Yom Kippur, is considered by Jews as the holiest day of the year called “Yom ha kodesh (the holy day). This year, it began Friday the 11th at sundown and continued through an hour after sundown on Saturday. Yom Kippur is the climax of the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur called the “Days of Awe.” It is a time of prayer and fasting, a day to focus on the Lord and our need to get right with Him. And it is the only time God had commanded a fast. The biblical name for Day of Atonement, is Yom Kippurim, meaning “day of coverings, atonement, pardons, and reconciling.” We, too, can benefit from observing this time of reflection, repentance, and reconciliation with God even though Christ died for our sins.
Yom Kippur was the one time of the year that the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies, speak the Name of YHVH, and offer the blood sacrifice upon the Kapporet (ark cover). It is a day that provides prophetic insight into the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), and His High-Priestly service in offering His own blood on our behalf, as said in Hebrews 8:12, “…he entered the Holiest place once and for all. And he entered by means of his own blood, thus setting people free forever.” That was part one of God’s redemption plan, the true Day of Atonement. Part two will be the cleansing of ethnic Israel during Yom ADONAI, the Day of the LORD at the end of days.
Romans 3:25 says, that Jesus is the propitiation or atonement, (in Hebrew, kapporah), “God put Jesus forward as the kapparah for sin through his faithfulness in respect to His bloody sacrificial death.” The meaning of kapporah is “atonement,” and that makes us “at-one-ment” with God, because of His love. 1 John 4:10 says, “Here is what love is: not that we have loved God, but he has loved us and sent his Son to be the kapporah for our sins.” Jesus, the Lamb of God and our Great High Priest, fulfilled God’s plan by offering His blood on the cross and “covering, atoning, pardoning, and reconciling” our sin to the Father. To Him be the glory forever and ever!
In these days of great uncertainty, wars and rumors of wars, and people running to and fro believing what they want to believe, the challenge for followers of Christ and lovers of God is to remain steadfast and set apart, holy, unto the LORD. Yes, Christ covered our sins with His blood sacrifice that we may have eternal life. But, as the Apostle Paul writes, we cannot use that as an excuse to do what we want irrespective of what we know is right. Additionally, we must be able to discern the times so we do not stray from alignment with God. While Christians are not required to observe Yom Kippur, it is good that we understand our relationship with the LORD, keep close, and often have a time of reflection and reconciliation with our Father in Heaven.
