A Day To Atone | Yom Kippur in Israel

Shabbat Shalom and a blessed Yom Kippur to our friends.

As Israel is preparing for another weekly Sabbath, a time for peace, rest, and worship for every person, family, and for the entire nation, we are also nearing our annual Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement observance.

Commanded by Moses soon after our exodus from Egypt, the Day of Atonement is the sixth of the seven Feasts of the Lord. It comes between the Feast of Trumpets, our great “call for attention and contemplation,” and the Feast of Tabernacles which is Israel’s seventh, longest and happiest of all our Feasts, pointing to the blessed celebration of Messiah’s kingdom on earth at the end of the age.

Yet, the “Happy Ending” we find in the prophetic meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles cannot come before God’s people experience and observe the solemn and great Day of Atonement first, when one perfect sacrificial animal has to be offered in a dramatic and single service to God in order to atone for the sins of the entire nation for the whole past year!

No other nation or religion on earth was given such a dramatic and vivid display, reminding the people each year, perpetually, that their sins MUST be atoned for by a perfect sacrifice BEFORE they can enter the fullness of God’s blessings as portrayed in the Feast of Tabernacles.

As it is written, “... But now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Messiah was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” Hebrews 9:26-28.

Grace and peace be upon you and yours as we pass, together, through this important season.

From your Sar-El team,