Tag: Azazel

Day of Atonement – Yom HaKippurim

Known in English as the

Day of Atonement,

Yom HaKippurim

יום כפור

It occurs 9 days after

Yom Teruah/The Feast of Trumpets/Day of Blowing.

It is celebrated on the 10th day of the 7th month in the Hebrew calendar.

(5th October 2022).

It was given originally to the sons of Israel/Yisra’El.

“Speak to the children of Yisra’El, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you have a rest, a remembrance of Teru‛ah,” Wayyiqra/Leviticus 23:24

The Annual Moedim/Appointed Times of the Lord

were set in by our Heavenly Father to remind us of His Plan and Purpose for our lives now and eternally. The very same God Who granted favor and mercy to all humanity by sending the Messiah, Jesus/Yeshua, to die for our redemption; will also send Him again to destroy His enemies and to separate the wheat from the tares, the sheep from the goats, and to provide the ultimate atonement/redemption for those who are His.

When you see all these things begin to come to pass look up for your redemption draws near. Luke 21:28

What does His Word tell us about this Kadosh/Holy/set-apart day?

Are there things that we are supposed to do and see and hear?

In studying the Scriptures about Yom HaKippurim / Day of Atonement, we could pray in the words of King David: Heavenly Father, please “open our eyes that we might behold wonderful things from your Torah” and see our returning Messiah Jesus/Yeshua in this moed/appointed Day.

Gods’ Word was given to us to speak of Him and we should seek to hear its’ voice… His voice… especially during His appointed times/moedim.

What Does Scripture Say About Yom HaKippurim?

Yom HaKippurim

יום כּףּר,

Strong’s #3117 + #3725

means

“day [of] atonement”.

Atonement

is the Hebrew word kippur

and it comes from the word

kaphar

which means:

“to cover”.

The blood of atonement was used to cover and cleanse the spiritual uncleanness of the children of Israel/ Yisra’El.

Hebrews 10:4 tells us that the blood of bulls and goats will not take away sins. However there are numerous passages in the Torah, which tell us that the blood of bulls and goats will make atonement or temporary covering.

“For it is impossible for blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” Ibrim/Hebrews 10:4

In reality we know that the

Atoning Blood of Messiah has covered and cleansed us.

He is our atoning sacrifice.

Wayyiqra/Leviticus 16:1-34 tells us of the casting of lots for the “scapegoat”

The word translated as “scapegoat”

In Strong’s #5799

is the Hebrew word:

עזאזל

azazel.

This word is only used to describe the “scapegoat” in Leviticus 16.

There is some debate among scholars about the literal meaning of the word.

 

The Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon translates it as:

“for absolute removal”.

Strong’s translates it as “goat of departure”.

The NAS Concordance translating it as “entire removal”.

The Septuagint, an early Greek translation of the Old Testament,

took the Hebrew as;

ez ozel [“the goat that departs”]

and translated it as:

tragos apopompaios [“goat sent out”].

This translation was used by the Latin Vulgate, which rendered the word as:

caper emissarius, or “emissary goat”.

William Tyndale rendered the Latin as

“(e)scape goat”

in his 1530 Bible and his translation was later used by the authors of the KJV 1611.

We know that bulls and goats cannot remove sin (Hebrews 10:4) we now understand the purpose of the “scapegoat” was to somehow take the uncleanness associated with sin away from the camp. The person who releases the goat then had to bathe to remove the “stain” of being in contact with the goat.

According to Leviticus 16:29-31 and 23:27

It is a day to “humble your souls”

Heb: ועניתם את נפשׁתיכם

v’initem et napheshoteykhem

Some translations treat this as

“afflict your souls [nephesh]”.

If anyone does not humble himself on this day that person shall be cut off from among his people. Leviticus 23:29.

It is an extremely serious penalty to be cut off from Israel/Yisra’El so we should make an effort to understand what is meant by

“humbling our souls”.

There are two passages in the Tanakh/Old Testament, that use the same words. The first comes from the Psalms where David said:

Malicious witnesses rise up; They ask me of things that I do not know. They repay me evil for good, To the bereavement of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, And my prayer kept returning to my bosom. I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother. Tehillim/Psalm 35:11-14

The 2nd is from Isaiah:

‘Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers. Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high. Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord? Yeshayahu/Isaiah 58:3-5.

Strongs #3665

kana: to be humble

Original Word: כָּנַע
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: kana
Phonetic Spelling: kaw-nah’

2 Chronicles 7:14 
HEB: וְיִכָּנְע֨וּ עַמִּ֜י אֲשֶׁ֧ר
NAS: by My name humble themselves and pray
KJV: by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray,

Yom HaKippurim/Day of Atonement

pictures Messiah because He is

the Great High Priest

Who will bring about

a permanent atonement and cleansing for His people.

“Therefore, since we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, יהושע the Son of Elohim, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who was tried in all respects as we are, apart from sin. Therefore, let us come boldly to the throne of favour, in order to receive compassion, and find favour for timely help.” Ibrim/Hebrews 4:14-16

He is the One Who “stands in readiness” to

lead away our uncleanness

with the scapegoat, the goat of removal.

He is the scapegoat that will

bear our sins and take them away

“For Messiah has not entered into a set-apart place made by hand – figures of the true – but into the heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of Elohim on our behalf, not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters into the set-apart place year by year with blood not his own. For if so, He would have had to suffer often, since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the offering of Himself. And as it awaits men to die once, and after this the judgment, so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to those waiting for Him, unto deliverance.” Ibrim/Hebrews 9:24-28

The self sacrifice that is necessary to atone for our sins is so far beyond what any of us is willing or able to do. It would take every single drop of our own blood to cover our own sins let alone for anothers’. Yet what purpose would this serve if we lost our lives in the process? The justice required by the Lord might be satisfied but His mercy and grace would not be fulfilled.

