The Hebrew name for the Day of Atonement is Yom Kippur. It falls each year on the tenth day of the seventh Hebrew month called Tishrei (usually September or October), and is the climax of the Jewish high holy days. According to Jewish tradition, Adam sinned on this day; therefore, atonement had to be set on this day. The day was, and is, intro- duced by the blowing of the silver trumpets.
In the days of the tabernacle (and later in the temple), the high priest removed his royal garments of beauty and wore four garments, all made of linen: pants, a tunic, a belt, and a bonnet (mitre) for his head (v. 4). All gold was removed, as gold was used by Aaron, the first high priest, to construct the golden calf. Thus, when the priest entered the Holy of Holies, he took off all gold lest he be tempted with idolatry. The high priest offered a bull and a ram for himself (v. 3, 6). He selected two identical goats and “cast lots” to determine which sacrifice was the goat “for the Lord” and which was the “scapegoat” (v. 7-10). The Temple Institute in Jerusalem shows a small wooden box with two wooden “lots” covered with a brass plate marked in Hebrew “for the Lord” and the other “for the scapegoat” (the Hebrew word Aza’zel). This box and method of inquiry was called a “lottery” for the “casting of lots.” The original may have been two pebbles or stones with markings on them, because the Hebrew for the word lots is gowral, and its root word means “a pebble” or “a stone.” After prayer, the high priest would reach his hand into the box to select which goat was “for the Lord” and marked to die on the altar, or “for the scapegoat” that would escape death on the altar and later die in the wilderness.
According to the Talmud, a red thread was tied around the neck of the goat for the Lord and a red thread was tied around the right horn of the scapegoat. The high priest laid his hands upon the scapegoat and transferred the sins of Israel onto the goat (v. 21). This goat was later released in the wilderness.
Later, at the temple in Jerusalem, once the scapegoat had the sins transmitted to it, a priest tied a rope around the goat’s neck and led it into the Judean wilderness, where it was pushed off a cliff. This action ensured that the goat bearing the sin would not return to the Israelite camp or to the city, symbolically bringing the forgiven sins back to the people. Tradition says that in Jerusalem, a third red thread was tacked to the temple doors, and once the scapegoat died in the desert, the red thread supernaturally turned white, indicating that the sins of the people had been forgiven. Rabbis believe this is what Isaiah alluded to when he wrote, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isa. 1:18).
During Old Testament days, on Yom Kippur the high priest would pass the golden altar, bringing the holy incense near the mercy seat (the golden cover on the Ark of the Covenant), allowing the cloud of smoke to cover the mercy seat (v. 12-13). The blood of a bullock was sprinkled seven times on the east end of the mercy seat. The priest then slew the goat and sprinkled the goat’s blood seven times with his finger, followed by the sprinkling of blood on the brass altar seven times (v. 18-19). In New Testament times, during the days of the temple, when the people gathered for the ceremony, they fasted the entire day and stood on their feet.
This ceremony took place once a year. Yet, when Christ ascended after His resurrection, sins were atoned for once and for all. In the New Testament, we read:
“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (Heb. 9:11-12)
“It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” (Heb. 9:23-24)
Christ entered the heavenly temple and made a final atonement for all who would receive Him as Savior. Every sinner who approaches Christ experiences an individual “Day of Atonement” when he or she draws near to the throne of grace in heaven and seeks forgiveness of personal sins. Christ’s blood fully atones. His atonement is enacted when a person asks for forgiveness, believes that Christ is the Son of God who has finished His redemptive work, and confesses faith and confidence in Christ’s ability to cleanse and forgive. Romans 10:10 tells us: “. . . if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
At age thirty, after forty days of fasting, Christ returned to Galilee and preached His first message at a small synagogue in Nazareth, His hometown. Christ selected and read a passage from the prophet Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19)
The passage in Isaiah reads:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.” (Isa. 61:1-2)
Note that in Luke, Christ purposely closed the scroll and read only the first part of Isaiah 61:2: “. . . to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” He did not read the second half: “. . . and the day of vengeance of our God.” The day of vengeance is the time of the future Great Tribulation (see Matt. 24:21), in which the vengeance, or wrath of God, will be poured out upon the inhabitants of the earth (see Isa. 13:9, 13). Christ appeared to mankind as the Lamb to declare the acceptable year of the Lord, and not as the Lion of Judah to introduce divine judgment upon sinners.
