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Kislev 18, 5763 / Nov 23, 2002
Kislev 16, 5766 / Dec 17, 2005
Kislev 16, 5769 / Dec 13, 2008
Kislev 14, 5772 / Dec 10, 2011
Kislev 14, 5775 / Dec 6, 2014
Kislev 14, 5778 / Dec 2, 2017
Kislev 12, 5781 / Nov 28, 2020
Acharei /
When They had Approached
SCRIPTURES (should be read first)
For this lesson preceding Hanukkah /
the Feast of Dedication of the Holy Temple, Leviticus 16:19 concerns
consecrating the Holy Place.
This chapter details the service of
Yom haKippurim / the Day of the Atonements. Last week concerned baptism, which
is especially prescribed for the 40 days of repentance preceding this
observance.
Tishrei 10 (Yom haKippurim) is the
date that Moses returned with the second tablets of stone, after seeking
forgiveness from God for the people who worshipped the golden calf.
Sivan 2 First ascent of Moses
up Mt. Sinai
Sivan 3 Second ascent
Sivan 4 Third ascent
Sivan 6 Fourth ascent
(Shavuot)
Sivan 7 Fifth ascent
40 days
Tammuz 17 Moses returns, sees golden
calf
Tammuz 18 Sixth ascent
40 days
Av 29 Moses returns
Av 30 Seventh ascent
40
days (40 days of repentance)
Tishrei 10 Moses returns (Yom
haKippurim)
(From Exodus 19-32; see
The Sequence of Events in the Old Testament by Eliezer Shulman.)
Ezekiel 44 speaks of sins requiring
national atonements.
(V.2) “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you
judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations.”
We see here that judgment is connected with the Day of the Atonements. Ezekiel
22:26 explains a failure of judgment: “Her priests have
done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no
distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the
difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My
Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.”
On this annual occasion, we consider,
and confess, all kinds of sin: sins of omission and sins of commission; sins of
attitude and sins of speech; sins of intent and sins of deed; willful sins and
sins committed in ignorance. 1 John 1:9 reads, concerning believers,
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
_______________
We start this reading with the
reminder that Aaron’s two sons died for entering the Holy of Holies at the wrong
time and with the wrong offerings. God warned: if Aaron entered the Holy of
Holies at a wrong time, or in an impure state, he would die.
The incense service could be
performed only once a year, and only by the High Priest. Aaron’s sons made an
inappropriate incense offering, and died. Now we find that Aaron must make an
incense offering in order to live, when entering the Holy of Holies. He must
take a shovel full of fiery coals from the Brazen Altar in the courtyard, and
his hands full of finely ground incense spices placed into a ladle. This was
taken into the Holy of Holies, where the ladle of incense was poured onto the
shovel of coals. The incense would make a cloud over the Ark cover. (See Yoma
4-5 for further detail.)
Aaron must offer a goat for himself
and the purification of the Tabernacle. He must also go into the mikvah
(baptistery) and put on certain garments. Only then could he represent the one
without sin – Yeshua, who only could qualify to make real atonement for others.
Yeshua needed no such offering for Himself.
Heb 7:26-27 – “For
it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent,
undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not
need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own
sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when
He offered up Himself.”
The fact that Yeshua made atonements
for us, once for all time, does not abolish the ordinances detailed herein.
Yeshua said that He came, not to abolish, but to fulfill: fulfill therefore
cannot be interpreted as abolish. The ordinances of offerings were prophetic
pictures, and after Yeshua’s fulfillment of them, they become memorial pictures.
All are not yet fulfilled, and none are abolished.
Aaron was required to offer two goats
for atonements.
Firstly, the goat on which the lot
fell for Yahweh, must be slain.
Secondly, the goat on which the lot
fell for Azazel (the scapegoat), must be presented. Aaron must lay both hands
upon the live goat’s head, confessing the sins of the people over it. Then it
must be led into the wilderness, symbolic of Yeshua, taking our sins too far
away to return.
In Temple times, this goat was led
due east out of the Eastern Gate of the Temple grounds, to the top of the Mount
of Olives. Then it was led to the top of nine more mountains, the tenth being
Mount Azazel. [Show rock from Mt. Azazel.] Each mountain was a Sabbath day’s
journey from the previous, so a young man of priestly descent waited at the top
of each one, to take the goat to the next mountain (Yom haKippurim being
a Holy Day, like a Sabbath). The goat was then cast backwards, over the steep
side of Mount Azazel, into the Dead Sea. Each year at this season, oil or gasses
came up from under the Dead Sea, and burned on the surface: it was called the
Lake of Fire.
