Yom Kippur Conundrum

​It comes once a year and is God's holiest day on the Hebrew calendar. It is the only day of the year when the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies. His assignment was to make a blood offering for the sins of the people of Israel. This holy day is called Yom Kippur or The Day of Atonement since the sins of a nation would be atoned for. At the center of the three fall festivals, we can read about all of them in Leviticus 23. Each of the three feasts have a theme and include The Feast of Trumpets (repentance), The Day of Atonement (redemption), and The Feast of Tabernacles (rejoicing).
 
Yom Kippur is the culmination of The Ten Days of Awe that started on The Feast of Trumpets and is the day when God summoned His people to repentance and renewal. On this day, the children of Israel examined themselves to evaluate their faith and their relationship with God. It was, and still is, a day of fasting and prayer. The translation for The Day of Atonement is "The Day of Covering." When a sacrifice was made on the altar, God provided a covering for sin. However, the Jewish people are faced with a conundrum today. Leviticus 17:11 says, "...It is the blood that makes atonement for one's life." In other words, there is no atonement without the shedding of blood. Blood was the evidence that an animal had paid the price for the sin of God's people.
 
The sacrifices for sin occurred in the Temple of God. With no temple, there is no place for a high priest to make the blood sacrifice. Father God recognized this problem and had a solution for it before the beginning of time. He sent His Son, Jesus, to save us from our sins and to fulfill the sacrificial system. He paid the sin debt once and for all time through His crucifixion. Being buried, He rose again on the third day and demonstrated the power of God to save us. The crucifixion of Jesus occurred 40 years before the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. He shed His blood for the entire world to cleanse us from our sins so we could have relationship with God.
 
In Hebrew, Chapter 9, the writer explains that Christ became the mediator of a new covenant. "He died as a ransom to set them free from sins committed under the first covenant." (Verse 15) Verse 22 confirms what was written in Leviticus: "...Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." Verse 28 declares a glorious future for those who believe in Christ. "Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him." 
 
Sadly, blindness has come over the Jewish people. Their rabbis have instituted new ways to observe Yom Kippur. Prayer and fasting, attending synagogue, readings, and sermons are now the way the Jews observe this day. They have set aside what God prescribed and commanded. As Believers in Yeshua, Jesus, it is our responsibility to pray for the Jewish people to have their eyes opened and their hearts transformed to believe the truth. Here is how it is stated in Romans 11:11 and 12. "Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring?"  We must be on our knees for the Jewish people.