We all need days like this, both for reassessment of the past and realignment for the future.
Leviticus 11-15 have been filled with minutiae, details that are sometimes hard to understand and certainly hard to discuss. But chapter 16, describing the Great Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur, the most solemn day in the Jewish calendar, is more complicated still. At the heart of it is this: on this one day, just one man—the high priest—in one carefully prescribed way was allowed to enter the Sanctuary of God. People dream of getting near a famous personality, but imagine standing inches from the glory of Almighty God! The chapter begins: “The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the Lord, and died…” (v 1). These instructions follow the sad tragedy regarding Nadab and Abihu. That was how NOT to enter the Lord’s presence! So obviously God had their attention as He explained the right way. The first two instructions are these: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil…lest he die” (v 2) and “Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with…” (v 3f) and then follow all the details. So the two main ideas: don’t come into God’s presence impulsively, but do come intentionally. Why was this day so important? The holy God had covenanted to live in the midst of His people, even though they were sinners. To do this one more year, there had to be a reset. The people had brought offerings from time to time, but there were probably overlooked sins, and perhaps sins the whole nation had committed. All accounts must be settled as the new year approached. And this was the day! So I wonder. Have you, have I, had a time of complete honesty with God lately? Painful as it may be, it’s the best thing we can do.