Thirdly, the goat on which the lot
fell for Yahweh, the one that was slain, must be burned upon the altar. Its
sweet aroma going up to God represents Yeshua’s righteousness, imputed to us, as
a sweet aroma to God.
We must have our sins imputed to
Yeshua, and His righteouness imputed to us – two atonements – to be qualified
for the Kingdom of God. When, through faith, we have obtained this salvation,
then we are led of the Holy Spirit to desire righteousness. We learn through
observing the ordinances, such as Yom haKippurim. We grow by practicing
God’s judgments – moral laws. We sanctify ourselves by observing God’s statutes:
in other words, we learn to differentiate between the holy and the profane; we
become separated for His service by walking in His ways, in contrast to the
natural ways of the world.
God says, in Psalm 81:13-16, “Oh
that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would
quickly subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries. Those
who hate Yahweh would pretend obedience to Him; and their time of punishment
would be forever.
But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat; and with honey from the rock
I would satisfy you.”
Jude says (v.20-25),
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most
holy faith; praying in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God,
waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah to eternal life.
And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the
fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the
flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand
in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our
Savior, through Yeshua the Messiah our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and
authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
We serve a great God who judges, and
is gracious. We too are to learn proper judgment, and learn to be gracious.
Readings:
"Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, King
of the Universe,
Who chose us from among all peoples by
giving us Your Torah.
Blessed are You, Yahweh, giver of the
Torah."
Reader 1*
Amen. 1 Now Yahweh spoke
to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the
presence of Yahweh and died. 2 Yahweh said to Moses: "Tell your
brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the
veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will
appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. 3 "Aaron shall enter the
holy place with this: with a bull for a sin offering and a ram for an elevation
offering. 4 "He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen
undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be girded with the linen
sash and attired with the linen turban (these are holy garments). Then he shall
bathe his body in water and put them on.
Reader 2*
Amen. 5 "He shall take
from the congregation of the sons of Israel two male goats for a sin offering
and one ram for an elevation offering. 6 "Then Aaron shall offer the
bull for the sin offering which is for himself, that he may make atonement for
himself and for his household. 7 "He shall take the two goats and
present them before Yahweh at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 8
"Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for Yahweh and the other lot
for the scapegoat. 9 "Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the
lot for Yahweh fell, and make it a sin offering. 10 "But the goat on
which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before Yahweh, to
make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.
Reader 3*
Amen. 11 "Then Aaron
shall offer the bull of the sin offering which is for himself and make atonement
for himself and for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the sin
offering which is for himself. 12 "He shall take a firepan full of
coals of fire from upon the altar before Yahweh and two handfuls of finely
ground sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil. 13 "He shall put
the incense on the fire before Yahweh, that the cloud of incense may cover the
mercy seat that is on the ark of the testimony, otherwise he will die. 14
"Moreover, he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his
finger on the mercy seat on the east side; also in front of the mercy seat he
shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. 15
"Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people,
and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the
blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy
seat.
Reader 4*
Amen. 16 "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. 17 "When he goes in to make atonement in the holy place,
no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, that he may make
atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel.
18 "Then he shall go out to the altar that is before Yahweh and make
atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood
of the goat and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. 19
"With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and
cleanse it, and from the impurities of the sons of Israel consecrate it.
Reader 5*
Amen. 20 "When he
finishes atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he
shall offer the live goat. 21 "Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands
on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons
of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall
lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the
hand of a man who stands in readiness. 22 "The goat shall bear on
itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in
the wilderness. 23 "Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting
and take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy
place, and shall leave them there. 24 "He shall bathe his body with
water in a holy place and put on his clothes, and come forth and offer his burnt
offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and
for the people. 25 "Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the
sin offering on the altar.
Reader 6*
Amen. 26 "The one who
released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body
with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp. 27 "But the
bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was
brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp,
and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire.
28 "Then the one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body
with water, then afterward he shall come into the camp.
Reader 7*
Amen. 29 "This shall be
a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the
month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native, or
the alien who sojourns among you; 30 for it is on this day that
atonements shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your
sins before Yahweh. 31 "It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you,
that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute. 32 "So the
priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as priest in his father's place
shall make atonements: he shall thus put on the linen garments, the holy
garments, 33 and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall
make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make
atonements for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34
"Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons
of Israel for all their sins once every year." And just as Yahweh had commanded
Moses, so he did.
"Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, King
of the Universe,
Who in giving us Yeshua, the Living
Torah, has planted everlasting life in our midst.
