We fail to realize how HOLY YHWH is... PART 2 YOM KIPPUR History Preparation Leading Up To This Day This day was not to be taken lightly. As a result of the seriousness of this day for Israel, there were preparations made in advance to protect against the possibility of the High Priest becoming unclean prior to performing his responsibilities. In order to minimize the chances whereby the High Priest might become unclean, he would leave his home and family one week prior to the Day. In doing so, he would reside in the quarters of the High Priest located in the Temple. During the week that he would reside at the Temple, he would be sprinkled twice a day with the ashes of a red heifer to prevent the possibility of becoming unclean by coming in contact with a dead body. This method of cleansing is found in Numbers 19:1 - 13 ADONAI said to Moshe and Aharon,This is the regulation from the Torah which ADONAI has commanded. Tell the people of Israel to bring you a young red female cow without fault or defect and which has never borne a yoke. You are to give it to Elazar the cohen; it is to be brought outside the camp and slaughtered in front of him. Elazar the cohen is to take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle this blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. The heifer is to be burned to ashes before his eyes -its skin, meat, blood and dung is to be burned to ashes. The cohen is to take cedar-wood, hyssop and scarlet yarn and throw them onto the heifer as it is burning up. Then the cohen is to wash his clothes and himself in water, after which he may re-enter the camp; but the cohen will remain unclean until evening. The person who burned up the heifer is to wash his clothes and himself in water, but he will remain unclean until evening. A man who is clean is to collect the ashes of the heifer and store them outside the camp in a clean place. They are to be kept for the community of the people of Israel to prepare water for purification from sin. The one who collected the ashes of the heifer is to wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. For the people of Israel and for the foreigner staying with them this will be a permanent regulation. Anyone who touches a corpse, no matter whose dead body it is, will be unclean for seven days. He must purify himself with [these ashes] on the third and seventh days; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself the third and seventh days, he will not be clean. Anyone who touches a corpse, no matter whose dead body it is, and does not purify himself has defiled the tabernacle of ADONAI. That person will be cut off from Israel, because the water for purification was not sprinkled on him. He will be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him. In addition to the High Priest being set apart from his family and preparing for this Day of Atonement, the next in line for the position of High Priest was also identified and ultimately went through preparations. If anything were to happen to the High Priest, prior to the Day of Atonement, would mean the sins of the nation would not be atoned for, and would go uncovered. During this time of preparation, the High Priest would conduct the Temple service. Responsibilities included: • Sprinkling of Blood with his thumb and forefinger • Burning of Incense • Lighting the Menorah Every aspect leading up to this Day was practiced. There could be no mistakes. Everything had to be performed without flaw, for fear of the sacrifices being rejected and the sins of the nation not being covered. This preparation time was even more important, in that the High Priest would not normally perform the weekly services, therefore just as any athlete or musician, honing ones skills or talents was needed. If the High Priest wasnt prepared for this day, the thought of the nations sin not being covered would not only be a disaster, but humiliation for the High Priest himself. Events That Transpire On This Day It is on this day, that the atonement for the transgressions of the Nation of Israel occur. This day is not only very busy but also very long, beginning at dawn with the morning service. Morning Service: The morning service would begin with the altar being cleaned of any leftover ashes from the previous day. Four fires would be lit, instead of the customary three fires during any other service. As with the Passover whereby three matzahs and four glasses of wine were added to the Feast to set it apart from all other meals, so to was the addition of a fourth fire added during the morning service on Yom Kippur. In preparation for the morning service, the High Priest would be fully immersed in a special golden bath (mikvah) that would be near the Court of the Priests at the Temple. During any other service, the High Priest would wash his hands and feet with water from the priestly laver. His preparation happened behind a linen curtain, keeping him separated from all other people, while at the same time showing his movements in a silhouette form, ensuring that the required procedures were being performed. Afternoon Service: The afternoon service at the Temple would be the center of attention during Yom Kippur. It would be during this time that the sacrifices were made, to make atonement for the sins of the past year for the priesthood and for the congregation of Israel. In order that the sins of the people could be atoned, the High Priest must first atone for his own sins (and that of the priesthood). In the Court of the Priests, near the Temple, the High Priest would take a young bull for a sin offering: Here is how Aharon is to enter the Holy Place: with a young bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. Leviticus 16:3 Prior to offering this bull for the atonement of the High Priest and the priesthood, the High Priest would place his hands on the head of the young bulls head, identifying it as his substitute and confess his sins. After that, he would speak the name of the Lord - YHWH three times for which the congregation would respond by falling on their faces in worship and recite Blessed be His name whose glorious kingdom is forever and ever Note - the young bull had not yet been sacrificed. More on that as we go in the order of the Yom Kippur service. Two goats: The High Priest would then focus on the two goats that were selected. Both goats were identical in color, size and worth. He is to take the two goats and place them before ADONAI at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Then Aharon is to cast lots for the two goats, one lot for ADONAI and the other for Azazel. Aharon is to present the goat whose lot fell to ADONAI and offer it as a sin offering. But the goat whose lot fell to Azazel is to be presented alive to ADONAI to be used for making atonement over it by sending it away into the desert for Azazel. Leviticus 16:7 - 10 A golden vessel contained two golden lots. One lot was inscribed for YHWH and the other for azazel. The High Priest would then shake the golden vessel and would take each lot and place it, one in each hand. He would then hold the lots (in his hands) to the foreheads of each goat, determining the outcome for each goat. The goat with the lot inscribed for Azazel would be deemed the scapegoat and the goat with the lot inscribed for YWHW would be the sin offering. The goat for Azazel was garnered with a crimson strip of wool tied to one