2 for a tabernacle was prepared, the first, in which was both the lamp-stand, and the table, and the bread of the presence — which is called ‘Holy;’ 3 and after the second vail a tabernacle that is called ‘Holy of holies,’ 4 having a golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid all round about with gold, in which [is] the golden pot having the manna, and the rod of Aaron that budded, and the tables of the covenant, 5 and over it cherubim of the glory, overshadowing the mercy-seat, concerning which we are not now to speak particularly. 6 And these things having been thus prepared, into the first tabernacle, indeed, at all times the priests do go in, performing the services, 7 and into the second, once in the year, only the chief priest, not apart from blood, which he doth offer for himself and the errors of the people, 8 the Holy Spirit this evidencing that not yet hath been manifested the way of the holy [places], the first tabernacle having yet a standing; 9 which [is] a simile in regard to the present time, in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered, which are not able, in regard to conscience, to make perfect him who is serving, 10 only in victuals, and drinks, and different baptisms, and fleshly ordinances — till the time of reformation imposed upon [them] 11 And Christ being come, chief priest of the coming good things, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands — that is, not of this creation — 12 neither through blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, did enter in once into the holy places, age-during redemption having obtained; 13 for if the blood of bulls, and goats, and ashes of an heifer, sprinkling those defiled, doth sanctify to the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of the Christ (who through the age-during Spirit did offer himself unblemished to God) purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
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, and what good would such atonement be if we lost our lives in the process. Adonai’s justice might be satisfied but His mercy would go unfulfilled.
On this day the holiest of all holy days, the day of the Atonements, is always on the 10th day of the 7th month, Yom haKipuriym is a Shabbat shabaton, a day to stop from all kinds of work and to rest completely. This day occurs only once a year and the observance begins the previous evening. Unlike the other feasts the main focus of this one is to deny oneself or afflict ones soul. As the high priest performs the atonements for himself, the altar, the tabernacle and the whole community of Israel, the people participate through their non participation because not only are the people not allowed to come near the holy place on this day but we are to deny our own existence. We are to stop ‘being’ on this day by not even satisfying basic needs e.g. food and drink.
The haCohen haGadol is expected to do this, to make atonement for the sins of the people through the shedding of innocent blood. Yet no matter what he does, no matter how much life in the blood, that he can withdraw from the sacrificed bodies of the innocent animals; the flow will eventually stop and it will never ever be enough. The Only One who can sympathize with our weaknesses, yet is apart from sin, (4:15), is the Messiah Yeshua/Jesus. He has come as our 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. Justice is satisfied and mercy fulfilled once and for all. In Messiah there will always be enough atoning blood.
We are to humble ourselves on remembering Messiah, the day when He denied Himself for us; it is an appointed time when we are to deny ourselves and remember what He did that we can never accomplish on our own. He has placed His Blood on the mercy seat.
The mercy seat was the ornate “lid/covering”, the kapporet, for the ark of the covenant, made with the designs of cherubim upon it. The blood of sacrifice was sprinkled upon it for the forgiveness of Israel’s sin on the Day of Atonement (Exodus 25:17-22).
As our Heavenly Father looked down into the ark, He saw the symbols of Israel’s sin, rebellion and failure, but when the blood of sacrifice was applied to that kapporet/mercy seat, the blood of the sacrifice covered the sin of Israel from His sight.
This is how He can look upon each of us in our sinful flesh, He sees the Blood of His Son Jesus/Yeshua which covers us and our sin.
The priests always went into the first area of the tabernacle, to perform the services as appointed, they went daily into the holy place to tend the menorah/lamp stand and replace the showbread.
The second part of the Tabernacle/Mishkan and later the Temple in Jerusalem/Yerushalayim before it was destroyed in 70A.D. is sometimes knows as the “holy of holies”. This area was entered only once a year by the high priest alone, on the Day of Atonement.
His entrance into the Holy of Holies was not for fellowship or to speak with the Father, but only for the purpose of atonement, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people.
These sins of ignorance, were the specific aim of the Day of Atonement. It was assumed that individuals known sin would be taken care of through the regular sin offerings and the daily sacrifices.
We should remember that in this respect, Messiahs’ work is far greater than the work done on the Day of Atonement, because His sacrifice on the cross is sufficient to atone for both the sins we do in ignorance and sins that we know of.
In verse 10 The Way into the Holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing, the old had to pass away before our Heavenly Father’s new Way could be revealed.
As believers we are cleansed, including our consciences, however this is not so we can live unto ourselves but rather to serve the living God. The Greek word translated serve here is latreuo, which speaks of ceremonial, priestly service.
We should keep in mind that from now on we are to ‘serve the living God’; the kind of service meant here is not that of a slave or servant to his master, but a worshipful service such as priests give unto the Lord God. We that have been redeemed and sanctified by Messiah are to offer to Him the worship of a royal priesthood, presenting prayers, thanksgivings, acceptable to Him.
Like Pesach, YomhaKipuriym finds fulfillment in our Messiah Yeshua/Jesus. As both our High Priest and our sacrifice, He atoned for us once and for all and is continually making intercession for us before our Heavenly 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 forever.
Our self denial on this day therefore does not cause, help or improve our atonement but allows us to become very aware of our own mortality, our sin and our need for atonement. At the same time it causes us to think on and appreciate on some tiny level the sacrifice that Messiah made as He denied His own life on our behalf.
The sanctity and holiness of this day cannot be overstated and though we may find great joy in our eternal atonement in the Messiah Yeshua/Jesus, this is a day for remembering that atonement in such a way that will be very hard to forget. We are to be thoughtful, repentant, humble and die to ourselves. On Yom Kippur/ Kipuriym we are to remember that we live and breathe only because the Father so chooses and that by His choice He has the power to take it away as well.
These are the themes we are to keep in the forefront of our minds because without the sacrifice of Jesus/Yeshua we are truly dead; but through Messiahs atoning blood and His intercession, we are truly alive forevermore. As ardent, faithful followers of the Way, each and every day should be a day when we remember how we are saved, sanctified, redeemed and forgiven; not one should pass without our grateful, hearts releasing praises filled with thanksgiving to the One to Whom we owe everything.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
We are now part of the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands Yeshua/Jesus, as our High Priest, ministers in a superior sanctuary, the very throne room in the Heavenlies.
Links below for earlier posts containing more details on this subject:
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. Amen.
You must be logged in to post a comment.