Tehillimandpoetry

YOM KIPPUR - DAY OF ATONEMENT

Morning Readings

Leviticus 16:1-34

Numbers 29:7-11

Isaiah 57:14 to 58:14

Hebrews 5:1to 7:28

Afternoon/Minchah Readings

Leviticus 18:1-30

Book of Jonah

Book of Micah

Hebrews 8:1 to 10:39

Revelation 19:11-16

Leviticus 16

The Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur

On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Yahweh instructed Aaron to have a ceremonial wash/mikvah to change his status from the commonplace/earthly realm to the heavenly/holy Kingdom realm and then to dress himself in the High Priest’s white linen garments. Only when these acts were completed was Aaron consecrated and approved to enter into the Tabernacle to fulfill the High Priest Yom Kippur duties on behalf of the Israelite community.

In the outer courtyard, Aaron sacrificed a bull for his own transgressions and for those of his household on the Brazen Altar (Leviticus 16: 6). He then took the burning coals from under the altar, along with two handfuls of fragrant incense and entered into the Holy Place in the Tabernacle. He placed the incense on the fire of the Golden Altar (Altar of Incense) to cleanse it, and then entered into the Holy of Holies, passing through the curtain dividing the two rooms, to sprinkle blood from the bull seven times in the front of the atonement cover (the Mercy Seat), which was over the Ark of the Covenant.

Aaron next brought two goats to sacrifice for the sins of the whole Israelite community.

The First Goat

The first goat was sacrificed as an elevation offering, after which Aaron the High Priest took some of its blood into the Most Holy Place and sprinkled it on the atonement cover seven times. Aaron then took some of the bull’s blood and some of the first goat’s blood and put it on the horns of the Altar of Incense, sprinkling it seven times to cleanse and consecrate the altar from the uncleanness of the Israelites (Leviticus 16:3-19). The first goat was wholly burned on the Brazen Altar in the outer courtyard where the aroma ascended representing Yeshua’s righteousness being imputed to us, ascending to Yahweh as an aroma of righteousness (Romans 4:24).

The sprinkling of blood behind the veil in the Most Holy Place can be likened to our heart. Our heart is encased in a sack, which is referenced to the veil. Behind the veil, the heart is made of two chambers, just as the Tabernacle is made of two chambers. When Yeshua died, His heart was torn in two likened to the renting of the veil. The moment His blood was shed upon the earth the atonement for our sin was so powerful that the veil in the earthly Tabernacle was torn in two from the top to bottom revealing to us the power and the authority of Yeshua our High Priest, One who serves in a heavenly Tabernacle, not an earthly Tabernacle. In the renting of the veil we are now able to see, as a type and shadow, what actually took place in the heavenly realm as the partition of mankind’s sinful nature that separates the Bride from Yahweh, was removed. That partition was dissolved in an instant, in a twinkling of an eye. So powerful was the spiritual meaning of the tearing of the veil in the earthly Tabernacle, that bodies long since disintegrated, that were asleep in their graves, rose in full bodily form (Hebrews 8:1).

Ezekiel 37:12-14 “Therefore prophesy and say to them, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am Yahweh, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, Yahweh, have spoken it and performed it,’says Yahweh.”

Matthew 27:50-53 “And Jesus/Yeshua cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”

As believers, the blood of Yeshua is to be spiritually sprinkled on our hearts (our altars), thus changing our status from unclean to clean; from common to holy; from priest to high priest; and causing the principles of His Kingdom to no longer be written on hearts of stone (bitterness, unforgiveness – sin issues that bring death) but on hearts of flesh. When we walk in His true gospel (as was recorded on Mount Sinai), His blood burns off the dross (likened to the firing process of refining gold) and enables His true Light or Spirit, to become the flame that burns in our hearts forever. Yeshua’s sacrifice has opened the way for His Word to sanctify, redeem, consecrate and purify our hearts in His presence. Before His sacrifice, the blood of animals could only cover our fleshly nature, not remove it. In His more excellent way, the gospel, Yeshua cleansed our hearts from the layers of guilt and condemnation. With His one perfect sacrifice, no other animal sacrifices are needed. His atonement opened our hearts to receive His deliverance from the sins of our dishonor that held us back from life in Him. He has opened the way for us that we might have the victory when we choose to walk in the redemption now offered to us. The way into His Holy presence is still the same, through obedience to His Word/holiness/the gospel (Hebrews 8:1, 8:8-10; Jeremiah 31:31-34).