This Holiest of days in our Fathers Appointed Times/Moedim, is when the haCohen haGadol/the High Priest has to perform the sacrificial offering; to make atonement for the sins of the people through the shedding of innocent blood.

Hebrews 9:6-15

6But The Priests were always entering the outer Tabernacle and performing their ministry, 7But The High Priest would enter the inner Tabernacle once a year by himself with blood, which he was offering in the place of his soul and in the place of the evil doing of the people. 8But by this The Spirit of Holiness had taught that the way of holiness had not yet been revealed, as long as the first Tabernacle was standing.9And this was a symbol for that time in which gifts and sacrifices were offered, which were not able to perfect the conscience of him who offers them, 10Except in food and drink only, and in various washings, which are ordinances of the flesh that are established until the time of reformation.

11But The Messiah who has come has become The High Priest of the good things that he did, and he entered The Great and Perfect Tabernacle which is not made with hands, and was not from these created things. 12And he did not enter with blood of yearling goats and of calves, but with his own blood he entered the holy place one time and has achieved eternal redemption. 13For if the blood of kids and of calves and the ashes of a heifer were sprinkled on those who were defiled and it sanctified them for the purifying of their flesh, 14How much more therefore, will the blood of The Messiah, who by The Eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works that we may serve THE LIVING GOD?

15Because of this, he is The Mediator of The New Covenant, for in his death he is salvation to those who violated The First Covenant, that we, those who were called to eternal inheritance, would receive The Promise. 

However much blood is in that sacrifice …it will eventually stop flowing and it will therefore never be enough.

The ONLY ONE Who can sympathize with our weaknesses yet is apart from sin (4:15) is Messiah Yeshua/Jesus and…. HE has come. As haCohen haGadol of the coming good things, He alone could enter the greater and more perfect tabernacle… neither through the blood of goats and calves but through His own innocent blood.

Atonement has been made

and Messiah has obtained age enduring redemption for us. When John declared in 1:29  Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! We know now this prophetic statement was completed 2000+ years ago.

Justice is satisfied and mercy fulfilled …once and for all…. The blood, His blood its everywhere and it’s alive.. not drying up, or running out… because, in Messiah there will always be enough. HalleluYah!

Dear Heavenly Father we humble ourselves before you as we think on this Holy time. Denying ourselves because You once denied Yourself for us. We bless your Name with a thankful heart for you have done for us what we could never do for ourselves. Our Father God, Lord, King, our Savior and Redeemer, we worship You and bow down before You in humility; by ourselves we are nothing but in You and in You alone we have everything because You are more than enough….

Chag Sameach Yom HaKippurim!

For other much more detailed posts on this Appointed Time/Moed and the amazing connection between Blood and gold…

click links below:

https://www.minimannamoments.com/at-one-ment-with-the-one-you-love/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/secrets-of-a-life-filled-with-feasts/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/what-is-the-connection-between-blood-gold-and-the-mystery-of-beth-shemesh-part-2/

שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם‎,

Shalom aleikhem

chaverim and mishpachah!

Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week, you are greatly loved and prayed for daily. Please don’t leave here without assurance of your salvation  and the deep inner knowing that you are sealed to the day of redemption by the Blood of Messiah Jesus/Yeshua.

Not sure ..you can be…

Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord, Your Passover Lamb/Your High Priest of the Atoning Blood Sacrifice

and soon returning King;

and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are very precious in His sight.

SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute, SAY IT RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.

A Mystery … Why Was The Priest In The Water?

… And What’s The 2000 year old connection to Abraham meeting a King?

The identity of this mysterious figure has been a puzzle to many since the writing of the Torah by (Mosheh) Moses)..(Torah, pronounced Towrah, comprises the first 5 books of the Bible.)

His name is “Melchizedek.” According to Genesis 14:18 was both the King of Salem and Priest of El Elyon.EL ELYON: The Most High God. This name emphasizes God’s strength, sovereignty, and supremacy. In Genesis 14:20, Melchizedek said to Abram, “blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” He understood that the Lord is extremely exalted.

The God who gives height and dignity to our low places.

 To those who have “eyes to see and ears to hear,” it may not be a complete mystery as to who this man ‘was’ and ‘is’. However providing proof of his identity is not the focus of this post, so only a basic background is presented to assist in the understanding of the connection and leaves the reader to draw their own conclusions from the following scriptural evidence.

The scriptures reveal the plans of Elohay Ha Elohim God of All ‘gods’.

ELOHAI. MY GOD

The name of God most often used in the Hebrew Bible is the Tetragrammaton ( YHWH יהוה ). …. Elohai or Elohei (“My God”) is a form of Elohim along with the first-person singular pronoun enclitic. It appears in the names “God of Abraham”

A plural of majesty, the term Elohim

Strong’s Hebrew: 430. אֱלֹהִים (elohim) — God, god – Bible Hub

biblehub.com/hebrew/430.htm

elohim: God, god. Original Word: אֱלֹהִים.  Spelling: (el-o-heem’)

The name commonly used for God in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word Elohim

 

the singular form El and Elah.

Strong’s Hebrew: 433. אֱל֫וֹהַּ, (eloah) — God

‘elohiym … ‘ĕlōwhay ‘ĕlōwhāy ‘ĕlōwhê eLoah eLoha eLoHai eloHei

Lord my God (Adonai Elohai)

Leviticus 16 gives us the instructions through Moses for all Yisra’el on how to keep the Appointed Times Of Adonai including that of the Day of Atonement Yom Kippur (pronounced Yowm Kippur).

