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 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

THE DAY OF ATONEMENT (LEVITICUS 23:26-32)

The people of Israel were instructed to observe the Day of Atonement. 

REFLECTION 

The day of atonement is the theme for our reflection.  Atonement in the Old Testament refers to rituals needed to be performed so that a person will be purified or cleansed from his or her sins. We see the strict observance and importance of the day of Atonement through the instructions given to the Israelites through Moses. The instruction on Atonement in Leviticus 23:26-32 is only a repetition of the same instruction given elaborately in Leviticus 16: 1-34. The significance of the Atonement is captured in Leviticus 16:29-30, 34, “And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you.  For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the LORD from all your sins…And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” And Aaron did as the LORD commanded Moses.” 

The key instructions and warning found in Leviticus 23 which were not clearly stated in Leviticus 16 are the punishments for disobeying the instructions given on the day of Atonement. The punishments are stated in Leviticus 23:29-30  “For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people. And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people.” This communicates to us the seriousness God attaches to sin, purification and holiness. Sin separated the Israelites from God, to show their eagerness to repent they must afflict themselves. Afflicting themselves means fasting and focusing on their relationship with God even as they plead with Him to cleanse them and make them whole again through their sacrifices and offerings. The day and activity of Atonement are soo important that no other work is expected to be done except being in the presence of God for a renewal and a revival. 

My dear friend our day of Atonement as beneficiaries of the New Covenant was when Christ suffered and died on the cross on our behalf. Good Friday (Easter) is the commemoration of our day of Atonement.  Jesus came to save us from the rigours of the law, indeed our forefathers were unable to accomplish the demands of the law of Atonement hence some died to sin but “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)  Beloved in the Lord, Jesus has fulfilled the requirement of the day of Atonement on your behalf  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:9-10) We are again assured in Romans 8:1-4  that  “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Remember that Jesus is the only Atonement requirement needed for Salvation therefore “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:18). Shalom. 

PRAYER 

MERCIFUL GOD, STRENGTHEN OUR FAITH IN  JESUS CHRIST WHO IS OUR ONLY REQUIREMENT AND GIFT OF ATONEMENT SO THAT WE SHALL CONTINUALLY LIVE IN HIM, IMITATE HIM AND FOREVER REMAIN JUSTIFIED FOR ETERNAL LIFE. AMEN.

Jean-Paul Agidi (Rev)