Matthew 3:11 John said, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Acts 1:5 Yeshua said, “For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit [at the Feast of Shavuot/Pentecost] not many days from now.”

Acts 2:3 [When the Feast of Shavuot/Pentecost came], “Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and ones at upon each of them.”

Hebrews 10:16-22 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says Yahweh: I will put My laws [the gospel/Torah/the principles given at Mount Sinai] into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them, then He adds, their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus/Yeshua, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Leviticus 16; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:8-10).

Leviticus 16:16 “And he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel, and because of their transgressions, in regard to all their sins; and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities.”

The Second Goat

The second sacrificial goat is the scapegoat, called in Hebrew Azazel. It was brought before the assembly where Aaron laid both his hands (representing the Two Houses of Israel; the House of Judah and the House of Israel) on its the head and confessed over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites. This ritual symbolized the transference of the sins of dishonoring Yahweh’s gospel and the guilt that came as a result of that, from the Children of Israel to the Azazel. After, the scapegoat was led ALIVE with a designated man into the wilderness. This is a foreshadowing of the Messiah who would take Israel’s sins upon Himself and remove them far from her, to be remembered no more (Leviticus 16:21-22).

Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

While we are to examine our personal altar/hearts daily, Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement, is a time once a year in which all the children of Israel (ekklesia/assembly), including the stranger with in the community, are called to corporately stand before Yahweh to examine their hearts. It is especially important for the Bride of Yeshua as she represents the priesthood of Yahweh.

Leviticus 16:29-31, 34 “This [Yom Kippur] shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before Yahweh. It is a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year.”

There are two kinds of sin. The first is personally what we have individually committed called transgressions. The second are iniquities, which we did not personally commit but had come through our generations and were inherited. The community as a whole, if not repented for, absorbs these. Sins such as sexual immorality can contaminate the body (the altar) of believers, and if tolerated in the camp, will bring the whole fellowship under judgment. Corporate sins cause us all to be guilty. Knowing mankind’s carnal nature, Yahweh in His mercy provided a way for that dishonor to be atoned for. Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement for Israel corporately to formally acknowledge their transgressions and iniquities before The Judge, Yeshua. We, as an assembly, are to examine our hearts through the lens of His word and repent/teshuvah before that Day, so that when we appear before The Judge He will always judge in our favor. In biblical context, Yom Kippur is not for judgment but is the day of deliverance. This keeps our hearts (altar) and camps (tabernacles) clean before Him (Romans 2:16; 2 Timothy 4:1).

The observance of Yom Kippur is not just a Feast Day for our Jewish brothers, but is a commandment for the Whole House of Israel. We as believers need to embrace this Day with gratefulness as Yeshua has made the way for us to approach His Holy of Holies. We must take responsibility for our sins as a community, as specified in His Word, repent, and renounce our personal and corporate sins before Him. Have we failed to walk in His gospel since being born again? Did we give into our fleshly, ungodly natures today, last week, last month or six months ago? We all have. This Feast Day is important especially for believers in order to fulfill all righteousness (all His right-ways). We are commanded to cleanse our altars once a year. Yeshua appropriated it for us, now it is up to us to apply it.

Paul says we (believers) have all sinned and fallen short of His Glory

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Ecclesiastes 7:20;1 John 1:8; Proverbs 20:9; Isaiah 53:6; Isaiah 64:6).

To confess our sin corporately on Yom Kippur is an earthly action that mirrors a heavenly principle, and becomes a witness before Yahweh. This honors Yahweh, glorifying His name and edifies that we are the people of the Living God. The power and authority that tore the veil in the Temple is offered to us if we are willing to obey His voice/commandment and stand before Him on This Day. By walking in obedience to Yahweh, the graves of His children in the House of Israel (us/the ekklesia) open up, our grave clothes (earthly nature) fall away and an army glorifying Yahweh enters Jerusalem! This is what His word says.

