"He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain....He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it....When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place,..he shall bring forward the live goat. He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites--all their sins--and put them on the goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness...." (Leviticus 16, NIV, The Biblical Yom Kippur)
Man has been trying to save himself ever since the, "fig leaves." The "styles" have changed over the centuries, but nothing we can do can ever cover our naked sin before the Living Triune God. Today's text, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, is God's answer to the sin problem.
Today is the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, on the Jewish calendar. One Jewish writer says this about the day: "....I mentioned the 'books' in which G_d inscribes all of our names. On Yom Kippur, the judgement entered in these books is sealed. This day is, essentially, your last appeal, your last chance to change the judgment, to demonstrate your repentance and make amends." Another writer says, "According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a book, the Book of Life, on Rosh Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to 'seal' the verdict....At the end of Yom Kippur, one hopes that they have been forgiven by God."
The Word of God's response to such reasoning is found in Romans 10. "Brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes."
Hebrews 13 gives us even more insight concerning Yom Kippur. "The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through His own blood. Let us, then, go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-- the fruit of lips that openly profess His name."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You beyond words for the Day of days in history when "Jesus paid it all." May I ever, "openly profess His name." Amen.
Man has been trying to save himself ever since the, "fig leaves." The "styles" have changed over the centuries, but nothing we can do can ever cover our naked sin before the Living Triune God. Today's text, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, is God's answer to the sin problem.
Today is the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, on the Jewish calendar. One Jewish writer says this about the day: "....I mentioned the 'books' in which G_d inscribes all of our names. On Yom Kippur, the judgement entered in these books is sealed. This day is, essentially, your last appeal, your last chance to change the judgment, to demonstrate your repentance and make amends." Another writer says, "According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a book, the Book of Life, on Rosh Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to 'seal' the verdict....At the end of Yom Kippur, one hopes that they have been forgiven by God."
The Word of God's response to such reasoning is found in Romans 10. "Brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes."
Hebrews 13 gives us even more insight concerning Yom Kippur. "The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through His own blood. Let us, then, go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-- the fruit of lips that openly profess His name."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You beyond words for the Day of days in history when "Jesus paid it all." May I ever, "openly profess His name." Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
