think of this, what are you reminded of? A lot of people probably think of Yom Kippur as the day that the Jews think that they get forgiven once a year of all their sins, and that as Christians, we know that this isn't true because Jesus took care of all of that on the cross. This is a common misconception.
Like all of God's holidays/feast days/appointed times, Yom Kippur represents something, and is designed to remind us about something important. Why else would God specify that every year, we take time out of our busy lives to stop everything, humble ourselves before Him, and celebrate the Day of Atonement?
As with everything in the Bible, it is my strong belief that our knowledge of Jesus as the Messiah should not be the source of the dismissal of any part of the Bible or the reason that we haven't taken the time to learn about the things that God found important enough to allow to be included in it, but rather, our faith in Messiah should be the lens that we see the Bible through, and the reason that we are able to better and more fully understand the intricacies of God's Word and why what it says is important.
That being said, I have come up with a short list of why Yom Kippur should be important to us as Christians, and why it is very relevant to our lives.
1. It is a rehearsal of the second coming of Jesus. Well, kind of. Rosh Hashanah is the rehearsal of the actual second coming, but Judgement Day is all part of it, and that is what Yom Kippur is (and has always been) a rehearsal of. Even back when it was first given, that was what was happening, although it is the understanding of most people that that was how God forgave people before Jesus died on the cross. But to believe that implies that the Torah could actually be used as a means to salvation, which is not the case, because ever since the fall of man in the Garden, God made it clear that He was putting in place a Plan for Salvation, and that it was going to be the way for us to enter back into the presence of God. In fact, the Hebrew word kipper used here and roughly translated as "atonement," is not a word that refers to the cleansing of anything. When we look at the context, root word, and other usage throughout the Bible, it becomes clear that what is being done paves the way to reconciliation rather than actually reconciling anyone. This usage of the word "atonement" is a decontamination process, not its final results. So we know that the sacrifices, including those done on Yom Kippur, were not intended to cleanse the people, but to pave the way to their atonement, which would be fulfilled in part when Jesus overcame death at Passover, and completed on the Day of Judgement after His return when, being clothed in His righteousness, we are given eternal life rather than thrown into the lake of fire.
2. What we are rehearsing has not happened yet. Jesus has not yet returned. We have not stood before God on Judgement day and seen our names written in the Book of Life and been judged according to our works. This is one of the reasons why it is such a solemn holiday, because we know that, while a huge part of our redemption is done, there is still a part that is yet to come, and it is the part that we are going to have to own up to. We know that God will throw our sins into the sea, but we also know that we will be held accountable for how we chose to live our lives, which calls for a time of reflection and self-evaluation. Just because our sins are forgiven doesn't mean that we go on sinning. Just ask Paul.
3. It is a day to focus on the holiness of God. This is another reason for the solemnity of the day. Yom Kippur is considered the holiest day of the year, because it is the day when we rehearse our reconciliation with God when we will finally be able to physically dwell with Him forever. He is so far above us in every way, and this is a day to remember that and acknowledge that we are undeserving of such an amazingly beautiful God and King. It is also a time of thankfulness.
4. It is a day to focus on our service to God. This is the reason for the fasting. It is pretty well known that people who celebrate Yom Kippur generally do so by fasting. This is not specifically commanded, although the Bible does say to "afflict your soul" or "deny yourself", the word used most literally means to humble yourself before God. This is commonly done by fasting, so that the observer can concentrate fully on their spiritual side rather than the physical, so that they can focus on their personal service to God, how it looks, where there is room for improvement, and what steps they can do this year to improve it. It is not self-punishment for sins. It's quite the opposite. And if that isn't the most spiritually healthy thing we can possibly do, I don't know what is! And how powerful for so many people to be united in this at one time!
5. It is a day to recognize the weight of the sacrifice Jesus made for us, and how it applies directly to our personal and collective futures. So clearly, as believers, we do acknowledge the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. Either on Passover and Firstfruits or Easter/Resurrection Sunday, most of us, one way or another, commemorate that, as it is essential to our faith. But as believers, this is a day that we can focus not on what Jesus did in the past, but what will be done as a result of that in the future. He overcame death, which is the consequence of sin, for the entire world, and when we get to Judgement Day and can enter into the New Jerusalem (or maybe you refer to it in your mind as Heaven) and get to live with God forever, we will see that for the beauty that it really is that we can't quite grasp in the here and now. You see, we are still living in a sin-riddled world, and we all have a daily personal battle with sin. The work has been done, and we can live in it now in part, but mostly what we have now is the promise of greater things to come, and this is our chance to take an entire day and just focus on that and thank God for it. It is our chance to say "Hey, I can't make any plans today, because I already have plans with my Creator, because He saved me from all of my crap, and that's real, and today is the day we spend with Him remembering that and thanking Him for it."
So take some time this Yom Kippur to just be with your Creator and thank Him for what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do. Examine yourself. Inquire of God what you can do to serve Him better every day. Meet with Him on the day that He designated for you to remember all of this. This stuff is all pretty important and a huge deal, so take time for what is important, when God decided is a good time to do so.
And just remember: heavy, solemn stuff doesn't mean sad. This is not a sad holiday, in fact it is very exciting (for believers in Jesus especially)! It is just something to be taken very seriously. This is our life.
I love this! Thank you!
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