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Yom
Kippur, Humility, & Restoration |
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| Israel’s “High Holy Days” consist of three festivals: Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and Tabernacles. Last month we looked at the prophetic significance of Trumpets, (or Rosh Hashana.) This month we’ll consider Yom Kippur, and the critical issue of approaching this idea with a humble heart. | ||||||||
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Humble Yourselves The most solemn of the High Holy Days, Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is about God reconciling Himself to His Covenant people. Even though we are the offenders, God took the initiative to restore a relationship with us. He provided all that is needed in Messiah. Regarding Yom Kippur, the Old Covenant required the offering of a blood sacrifice ( Lev. 16, Num. 29:7-11); for there is no forgiveness without a blood atonement (Lev. 17:11). |
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| Since so much of the atonement of this day is already discussed in Leviticus 16, the Yom Kippur portion in Leviticus 23 contains only a brief mention of the sacrifice; this portion instead emphasizes humility: “You shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the Lord...[because] If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people” (vv. 27,29). The Scripture says, “you shall humble your souls,” which means our mind, emotions, and will, our whole being, in response to both our sin and God’s gracious provision of atonement. Why is humility all that important? A Few Humble Thoughts Y Yom Kippur reminds us that we are fallen creatures, and rather than trusting in our own ‘good works’, we are to rest in the grace, mercy and atonement of God in Messiah. Works apart from Messiah are self-oriented activities, efforts to prove what we can do. But in fact, sin has already revealed what we can do. As an expression of faith, humility accepts the atonement of God. Atonement was based on the offerings that were made for cleansing of sins, but without humility those offerings would have been in vain. |
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| Y Only a humble heart can relate to God. True humility is God-oriented, not self-oriented. Self-abasement and so-called ‘low self-esteem’ are not the answer; they are still self-oriented. Only humility applies and enjoys the benefits of forgiveness in the atonement made in Messiah. By humbling our souls in Him we find rest from self-oriented activities and works. Biblical humility is essential to restoring relationships. Here are five simple steps to reconciliation now, and forever. | ||||||||
1. Confession & Recognition of Sins Sin breaks a relationship when we selfishly care for ourselves, rather than for others. Recognize the offense you caused. Don’t blame others or look at others’ shortcomings, but take responsibility for your own actions and attitudes. Negligent unawareness of others is indifference, self-preoccupation and a lack of love. Admit your wrong in all humility and honesty. “Confess your faults one to another” (James 5:16a). 2. Contrition & Remorse over Sins Realize the offense you caused and identify with that offense, as though it happened to you. This will produce remorse and sympathy with the offended party. Don’t minimize the offense to others simply because you’re insensitive to or unconcerned with those same offenses. Breaking your wife’s high heel because you used it to swat a fly may not break your heart, but imagine if someone broke your electric power saw doing the same thing! As David said, “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge” (Ps. 51:3,4). 3. Conversion & Repentance from Sins Humility does not ‘sneer’ at repentance. To repent is to turn away from an improper attitude or action. For example, if you blow up at your spouse, do not attempt to justify your offense by saying, “Oh, I’m just an angry sort of person.” This justifies nothing. We must deal with sin as sin. Unrepentant sin hurts you by both undermining your integrity, and hardening your heart to the people around you. Many are “sin-sick” from unconfessed, unrepentant sin, as David learned: “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’; and You forgave the guilt of my sin” (Ps. 32:3-5). 4. Compensation & Repayment for Sins Because it would take all eternity, we could never pay for our own sins. Therefore, Messiah chose to die as payment for our sins. This, however, does not negate our responsibility to pay our debts to our fellow man. True humility repays whenever possible. Like Zacchaeus in the New Covenant, this demonstrates sincerity of faith in a humble attitude of trust in Messiah. “And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.’ And Jesus said unto him, ‘This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham’” (Luke 19:8,9). When Stewart, a Jewish man, came to faith in Messiah, not only did he praise the Lord for His mercy and all sufficient grace, he then went and repaid each person from whom he had stolen before he found Messiah. Why? God’s grace is not an excuse for irresponsibility. God’s grace provides us the opportunity and the enablement to honor Yeshua in all our ways. 5. Consecration & Dedication beyond Sins Faith and true humility are seen in making lifestyle changes that reflect true love, and a love for the truth. As Messiah said, to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and might” and “love your neighbor as your self” is the standard by which we are called to live. In Ephesians 4:22-32 we see that as we depend upon God’s grace in Yeshua, His Spirit will enable us… Y To change: “...and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” Y To be honest: “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth every one with his neighbor for we are members of one another.” Y To exercise self-control: “Be angry and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger….” Y To obtain victory over our adversary: “...and do not give the devil an opportunity.” Y To live an honorable, productive life: “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.” The blessing in life is not merely in knowing what to do, but in actually doing it. As Yeshua taught us in John 13:17, “If you know these things, blessed are you that do them.” Who is the most humble? Well, it’s not a contest. However, the one who wants to reconcile the most will sacrifice the most to do it! Obviously, God is the most humble, as evidenced in Messiah. It was prophesied that when King Messiah would come we would see the humility of God manifested: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, humble and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). So when Yeshua invited people to trust in Him it was because of His humility and genuine concern for them. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and You will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30). The Mind of Messiah An attitude of humility is the safest ‘position’ for sinners to be in: if you lie on the ground you can’t fall down! Water rests only at its lowest point. When Messiah’s atonement is applied to your life, humility is manifested in your marriage, business, and other relationships. This way God gets all the glory! Genuine repentance and humility of soul is the basis for relating to one another, especially to God. This section from the New Covenant speaks to this vital issue: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than Himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Messiah Yeshua, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond-servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phip. 2:3-8). This is the key to success in relating to others. Even as Yeshua, the Humble King, came and died that we might live, we are to seek the good of others above our own. Your acquaintances will likely want to be your friends if you humbly put others ahead of yourself. Humility is the Key Through the aspect of humility in light of Yom Kippur, we can better see God’s plan for reconciling His Covenant people to Himself, and us to each other. Do you want your life spiritually fulfilled? God can bring contentment to your soul, and actually wants your life fulfilled more than you do. Recognize only God can fulfill your life, and humility is the gateway to the restoration of every relationship. Y |
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