The Day Of Atonement

In 2008 the Olympics were held in China. The ceremony began at 8:00 p.m. on the eighth day of the eighth month. This was purposeful as 8 is considered a lucky number.

Coincidentally, this year Yom Kippur, commonly known as the Day of Atonement, falls on the eighth of October. This will be the culmination of ten days of awe that begin with the blowing of the shofar on the Feast of Trumpets that falls at the end of September.

Though not on the calendars of many people in the West, the day stands as the ultimate day of importance in scripture, recognizing God’s forgiveness. When the Temple stood it was the one day in which the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies and make a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

As Ole Anthony shares, “It was believed that if the process didn’t go right while he was inside the Holy of Holies, the world would be destroyed. Therefore, there was a great sense of awe connected with this feast. According to the Talmud, all feared for the High Priest’s life.”

On this High Holy Day there was also a goat labeled the scapegoat who was identified by a red strap and then sent off into the wilderness. It is said that during the forty years Simeon the Righteous served as high priest the strap would turn from red to white. This was in fulfillment of the words of the prophet, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18). (Remarkably it is stated that the strap ceased to turn white after the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth.)

It is also understood that in Hebrew the number 364 represents the numerical value of Satan. It is said that on one day of the year, the Day of Atonement, he is powerless.

And while many people in the modern world have little association or interest in ancient festivals, the main thing they are designed to do is turn our hearts to contemplation and gratitude.

So may these biblical feasts lead us to take some time to consider all that we are grateful for, to perhaps mend some fences and right some wrongs, and above all consider that by God’s grace we’ve been washed white as snow.