The biblical feast of Shavuot commemorates the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai over 3000 years ago. (It is also the birth and death day of King David.)The drama of the events at Mount Sinai is well known: It was the third day, in the morning, that there was thunder and lightning. A heavy cloud was on the mountain and there was a very loud sound of the shofar. All the people in the camp trembled. Moses brought the people toward God out of the camp. They stood at the foot of the mountain. The entire Mount Sinai was enveloped with smoke, for God had descended upon it in fire. Its smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace and the entire mountain trembled violently (Exodus 19:16-18)

The national response was ‘Na’aseh v Nishma‘ which means, “We will do, and we will hear.“

This declaration amounts to a commitment to carry out Hashem’s commandments –

even before hearing what the observance of those commandments actually involves. 

Only someone who is totally willing to shape their entire life around Torah observance, as the supreme act of love toward Hashem, would be willing to make such a commitment.

Click links for more on Shavuot & Yom Kippur and Appointed Times of Adonai

https://www.minimannamoments.com/50-days-later-an-earthly-and-spiritual-harvest-pentecost-shavuot/

https://www.minimannamoments.com/at-one-ment-with-the-one-you-love/

If you are familiar with the 7 Appointed times Adonai, then the following note concerning the scapegoat and lots will be arbitrary.

However a brief explanation will be helpful here to enhance a more complete picture.

The High Priest (Kohen ha’Gadowl) was to take two goats and present them before YaHuWaH at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.He was to cast lots for the goats, one for YaHuWaH and the other for “Azazel” which literally means: “the goat of removal” or “the scapegoat.” Two goats were to be brought before him. He would place his hands on their heads and confess the sins of the people. One would be slaughtered as a sacrifice to YaHuWaH.

  (YaHuWaH Is used Here its the Name of God YHWH with vowels added Yud Hey Vav Hey)

The scriptures tell us that the second goat is to be offered to “Azazel,” which is a Hebrew word that literally means the following in the Hebrew Strong’s Concordance:

#5799 ‘aza’zel az-aw-zale from 5795 and 235; goat of departure; the scapegoat:–scapegoat.

The root-words for “Azazel,” are #5795 (ez) which means “she-goat,” and the other is #235 (azal) which means “to go away.”

The idea behind the scapegoat is that it is to be sent out into the desert, separated from the people “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalms 103:12).

He escapes death,

but

he carries the sins of the people with him to his dying day!

They sinned, he suffers.

They were guilty, he pays the price.

That’s what the word “scapegoat” has come to mean: “an innocent person who takes the blame for the guilty party.”

From our viewpoint today looking back, we clearly see a real and specific picture of Messiah Jesus/Yeshua’s substitutionary life and subsequent death.

(As we are seeing, everything is connected and therefore we need to take a quick look at The High Priest before unfolding more of the mystery or it will not make sense.)

The High Priest (pronounced Kohen ha’Gadowl) ha’gadol, the high priest; Aramaic: kahana rabba) was the title of the chief religious official of Judaism from the early post-Exilic times until the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE.

Previously, in the Israelite religion including the time of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, other terms were used to designate the leading priests; however, as long as a king was in place, the supreme ecclesiastical authority lay with him.

The official introduction of the term “high priest” went hand in hand with a greatly enhanced ritual and political significance bestowed upon the chief priest in the post-Exilic period, certainly from 411 BCE onward, after the religious transformations brought about by the Babylonian captivity and due to the lack of a Jewish king and kingdom.

The high priests belonged to the Jewish priestly families that trace their paternal line back to Aaron, the first high priest of Israel in the Hebrew Bible and elder brother of Moses, through Zadok, a leading priest at the time of David and Solomon. This tradition came to an end in the 2nd century BCE during the rule of the Hasmoneans, when the position was occupied by other priestly families unrelated to Zadok.

Predecessors of Aaron:

Even though Aaron was the first high priest mentioned in Exodus, the legendary passage revealed the first man assumed the title of high priest of God is Enoch who was succeeded by Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, (some say this was Melchizedek), Abraham, Isaac and Levi. They are very intricate pieces of clothing.

Comprising a linen tunic, finally woven colored fabrics,

Click link for more on the special blue dye used for the robes https://www.minimannamoments.com/mysterious-secret-of-the-hilazon/

a breastplate

of precious stonesbells and pomegranates (said to have 613 seeds = to 613 laws of Torah

around the hemand a crown of gold.This was all part of the old covenant and he served as the mediator of that covenant between the people and God.In ancient Israel the ones ordained by God to offer up the sacrifices were the priesthood, the sons of Aaron who came from the tribe of Levi one of the 12 sons of Jacob/Israel.

This is important to establish their lineage because of where we are going. God is a God of detail and precision and nothing was left to chance! Nor is anything a coincidence.Charts showing the line of Levites priestly calling

Holy, Kadosh in Hebrew, is that which is separate, set apart for the purposes of God and Israel was called to be a Holy nation.

To be a holy nation it had to be a separate nation. Within the 12 tribes of Israel were the Levites, as Gods ministers, this was a more holy calling than the rest of the tribes.

So they had to be separated from the rest of Israel. Then from the tribe of Levi God called the Cohanim, the Priests with a Holier calling.

From the priests, God called the High Priest with an even holier calling. So the Cohanim had to be separated from the Levites.

The high priest had to be separated even from the priests.

