The Days of Awe end with a 25 hour fast and a Sabbath rest called Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement.
Yom Kippur
Read Leviticus 16:1- 31
Another note about the two goats.
Before God allowed the temple to be destroyed there was a ritual that involved tying a crimson string to the sanctuary door. The string would turn from crimson to white as a symbol that God had forgiven their sin.
For forty years before the destruction of the temple the thread of scarlet never turned white but it remained red. Talmud- Mas. Rosh HaShana 31b
Yom Kippur, like Yom T’ruah, has different names and themes, some are:
The Day of Atonement
The Fast
Face to Face
The Day or the Great Day
Neilah
The Fast – Yom Kippur was the only fast mandated by Scripture. Those who failed to commit to it were considered “cut off from his people.” Leviticus 23:30
The Day of Atonement
This was the time when the annual sacrifices were made for atonement on behalf of the Jewish people, the atonement that would cover the preceding year.
As Believers, our Day of Atonement was on Passover, known as Good Friday or the Day we accepted Jesus as our Savior.
For Believers, it is a good time to celebrate the goodness of God knowing that He has set it up that there is no condemnation in Christ for those who believe. Jesus has become our substitutionary sacrifice and has made us the righteousness in Christ. We now live under the Law of the Spirit.
ACTIVATION
A Life for a Life
Because Jesus atoned for our sins we do not have to spend the day concerned for being atoned for another year.
Instead, spend time contemplating substitutionary atonement, what it cost Jesus and what we gained.
This perfect sinless Being came to earth and manifested as a human, totally obedient to the Father in all He did, demonstrating “The Way” for us to follow. Then He submitted His body to be broken, bruised beyond recognition taking on the sin of the world, being separated from His Father for the first time ever that we might be atoned and be with Him in eternity
Face to Face.
It was also the only day the high priest was allowed enter into the Holy of Holies into the presence of God’s glory, hence Face to Face.
ACTIVATION
Jesus is our high priest in the presence of the Almighty God.
And “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Ask the Holy Spirit to take you to our High Priest and receive grace for your need.” Hebrews 4:16
The Day
Because the entire solemn day of Yom Kippur is spent fasting and praying it is known as The Day.
Neilah
Neilah is the closing of the Gates of Heaven.
At the final blast of the shofar the Gates are closed. (for the Opening of the Gates see Fall Festival 5782)
God and Numbers
God has given significance and meaning to numbers.
Symbolism of numbers is defined by identifying patterns throughout the Bible.
This list of forty and ten are by no means exhaustive.
Forty
From Elul 1 to Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) there are 40 days. It is a time of t’shuvah- repentance – making amends, seeking forgiveness and forgiving. Interestingly, the same amount of days Moses spent on the mountain top with God – forty.
Forty – has a clear relationship to the fulfillment of promises.
The number forty is used by God to represent a period of testing or judgment (the length of time necessary to accomplish some major part of Gods plan in his dealings with various portions of mankind).
And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. Genesis 7:12 JPS Tanakh
And the children of Israel did eat the manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat the manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. Exodus 16:35 JPS Tanakh
And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud, and went up into the mount; and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights. Exodus 24:18 JPS Tanakh
And they returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days. Numbers 13:25 JPS Tanakh
40 days Goliath presented himself to the armies of Israel
40 years David ruled as King
And when He (Jesus) had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Matthew 4:2 NKJV
And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. Mark 1:13 NKJV
To whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Acts 1:3 NKJV
Interspersed with the 40 days, we find a 10-day cycle.
The cycle begins with Tishri 1, Yom T’ruah, and continues until Yom Kippur, it is called …The Ten Days of Awe.
TEN
Ten is used 242 times in Scripture.
10 signifies testimony, law, responsibility and the completeness of order.
Ten is also viewed as a complete and perfect number, as is 3, 7 and 12.
From Adam to Noah was 10 generations – Genesis 5.
A tithe, 10%, was to be given to God. Genesis 28:22, Leviticus 27:30
10 plagues on Egypt – Exodus 7:14-12:30
On the 10th day of the first month, a lamb was to be chosen for Passover – Exodus 12:2-3
10 spies failed to see Gods power and provision, so they brought back an evil report- Numbers 13:32
The 10 Commandments – Exodus 20:1-17
God caused the shadow on a sundial to go backwards 10 degrees. – 2 Kings 20:8-11
Jesus healed 10 lepers – Luke 17:11-19
On the 10th day of the first month, a lamb was to be chosen for Passover – Exodus 12:2-3.
The 10 Commandments – Exodus 20:1-17
Jesus healed 10 lepers – Luke 17:11-19
There are 10 Lost Books that are mentioned in the Bible that are not in the Bible.
We are created with 10 fingers and 10 toes.
Our number system is based on tens.
This meaning would be carried on today when we say something or someone is a “10,” meaning perfect.
The next time you see numbers repetitiously, think of it as maybe God trying to get your attention and look up what the biblical meaning is of the number you see.
Blessings,
Pastor Karen-Elisabeth