This term “acceptable year of the Lord” is identified as the year of release, or the time of Jubilee. Christ was healing the brokenhearted, opening the eyes of the blind, and loosing the spiritual captives from their prisons. By saying that He was fulfilling this prophecy, Christ was announcing that He is the Jubilee!
Again, this season of release occurred every fiftieth year and was a shadow of things to come. Christ came to deliver humanity, and He brings a release from sin, death, and disease. The Jubilee is no longer a fifty-year cycle, but a Person, Jesus Christ the Redeemer!
OCTOBER 20, 2021 Exodus 25:18-19 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the […]
The fiery serpents were poisonous vipers that lived in the deserts and wilderness. Some read this and are puzzled as to why God instructed Moses to put a serpent on the pole. After all, the serpent is a universal symbol for evil and Satan (see Gen. 3:1; Isa. 27:1; Rev. 20:2); serpents had also brought death to many people they had bitten. It is important to note that Christ used this story of the brass serpent to reveal His own suffering on the cross (see John 3:14-15). Christ was perfect and sinless in His birth, life, and ministry. However, just as the scapegoat had to bear the sins of Israel on the Day of Atonement, the sins of all humanity were placed upon Christ; thus, the image of the serpent represents the ultimate sin offering being raised up. The fiery serpents brought death, just as unrepentant sin in the human soul brings death. Only the cross can reverse the bite of the serpent and restore life to all who look to the Christ of the cross. (For more about the connection between the cross and the pole, turn to the article “The Brass Serpent on the Pole” in Numbers in Depth.)
Four types of trumpets have emerged in Israel’s history. The common word for trumpets in the Old Testament is shophar, which was normally a ram’s horn, as indicated in Joshua 6. At times a larger horn from an antelope was used, but the horns had to be from a kosher animal.
In these verses, Moses crafted two silver trumpets for calling the congregation and directing the movement of the camp. Silver trumpets were later used during the “divine service,” including the Sabbaths, new moon, jubilee cycles, and certain main festivals—Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.
At the tabernacle, if one trumpet was blown, only the heads of the tribes were to gather at the door of the Tabernacle of Meeting. If both trumpets were blown, the entire congregation was to gather. Distinct trumpet sounds indicated whether the congregation should assemble, march out of the camp, or head to war. According to Jewish tradition, a long blast indicated the people were to assemble; short staccato blasts were used in battle and sounded an order to begin movement.
Silver is a metal that represents redemption. Two trumpets are significant when we consider that as the future “ingathering of the saints” occurs, there will be both “the voice of the archangel” and the “trump of God” (1 Thess. 4:16). When the dead in Christ are raised and the living saints are changed from mortality to immortality, we will be changed at the sound of the “last trump” (see 1 Cor. 15:52). Various opinions exist about the meaning of the phrase last trump. However, if there is a last trump, there must be the sounding of a first trumpet. Some suggest the first trump sound will raise the dead in Christ and the second sound will impact the living, initiating the changes predicted by the apostle Paul.
The two silver trumpets are a perfect image of the gathering together of the dead in Christ and the living at the return of Christ. The two silver trumpets were for the “calling of the assembly” and the “journeying of the camps.” The first blast called the people to gather together, and the second blast indicated movement as a group to their new destination. Could this imagery be compared to the sounding of the trumpet of God? The first raises the dead, and with the second blast we meet with them in the air.
These silver trumpets helped to bring the people together, just as the coming of Christ is called the “gathering together” (see 2 Thess. 2:1; Eph. 1:10).
Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari (v. 17). A census was conducted of all males one month old and upward. The sons of Gershon totaled 7,500 males (v. 22). Kohath’s male family members totaled 8,600 (v. 28), and the sons of Merari totaled 6,200 (v. 34). God gave each of these descendants’ families a specific charge or duty in the care of the tabernacle, His dwelling.
• The Gershonites cared for the tent, the curtains, door hangings, and all the cords (vv. 25-26).
• The Kohathites were responsible for all the sacred furniture, and the internal hangings (v. 31).
• The Merarites cared for the boards, pillars, sockets, pins, and cords (v. 36-37).
The story of the prophet Balaam teaches an important spiritual lesson that applies to believers today. God gives Balaam a unique gift of being able to initiate a blessing or a curse by speaking it into existence. The King of Moab, Balak, attempts to hire Balaam to curse the children of Israel (see Num. 22:5-7). However, each time Balaam opens his mouth to speak cursing, only blessing comes forth. Balak continues to pressure Balaam to curse Israel by offering a reward. Balaam informed the evil king, “How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?” (Num. 23:8).
