Yom Kippur and the United Nations General Assembly

This coming Saturday is one of the highest and holiest days in the Jewish calendar.  It is known as Yom Kippur, or The Day of Atonement.  The roots for this holy day go back to the commandments given by God to Moses upon Mount Sinai following the exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt.   The details of this special day are found in the following texts: Leviticus 16:1-34, Leviticus 23:26-32, and Numbers 29:7-11.  This was a national day for fasting and repentance of sins.  On this day, the High Priest would enter into the Most Holy Place and there sprinkle the blood of a bull and the blood of a goat upon the cover of the Ark of the Covenant.  This cover was known as the Mercy Seat.  The blood of the bull was representative of the sins of the High Priest, while the blood of the goat represented the sins of the people.  Thus both the priest and the nation were represented.


Following the sprinkling of the blood upon the Mercy Seat, the High Priest would then, in the presence of the people, lay his hands upon the head of a second goat confessing the sins of wickedness and rebellion of the people, thus transferring those sins now to the goat.  Then that goat would be taken by a chosen individual deep into the wilderness and released never to be seen again.  This represented that God had removed the sins from the camp and the people were forgiven.  Some final sacrifices then completed the events of this important day. 


Are there any lessons we can learn from The Day of Atonement?  And the answer is "yes."  First, there is the reminder that the way to forgiveness is through following the plan of God.  Moses did not just think up this way.  It was given to him by God Himself.  "Moses, if the people want to know My forgiveness, then this is the avenue they must take."  There was only one way to repentance and forgiveness!  Sounds pretty narrow, doesn't it?  But the way to God is a narrow way.  It is only through Jesus that one can experience the forgiveness of sins.  Remember those words of Jesus: "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).  The Day of Atonement was God's plan.


Second, there is the reminder that the way to forgiveness comes through the shedding of innocent blood.  That bull and goat had done nothing deserving of death.  They did not need to be forgiven.  Yet they gave of their lives so that the people might be forgiven.  What a picture here of what Jesus Christ did for us upon the cross!  He had done nothing deserving of death.  He did not need to be forgiven.  He freely gave of Himself for us: "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). 


Third, there is the reminder that when God forgives our sins, they are totally removed from us.  That goat, called the scape-goat, was taken so far outside the boundaries of the camp, that it was never seen again.  No one ever knew what became of that goat; perhaps it wandered in that wilderness until it died, or perhaps it became a meal for a lion or a pack of wolves.  The Bible affirms for us that God, also, has removed our sins from us: "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12).  What an amazing statement!  Those sins will never be seen again. 


The Day of Atonement really becomes a portrait for us of what Jesus Christ would do upon the cross.  So, perhaps it might be good on Saturday to just take a few moments to simply thank God for the forgiveness of your sins through the blood of Jesus Christ.  Of course, it is good for us to do that on a regular basis. 


Before I close, I just wanted to make a quick comment upon some of the speeches given by world leaders at the opening of the United Nations General Assembly.  Last week, Palestinian Authority Chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, used his time to rail against Israel, accusing them of "crimes against humanity" during the recent Operation Protective Edge.  He also indicated, although he did not give specifics, that he intends to appeal to the United Nations Security Council to set a date whereby Israel must exit Samaria and Judea (the West Bank).  Reading between the lines in his speech, one comes to the conclusion that the Palestinians are no longer interested in a face-to-face peace process, but want a declaration by the international community that will force Israel to either leave the West Bank or to defy the wishes of that international community by remaining.


Then, yesterday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed that same United Nations General Assembly.  He spent a good amount of time making the case that Hamas and ISIS or ISIL or IS are simply branches off the same tree.   Both Hamas and ISIS have as their stated intent the destruction of Israel.  He then addressed the accusation of "crimes against humanity" by showing photographs of Hamas rocket launchers on school grounds and in neighborhoods.  He used these words, "Ladies and Gentlemen, As Israeli children huddled in bomb shelters and Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system knocked Hamas rockets out of the sky, the profound moral difference between Israel and Hamas couldn't have been clearer: Israel was using its missiles to protect its children; Hamas was using its children to protect its missiles."  The Prime Minister also seemed wearied by the lengthy peace process, but also appeared to keep the door open for future talks. 


The focus of the world is upon ISIS right now.  Even our own governmental leaders have failed to "connect the dots" between ISIS and Hamas and Hezbollah and Al-Qaeda.  The Israeli Prime Minister is correct - there is an obvious link.  I think the Australians are beginning to see the link with their recent uncovering of a plot that is almost too grisly to even think about.  There is a link with the recent terrorist murder in Oklahoma: this was not an act of workplace violence, but an act of terrorism, a hate-crime if you will.  Is it ever possible to totally eradicate the radical Islamists?  No.  We tried in World War 2 to eradicate Nazism and Fascism and were successful in damaging its influence, but both Nazism and Fascism still exist today, especially among those white-supremacist groups.  No, we will never totally destroy radical ideologies, but the world - including, and most importantly, the Arab world - needs to join hands to do all it can to destroy as many of those radical ideologies as possible.  The world was successful in World War 2.  It can be again, but it will take some bold leadership - a Roosevelt or a Churchill - to make it happen; and, I am afraid, as I look out over the leadership landscape today, such leaders are sorely missing.  Leadership today is through accommodation rather than through courage.  Leadership today is achieved by popularity polls rather than through assertive visioning. 


Who will the world listen to?  The Palestinian Authority Chairman or the Israeli Prime Minister?  I know whom I am inclined to listen to...but I don't believe the world is listening to the right voice.