Yom Kippur - The Day Of Covering
Rivqah Yahsepha bana Shalom
Yom Kippur 5767 (10-04-2006)
It is the evening of Yom Kippur. We all ate supper before sunset, and now it’s time for us to fast for twenty-four hours. But is this all that the Day of Atonement means to us?
Found in the Hebrew name for the Day is a definition of its symbolism which is not quite covered in the English rendering “Day of Atonement”. While Yom Kippur can definitely mean “Day of Atonement”, it also means, “Day of Covering”. Where would we be without the protection of Yahweh’s covering? As humans, we are ignorant, weak, and vulnerable. What then does Yom Kippur mean for us personally?
Numbers 15:24-26 ~ “Then it shall be if ought be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for a sweet savor unto Yahweh, with his meat offering, and his drink offering, according to the manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering. And the Priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them, for it is ignorance: and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire unto Yahweh, and their sin offering before Yahweh, for their ignorance. And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Israel, and the stranger that sojourneth among them, seeing all the people were in ignorance.” One of the things which is covered is our ignorance. As humans, we all make mistakes. It is sometimes a temptation to feel like we’ve “reached all truth”, but this is the farthest thing from the truth, and is very dangerous. The Apostle Shaul (Paul) himself declared: “I count NOT myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of Elohim in Messiyah Yahshua.” (Philippians 3:13-14) As mortal humanity, it is important that we realize that we are not perfect and that we have not yet reached the mark. Then as we come into His presence on the Day of Covering, may we feel the cleansing of His sacrifice, the covering of our ignorance. Numbers 29:7,11 ~ “And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month (the tenth day being Yom Kippur) a set-apart convocation, and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall not do any work therein...... [But ye shall offer] one kid of the goats for a sin offering......” We are prone to err, and we all unknowingly make mistakes. Our ignorance is covered, though, by the blood of Yahshua.
Besides being ignorant, we are all helpless. John 15:4 ~ “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine: no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.” Our weakness is also pictured by a lack of working on the Day of Covering (as well as all the other Sabbaths). By halting from our work, we are able to concentrate on the provision of Yahweh and the work that He does. When bustling about all our duties, it is easy to get distracted. When we slow down and stop work, it is easier to concentrate on the work that Yahweh has done. In and of ourselves, we are unable to do anything at all. Our helplessness, though, is covered by the power of Yahweh.
Last but not least, we are very vulnerable. What weak and ignorant being wouldn’t be susceptible to danger? And yet Yahweh covers this too.
One area of our susceptibility has to do with our daily needs. It is Yahweh who is in charge of the earth’s bounty. Should He decide to stop providing, we would be in a bad way. And yet He has promised that “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and Summer and Winter, and day and night shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22) Yahshua teaches us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11), reminding us that our sustenance comes from Yahweh. It is not our strength that provides the bread - remember, we are helpless. It is not our ingenuity that places the food on the table - remember, we are, in many respects, ignorant.
The interesting thing about Yom Kippur, on which we afflict our souls and fast, is that it falls five days before Sukkot (or Tabernacles), a time in which we exuberantly rejoice and abundantly feast. Another interesting thought is that Yom Kippur takes place during the harvest season, the time when there is a tremendous abundance of freshly harvested food. The purpose of all of this is to draw our attention to the fact that we are vulnerable. Yahweh didn’t have to give us the food, but when we fast, we sit back and view the abundance from a different perspective. It suddenly becomes even more dazzling and beautiful and desirable. We know that in five days we will be feasting even more than usual. While refraining from eating, we can take the chance to reflect on how He has covered our susceptibility.... and there will be plenty of things to see that will confirm our reflections. Job 38:25-27 ~ “Who hath divided a water course for the overflowing of waters? or a way for the lightning of thunder, to cause it to rain on the earth where no man is, on the wilderness wherein there is no man? to satisfy the desolate and waste ground, and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth?” The answer is: Yahweh. It is He who has caused the growth both of the tender herb and of all vegetation by which our hunger is satisfied.
Food is not the only thing which Yahweh has given us. Daily needs are not the only things which He has covered. Job 14:13 ~ “O that Thou wouldest hide me.... that Thou wouldest keep me secret, until Thy wrath be past, that Thou wouldest appoint me a set time and remember me.” And though we may cry in our distress, “O that Thou wouldest do this”, the reality is that He DOES do this. How many disasters would come upon us if it were not for the protecting hand of our Messiyah? And yet our vulnerability is covered by the mercy of our Creator.
If it were not for Him covering our ignorance, we would be considered filthy. But because of the sin offering of His blood we are clean.
If it were not for His strength, we would be void of even our lives. But because of His abundant and freely given power, we are able to do and act and think and work for Him.
If it were not for His protection and providence, we would be destitute and afflicted. And so He calls us to afflict our souls, one day out of the year, as a means of reminding us of all that He has covered for us.
His wisdom has become our wisdom; His strength has become our strength; and His provision has given us life, His Life, eternal Life. So, by being covered by Yahweh, we are drawn into oneness and atonement with Him as well.
Isaiah 4:5-6 ~ “And Yahweh will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for upon all the esteem shall be a covering. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.”