of its horns. It would be placed in front of the congregation and face the people whose sin would be placed upon its head. More on that later. From the Jewish study bible: Azazel: The Rabbis cleverly divided this name into two words ez and azel, the goat that goes away, from which the traditional scapegoat is derived. It literally means fierce god and as intimated by the medieval exegete Abraham Ibn Ezra is evidently the name of a demon or deity believed to inhabit the wilderness. Thus the sins of the people are symbolically cast into the realm beyond civilization, to become the property of a being who is the antithesis of the God of Israel. Though Azazel accepts the goat bearing Israels sins as a sacrifice to him, this is no disloyalty to God since He Himself commands it. Sin Offering for the Priest: The young bull spoken of earlier in this article would be taken by the High Priest and he would press his hands upon its head and would confess the sins of the priesthood. The first time, the High Priest had only confessed his own sins. Aharon is to present the bull of the sin offering for himself; he will make atonement for himself and his household; he is to slaughter the bull of the sin offering which is for himself. Leviticus 16:11 The bull would then be slaughtered by the High Priest and he would collect its blood in a golden bowl. In order that the blood would not dry and stiffen, another priest would stir the blood until the High Priest would take it into the Holy of Holies. Burning of Incense: In preparing to enter the Holy of Holies, the High Priest would then take glowing coals from the altar that would be used to burn the incense. He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before ADONAI and, with his hands full of ground, fragrant incense, bring it inside the curtain. He is to put the incense on the fire before ADONAI, so that the cloud from the incense will cover the ark-cover which is over the testimony, in order that he not die. Leviticus 16:12 - 13 Once inside, the High Priest would pour the incense of the amber coals and waited for the aromatic cloud of smoke to fill the Holy of Holies. Inside the Holy of Holies would reside the Ark of the Covenant, whereby Gods Shekinah Glory would reside. The Ark would reside in Solomons temple until the Babylonian captivity, whereby the Ark was taken and lost, never to be seen again, to this day. Sprinkling of Blood: Once the High Priest had begun burning the incense, He would leave the Holy of Holies to retrieve the golden bowl of blood from the sacrifice of the bull. He would sprinkle the blood before the Ark of the Covenant. A precise motion of once upward and seven times downward was performed with the High Priest counting aloud, so as to not make a mistake. He is to take some of the bulls blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the ark-cover toward the east; and in front of the ark-cover he is to sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. Leviticus 16:14 The High Priest would once again leave the Holy of Holies, this time to slaughter the goat of the people. Next, he is to slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, bring its blood inside the curtain and do with its blood as he did with the bulls blood, sprinkling it on the ark-cover and in front of the ark-cover. Leviticus 16:15 He would also collect the blood in a golden bowl and reenter the Holy of Holies for a third time. He would sprinkle the blood of the goat in the same manner as he did the bull previously. After wards, the High Priest would sprinkle the outside of the veil with the blood of the bull and then do the same with the blood of the goat. With the blood that remained of the bull and goat, He would combine the two bowls of blood into one and then sprinkle the horns of the altar in the courtyard of the Temple (or Tabernacle). Of special note, when the High Priest was in the Holy of Holies, attached to the bottom of his garments were bells made from pomegranates. These bells would sound with his movement. In addition to the bells, a rope was fastened around his waist. The purpose was that should anything happen to him while he was in the Holy of Holies, the priests on the outside would be able to pull him out, because no one would be able to enter the Holy of Holies to retrieve him and live. Therefore if the bells stopped making noise, the priests on the outside would know that something wasnt right, likely, that the High Priest had entered the Holy of Holies having not completely atoned for his own sin, therefore being struck dead. Remember, Gods Glory was on the other side of the curtain and no one can be in the presence of God with unconfessed sin. The High Priest had to atone for his own sin before entering to atone for the sins of the nation. The Scapegoat: One goat remained. This is the scapegoat. “When he has finished atoning for the Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he is to present the live goat. Aharon is to lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the transgressions, crimes and sins of the people of Israel; he is to put them on the head of the goat and then send it away into the desert with a man appointed for the purpose. The goat will bear all their transgressions away to some isolated place, and he is to let the goat go in the desert. Leviticus 16:20 - 22 During the time when the Temple was standing, the scapegoat would be led by the priest through the Eastern Gate, outside of the city, into the wilderness. During the time of the second Temple, after the captivity, the scapegoat was actually killed, to prevent it from wandering into an inhabited village or city. The people would wait for word that the scapegoat had been led into the wilderness. Once this was accomplished, the afternoon service would be complete. “Aharon is to go back into the tent of meeting, where he is to remove the linen garments he put on when he entered the Holy Place, and he is to leave them there. Then he is to bathe his body in water in a holy place, put on his other clothes, come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, thus making atonement for himself and for the people. He is to make the fat of the sin offering go up in smoke on the altar. The man who let go the goat for Azazel is to wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after wards, he may return to the camp. The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, is to be carried outside the camp; there they are to burn up completely their hides, meat and dung. The person burning them is to wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; afterward, he may return to the camp. Leviticus 16:23 - 28 Upon completion of all the sin offerings, the High Priest would address the congregation. He would quote from Leviticus 16 and Numbers 29:7 - 11 to verify to the people that all the requirements for this day of atonement were complete. In concluding the Yom Kippur day service, the final burnt offerings were offered. As the day drew to an end, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies to remove the fire pan and incense ladle. He would then bathe for a fifth and final time that day and would then perform the regular evening service at the Temple. shalommaine/article_index_pdf/day_of_atonement.pdf
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 21:13:39 +0000
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