The Day of Atonement

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

On the tenth day of the seventh month of Tishri, the Israelites were to celebrate the Day of Atonement, the most holy day of the year. The full details concerning this annual ritual can be found back in Leviticus 16.

“On the tenth day of the appointed month in early autumn, you must deny yourselves. Neither native-born Israelites nor foreigners living among you may do any kind of work. This is a permanent law for you. 30 On that day offerings of purification will be made for you, and you will be purified in the Lord’s presence from all your sins. It will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. This is a permanent law for you. In future generations, the purification ceremony will be performed by the priest who has been anointed and ordained to serve as high priest in place of his ancestor Aaron. He will put on the holy linen garments and purify the Most Holy Place, the Tabernacle, the altar, the priests, and the entire congregation. This is a permanent law for you, to purify the people of Israel from their sins, making them right with the Lord once each year.” – Leviticus 16:29-34 NLT

This was to be a day marked by affliction. The Hebrew phrase (וְעִנִּיתֶם אֶת נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם) found in verse 27 of chapter 23 can be translated as “you shall afflict your souls.” This has traditionally been interpreted as a reference to fasting or self-denial. In preparation for their atonement, the Israelites were expected to go through a period of fasting from the pleasures of this life. But there is probably more to this command than a prohibition against eating food. While fasting was probably part of the ritual, there was also an aspect that included a humbling or affliction of the soul. God expected His people to come before Him with what David described as “a broken and contrite heart” (Psalm 51:17 ESV). Fasting was intended to reflect the inner state of the supplicant’s heart. It was to be a sign of contrition and a willful act of self-denial that acknowledged one’s sinful state.

In the book of Isaiah, God levels a powerful indictment against His people for their false displays of humility that included plenty of fasting but lacked true brokenness of heart.

“Cry aloud; do not hold back;
    lift up your voice like a trumpet;
declare to my people their transgression,
    to the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet they seek me daily
    and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
    and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
    they delight to draw near to God.
‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
    Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,
    and oppress all your workers.” – Isaiah 58:1-3 ESV

This passage, unlike Leviticus 16, spends no time detailing all the various sacrifices and religious protocols that were required as part of the Day of Atonement. The emphasis is not on the rituals but on the state of the peoples’ hearts. Notice how many times God stresses their need to “afflict” themselves.

“…you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the Lord.” – vs 28

“…whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people.” – vs 29

“It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves.” – vs 32

Long before any animals were sacrificed or any offerings were presented to God, they were expected to cease all work, deny themselves all physical pleasures, and come before the Lord in a penitent and humble state, placing themselves at His mercy. While the people could receive atonement for their sins at any time during the year, the Day of Atonement was intended to be a time of corporate cleansing when the sins of the entire nation were completely purged and their relationship with Yahweh was restored. Any sins that had been overlooked, forgotten, or remained undetected would be taken care of once and for all.

But this gracious day of corporate atonement was not to be entered into lightly. God expected His people to take their sins seriously and to treat His gift of atonement with the proper reverence it deserved. That is why God demanded that they mark this day with a period of personal “affliction.” The Hebrew word means “to afflict, punish, treat harshly.” It is likely that fasting from food was included but, as stated earlier, this self-denial probably included abstinence from all the normal pleasures of daily life that were incompatible with repentance. Many of the very things that God had given them to enjoy in this life had become distractions or had even led them into sin. They were guilty of allowing the blessings of God to become substitutes for Him, placing more hope in the pleasures of this life than in the One who gave them life.

The apostle Paul aptly describes this love affair with the things of this earth.

Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. – Philippians 3:19 NLT

As Paul put it in his letter to his young protege, Timothy, such people can easily become “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:4 ESV). So, God demanded that the people of Israel deny themselves all those things that had contributed to their disobedience and unfaithfulness. It would have been easy for the people to simply show up and expect the priests to do all the work. After all, there was nothing they could do to earn their atonement. As the author of Hebrews makes clear, “under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22 ESV).

Yet, God was not willing to let His people simply go through the motions. He despised all pretense and false displays of piety. He longed for His people to come before Him with their hearts broken over their rebellion against Him. That’s why He had His prophet Isaiah declare His dissatisfaction with the peoples’ insincere and meaningless sacrifices.

“What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?”
    says the Lord.
“I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams
    and the fat of fattened cattle.
I get no pleasure from the blood
    of bulls and lambs and goats.
When you come to worship me,
    who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?
Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;
    the incense of your offerings disgusts me!
As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath
    and your special days for fasting—
they are all sinful and false.
    I want no more of your pious meetings.” – Isaiah 1:11-13 NLT

And God had Isaiah deliver a stern warning to the recalcitrant and unrepentant people of Israel.