The ordinary garments of the priest Exodus. 28:39-43;39:27-29

The officiating priests wore 4 pieces of garments: Ex.28:42 (1) white breeches Ex. 28:40 (2)White Linen garment; (3)White linen sash; (4)White turban. (Only by birth can one be a priest.)

The other Levites were employed in more menial tasks, such as the housekeeping of the tabernacle, keeping oil in the lamps, transporting the Ark of the Covenant, taking down and setting up the tabernacle when moving, and related tasks in assisting the priests The priests could offer sacrifices for the people, burn incense on the altar, and teach the law. The Aaronic (or Levitical) Priesthood thus functioned only within the tribe of Levi, and the right to have it conferred upon one was determined by lineage and worthiness. The lineal restrictions of that Aaronic (Levitical) Priesthood were lifted when the law of Moses was fulfilled, and thereafter the offices of the priesthood were conferred upon worthy men without limitation to the tribe of Levi. Numbers 8. (10)

Every degree of holiness, was matched by an equal degree of separation. That which is Holy must be separated.

The priestly divisions or sacerdotal courses; (Hebrew: mishmar (מִשְׁמָר)); are ritual work groups in Judaism. According to 1 Chronicles 24, they were originally formed during the reign of King David.

These priests referred to as “descendants of Aaron.” In the biblical traditions upon which the writer of Chronicles drew, Aaron had four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. However, Nadab and Abihu died before Aaron (incident of offering strange fire); and only Eleazar and Ithamar had sons. In Chronicles, one priest, Zadok, from Eleazar’s descendants and another priest, Ahimelech, from Ithamar’s descendants, were designated by King David to help create the various priestly work groups.

Sixteen of Eleazar’s descendants were selected to head priestly orders while only eight of Ithamar’s descendants were so chosen. The passage states that this was done because of the greater number of leaders among Eleazar’s descendants. Lots were drawn to designate the order of ministering for the heads of the priestly orders when they entered the temple in Jerusalem.

Each order was responsible for ministering during a different week and shabbat and were stationed as a watch at the Tabernacle. All of the orders were present during biblical festivals.

Their duties involved offering the daily and Jewish holy day sacrifices (korbanot in Hebrew), and blessing the people in a ceremony known as nesiat kapayim (“raising of the hands”), the ceremony of the Priestly Blessing.

Following the Temple’s destruction at the end of the First Jewish Revolt and the displacement to the Galilee of the bulk of the remaining Jewish population in Judea at the end of the Bar Kochva Revolt, Jewish tradition in the Talmud and poems from the period record that the descendants of each priestly watch established a separate residential seat in towns and villages of the Galilee. (The location of the Galilee is obviously significant)

They maintained this residential pattern for at least several centuries in anticipation of the reconstruction of the Temple and reinstitution of the cycle of priestly courses.

Specifically, this Kohanic settlement region stretched from the Beit Netofa Valley, through the Nazareth region to Arbel and the vicinity of Tiberias. 

In the synagogues in subsequent years, there was a custom every Sabbath, of publicly recalling the courses of the priests; a practice that reinforced the prestige of the priests’ lineage. Such mention evoked the hope of return to Jerusalem and reconstruction of the Temple.

This is all important because of who was ministering in his appointed cycle was non other than Zechariah, a priest of the course of Abia/Abijah,who was performing his priestly service and the Temple of Jerusalem.

Luke 1:5-2:20. Clearly explains this story it is carefully placed in geography and time. Luke relates this not as a timeless legend, but as an historical event.

Zechariah in his youth had married a woman named Elizabeth. They had never had any children and now That they were “well along in years” (Greek probaino, KJV “stricken”) may indicate that they were over sixty, since sixty years was considered “the commencement of agedness.”; They were “upright” (NIV) or “righteous” (KJV, Greek dikaios), not meaning perfectly sinless, but “pertaining to being in accordance with high standards of rectitude, upright, just, fair.”

They were a kosher, respected, priestly couple who took seriously what it meant to obey God in every way that they knew. They lived in dark days, during the bloody reign of Herod the Great (37 to 4 BC). Yet life went on, and for most of the year, Zechariah and Elizabeth live in a small village “in the hill country of Judea,” south of Jerusalem (Luke 1:39), except when Zechariah’s priest-division is on duty in the Temple.

According to Mosaic law, priests weren’t required to marry a wife from the Tribe of Levi (Leviticus 21:7, 13-15), but for a priest to have a wife from Levi’s tribe was considered a twofold honor.

Zechariah belonged to the priestly division of Abijah/Abia

from the tribe of Levites.

Religious workers in Israel were divided into two groups, Priests and Levites. All were descended from the Tribe of Levi, but, additionally, the priests were descendants of Moses’ brother Aaron. Priests were set apart for a special ministry in the Temple with regard to the worship of God that took place there. 

“Once, when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.” (1:8-10)

The priests were divided into 24 groups or divisions (1 Chronicles 10:7-18), of which Zechariah’s “division of Abijah” is eighth in the rotation. Priests and their families would live in Jerusalem or in various nearby villages, but when their division was called up for duty for a week, twice each year, the priests would come to Jerusalem to work in the Temple.

Each day about 50 priests would have been on duty, with perhaps 300 on duty during a given week.

Every priest had a specific amount of days each year to perform those tasks and it was done in rotation. 

Luke 1:9 This day, Zechariah is “chosen by lot” to go inside the temple and burn incense on the Altar of Incense in the Holy Place. It is considered a great honor. Since there were a large number of priests, no priest was allowed to serve as the officiating priest more than once in his lifetime. Sometimes the high priest himself officiated. Jeremias remarks:

“For the incense offering, two priests had to help the officiating priest who was chosen by lot for the office. One brought glowing coals on a silver firepan from the Altar of Burnt Offering to the Altar of Incense in the Holy Place. The second took from the officiating priest the bowl in which the dish of incense had lain until the censing was finished.”

