Jesus in the Old Testament 014: Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement

Jesus in the Old Testament 014:

Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement

Thesis:  In God’s economy of dealing with sin, there is a sense in which sins of the repentant are rolled back to a future point of reckoning.  Proximally, that day of account is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  Even this day, though, only pre-figures the ultimate reckoning of sin in the atonement of Christ. 

 

Nutshell w/Kids:

1. What happens when you sin? (God is angry, we have a problem, etc.)
2. When you confess your sin and ask God to forgive you, what happens to your sins? (They are gone, they go away).
3. The Jewish concept of sins being a spiritual object that has to be done away with.
4. The Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur celebrated that God forgave sin and did away with it.
1. Two goats
2. Jesus is the fulfillment of this.
5. Names of the righteous written in the book of life and sealed.
6. If you have asked Jesus to forgive you, your name is in the book of life as well.
7. Set up crafts.

Deeper w/adults:

1. OT teaching
1. Lev 16:
1. The 10th day of the month, following “ten days of awe” or “ten days of repentance.”
2. The cumulative effect of the sacrifices throughout the year is to roll the sins back to this day when they are judged by God.
3. All sins, known and unknown can be forgiven (vs 30). 
4. Involves confession and repentance (vs 21)
5. Sins’ effect on the priest and temple/tabernacle is ceremonially removed.

a)    God’s sanctuary is profaned by the sins of the people, even though they don’t commit them in the sanctuary.

(1)  Lev 20:3

(2)  2Ch 36:14

b)    When individuals sacrifice for their sins, they are forgiven of them, but the sanctuary is defiled (Lev 4:31, 35; 5:6, 10, 13;12:6-8)

c)    The sanctuary and the priests become repositories of repented sins (Lev 4; Lev 10) and need to have those sins that have been stored up dealt with.

d)    The record of sins does not go away, but the sins are transferred from man’s account to God’s. “Books”

(1)  Ex 32:32-33

(2)  Ezek 13:9

(3)  Dan 7:10; 12:1

(4)  Rev 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27

e)    God accepts the duty of dealing with repented sins by “storing” them in the sanctuary.

f)     The priest must first make atonement for his own sins, then the sins of the temple/tabernacle, then the sins of the people.

g)    It’s about getting the filth out.

(1)  Scapegoat.

(2)  Portions of the bull not used in sacrifice are to be burned outside the camp.

(3)  Lots of requirements for bathing clothes and bodies.

6. Very careful prescriptions about what to do.

a)    The garments for service in the sanctuary don’t leave the sanctuary.

b)    They are not to be worn for service outside.

c)    Sprinkled on the altar 7 times. Completion. 

7. The veil and the cloud of incense hide the glory of God

a)    Fear of inappropriately approaching the presence of God

(1)  Lev 10:1-3

(2)  Ex 33:20

b)    bells and rope by Christ’s time.

8. Two goats (vs 7-10). Very important!

a)    Certain sins are paid for by the first goat.

b)    Certain sins are sent away from the presence of God unatoned for.

(1)  Azazel another name for Satan?

(2)  A compound word for “goat” and “going away.” Better. Scapegoat.

c)    God’s judgments are revealed.  His forgiving some sins and sending the others away is visible, able to be witnessed (Rom 3:21-26; Rev 15:5-8)

2. Lev 23:26-32:
1. No work.
2. Not a feast.  A fast. “Afflict yourselves.”

a)    The only day of fasting prescribed in scripture.  “The great fast.” or simply “The fast” (Acts 27:9 ESV, NASB)

b)    God is judging sin. Be somber.

c)    It’s not because of anything the people have done that God chooses to judge goats rather than them. 

3. Penalties for abusing this day are severe:

a)    If you do not fast=cut off from the people.

b)    If you work=killed.