“Wash yourselves and be clean!
    Get your sins out of my sight.
    Give up your evil ways.” – Isaiah 1:16 NLT

God was willing to provide atonement for the sins of His people, but He expected them to understand why atonement was necessary. Without an acknowledgment of their sins, the sacrifices would be meaningless. That is why the apostle John stressed the need for confession.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9 ESV

An unrepentant people cannot expect to have their sins atoned for. That powerful statement from the pen of John is bookended by two other important points of clarification.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. – 1 John 1:8 ESV

If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. – 1 John 1:10 ESV

To deny the presence of sin in our lives or to stubbornly defend our innocence in the face of His glaring indictments is the epitome of pride and arrogance. God demands that we own up to our guilt and acknowledge His right to mete out justice. It would be ludicrous for His sin-soaked people to enter His presence with any sense of pride or expectation of having deserved His favor. As the prophet Isaiah makes so painfully clear, no one has the right to stand before the Lord with a sense of entitlement.

We are constant sinners;
    how can people like us be saved?
We are all infected and impure with sin.
    When we display our righteous deeds,
    they are nothing but filthy rags.
Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall,
    and our sins sweep us away like the wind. – Isaiah 64:5-6 NLT

So, God called His people to repentance. His atonement was available but only if their hearts were in the right place. In the opening chapter of the book of Isaiah, God declares His willingness to forgive, cleanse, and restore His rebellious people. But it required their repentance, confession, and contrition.

“Come now, let’s settle this,”
    says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
    I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson,
    I will make them as white as wool.
If you will only obey me,
    you will have plenty to eat.
But if you turn away and refuse to listen,
    you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies.
    I, the Lord, have spoken!” – Isaiah 1:18-20 NLT

Ultimately, the shedding of blood was necessary for their atonement to be effective. Their repentance had to be followed by the death of an innocent and unblemished animal that served as their substitute, dying in their place and taking on itself the judgment they deserved. Only then could their sins be forgiven and their relationship with God be fully restored. But this one day on the Hebrew calendar was to begin with a display of personal affliction that demonstrated an awareness of their desperate need for God’s mercy, grace, and undeserved atonement.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Sacrifice Without Sorrow.

Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
    look and take note!
Search her squares to see
    if you can find a man,
one who does justice
    and seeks truth,
that I may pardon her.
Though they say, “As the Lord lives,”
    yet they swear falsely.
O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?
You have struck them down,
    but they felt no anguish;
you have consumed them,
    but they refused to take correction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
    they have refused to repent.

Then I said, “These are only the poor;
    they have no sense;
for they do not know the way of the Lord,
    the justice of their God.
I will go to the great
    and will speak to them,
for they know the way of the Lord,
    the justice of their God.”
But they all alike had broken the yoke;
    they had burst the bonds.

Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down;
    a wolf from the desert shall devastate them.
A leopard is watching their cities;
    everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,
because their transgressions are many,
    their apostasies are great. – Jeremiah 5:1-6 ESV

In order to prove to Jeremiah just how bad things had gotten and to justify the need forthe coming judgment, God gives him a challenge. He tells the prophet to run through the streets of Jerusalem and see if he can find a solitary individual who does justice and seeks truth. Just one man. That’s all Jeremiah had to find. But God warns Jeremiah not to be deceived. They will try to convince Jeremiah that they are God-fearers, but God tells him, “But even when they are under oath, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ they are still telling lies!” (Jeremiah 5:2 NLT). They’ll say and do anything to get out of the disaster headed their way, even swear on a stack of Bibles. But God told Jeremiah not to believe them, because He knew their hearts. This is reminiscent of Abraham’s conversation with God when it had been revealed that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were to be destroyed because of their unchecked immorality. Abraham knew that his nephew Lot and his family were living in Sodom, so he tried to beg God not to destroy the cities. He started out asking God to spare the cities if there were at least 50 righteous people living in them. And God said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake” (Genesis 18:26 ESV). Then Abraham, seemingly knowing that the likelihood of finding that many righteous individuals in the two cities was unlikely, began to bargain with God until he got the number down to ten. And God responded, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it” (Genesis 18:32 ESV). In the end, Abraham was simply trying to spare his nephew and his family. But even when they were safely out of the city, God destroyed both Sodom and Gomorrah. There were not even ten righteous people left in either city.

