The day of atonement, arguably highlights, one of the most important rituals in the Bible, and ironically, it is set forth, and explain in one of the most overlooked and neglected books in the Bible.
In Leviticus 16, Moses records, God instructions regarding the manner in which era need to enter the home place to sacrifice before the Lord to make atonement for his sins And the sins of Israel.
Rather than being an obscure and isolated Old Testament principle, Atonement becomes a visual display of God fierce’s commitment to redeem His people, and through the future redemption of God’s people is to be comprehended.
What does the Day of Atonement mean in the Bible?
Let me set the stage for you. in the beginning of gods story, we are told that God created a good world ( Genesis 1:12; 1:18;; 1:21; 1:25; 1:31) for His people to enjoy. God’s good design involved, making His mark on the people who would experience intimate with Him as they worked alongside the Designer saturate the universe with His glory (Habakkuk 2:14).
From the very beginning, but eternal plan was for image bearers (Genesis 1:26), who represent God and His mission. Not only were the borders of the Garden of Eden to be ever extending, but mankind was to image their Creator by undertaking the responsibility of causing creation to flourish.
The idea of cultivating implies the development of culture in such areas as art, music, government, technology, and agriculture and so forth. It is no coincidence that the trajectory of God created work, begins in the garden that culminates in the Holy City (Revelation 21:2).
The divine program seems to have run aground on the banks of human rebellion as Adam and Eve listened to the hissing voice of the serpent rather than the loving voice of their Maker. Adam decides that he is more capable than God and defining what is good from what is evil (Genesis 3:5). As a result of Adam’s mutiny, all of creation is cast into a dark curse (Romans 8 20), and God’s good world plunges into a bottom of chaos and we only the Creator will be able to rescue.
It is critical to our understanding of atonement to grasp the full measure of Adam’s choice, and it implications on the humanity in every generation. Because God is holy, and perfectly pure, the Bible says He “drove the man out” (Genesis 3:24) due to Adam’s sin.
Mankinds Desire is to renew the relationship with God
Because Adam represented all of man throughout all of time, when he was driven from God’s presence, so were we driven from our Maker’s side. Man’s greatest need now comes the necessity to be brought back into God’s presence, where we were always meant to be, but now there is an unassailable barrier of sin that separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2).
At this point in human history, we must confess that God would have been justified to eradicate humanity from his good world. And God would have preferred such a course resolution, no man could have cried ‘unfair!’ After all, just not the potter have the ride over to clay (Romans 9:19-22?” To this conclusion, however, the Maker was not so inclined. It is precisely at this point in the story that Grace emerges and provides the backdrop against which God, merciful redemptive plan is set into motion.
God’s plan for Redemption
Genesis 12 provides for us a more detailed glimpse into the redeeming intentions, which is up to this point in Scripture have only been alluded to. It is here that we discover how God will choose one family to be the very instrument, through which , every tribe, language, people and nation (Revelation 5:9) will be brought back into God’s presence to continue the work which Adam was intended to fulfill before his betrayal.
It is the family of Abram and his descendant, Israel, which, foreshadow, spiritual, Israel, that church (Romans 2:28-29; Galatians 3:7-9), who will take up the mantle of Adam to bless all the families on earth (Genesis 12:2-3).
Nonetheless, the dilemma of sin still remains. God has chosen to people to represent Him and move His mission forward, but the people are infected and warped by iniquity. Where once, prior to the fall, gods presence, with a place of peace, joy, and safety, it has now become a place of danger and terror because God‘s holiness will burn up anything in pure and unclean that I camps to break through the perimeter (Exodus 33:20; Leviticus 16:1-2).
How will God reinstate us, and draw, near to a sinful people without destroying them? The answer is found in atonement.
In the Old Testament animal sacrifice was needed to have atonement for sin. But now, because of the atonement , one of Jesus at the cross, We can receive forgiveness for our sins through sincere and complete repentance.
Sin can never be overlooked or ignored. God does not simply turn a blind eye to our offenses. If we don’t repentant of them and turn away from them in the end there will be consequences – God’s wrath.
From Pity to Praise 