4. Reinforces the Jewish day, from evening to evening.
2. Atonement on a yearly basis points toward the final judgment of sin at the end of the age.
1. Daniel 7:9-14
2. Daniel 12:1-4
1. Christological Fulfillment
1. Repentance and confession are preludes to the efficacy of Christ’s forgiveness in a person’s life: 1Jn 1:9; Rom 10:9-10
2. Sins rolled back throughout the ages until Christ’s sacrifice: Rom 3:23-26, Hebrews 10:1-4.
1. Pronouncements of forgiveness happen 20 times in Leviticus, but they are about transferring the debt of the sin away from the repentant and into “God’s books.”
2. Jewish believers hoped to have their names sealed in the book of life, which is alluded to in Eph 1:13
3. The Day of Atonement every year pointed to the final forgiveness and judgment of sin, which happened (is happening) in two stages.
3. The earthly priest and tabernacle/temple are shadows of the heavenly reality.  (Heb 8:2-5; 9:11-12, 20-24; Rev 7:15)
1. Christ became a curse for us Gal 3:13; 1Pe 2:24; Isa 53:4;
2. Heaven purified: Heb 9:19-28, esp vs23
3. Christ the perfect High Priest for our ministry: Heb 10:11-14
4. The “Books” are managed by Christ (Rev 3:5)
4. Christ laid aside his high-priestly garments (glory) when he left the Holy Place (heaven) and walked among us.
1. Phil 2:7
2. John 17:4,5
3. Took them up again: Rev 1:17, Heb 8:1; 12:2
5. Very precise instructions: Matthew 7:13-14; John 14:6; Acts 4:12
1. There is only one way that this “works.” 
2. No deviation is permissible Gal 1:8
6. Major difference: intimacy!
1. Before, the act of worship (incense) obscured the view of God’s presence. 

a)    Veil

b)    Smoke

c)    One man only; one day only

2. Now, we may enter into the presence of God boldly

a)    Torn veil, Matt 27:51

b)    Eph 3:12

c)    Heb 4:16

d)    Heb 10:19-24

7. Two goats!
1. We are currently between “goat 1” and “goat 2.”
2. Christ’s sacrifice for the atonement of repented sin is complete (Heb 10).
3. Currently, he is in glory, ministering on our behalf, waiting for the completion of those who will come into the body (and therefore participate in the forgiveness he wrought with his blood).

a)    Heb 1:13; 10:12-15;

b)    1Cor 15:26

4. His judgment of unrepentant sin and the banishment of it to Hell is yet in our future (Rev 20). At this time will the final body of Christ (Messianic-believing Jew, Church-age Christian, Tribulation Saint, and Millennial-kingdom believer) be complete.  At this point, will the full day of Atonement picture be fulfilled.

a)    There will be a time with the “second goat,” unrepented sin, is sent away from God’s presence, into Hell.

b)    Then, Atonement is complete, and the “task” of Christ to redeem the world will be accomplished.

c)    At this point, the Father is free to re-create the cosmos without the presence of sin (Rev 21-22).

d)    Just as the sacrifices of Atonement are visible and in the open, so are the final judgments of God something that all the world will see.

8. Our responses to the vision of judgment:
1. Be somber and grateful that it does not fall on us (Rev 8:1; Heb 10:31)
2. If you do not repent, your sins are not forgiven (1Jn 1:9)
3. Rest in the grace of God.  Don’t work! Rom 4:4-8; Rom 6:23
4. Worshipping God during and because of his judgments, as examples of his righteousness and justice, is modeled in heaven. Rev 19:1-5

Discussion Questions:

1. This holiday is about the fact that God will judge sin.  How does the sacrifice to cleanse from sin (goat 1) remind you of Jesus?
2. How does the scapegoat that carries sin away point us to Jesus as well?
3. The Bible teaches about the “books” of judgment that God keeps for all the sins of people who have not asked for forgiveness.  It also teaches about the “book of life” that keeps the names of those who are forgiven.  Which book(s) applies to you?
4. Those people whose names are written in the book of life are sealed.  What does this mean?  How does it change the way you live, knowing that your name is sealed in the book?