“Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD” (Leviticus 23:27).
TEXT — Leviticus 23:23-32
Augustus Hopkins Strong, a notable minister and theologian, says, “God requires satisfaction because He is holiness, but He makes satisfaction because He is love.” Israel’s feast of the Day of Atonement reflects these two aspects of God’s nature in specific details. The passage introduces two significant annual feasts of Israel:
The Feast of Trumpets and The Day of Atonement. The feast of Trumpets marked the beginning of the seventh month, which began Israel’s religious year. Trumpet blasts were used in Israel to gather the people for assemblies, for their journey in the wilderness, and during warfare. However, it announced the beginning of a new year on this occasion.
The Day of Atonement was held on the tenth day of the same seventh month. Regarded as the most holy day for the Israelites, it was the only occasion the high priest was allowed into the most holy place in the tabernacle to atone for the nation’s sins. It was also the only annual feast God required the Israelites to afflict their souls. They had to fast and be sober in repentance as the high priest made the atonement. The demand for soberness was so critical that anyone who refused was put to death.
These annual feasts teach us the need for forgiveness, restoration, and a new beginning with God. The necessity of a national atonement signals that all have sinned and come short of God’s glory. However, the New Testament reveals that Christ has fulfilled what the Day of Atonement symbolised. Jesus, our perfect High Priest, entered the heavenly tabernacle with His own blood and obtained eternal redemption for us. Now, people can reconcile with God on the merit of Christ’s atonement if they only humble themselves before God with faith and genuine repentance.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
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