As the officiating priest, it was Zechariah’s job to place incense on the heated altar and then prostrate himself in prayer.

The incense represented the prayers of the people.

Outside, the people were reciting this prayer during the incense offering: “May the merciful God enter the Holy Place and accept with favor the offering of his people.”

It was at that point that an angel of the Lord did indeed enter the Holy Place. (1:11-17)  The angel Gabriel comes to Zechariah and told him Elizabeth would in her old age give birth to a child. and announced the identity of his son.

God fulfilled the ancient hopes of Israel through the fulfilling of an old couples long lost hopes for a child. And this is highlighted because behind Zechariah’s name is a mystery.

Zechariah’s real name was Zicharyah.

Zicharyah means ‘God has remembered’.

Elizabeth’s real name was Elishevah.

Elishevah means ‘the oath of God’ or ‘God is my oath’ Ex.6:23

Zicharyah and Elishevah where joined in marriage so, “God has remembered’ was joined to ‘the oath of God”!

The marriage of the two lives created a prophetic message.

God has remembered the oath of God.

This was a sign to Israel that God had not forgotten his promise but in actual fact was about to fulfill it. When God remembers his oath/ promise then the oath/ promise bears/ brings forth life. So here Elishevah will have a baby who will be known as John the Baptist. However his real name in Hebrew is Yochanan, which means ‘the grace of God/”Yahweh is gracious”.

God’s remembrance of his oath/ promise causes the birth of the grace of God.’ The grace of salvation, the very thing that would come forth out of John, fulfilling His promise/oath.

When Zicharyah/ ‘God has remembered’, gave praise to the Lord, he was declaring that God had performed the miracle, to remember His Holy Covenant, the promise/oath which He swore to Abraham.

God never forgets His promises nor ever breaks his Word, for He is always watching over it to perform it and even out of the broken, the barren and the seemingly impossible, comes – the Yochanan, (the impossible/the miracle).

He was the only priest in the history of the levitical priesthood whose birth was announced by an angel in the sanctuary of the priests.

Leviticus 26:40 – 42; Luke 1:4 – 17, 72 – 73;

You are to call him John (1:13d), which means, the grace of God or”Yahweh is gracious” which, when we think about it, was John the Baptist’s chief message: baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

Announcement of the Birth of John… When the baby is born:

He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth (15c). Under the Old Covenant, to be filled with the Holy Spirit was rare — the privilege of a few prophets priests and kings only.

During this time, outside the Temple….“Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.” (1:21-22). 

(Due to the subject of the post and the need for extra details in tying it all together, the conclusion follows in part 2! )

Shalom!

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…Don’t put it off one more moment…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.

You are now Born Again by the Holy Spirit of the Living God and you are part of the ever growing family of believers. You will never be the same again!

At-One-Ment With The One You Love

Special Word of Introduction:

Ecclesiastes 3 tells us there are different times and seasons. This is a time to be serious and to put away, to cast down and throw from us all that would distract and keep us from the One to whom we owe EVERYTHING.

We will sing of your love for ever, we will declare your faithfulness and mercy to the generations.

This is the pen-ultimate appointed time of the Hebrew calendar year. The 6th of 7 specific dates the Lord set into the annual cycle of life, incorporating the harvest seasons of the grains and fruits. Times chosen when The Lord God wanted to spend time with His people.They were all a prophetic type and shadow, a fore-telling of the coming Savior. A rehearsal for the future Messiah, JESUS who came a little over 2000 years ago and literally fulfilled the words of the prophets concerning God’s plan of the ages.

In Hebrew,Jesus was the burden removing, yoke destroying answer, redeeming mankind and all who will believe and trust in His atoning sacrifice of substitution at Calvary.

There His Blood has paid the price for ALL our transgressions. The wages of sin is death, meaning eternal separation from God’s presence. Because of Jesus, we will never have to experience that or have to personally pay the price for our errant ways. Ezekiel 18:20 ‘the soul who sins he shall die..’

Yom Kippur is all about the sacrificial offering of a pure unblemished innocent life, freely and willingly given to cover for sin, through the shedding of its blood. (For the life of the flesh is in the blood. Lev. 17:11) Yom haKipuriym/day of the Atonements, falls on the 10th day of the 7th month. It is not a feast day but rather a Holy convocation, an opportunity to deny ourselves, a time for self examination. A perfect opportunity for a heart (spiritual) check-up.As the High Priest performs the atonements for himself, the altar, the Tabernacle, and the whole community in Israel, we are encouraged to stop and think. To turn those thoughts to our own lives and allow an inner conviction to lead us to true repentance and then to the acceptance of the blood sacrifice of Jesus as a means of cleansing and forgiveness.Jesus our Messiah has clearly fulfilled both the position of our High Priest and that of our personal sacrifice, He atoned for us once and for all and is continually making intercession for us before the Father.He does not need to make sacrifices for Himself and for us year after year in order to atone for our sins–it has already been accomplished for ever. Hebrews 9:6–12

The weight and penalty of the sins, was symbolically transferred to the animal sacrifices for that year, so that forgiveness could be attained.

Our willingness to deny self on this day does not cause, aid or enhance our atonement, however it allows us to become acutely aware of our own mortality, our sin, our continuing need for atonement, and our desire for life. At the same time it causes us to appreciate on some minute level, the sacrifice the Master made as He denied His own life on our behalf and to re-evaluate our own commitment to walk in the way, the truth and the life, by obeying and keeping His commandments.

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Matt.5:17-20

 

The sanctity and holiness of this day cannot be understated.

Though we may find great joy in our eternal atonement in Jesus the Messiah, this is a day for remembering the atonement in such a way that it should be very hard to forget in the busyness of daily life.

Although we are saved by grace and live by faith, we are still accountable for our individual lives and for changing our ways in compliance of being a ‘doer’ of the things Jesus taught and not a ‘hearer only’.

We are to be contemplative, repentant, humble and dead to ourselves because the self sacrifice necessary to atone for our sins is far beyond what any of us are able or willing to do. It would take every drop, every ounce of blood in our bodies to cover even our own sins, much less the sins of another.

However we can rejoice for the Messiah has come! Atonement has been made and He has obtained age enduring redemption, which is available for us! Justice is satisfied and Mercy fulfilled, once and for all!On Yom haKipuriym, day of the Atonements, we are also to remember that we live and breathe only because the Father so chooses, and that by His choice, He has the right and the power to take it away as well. A sobering reality.

Lk. 12:20; Mk. 13:44.

Hard though that is for some of us to admit, once born again and redeemed, it means that God through Jesus bought and paid for us and we belong to Him. Our life is no longer our own to live as we please and our destiny is His hands. At this time the story of Jonah is appropriate, teaching that sincere repentance can reverse even the harshest heavenly decreeand the prevention of Jonah’s flight shows that no one can escape from God.There is such an abundance of revelatory instruction around the 7th appointed time, it is prohibitive to attempt to include everything in one post, so some aspects are not mentioned below due to space and in an attempt to curtail longevity, however it is not out of ignorance or neglect.

(Further details regarding insights on the sacrifices and Temple proceedings followed at Yom Kippur will be posted on more mini manna moments/ deeper dig.)

Now for the Main Meal of the day! Yom Kippur – Day of Atonement (Lev. 25:9) 

The Biblical name for the day of Atonement is Yom HaKippurim, meaning ‘the day of covering, canceling, pardon, reconciling.’ Occasionally, it was called ‘the Day of the Fast’ or ‘the Great Fast’ (Lev. 23:27-31; 16:29-34). It is a unique ceremony which took place on the ancient Hebrew calendar for the children of Israel, it was the holiest day of the year and still is for believers and the Jewish community today. ‘Kadosh’, often translated as ‘Holy’, it also has a deeper meaning and conveys an understanding of being separate and set aside for Adonai /The Lord and not as the world and the things of the world are.Deut. 7:6, We are to be His own unique treasure.

This day marks the end of the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe) and falls on the 9th/10th day of Tishrei (Tishri), the seventh month in the Jewish calendar.It’s not a feast like the others that we have looked at. It is a day of repentance and it’s still of great significance for Christian believers, because not one of us is perfect.  It’s a time for us to make a decision to be better in the coming year than we were in the past year. Paul makes mention of Yom Kippur when he refers to it in Acts 27:9 saying that the fast had already gone by, as the main focus of this day is to fast before the Lord.Names used are:

Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement)

Face to Face
The Day (or the Great Day)
The Fast
The Great Shofar (Shofar HaGadol)
Neilah (the closing of the gates of heaven as the festival concludes and the judgment was set for another year.)

 

UNDERSTANDING THE PRIESTLY SERVICE FOR YOM KIPPURLev. 16, specifies the 10th of Tishrei as the date on which the high priest (Cohen HaGadol) shall conduct a special ceremony to purge defilement from the sanctuary and from the people. The heart of it is that the high priest (Cohen HaGadol) shall bring a bull and two goats as a special offering. First, the bull is sacrificed to purge the sanctuary from any defilements caused by misdeeds of the priest himself and of his household (Lev. 16:6). Secondly, one of the goats is chosen by lot to be sacrificed, to purge the sanctuary of any similar defilement stimulated by misdeeds of the whole Israelite people (Lev. 16:7-8). Finally, the second goat is sent away, not sacrificed, to cleanse the people themselves. The goat is marked for Azazel and is sent away to wander in the wilderness (Lev. 16:10).Before the goat is sent out, the high priest lays both his hands upon its head and confesses over it all the iniquities and transgressions of the Israelites, whatever their misdeeds, and so putting them on the head of the goat. Thus, the Torah adds, ‘The goat shall carry on it all their iniquities to an inaccessible region…’ (Lev. 16:20- 22).

AZAZEL: THE SCAPEGOAT

The Hebrew word for scapegoat is ‘Azazel’. Azazel was seen as a type of satan (Ha satan). The sins of the people and thus the punishment of the people were laid upon Azazel the scapegoat. Azazel being sent into the wilderness is understood to be a picture of satan (Ha satan) being cast into the lake of fire (Rev.19:20).The sins of the people were laid upon the scapegoat (Lev.16:21-22).

 

ADDITIONAL ASPECTS TO THE HIGH PRIEST CEREMONY

In order to enter the Holy of Holies, the high priest (Cohen HaGadol) was first to bathe his entire body, going beyond the mere washing of hands and feet as required by other occasions. The washing symbolized his desire for purification (Num. 19). The washing was of his clothes and his flesh (Num. 8:5-7;19:7-9).

This was done in conjunction with taking the blood of an animal with the finger
and sprinkling the blood upon the altar (Num. 19:1-4; Lev. 8:13-15 and in Num. 31:21-24.)  

‘And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering.’

The priest dipping his finger in the blood and placing it on the horns of the altar represents that the sin is recorded. The mark of a finger print in blood is evidence a death had taken place to pay the price for the sin.By this action, the altar had in a sense, become defiled until on the Day of Atonement when the pure blood of the Lord’s goat was placed on the altar to purify it.

