The Christian and the Day of Atonement
The Christian and the Day of Atonement
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. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. (Leviticus 23:27,28)
The Day of Atonement was placed in the latter working of redemption. The feasts of Israel are seven in number. The Day of Atonement, the observance having to do with the purging of sin and self-will from God's people, was placed sixth in order.
If we are following a logical pattern, why wasn't the Day of Atonement placed first or second in the order of the feasts? It seems reasonable that the first thing to occur in the plan of redemption should be that our sins are taken care of completely.
The blood of Passover, the first feast, is not a removing of sin from Israel but a protection from the judgment that falls on the gods of the world. The Passover blood is a shield, a wall of protection from the judgment of God. The first and true Passover was celebrated in Egypt.
The Day of Atonement, the feast having to do with the purging of sin from God's people, was never celebrated in Egypt. The Day of Atonement could not be conducted until the Tabernacle of the Congregation had been erected and the priesthood anointed.
Isn't this order of placement of the Day of Atonement somewhat out of line with our traditional concept of the relationship between the Christian and sin? Wouldn't we expect the feast that represents cleansing from sin to come at the beginning of the seven feasts?
God's remedy for the sinful condition of His people is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. God has made an atonement for us, just as He covered Adam and Eve with coats of skins (Genesis 3:21). God has covered us with the blood of Christ so the shame of our nakedness does not appear when we come into His Presence (Revelation 3:18).
The blood of Christ, the sacrificial Lamb of God, is applied to our lives in five different ways:
As the Passover blood that protects us from the judgment of God as it falls on the gods of the world.
As the blood of appeasement that cancels the debt of guilt incurred because of our sins.
As the blood of deliverance and restoration, through which the Holy Spirit of God is enabled to remove the tendencies and repair the consequences of the sin in us, to give us the strength to resist sin, and to fill us with the indestructible resurrection Life of Christ so we are lifted above the realm where sin abounds.
As the blood of the covenant that we drink when we receive the body and blood of Christ in the Communion service, the Lord's Table.
As the blood of union with Christ so we live by Him as He lives by the Father.