Matthew 27:52-53 “and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”

Believers in Yeshua are a representation of the second goat that was sent into the wilderness. On the Day of Trumpets/Yom Teruah, the first day of the seventh month, the doors open. It is on Yom Kippur the tenth day of the same month that the doors close. Going before the King on His Holy Day sets a whole new path before us for the next year. Be encouraged, if you have endured struggles and challenges throughout this year and if you have never really participated in the weekly Sabbath or High Holy Sabbath Feast Days, we highly recommend celebrating them. Your life will never be the same again.

Deuteronomy 30:19 “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love Yahweh your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

The Tree of Life

Yahweh declared Yom Kippur to be observed throughout all of our generations as an eternal Sabbath Feast that is actively available for us today. At the Cross - Yeshua defeated the law of sin and death and fulfilled (completed the need for) animal sacrifices for our sin. For two thousand years, the way to the Tree of Life/the law of life is open to us. The path (called the Highway of Holiness) leading back to the Garden of Eden is made straight by Yeshua and guarded by two cherubim with flaming swords called the Tree of Life, the Torah scroll/the Word of Yahweh that represents our very life. The gospel is the seed that contains the Kingdom of God (Heaven). The Mosaic Covenant is the written gospel, the window for us to see into the Tree of Life and the door that opens the way back to the Garden.

“He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way back to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24).

Yom Kippur is extremely relevant for those who believe in Yeshua. This Day is not and never has been for salvation purposes but is for redemption - the cleansing process that cleans our hearts (likened to the altar) from corporate impurities once a year. Yeshua’s blood is the eternal sacrifice that cleanses and delivers us (called salvation) a process found in the Abrahamic Covenant. Now our redemption lifestyle begins. Salvation and redemption are two separate facets of our lives. It is our task to rid ourselves of the physical and spiritual impurities in our lives as we now have the power and authority IN Yeshua to do this.

The Menorah – Fire

Leviticus 16, which speaks of the Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is Yahweh’s teaching and instruction to believers, those who have already been atoned for by His Blood. We see the incense is to be put on the fire. If we are consecrated, the fire will be burning in our hearts. We are commanded not to let the flame go out. Yahweh gave us the Day of Atonement observance to obey every year throughout all generations. All candles and wicks need trimming in order for them to burn brightly. The Day of Atonement is Yahweh’s feast given to trim our wicks to keep the flame of the true Menorah (Yeshua) burning brightly in our hearts and to keep all contamination far from us. This is called circumcision of the heart. The Day of Atonement has nothing to do with salvation but everything to do with health and Temple maintenance.

One example in Scripture of this cleansing process is the story of Hezekiah, King of Judah. His father Ahaz had desecrated the Temple and it was no longer in use. This caused Yahweh’s fierce anger to fall upon the nation of Israel. At the age of twenty-five, Hezekiah opened the doors of the Temple of Yahweh, then gathered in the priests and the Levites and instructed them to consecrate themselves in order that they might then consecrate the Temple and remove all defilement from the sanctuary (2 Chronicles 29:1-36; 30-31).

2 Chronicles 29:15 “They went in to purify the temple of Yahweh, as the king had ordered, following the word of Yahweh [the gospel] given them by Moses.”

What was that word given to them by Moses? It was Yeshua’s gospel (John 5:46-47). Hezekiah’s intention and purpose was to restore the covenantal relationship of the nation of Israel back to Yahweh by restoring the Temple and its laws, which included the Sabbath and Yahweh’s High Holy Sabbath Feast Days thus turning Yahweh’s fierce anger away from the Israelites. Yom Kippur is a Sabbath. The Sabbath (all of them) is still how we are to return and be restored in our hearts and how the land of Israel can be reestablished to peace once again.

The life and teachings of Moses reveals to us Yeshua’s order for our lives. Scripture records this in Act 15:19-21, by James who was the head of the Jerusalem council and the half brother of Yeshua, who said,

“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles [those returning to Torah from the Nations] who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is [still] read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