The blood is shed for the sinner’s life and to satisfy the demand of the law, on the Day of Atonement the redemption is finalized. So too, is the process in the heavenly sanctuary on the day when our sins are blotted out. 

 The spiritual understanding of this is given in Heb. 9 -10:19-22.
The sprinkling of blood upon the altar is also mentioned in Ex. 29:1-4,10-12, 16,20-21; and Lev. 1:3-5,11; 3:1-2,8; 4:1-6; 5:4-6,9. The spiritual understanding is found in Heb. 9:11-14,23-25, and 1Pet. 1:2.

FACE TO FACE

The high priest (Cohen HaGadol) could only go into the Holy of Holies once a year (Lev.16:2; Heb. 9:6-7).(God issued a warning that no man could see His face and live (Ex.33:20). But because on the Day of Atonement the priest could be in God’s presence (Lev.16:2), another term for the Day of Atonement is ‘face to face.’  At that point, the high priest was ‘face to face with the mercy seat of God.’

Face in Hebrew: panim or paneh פָּנִים (paw-neem’)When the high priest (Cohen HaGadol) entered the Holy of Holies, he saw the Lord’s presence as a brilliant cloud hovering above the mercy seat (Lev.16:2).The word for mercy seat in Hebrew is kapporet. It comes from the root word kaphar, which is the same word used for atonement. The mercy seat can also be translated as the seat of atonement. The mercy seat is described in detail in Ex. 25:17-22 and 37:6-9. This is the place where Moses (Moshe) met and spoke with God face to face (Ex. 25:22; 30:6; Num. 7:89).The themes are:

Yom Kippur is a day of fasting and affliction of the soul.

The incense of the golden censer represents the prayers of Bible believers.Repentance Repent (Teshuvah) return to the Lord.

Hear (Shema) the calling (Shofar) for our lives.

Yielding ourselves to God so we may live every day (face to face – al paneh – פָּנִים) in His Presence. Furniture of the Tabernacle

Atonement

 At the moment the atonement was made on the Day of Atonement, those being atoned for were sinless and blameless before God.

The congregation of believers (kehilat) in the Messiah is being presented before God without spot or blemish (Eph. 5:27) because of the blood of Jesus/Yeshua (1 Pet. 1:19).Messianic Fulfillment; Jesus/Yeshua is the sacrifice of God for us who believe on Him (Heb. 9:26-28; 10:1-10). 

Forgiveness

Messianic Fulfillment: Aaron the high priest typifies the ministry of mediator and intercessor. Jesus/Yeshua is our High Priest (Heb. 3:1) and Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 12:24). He lives to make intercession for us (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:22-27).Spiritual Application (Halacha): By the death of Jesus/Yeshua, we are free to enter into the veil every day not just once a year. (Matt. 27:50-51; 2 Cor. 3:14; Heb. 4:16; 6:13-19; 10:19-22).

 More about the Goats 

Lev. 16:7–10. the high priest would stand before the people in Jerusalem with two identical goats.He would then put his hand into an urn where there were two lots, each one with a different Hebrew word carved into it. The High priest would then remove them both, one in each hand. He then placed the lot in his right hand on the head of the goat to his right the other to the goat on the left.One of the lots decreed that one of the goats would live and be set free, the other that it would die as the sacrifice for the sins of the people on Yom Kippur.  This is where two goats (or lambs) were chosen annually to represent the sins of Israel, one was sacrificed as the usual sin offering and the other released into the wild, bearing the sins of the people on it.The fate of each goat was determined by the drawing of the lots. The black lot signifying the scapegoat and the white lot, the goat for sacrifice. When the lots were drawn, if the black stone was found in the priest’s left hand when the stones were revealed it was an indication that the offering was unacceptable to the Lord. White meant yes, black meant no.

The Mystery of the Semikhah

Within this ceremony is also the mystery of the Semikhah. This is the sacred act that had to take place before a sacrifice could be offered up for the sins of the one offering it, or before the scapegoat could take away the sins of the nation on Yom Kippur.

It is the mystery of physical contact.

The person offering the sacrifice had to make physical contact with the sacrifice itself.

The priest had to touch it and very specifically had to place the palms of both his hands on the sacrifice.Lev. 16:21, Only after the Semikhah was performed could the scapegoat take away the sins of the nation or the sacrifice be offered up as an atonement.

The mystery is the Messiah. He is the sacrifice. 

As the Semikhah must be performed and it was the priests who offered Him up and then delivered Him to His death. In accordance with Scripture, the priest had to make physical contact with the sacrifice by placing his hands on it. Mk. 14:65 records that after condemning Him to death the priests struck Him repeatedly with their hands. The description shows that they specifically struck his face and head the palms of their hands and afterwards Messiah was led away to be killed.What we need to comprehend is that what took place on earth at that moment, was symbolic of what happened in heavenly realms. That is where the reality and sovereignty of God’s intervention took place concerning the fate of mankind. In truth, it was God who performed the Semikhah when He placed our sins on Jesus, ensuring that sins are gone, Semikhah was completed and those sins can never return!

 

MESSIANIC UNDERSTANDING

God gave this ceremony of the casting of lots during Yom Kippur to teach us how He will judge the nations of the world prior to the Messianic age known as the Millennium. The nations of the world will be judged according to how they treated the Jewish people. Those nations who mistreated the Jews will be goat nations and they will go into the left hand. Those nations that stood beside the Jewish people will be sheep nations and will enter into the Messianic kingdom or the Millennium. Matt. 25:31-46.
Jesus/Yeshua during His first coming was a type of the goat marked La Adonai. He was a sin offering to us as God laid upon Him the sins of the whole world (Is. 53:1-6; 1 Cor. 15:3; Gal. 1:3-4; Heb. 2:17; 1 Jn. 2:2; 4:10).

