Sabbath Sanctuary: The Days of Awe: Awe and Wonder

Rosh Hashanah commenced the New Year—literally the head of the year. It is a fresh start, a brand new year. It also is the beginning of the Days of Awe, (Yamim Noraim), or the Days of Repentance, which will culminate on Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement.  It is a season of chronos, interrupted by a kairos—an appointed time. Jews worship in the synagogue, and break bread with loved ones—at home and within the community of faith. 

The Days of Awe are filled with wonder and worship. They are days for self-reflection, fasting, and prayer; they are solemn days. The Yamim Noraim are meant to set the tone for the coming year. Traditionally, this is a time of reconciliation with others. Reconciliation and Reflection.

Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering {Matt. 5:23-24}.

So that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless {Eph. 5:26-27}.

But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world {1 Cor. 11:31-32}.

Our heart should be drawn to the Lord in worship; worshiping Him in spirit and truth {see John 4:24}. We should stand in awe of Him and all that He has done for us, and all that He is going to do. He is Amazing. He is Awesome. He is Wonderful. He is Magnificent. He is Holy. This is awe.

YHWH (Yahweh) is God’s sacred covenant Name. Adonai and Elohim were heard among the nations, but Yahweh is the name unique to His people; by this Name God identified Himself with His people. He desires to dwell with His people. The Creator of the universe desires to make His abode in our hearts. I am brought alive by this, and it should stir in us the Awe and Wonder that He deserves—He wants to be with us. He loves us that much.

Yom Kippur is approaching next week, though I don’t keep the Jewish festival of The Days of Awe, I feel a nudging in my heart to spend this week in self-reflection, fasting, and prayer. I will search my heart: “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” {Heb. 12:1-2}.

I pray for a revival to restore the Awe of God to His beloved, precious, blood bought Church, and that His people would come alive with Awe and Wonder at the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. I pray His Word would come alive in the hearts of His people, afresh and new. That our eyes will be opened and our hearts awakened again by His Word.

They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us? {Luke 24:32}.  

Yahweh, I want to be in awe of You. I want to fall in love with You and Your Word. I pray that it wash and cleanse me of all that breaks Your heart. Open the eyes of our hearts Adonai, to all that Your Word reveals about You. Let us be in awe of You again. 

Rest this Sabbath in Reconciliation, Reflection, Awe and Wonder. 

to read about the Feasts of the Lord click here

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The God of Second Chances: The Day of Atonement

picture rights: © 2013 Piper Green

 

On that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. Lev. 16:30

So Christ also having been once offered to bear the sins of many shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him unto salvation. Heb. 9:28

I love the Jewish feasts, Jesus celebrated the feasts, and each one is a beautiful illustration of the person of Jesus Christ. The feasts are not just Jewish holidays; Leviticus refers to them as God’s appointed days. For Christians, Jesus fulfilled the feasts for us. Now we can celebrate them with our focus on the atonement of Christ. But it does not end there; every event in Jesus’ life, beginning with His birth, through His ministry, and with His death and resurrection—all occurred on a festival of Israel—God’s appointed time. Many scholars argue that events yet to be fulfilled will coincide with the feasts of Israel. 

On the Day of Atonement, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies to offer a sacrifice on behalf of the sins of Israel. Jesus Christ is our High Priest and was the perfect sacrifice for our sin, illustrated in the liturgy of the Day of Atonement; the first offering was a sin-offering and a burnt-offering for Aaron and his house. Then two goats for a sin offering and a ram for the burnt-offering for the congregation.

On the Day of Atonement, there were certain requirements of the high priest and the people. First, it was a day of humiliation for the priest. The priest was required to put off all his priestly garments of glory. Jesus, the King of Glory, laid aside the garments of His glory and left them with the Father; from the foundation of the world; to redeem the world. Jesus’ humiliation on that day cries to us still through His Passion in the Scriptures.

On the Day of Atonement, two goats were brought; their fate decided by the priest’s lots. The Lord’s lot would determine which goat would die for the sins of the nation. The other— the scapegoat. Aaron the high priest would lay his hand upon the scapegoat and send it into exile in the wilderness or Azazel; representing the people’s sin lost in the wilderness—to be remembered no longer. The act of killing the goat, laid the judgment of death upon it—it represented the people’s sin.

The casting of the lots to determine the scapegoat is displayed on the world’s stage between two men; Jesus and Barabbas. Their fate lies in the judgment of the people—who will die and who will escape…the scapegoat. The people’s voice was heard that day in Pilate’s court—choosing a brutal murder to escape forever—laying the sin of the people on Jesus. Jesus would be the sacrifice the Lord’s lot fell upon that day—fulfilling the atonement offering.

Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish. John 11:50 ESV

The word atonement is used in the book of Leviticus forty-eight times, and it means covering. The blood offering was sprinkled on the mercy seat once and before it seven times. The high priest placed incense of the altar before the mercy seat and a sweet cloud covered the mercy seat. The blood and the cloud of incense covered the mercy seat and this illustrated the work and worth of our precious Lord Jesus Christ—His blood causes the believer to be drawn near to Him.

This beautiful prose is part of the liturgy for Yom Kippur; a precious prayer of repentance:

We have become guilty, we have betrayed, we have robbed, we have spoken slander. We have caused perversion, we have caused wickedness, we have sinned willfully, we have extorted, we have accused falsely. We have given evil counsel, we have been deceitful, we have scorned, we have rebelled, we have provoked, we have turned away, we have been perverse, we have acted wantonly, we have persecuted, we have been obstinate. We have been wicked, we have corrupted, we have been abominable, we have strayed, you have let us go astray (Artscroll, 777).

The story of Jonah is recited on this night of atonement, revealing the God of second chances. Jesus fulfilled the sin offering for us, and absorbed God’s wrath.

I pray this inspires Christians to meditate on this Day of Atonement, of Christ and His sacrifice for and instead of each one of us.

May God bless you on this, the Day of Atonement—He is the God of second chances…

May you be inscribed in the book of life...

Shalom,
Piper