Blessed are You, Yahweh, giver of the
Torah."
______________________
"Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, King
of the Universe,
Who selected good prophets, delighting
in their words which were spoken truthfully.
Blessed are You, Yahweh, Who chose the
Torah, Your servant Moses, Your people Israel,
and the prophets of truth and
righteousness."
Ezekiel 22:1-16
Reader 8*
Amen. 1 Then the word of
Yahweh came to me, saying, 2 "And you, son of man, will you judge,
will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations.
3 "You shall say, 'Thus says Lord Yahweh, "A city shedding blood in
her midst, so that her time will come, and that makes idols, contrary to her
interest, for defilement! 4 You have become guilty by the blood which
you have shed, and defiled by your idols which you have made. Thus you have
brought your day near and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a
reproach to the nations and a mocking to all the lands. 5 Those who
are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you of ill repute, full
of turmoil.
Reader 9*
Amen. 6 Behold, the
rulers of Israel, each according to his power, have been in you for the purpose
of shedding blood. 7 They have treated father and mother lightly
within you. The alien they have oppressed in your midst; the fatherless and the
widow they have wronged in you. 8 You have despised My holy things
and profaned My Sabbaths. 9 Slanderous men have been in you for the
purpose of shedding blood, and in you they have eaten at the mountain shrines.
In your midst they have committed acts of lewdness. 10 In you they
have uncovered their fathers' nakedness; in you they have humbled her who was
unclean in her menstrual impurity. 11 One has committed abomination
with his neighbor's wife and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law. And
another in you has humbled his sister, his father's daughter. 12 In
you they have taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest and profits,
and you have injured your neighbors for gain by oppression, and you have
forgotten Me," declares Lord Yahweh.
Reader 10*
Amen. 13 "Behold, then,
I smite My hand at your dishonest gain which you have acquired and at the
bloodshed which is among you. 14 Can your heart endure, or can your
hands be strong in the days that I will deal with you? I, Yahweh, have spoken
and will act. 15 I will scatter you among the nations and I will
disperse you through the lands, and I will consume your uncleanness from you.
16 "You will profane yourself in the sight of the nations, and you
will know that I am Yahweh."'"
Psalm 81 (To be sung.) For
the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph.
1 Sing for joy to God our
strength; shout joyfully to the God of Jacob. 2 Raise a song, strike
the timbrel, the sweet sounding lyre with the harp. 3 Blow the
trumpet at the new moon, when the moon is covered, on our feast day. 4
For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. 5
He established it for a testimony in Joseph when he went throughout the land of
Egypt. I heard a language that I did not know: 6 "I relieved his
shoulder of the burden, his hands were freed from the basket. 7 You
called in trouble and I rescued you; I answered you in the hiding place of
thunder; I proved you at the waters of Meribah. Selah. 8 "Hear, O My
people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you would listen to Me! 9
Let there be no strange god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god.
10 I, Yahweh, am your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt;
open your mouth wide and I will fill it. 11 But My people did not
listen to My voice, and Israel did not obey Me. 12 So I gave them
over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices. 13
Oh that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! 14
I would quickly subdue their enemies and turn My hand against their adversaries.
15 Those who hate Yahweh would pretend obedience to Him, and their
time of punishment would be forever. 16 But I would feed you with the
finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."
Jude 1:6-21
Reader 11*
Amen. 6 And angels who
did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in
eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, 7
just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same
way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are
exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. 8
Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject
authority, and revile angelic majesties. 9 But Michael the archangel,
when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare
pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"
10 But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the
things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things
they are destroyed. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of
Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and
perished in the rebellion of Korah.
Reader 12*
Amen. 12 These are the
men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without
fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds;
autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of
the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the
black darkness has been reserved forever. 14 It was also about these
men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying,
"Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to
execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly
deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which
ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." 16 These are grumblers,
finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly,
flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage. 17 But you,
beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles
of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, 18 that they were saying to you, "In
the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts."
19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of
the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most
holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the
love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah to
eternal life.
"Blessed are You, Yahweh
our God, King of the Universe,
Rock of Ages, righteous
throughout all generations.
You are the faithful God,
promising and then performing, speaking and then fulfilling,
for all Your words are true
and righteous.
Faithful are You, Yahweh
our God, and faithful are Your words,
for no word of Yours shall
remain unfulfilled;
You are a faithful and
merciful God and King.
Blessed are You, Yahweh our
God, Who are faithful in fulfilling all Your words."
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