In the ceremony of the two goats, the two goats were considered as one offering. A crimson sash was tied around the horns of the goat marked Azazel.At the appropriate time, the goat was led to a steep cliff in the wilderness and pushed off the cliff.  Before there could be any sacrifice, there had to be a public presentation of the two goats before the people and the decision of which destiny would be for each goat. In the life of Messiah before his sacrificial death at Passover He too was presented before the people by pilate. For them to choose which man would live and which would die. With the goats only one could become the sacrifice, so Messiah had to be one of two lives presented to the people in order to be chosen as the sacrifice. According to the Yom Kippur decree and the requirements of the ceremony, the other life had to be let go and his name was Barabbas. Matt. 27:15–24

They had to be identical but how could that have been true? Barabbas was a sinner, bandit and murderer Jesus was sinless.

It’s all in the name.

Jesus our Messiah was also the Son of God, the Son of the Father and Barabbas name in Aramaic comes from two words. Bar which means Son and Abba which means father so therefore Barabbas means son of the father. The two men each bearing the same name son of the father. So the one who was the sacrifice and the one set free were identical in this way. Similarly, as we believe Jesus was the son of God, He was also equal to God; then it would follow that God in the flesh had to die in our place and have an equality in some way with us. (John14:9, If you have seen me you have seen the father.) He did become flesh in the form of a man, in the ‘likeness’ of sinful flesh and as such was ‘identical’ to fulfill the law.Bar Abba (Barabbas) was a symbol of the disobedient nation of Yisra’el, and he was released from prison even though he was guilty. But our Messiah, Jesus was killed in his place, because He became the scapegoat for Yisra’el!The definition for the word ‘scapegoat’ is ‘the innocent party who takes the blame for the guilty party.’ The nation of Israel/Yisra’el, (the firstborn son) was the guilty party, but the Father put on human flesh and became the Son (representing Israel/Yisra’el) by trading places with him! 

(This is where we get our idiom for a scapegoat, for the one who takes the blame.)

Messiah fulfilled the pattern of the twin goats on Yom Kippur and then he also fulfilled the role of the Kohen Gadowl (High Priest) that year when He read Is.61:1-2 in the synagogue (Lk. 4:19) declaring “the acceptable year of The Lord.”
We are not under the law of sin and death any more we are under the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Rom.8:2

Because of the sovereign purposes of the Lord, Israel has undergone a partial hardening until all of those whom God has called from among nations have been grafted in to the Olive tree of God. During this age of grace, those who were called not my people, are intended to provoke Israel to jealousy by means of the message. (Hos. 2:23) After the age of grace is complete all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:26) and the original covenant will be fully restored and redeemed. Yom Kippur will be a fulfilled festival on that great day. Then the words of the prophets will be proven true and God will be vindicated. Israel will be adorned with honor and blessing above all the nations of the earth and they will finally be home from their long exile.

The aspect of ‘hidden, covered, veiled.’ We see ‘Yom Kippur’ typology here with the concept of being ‘covered’ or ‘veiled.’ To this day, the Jewish people have nick-named this day of ‘Yom Kippur’ as ‘face-to-face’ because it was this one time per year when the High Priest would go into the Holy of Holies ‘behind the veil’ and come ‘face-to-face’ with The Lord!As the High Priest had to intercede on behalf of Israel/Yisra’el for her sins, if he had any sin for which he had not repented, he would die in the Holy of Holies! At the future Day of Atonement, the bride who sufficiently sanctifies herself or ‘afflicts’ and prepares herself will be able to come ‘face-to-face’ with the bridegroom. Likewise on that day when Jesus returns, the veil will be removed from her face and her heart (Israel) and she will ‘see’ her Messiah (2 Cor. 3:14-16). The scales will fall away from her eyes also as she will ‘look upon’ the one whom she pierced (Zech. 12:10).

In the future, during the ‘Ten Days of Awe’ between The Feast of Trumpets & the Day of Atonement, there will also be a ‘7-day’ wedding for the bride of Messiah.

Through Yeshua  the atonement has been made, not just for a year but forever; not just for Israel but for all who will believe.  We have been and will always be forgiven by God’s grace through faith. Jesus is not still on the cross however 
because of Jesus who is the heart and prophetic fulfillment of every one of God’s holy days. These are His feasts, the feasts of the Lord. Because God chose Israel to be His witness to the rest of the world, the celebrations commemorate events in Israel’s history.  Through them God revealed His character and His plan of redemption through Jesus.

So the Feasts are continual reminders of God’s faithfulness and goodness.  They connect us together as a community and are anchors of our souls.

The ultimate fulfillment of the year of Jubilee will take place at the second coming of Messiah.The earth will be redeemed and come into full and complete rest from the curse brought upon it by Adam’s sin. Complete restoration of man’s lost inheritance will take place. God’s people will be totally set free — set at liberty, from all sin, sickness and disease, death, and the curse. Satan (Ha satan), the source of all these things, will be bound and true rest, true shalom will be realized. The tabernacle of God will be with men and He will dwell with them (Rev.21:1-4). So, the day of Atonement speaks of the fullness of the redemptive plan of God for man.We do well to remember, liberty and freedom are NEVER really free.

Somewhere – sometime – someone...

has ALWAYS paid the price for that freedom. It would behoove us to count the cost now, today – for there will be no avoiding the inevitable day of reckoning.