The Christian Jewish RootsSýnishorn

One of the meanings of Yom Kippur in Hebrew literally means “face-to-face.”  In Exodus, God said to Moses that no man could see Him face-to-face and live. [Ex.33: 20] 

One day in a year, however, the high priest was allowed to go before God’s presence and talk to Him for the people. Because of Jesus our onetime blood sacrifice, you and I can now come boldly into God’s presence and meet with Him personally every day in our lives.

Primarily Yom Kippur is a day of fasting and repentance. When we repent, it is more than simply confession. One of the Hebrew words for repent is teshuvah which means “to return.” It means much more than just saying “sorry.”  It means you will turn away from your sinful path and return to God.

On this night sundown begins the twenty-four hours of the feast of Yom Kippur – an appointed time at which God decided He would meet with His people in a way that is different from any other time of the year. We find the basis for Yom Kippur in the book of Leviticus 16: 3 - 21. [Please take time to read it fully in  your Bible].

Before the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies to intervene for the people of God, he first had to make sure he was clean. As a Christian leader and a pastor, I can take something from this and I’m sure that others too who serve the Lord can do likewise. Of course, we are saved by grace and not by works, but we need to realize that the shepherds of God’s people must be clean. The pulpit in every church needs to be a place where the will of God is boldly revealed, and it needs to be cleansed of all forms of addictions to evil, greed and financial malfeasance.