Yom Kippur is one of the principles contained in the Covenant of Moses (the teaching and instruction booklet to the Abrahamic Covenant which contains the gospel and covenant outlining our salvation/deliverance). We consecrate ourselves by coming back to the Covenant of Moses through Yeshua. We return to the vow our ancestors (and we) made to keep Yahweh’s Word and walk in it (called redemption) (Deuteronomy 29:14-15). We consecrate our temple (our body) by making a distinction between clean and unclean practices and associations in our lives. We remove all defilement from our lives, homes and bodies by making clean choices following the instructions found in Yahweh’s Word (His gospel) as we are no longer living for ourselves but for Yeshua. Our desire is for Him to accomplish His purposes in our lives. This calls for us to leave our earthly sin nature and walk in our heavenly calling. This is called the walk of redemption on the Highway of Holiness and enters us into the Davidic Covenant – the Covenant of the Bride (king and priest) (Revelation 1:6). Yeshua’s Bride will be found honoring Yom Kippur as she understands it is her wedding day, the day she has been preparing for since receiving her salvation in the Abrahamic Covenant (Isaiah 35:3-10; Ephesians 4:17-5:21; Romans 13:9-14; Colossians 3:5-10; 1 Timothy 1:17-27; 1 Peter 1:22-2:10; Romans 6:1-14). (See parsha Emor - Leviticus 21-24 www.sheepfoldgleanings.com ).

Even though Hezekiah’s story took place during the feast of Passover, the story contains the same principles we fulfill when Yahweh’s glory is revealed on The Day of the Lord/Yom Kippur. By obedience to Yahweh’s Word we who obey enter a status change from the realm of sin and death/the grave (caused by our disobedience) and pass-over to the realm of life (where we remain when obedient). At King Hezekiah’s invitation, a remnant from the House of Israel (Northern Kingdom) joined their brothers of the House of Judah (Southern Kingdom) for the Passover feast. This not only broke the yoke of sin and death that had imprisoned them but also broke down the dividing wall of animosity that stood between the two houses. The scriptures say that all those who came to the Feast were healed. The House of Israel was so convicted and encouraged by seeing Yahweh’s response to their faith and obedience in the gospel that they tore down Judah’s idols and went about cleansing throughout the Southern Kingdom before returning to purify their own homelands. Blessings pursued them following their acts of obedience, and once again Godly order was birthed in their hearts and in the land (Ephesians 2:11-18).

This will happen to us also when we return to Yahweh’s righteousness. Our broken and disappointed hearts will be repaired and our temples become holy again. We will go throughout Judah and Israel – the Land of our inheritance – sharing the gospel given to us by Moses. The land will be cleansed of unrighteousness and lawlessness. Yahweh will strengthen us and deliver us from all of our enemies around us, as well as from that ungodly nature within us, when we truly worship and obey the gospel of the Kingdom of God with all of our heart, soul and mind.

Romans 6:6-8 “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Yeshua, we believe that we will also live with him.”

Mark 1:14-15 “Yeshua came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”

The story of atonement through Yeshua is also recorded in John 1:6. John came in the Spirit of Elijah to bear witness to the true Light of the world, Yeshua the Messiah. John was calling to those people in the wilderness to return to Yahweh through repentance to cleanse their hearts and to walk in His right order. John quoted the words of the prophet Isaiah to the people to call them home (John 1:23).

Isaiah 40:3-5 “A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for Yahweh; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of Yahweh will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.’”

How do we make straight the way for Yahweh? We follow Yahweh’s gospel, our Marriage Covenant, written down for us at Mount Sinai through Moses, that teaches us how to recognize if we are outside His Covenant ways. Once we repent we need to turn/teshuvah and go in the opposite direction from that which kept us in the wilderness. His Spirit will give us the strength and His word will give us the direction and encouragement to walk this out. We are called to consecrate ourselves by removing and resisting all defilement that comes against us so that the Glory of Yahweh may live within us. Likewise, we must refuse to accept anything that separates us from His anointing and blessings and choose to turn from the ways of the world that bring wrong attitudes and unforgiveness. We need to disengage ourselves from wrong associations and make straight the way for Yahweh’s return in our lives (Isaiah 66:1-2).

Isaiah 35: 3-8 “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.’ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way.”

“My Sins Will be Forgiven on Yom Kippur”

Some people believe they can live anyway they choose throughout the year, giving little acknowledgment to Yahweh, then use one day of fasting on Yom Kippur to walk free of twelve months of transgressions. This will not move a Holy God.

On the other hand, those from a church background believe they do not need to observe Yom Kippur as they have salvation and are safely under the blood. They are leaving in the rapture and are OK because God accepts them just the way they are. They do not need to change or follow those Feasts, as they are just for the Jews.

It is one thing to approach Yom Kippur broken and truly sorry for one’s sinful choices and acts, desiring to live life to glorify God, while realizing that one falls short. It is entirely different for one to look at Yom Kippur arrogantly as some kind of magical loophole that allows one to live outside His commandments, yet enjoy His forgiveness.

Both groups fail to see that Yom Kippur is the Wedding of the Lamb to His intended Bride. The one He chose and died to remarry. The one who is made in His mirror image.

The Sign

It is interesting that Yeshua rose from the dead at 30 CE, exactly forty years (considered one generation) prior to the Temple’s demise (70 CE). The Talmud reports that Yahweh rejected all the Yom Kippur sacrifices from 30 CE until 70 CE – from the year Yeshua rose from the dead until the year the Temple was destroyed.

Mitch Glaser in his book The Fall Feasts of Israel gives some insight: According to the Talmud, the destruction of the Temple did not come as a total surprise to the Jewish people. In fact, the Talmud records that four ominous events occurred approximately forty years before the destruction of the Temple. Those four events were to warn the Rabbis of the Temple’s impending doom.

The four signs were:

1.Every Yom Kippur, the priest would place his hands in an urn and pull out two lots, one in each hand. The right hand usually held, “For Yahweh,” a sign of Yahweh’s favor, and the other, “for Azezel” (scapegoat). However, every year during the forty years from Yeshua’s death until the Temple’s destruction, the lot “For Yahweh” was found in the left hand.

2.A scarlet cord would be tied to the door of the Temple each year, as a scapegoat was taken to a precipice to meet its end. As the scapegoat, who now bore Israel’s sins, was cast over the cliff, the scarlet crimson cord would turn white. The Mishna tells us that the cord stopped turning white in 30 CE, the year Yeshua died, the year that the Yom Kippur sacrifice ended.

3.The westernmost light on the Temple menorah would not burn. It is believed that this light was used to light all the other lights of the menorah.

4.The Temple doors began to open by themselves. This terrified the Rabbis, as they interpreted this as a sign of judgment to come instead of the deliverance that was offered them.

“If this is true, why did the Rabbis not turn to Yeshua? More than likely it was because they merely interpreted these signs as a prophetic warning of the destruction of the Temple. Messianic Jews would agree, but add that the Temple was going to be destroyed because there was no longer any need for a sacrifice since Yeshua had taken the sins of Israel upon Himself. Hence, God has never accepted a Yom Kippur sacrifice since His death. Even the Rabbis testify to that. Yeshua’s sacrifice was once for all.”

Hebrews 10:1-14 “For the law [the gospel/Torah: the Law of Life/Yahweh’s teaching and instruction], having a shadow of the good things to come [Yeshua], and not the very image of the things can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect [His word (creation) cannot save us. Only Yeshua (the Creator) is our Savior]. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers [Yeshua’s Bride walking in Yeshua’s Marriage Covenant], once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices [the sacrificial system]there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. …we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ/Yeshua Ha Mashiach once for all. ….this Man [Yeshua], after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ/Yeshua Ha Mashiach. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:50-58).

His Majesty Requests –

An Invitation to The Royal Wedding of the Lamb

By Rebecca Park Totilo

Part two - continued from the last study - Yom Teruah

Yom Kippur - The Marriage

Revelation 3:4-5 “They shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”

Two attendants dress the bridegroom in a white linen vestment, preparing him to enter the wedding chamber with his bride, like the Cohen Gadol, or High Priest, preparing to go into the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur.

In Talmudic times, it was customary for the groom to wear white. Today, many Jewish grooms wear a white robe (the kittel) without pockets. The white garment symbolizes spiritual purity or “rebirth” and holiness, as the wedding day is like Yom Kippur and all of the bride and groom’s sins are forgiven. For it is written in Isaiah 1:18, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow”. And more importantly, they must be careful to remain faithful and free from sin, for Ecclesiastes 9:8 says, “Let thy garments always be white”.

The kittel also serves as a reminder of his mortality and the white shroud worn when he dies. It is for this reason there are no pockets – we come into this world with nothing and cannot take anything with us when we leave. Marriage, of course, is meant to last until death, for on the day that he and she die, they will again wear white. For the bonds of love are as strong as death, as spoken of in Song of Songs 8:6. And so, just as the dead do not dress themselves for their burial, so the groom has ‘two’ attendants to help him put on his kittel.

Just as Yahweh blessed Adam and Eve before they married, telling them to be “fruitful and multiply,” so the groom’s father blesses his son before the wedding ceremony. It is also customary for the bride to be blessed in a similar fashion by her parents.

It is Yahweh’s desire to bless us with a clean and holy life. Even as believers, though, we blow it and sin. Through Yeshua, we can receive forgiveness anytime. As our Bridegroom, He gives us the chance to wipe the slate clean and start fresh.

Ecclesiastes 9:8-9 “Let your garments always be white, and let your head lack no oil. Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun.”

Lifting the Veil

2 Corinthians 3:16-18 “When one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

In a ceremony called bedeken, the groom goes up to his bride and confirms by lifting the veil that she is the woman he chose to marry, then he lowers it over her face. This custom is symbolic of the hard lesson Jacob learned in Genesis 29:23-30. Laban tricked Jacob into marrying Leah, his older daughter; by concealing her face under a thick veil and pretending she was Jacob’s true love, Rachel.

During ancient times, once the couple was married, the bride no longer wore the bridal veil. The bride “week” was fulfilled, and everyone in the community got a chance to see who the bride was. In the same matter, the Bride of Yeshua wears a spiritual veil. We are betrothed to our Savior and must be faithful to wait until our marriage to Him. The world does not recognize the bride, as she has been hidden away, but she will soon be revealed, after the marriage to the Lamb of God.

Genesis 24:65 “For she had said to the servant, ‘Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?’ The servant said, ‘It is my master.’ So she took a veil and covered herself.”

The Chuppah Wedding Canopy

Song of Songs 2:4 “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.”

During the ancient times of Israel, the “chuppah” was the special “room” built onto the bridegroom’s father’s house, where the bride was brought at the end of the betrothal period. The original Hebrew meaning for chuppah means a room or to cover with garlands, symbolic of the laurel wreath worn by the bride and groom during the marriage ceremony. Over the centuries, the chuppah has taken on many forms, including a tallith (prayer shawl) draped over the couple’s heads, to a chuppah made entirely of flowers. Today, the chuppah is a wedding canopy made from ornamented silk or satin cloth, supported by four firm poles, fashioned from trees planted when the groom was born. Its structure, being temporary and removable is held up by men and serves as a reminder that our permanent wedding chamber is in New Jerusalem with the Messiah.

At the end of the millennial reign, the Bride of Messiah will be brought into the chuppah (bridal chamber) to be with the Bridegroom. This is the room that Yeshua referred to in John 14:2-3. He has prepared a special place for us!

Revelation 21:2 “Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

Here Comes the Bride

Revelation 19:8 “And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

As the bride makes herself pure and ready for her bridegroom, so too, the Lord in glory, longs to have His bride stand in great beauty beside Him, wearing the “bright and clean” radiant, white wedding gown He has provided. Clothed in fine linen, we will be without spot or wrinkle, and all sins will be removed. The garments prepared for us will be woven with the good deeds (obedience to His word) we faithfully keep while here in our Earthly walk that will reflect His awesome workmanship.

As His bride, we need to keep our ways pure and holy according to His word given us at Mount Sinai during our betrothal and renewal at Pentecost. We must listen carefully to the sound of His voice and obey Him. For the days are evil and it will become harder to do His will and follow after Him. The bride of the Lamb, His wife must stand blameless and spotless, ready for that day!

2 Corinthians 11:2 “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present a pure virgin to Yeshua.”

Compass the Man

Jeremiah 31:22 “For Yahweh has created a new thing in the earth - A woman shall encompass a man.”

The ancient custom of circling the bridegroom three times is based on the Bible verse in Jeremiah. With this act, the bride is binding him with his three obligations described in the Torah: Food, clothing and conjugal rights. Yeshua, our Bridegroom, reminded us in Matthew 6:28-29 that He would meet these needs. “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” We don’t need to worry about these things. The Lord willingly fulfills His obligations because He loves us.

The groom is also bound by three moral obligations in Yahweh’s oath to Israel as outlined in Hosea 2:19-20: “He will betroth you to Himself forever, He will betroth you to Himself with fairness, justice, love, and mercy, and He will betroth you to Himself with faith, and you shall know Him. The Lord holds Himself accountable under the same agreement a husband accepts when he marries. We can trust our Heavenly Bridegroom. He will never leave us or forsake us!

Hosea 2:19-20 “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, In loving kindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the LORD.”

Sheva Berakhoth

The Seven Blessings over the Couple

“For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:5).

“Blessed are Thou, O Yahweh our Elohim, King of the Universe,

Creator of the fruit of the grapevine.

Blessed are Thou, O Yahweh our Elohim,

King of the Universe, who created all things for His glory.

Blessed are Thou, O Yahweh our Elohim,

King of the Universe, Creator of Man.

Blessed are Thou, O Yahweh our Elohim,

King of the Universe, who created man in His image –

in the image set forth by His plan and

who prepared from him a ‘tabernacle’ to last for all time.

Blessed are Thou, O Elohim, Creator of mankind.

May the barren rejoice and be glad,

when its children are gathered back to it in joy

Blessed are Thou, O Elohim, who makes Zion rejoice in her children.

May thou grant great joy to these dearly beloved,

just as You granted happiness to the work of your hands

long ago in the Garden of Eden.

Blessed are Thou, O Elohim,

who grants joy to the bridegroom and bride.

Blessed are Thou, O Yahweh our Elohim, King of the Universe,

who created happiness and joy, bridegroom and bride,

rejoicing and song, delight and cheer,

love and harmony, peace and fellowship.

Soon, O Yahweh our Elohim, may there be heard

in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem,

a sound of gladness, a sound of joy,

the sound of the bridegroom and sound of the bride,

the sound of rejoicing from bridegrooms at their weddings,

and young people at their feasts of song.

Blessed are Thou, O Elohim, who grants joy

to the bridegroom with the bride.”

When the rabbi finishes singing the blessings over the couple, he hands the second cup to the groom to sip, and then to the bride. The wedding is now complete, and they begin their married life.

Just as marriage is a reenactment of the creation of the world in six days, and the blessings over the wine represents the Sabbath, so these seven blessings are a reminder to what God had done and His ultimate plan for mankind.

Psalm 137:4-6 “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.”

The Best for Last

Pointing to six, large, stone water pots for ceremonial purification, Yeshua orders, “Fill them to the brim.” Without hesitation, the servants quickly fill each twenty-gallon vessel with water. Then Yeshua says, “Draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, “The master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now” John 2:6-10.

Yeshua performed His first miracle at the wedding of Cana in Galilee, changing water into wine. Unlike many of His other subsequent miracles, which relieved suffering and need, this miracle ministered great joy at a festive occasion, blessing the couple and the marriage.

Stone water pots, used for the rachatz (hand washing ceremony), were now filled to the brim with new wine, symbolic of the inward cleansing power and new life we have in Yeshua. Not only do we cleanse the outside, now we are made clean on the inside. In our hearts the blood of Yeshua cleanses us, opening the way for us to become obedient to His ways.

Our marriage to Yeshua will not be complete until His return when we share the second cup of wine with Him, just as He said in Matthew:

“Yeshua said, ‘I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom’” (Matthew 26:29).

His Majesty Requests: An Invitation to the Royal Wedding of the Lamb by Rebecca Park Totilo

To be continued - in study: Sukkot Day 1 www.sheepfoldgleanings.com

To be continued...

Shabbat Shalom,

Julie Parker

Special Notes:

Thank you to Rebecca Park Totilo for permission to print your book His Majesty Requests: An Invitation to the Royal Wedding of the Lamb for all to enjoy. For more information or to purchase a copy please visit: http://rebeccaatthewell.org

Music:

The Journey of the Bride music by Lenny and Varda Harris [email protected]

Short Music Clip: The Procession http://www.lennyandvarda.com/musicclips/JOURNEY%20OF%20THE%20BRIDE/9-9%20THE%20PROCESSION%20CLIP.mp3

References

Acharei Leviticus 16 by Julie Parker www.sheepfoldgleanings.com

The Temple: It’s Ministry and Services by Alfred Edersheim

Torah Scribe by Artist Maurycy Gottlieb (1856-1879) National Museum, Warsaw.

About Sheepfold Gleanings

Sheepfold Gleanings written by (escrito por) Julie Parker

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Website: www.sheepfoldgleanings.com

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