Yom haKippurim — coverings of a dual sin offering

Yom haKippurim (the Day of Coverings/Atonement) is seen as a time of self-reflection. Yes, in Leviticus 16 God teaches that one is to “afflict your souls,” which is taken to be a call for a fast, as seen in Isaiah 58. However, the apostolic letter to the Hebrews shows that the day is about reflection on the High Priest Who atoned God’s people once and for all time with His own blood.

Food for thought on a day of fasting

Isa. 1:18 — Why is Yom haKippurim an important part of the “gathering” of God’s people? What is the Great Tribulation and how does it affect God’s people? Is this world pure or impure? What is the seventh month of the biblical calendar? What do God’s people have to face to be ready for the ingathering?

Jer. 30:7–15 — Who gets rid of the sins, transgressions and iniquities? What happens first: the cleaning of sin or the new covenant? Who does God deal with first? Israel or the nations? Who pays the restitution of all the sins?

Leviticus 9; Leviticus 15 — What is clean and what is unclean? Why does God spend so much time defining “clean” vs. “unclean”? Who makes the distinction between holy and unholy?

Leviticus 16 — Why couldn’t Aaron enter the Holy of Holies at any time? What role do Aaron’s clothes tell us about his role and status? What were the two goats? What were their purpose? What is “azazel”? Both goats are sin offerings but only one gets killed, why? What did the priest do with the blood of the goat? Why would the priest have to clean the tabernacle first? Why did the High Priest have to do his job with no witnesses? Why was he alone? What is the time of Yom Kippur? Why is this a sober, serious time? What should we do after going through Yom Kippur?

1st Sam. 3:19 — What happened to Eli’s family and their sin?

Isa. 58:4 — What kind bonds are released? How are they released?

2nd Cor. 5:17–19 — What is reconciliation? How does Yom Kippur cause reconciliation? When does God stop counting sin?

Heb. 10:15–18 — What is the difference between the roles of Yeshua as the Savior v. His role as High Priest?

Jeremiah 31 — Does God do “bad” things? How did God win the war? What will happen when we all know the Lord?

Isa. 2:2-4 — Why will the nations no longer need to go to war?

Isa. 1:2-19 — What sins and iniquities particularly annoy God? What are we supposed to do on Yom Kippur?