After several attempts, Balaam is unable to curse the Hebrew nation or speak evil against it. If this is so, then why is the name Balaam so negative in the Scriptures? The New Testament mentions Balaam in three places. If we combine all three passages, we can see another side of the story:
“Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness (2 Pet. 2:15) . . . Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core (Jude 11) . . . But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication” (Rev. 2:14).
Balaam’s sin is the sin of compromise, receiving wages from Balak for a plot to curse God’s people. However, when the curse fails and he is only permitted to speak what God places in his mouth, Balaam forms a strategy that will make his name despised forever among the Hebrew people. Balaam knows he is unable to curse Israel, but if Israel sins against God, then God will be required to curse them Himself. This new strategy could somehow get the Hebrew people to sin against God’s commandments, thus bringing judgment and disfavor upon Israel.
Part of the strategy is to introduce some of the women of Moab to the young Hebrew men in the Israelite camp. These women could seduce these Hebrew men into committing sexual immorality (fornication) and thus bring a plague on the nation. Chapter 25:1-3 tells us what happens:
“And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.”
The strategy is effective. The women of Moab intermingle with the sons of the Hebrews and a plague strikes the camp, killing twenty-four thousand (see Num. 25:9). Moses demands a severe punishment for those who have disobeyed. With the large numbers of people, sin and rebellion could easily spread and cost the people God’s favor. As believers, if we walk in love and follow the New Covenant, we experience the blessing of God in soul, mind, spirit, family, finances, and health (see 3 John 2). When we turn from the truth and sin, it not only opens a door for the adversary, it also hinders the flow of our spiritual blessings. The adversary, knowing he cannot place a curse upon believers because we have been “redeemed from the curse” (Gal. 3:13), tempts us to sin against God and His Word.
If we don’t repent, we will be chastised and judged for our sins (see Heb. 12:5-8).
OCTOBER 18, 2021 Exodus 25:10-11 “And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it.” That the Ark was overlaid […]
Abraham is now old and desires to see Isaac married, knowing Isaac must have children to produce the nation God has promised. Abraham sends his personal servant to find a bride for Isaac. This is beautiful imag- ery of how the heavenly Father found a bride for His Son, Christ.
Sarah has died, and Abraham sends his servant, Eliezer (whose name means “God is my helper”) to find a bride for Isaac among the Gentiles in Syria. He takes ten camels loaded with gifts, Eliezer riding one of the ten, leaving the remaining nine carrying gifts. Eliezer finds Rebekah at a well and she cares for the camels. Eliezer presents her with earrings and a gold bracelet. As he speaks to her and her father about Abraham and his son Isaac, Rebekah is willing to leave her family to marry a man she has not yet seen. Isaac is in the harvest field working and is at the well, Lahai- roi, meaning the “living water.” Isaac meets her, takes her into his mother’s tent, and is comforted in his grief over his mother’s death.
God the Father sent His helper, the Holy Spirit, to find a Gentile bride for His son, Jesus. The Holy Spirit has nine gifts and fruits to present as gifts to the bride (see 1 Cor. 12:7-10; Gal. 5:22-23). After Pentecost (see Acts 2:1-4), the Gentiles were grafted into the cove- nant (see Acts 10:1-45). We have “earrings,” or ears to hear from the Spirit, and “bracelets,” a symbol of doing the works of God with our hands. Christ has promised us the Spirit’s refreshing through the “well of living water” (see John 7:37-39). According to Paul, natural Israel was temporarily blinded and the Gentiles were grafted into the New Covenant (see Rom. 11).
Ten plagues occur in Egypt, and the eleventh judgment transpires at the Red Sea. Exodus begins with Pharaoh’s desire to cast the male, Hebrew infants into the water, and at the end, Pharaoh meets his death in water. There were six hundred thousand men of war departing Egypt, not counting the women and children, which some rabbis estimate may have been up to three million individuals. The sea opens and all of Israel crosses the sea during the night (v. 21).
According to Dr. E. L. Terry, for all of Israel to cross the sea in a night, the opening in the sea would have to have been wide enough for five thousand people to cross side-by-side, nonstop! God calls this a “path” in the sea (see Ps. 77:19), which is a word for a passageway.
