Day of Atonement
Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement is God’s sixth festival. It is the last day of the High Holy Days. The Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25:9 began with a trumpet blast at the end of Yom Kippur. So, its future, prophetic fulfillment will be significant. At the end of a future Yom Kippur, God blows the Great Trumpet or Shofar of Isaiah 27:13. He gathers the exiles of Israel from the nations to worship in Jerusalem.
This chapter in the Feast Book describes the awesome garments of the High Priest, his terrifying entry into the Holy of Holies, and every responsibility that lay on his shoulders on this day. It magnifies the work of God’s Great High Priest, Jesus or Yeshua. Readers will be touched by the soulful description of the five Yom Kippur services in the synagogue today. This chapter includes a biblical guide for repenting and fasting, along with menus and recipes for before and after the fast.
In Bible days, Yom Kippur was a day of fasting and solemn sacrifices at the Temple followed by a moonlit dance in the vineyards. You can almost hear the ancient voices of the young ladies who donned white dresses to dance in the vineyards after Yom Kippur, and the boisterous laughter of the young men who grabbed them for wives.
In Scripture
26 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 27 ”Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the LORD. 28 And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. 29 For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people. 30 And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31 You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 32 It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath.” —Leviticus 23:26-32 [ESV]