Day of Atonement

The LORD said to Moses, “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. Anyone who does not deny himself on that day must be cut off from His people. I will destroy from among His people anyone who does any work on that day. You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. It is a Sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your Sabbath.”—Leviticus 23:26-32

Something new occurred to me when reading this passage today. The Lord stressed the importance of keeping the Sabbath to the Israelites. He repeatedly commanded them to do no work on the Day of Atonement. The act of atoning rests upon God alone. He does the work. Yes, it is up to us to accept His gift and WHOSOEVER WILL may call upon the Name of the Lord for salvation, but the work is His entirely. So, by resting on the Day of Atonement, the Israelites were placing their trust in His work of atonement, not on their own merit or quality of sacrifice.

When He had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, He bowed his head and gave up His spirit.­—John 19:30

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.—Titus 3:4-7

“The law says, ‘Do this, and you will live.’ The Gospel says, ‘It is done. Now, live.’”--Luther