גְּמַר חֲתִימָה טוֹבָה
"This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites” Leviticus 16:34
9-25-23 Yom Kippur (G'mar chatimah tovah)
Today is Yom Kippur, the most holy day of the Jewish calendar. It is the day named Atonement by the Lord Himself, set aside for humbling the self before the Holy One in sorrow and repentance for sin. Under the Old Covenant, it was the day that the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies and offer sacrifices for himself, his household, and the people (both native-born or foreign) who were to spend the day in quiet Sabbath and fasting. The sacrifices also cleansed the Most Holy Place from the sins left at the altar over the last year (Leviticus 16).
For Jews, Yom Kippur is the day on which God records names in either the Book of Life or the Book of Death. Most Jews, even those who do not usually participate in the feasts, festivals, and regular prayers, honor Yom Kippur. In some ways, the attitude toward Yom Kippur by some Jews is the same as Easter to some Christians. There are just some holidays that religious people keep, even if they aren't sure they believe.
While during Yom Kippur the Lord inscribes names in the Book of Life, that inscription is temporary; the ceremony must be repeated every year. The high priest is limited in his ability to provide atonement, partly because of his eventual mortality, but also because of his human nature to sin. To permanently atone for sins, there needs to be a perfect high priest offering a perfect sacrifice, once for all and for all time. This is the power of Jesus, the Christ.
Jesus is a better high priest than all who went before. The priests of yore presented their absolute best, but they were shadows of heavenly realities. Because Jesus was the REAL, and not the shadow, he offers a better hope, a permanent inscription in the Lamb's Book of Life (Philippians 4; Revelation 3) for those who believe. The author of Hebrews noted,
For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever. (Hebrews 7:26-28).
Jesus offers a new and better covenant (Hebrews 8), as promised by the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31). God’s love for His people is everlasting, and He has always been faithful to them. As they make their atonement, He hears. In Christ, the new covenant is held out to both Jew and Gentile, enacted on a better promise that makes the old covenant obsolete. His work as the perfect high priest was finished at his resurrection, and he sat down at the right hand of God (Hebrews 10).
So how should Christians respond to the solemnity of Yom Kippur? Do we just ignore it because the law for which it makes atonement is fulfilled in Christ? Or do we pause our regular activities to consider the importance of this day to our Jewish friends and family? I think the day is an important day to think and ponder these shadowlands in which we live and offer ourselves anew to walking worthy of our salvation and learning to love others the way Jesus loves us. It is a good day to consider our inheritance when we will sit at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 16) and realize that our final sealing is good and that our names are forever written in the Lamb's book of Life.