The situation in Judah also brings to mind the days just before God destroyed the earth with a world-wide flood. The book of Genesis tells us:

The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. – Genesis 6:5 NLT

And as a result, He wiped out every living thing on the earth, sparing only Noah and his family, and those animals he had sequestered away on the ark. In those days, unrighteousness had run rampant on the earth. And the same sad state of affairs was true of the capital city of Judah. Wickedness was everywhere. Unfaithfulness marked the lifestyles of all those who lived in the city. It was just as Solomon had written:

Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. – Ecclesiastes 7:20 NLT

And David echoed this same sentiment when he wrote:

Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you. – Psalm 143:2 ESV

Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free from sin”? – Psalm 20:9 NLT

And the apostle Paul would pick up on David’s less-than-flattering assessment of mankind when he wrote:

None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. – Romans 3:10-12 ESV

Man is incapable of performing righteous acts apart from God’s help. Anything and everything we do, in our own flesh, ends up being tainted and polluted by sin. That reality is what led the prophet Isaiah to write:

We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind. – Isaiah 64:6 NLT

But God had graciously provided the people of Israel with His law to show them His holy expectations of them. And knowing they would be incapable of keeping His law perfectly, He provided them with the sacrificial system as a means of finding atonement for the sins they would inevitably commit. But despite God’s grace and mercy, they still chose to rebel against Him, turning to false gods and treating His sacrificial system with contempt. God knew their hearts. They had long ago fallen out of love with Him, which is what led Him to say of them:

"These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.”  – Isaiah 29:13 NLT

And Jeremiah’s search for one solitary individual who sought after truth proved to be harder than he thought. He soon admitted:

You struck your people,
    but they paid no attention.
You crushed them,
    but they refused to be corrected.
They are determined, with faces set like stone;
    they have refused to repent. – Jeremiah 5:3 NLT

But in an attempt to be optimistic, Jeremiah concludes that it was the poor who posed the problem. They were uneducated and uninformed. They didn’t know any better. So like Abraham, he makes a deal with God.

“But what can we expect from the poor?
    They are ignorant.
They don’t know the ways of the Lord.
    They don’t understand God’s laws.
So I will go and speak to their leaders.
    Surely they know the ways of the Lord
    and understand God’s laws.” – Jeremiah 5:5 NLT

He was going to check out the upper class, the well-educated cultural elite of the city. Surely, they would produce at least one man who was righteous. Yet Jeremiah would sadly conclude: “But the leaders, too, as one man, had thrown off God’s yoke and broken his chains” (Jeremiah 5:5b NLT). Jeremiah had struck out. His attempt to find just one faithful person had come up empty. And as a result, the judgment of God was assured.'

Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down;
    a wolf from the desert shall devastate them.
A leopard is watching their cities;
    everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,
because their transgressions are many,
    their apostasies are great. – Jeremiah 5:6 ESV

Like apex predators, the Babylonians would come into Judah, viciously and unmercifully ravaging the people of God, because of their open rebellion against Him. Their many sins would have dire consequences. Their failure to respond to God’s many invitations to return to Him in repentance would result in His just and righteous discipline of them. And God had proven to Jeremiah that what was about to happen was anything but undeserved. The prophet had been unable to find a solitary soul within the whole city of Jerusalem who could qualify as righteous before God. Unrighteousness and unfaithfulness go hand in hand. God had never intended the people of Israel to live righteous lives on their own. That’s why He had given them the law and the sacrificial system. One provided them with God’s holy expectations of them. It showed them how they were to live. But God knew they would be unable to live up to His righteous standards, so He gave them the sacrificial system to provide them with a means of atonement or cleansing for the sins they would commit. But these two things were to produce in them a complete dependence upon God. One represented God’s law, while the other represented His grace. And the two were designed to work in tandem, creating in the people of God a complete reliance upon Him for any hope of living righteous lives before Him. But when they determined in their hearts to live unfaithfully, by seeking other gods instead of Him, they revealed that they really didn’t need Him. And their sacrifices lost their value. They could make them. They could offer up their lambs and bulls, shedding their blood in an attempt to receive atonement and forgiveness from God, but the lives of these animals would be given in vain. Because what God really wanted from the people of Judah was true repentance for their sins. David expressed the desire of God well when he wrote:

Certainly you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it;
you do not desire a burnt sacrifice.
The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit—
O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject. – Psalm 51:16-17 NLT

Sacrifices without true sorrow for sin are meaningless. The apostle Paul put it this way:

For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There's no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. – 2 Corinthians 7:10 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson