Our Theme Verse for 2017 1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 1
Rainbow Forest Mission Statement Connecting the Disconnected to Christ, Community and the Call Our Purpose To glorify God in everything we say and do Connecting Through the Blood Remember The Day Leviticus 16-17 John 19 2 Corinthians 6:2 2
Three Great Days The Day That Great Day of Atonement Leviticus 16 The Day That Great Day Jesus Died on the Cross John 19 The Day That Great Day You Gave Your Life to Jesus and found forgiveness of sins! 2 Cor. 6:2 Leviticus 16:1-10 1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the LORD, and died; 2 and the LORD said to Moses: "Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat. 3 Thus Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering. 3
4 He shall put the holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore he shall wash his body in water, and put them on. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. 6 "Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 He shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 8 Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness. 4
Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. Exodus 30:9-10 You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD. Hebrews 9:6-7 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. 5
The Great Day of Atonement The rabbis designated the Day of Atonement with the simple word Yoma, "The Day." The name "Yom Kippur" means "Day of Atonement." The most important day of the year for the Old Testament Jew was the Day of Atonement Yom Kippur when God graciously atoned for all the sins of all the people and gave the nation a new beginning. It is a day set aside to "afflict the soul," to atone for the sins of the past year. This year the Jews will observe Yom Kippur From Sunset Friday evening, September 29, 2017 to Nightfall Saturday, September 30, 2017 It was at an Appointed Time Leviticus 16:1-2, 29 Only the high priest was to enter the holy of holies, and that only once a year on the Day of Atonement. It wasn't a matter of human choice; it was a matter of divine appointment. On the first day of the seventh month, the trumpets were blown to announce the beginning of a new year (Rosh Hashanah; 23:23-25). The tenth day was the Day of Atonement (23:26-32) The blowing of the trumpets announced the new year, but only the shedding of the blood could give the people forgiveness and a new beginning. "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Heb. 9:22) 6
It Had An Announced Purpose Leviticus 16:30-34 The Hebrew word kapar, translated "atonement," is used sixteen times in Leviticus 16; and it basically means "to ransom, to remove by paying a price." The priest placed his hands on the head of the sacrifice, symbolizing the transferring of the nation's sins to the innocent victim who died in their place. Atonement means that a price is paid and blood is shed, because life must be given for life (17:11). The word "blood" is used nine times in this chapter and thirteen times in chapter 17. If the Day of Atonement teaches us anything about salvation, it's that there can be no salvation from sin apart from the shedding of blood. Matthew 26:28 "For this is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins Matthew 20:28 "Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many The sacrifices offered on the Day of Atonement brought a threefold cleansing: To the high priest and his family (Lev. 16:6,17) To the people of Israel (v. 17) To the tabernacle (vv. 16, 20, 33) 7
An Afflicted People Leviticus 16:29, 31 This 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. Regardless of the day of the week on which it fell, the annual Day of Atonement was considered a Sabbath, and the people weren't allowed to do any work. God commanded them to "afflict themselves" ("deny yourselves,"), a Hebrew word that means "to humble or oppress." The "affliction" on the Day of Atonement is usually interpreted to mean fasting and the confession of sin. An Assigned Procedure Leviticus 16:3-28 It wasn't enough that the high priest serve on the right day, for the right purpose, and that the people have the right heart attitude. It was also important that the high priest follow the right procedure that God gave to him. The high priest prepares (Leviticus 16:3-5). The high priest took off his glorious garments, washed at the laver, and put on the simple linen garments of an ordinary priest. An act of humiliation An act of sanctification 8
The High Priest was setting himself apart to serve the Lord and His people on this special day. In a much greater way, our Lord Jesus Christ did all of this for us. John 17:19 "And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth" He never needed to be cleansed from sin because He was sinless, but He did set Himself apart to serve us. He laid aside His glory and came into this world as a poor baby. As God's Suffering Servant, He humbled Himself and died on the cross (2 Cor. 8:9; Phil. 2:5-11). His work completed, He returned to heaven and "dressed Himself" once again in the glory that is rightfully His (John 17:1, 5). The high priest offers his own sin offering Leviticus 16:6, 11-14 The high priest then went to the altar where he sacrificed the bull as a sin offering for himself and his family, which probably included all the priests (Lev. 16:11). Taking some of the blood of the bull, plus a censer of coals from the altar and a supply of the special incense, he entered the holy of holies. He put the incense on the coals so that the cloud would cover the mercy seat upon the ark (v. 13), and then he sprinkled some of the blood on the mercy seat and some of the blood seven times before the mercy seat (v. 14). 9
Since the cloud of incense symbolized the glory of God, the high priest put God's glory ahead of everything else. It reminds us of Christ's first request in His high priestly prayer, "Glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee" (John 17:1). We need to remember that the ultimate goal of God's great plan of salvation is not the good of people but the glory of God (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14). The high priest needed a sacrifice because he was a sinner, but Jesus didn't need a sacrifice for Himself because He is sinless (Heb. 7:23-28). The high priest offers the sin offering for the people Leviticus 16:7-10,15-22 The two goats together constituted one sin offering ("two kids of the goats for a sin offering," v. 5), even though only one goat was slain. The high priest cast lots over the goats, and one of them was chosen to die. He killed the goat and took some of its blood into the holy of holies, where he sprinkled it on the mercy seat and seven times before the mercy seat, just as he'd done with the blood of the bull. But he also sprinkled the goat's blood in the holy place of the tabernacle and applied it to the horns of the brazen altar, along with the blood of the bull. Thus he purified the tabernacle and altar "from the uncleanness of the children of Israel" (v. 19). 10
The high priest then put both hands on the head of the living goat and confessed "over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites all their sins" (v. 21). This goat was led out of the camp and released in the wilderness, never to be seen again. This goat is called "the scapegoat" (vv. 8, 10, 26), short for "escape-goat," that is, the goat that escaped death and escaped into the desert. The releasing of the goat symbolized the sins of the people being carried away, never to be held against them again. Psalm 103:12 "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us" John 1:29 "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" Remember The Great Day When Jesus Died John 19:14-18 14 Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold your King!" 15 But they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!" 16 Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away. 17 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, 18 where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. 11
Remember The Great Day When Jesus Died Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. 1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. Remember The Great Day When Jesus Died John 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished, and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. It is finished is a translation of the Greek word tetelestai, the perfect indicative passive tense of the word telos, which means to end; to bring to completion; to bring to a conclusion; to complete; to accomplish; to fulfill; or to finish. 12
The word tetelestai was the equivalent of the Hebrew word spoken by the high priest when he presented a sacrificial lamb without spot or blemish. Some also believe that when the scapegoat was taken into a remote region of the wilderness that this word was also the shout of the man who released the goat to another man closer to the camp, who relayed this word to the next man, then to the next man till finally the man closest to the camp would announce to the whole camp of Israel in Hebrew, It is finished. Jesus entered into the Holy Place and offered His own blood -- a sacrifice so complete that God never again required the blood of lambs for forgiveness. Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. When Jesus said, It is finished! He was declaring the end of sacrifice, because the ultimate Sacrifice had finally been made! Atonement was completed, perfected, and fully accomplished. It was done once and for all finished forever! 13
The Great Day of Our Salvation Luke 23:43 And he said to him, Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise. 2 Corinthians 6:2 For he says, In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Hebrews 3:7-8 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, Hebrews 2:3 How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, We can escape the judgement for our sin because we have a scape goat. The Lord s Supper The Bread The Broken Body of Jesus The Blood The Life of Jesus poured out He died in our place and His Blood now not only covers atones but now removes our sins!!!! 14
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. 15