Listen

"Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me...He will provide atonement for His land and His people." (Deut. 32:39, 43). This is from the Song of Moses, given to Israel as a way to return to God, and His promise of atonement. Moses knew that after his death, the people would turn away from the LORD who created and delivered them. Today, as I am writing this, it is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, one of the appointed feasts of the LORD. Some Christians don't observe this day, thinking that it only applies to Jewish people. However, the Day of Atonement is also a basic New Testament truth as well, having been fulfilled by Jesus in His sacrifice. For those who do observe this day in the traditional manner and understanding, both Jew and Gentile, I would like to offer an additional thought that emerges from this Sabbath's reading. We are in the appointed season where God is calling His people to return to Him. He has provided first the prophetic promise of this feast day, and then the fulfillment of that promise in the atoning blood of Christ, placed upon the Mercy Seat of God on our behalf: "But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption...how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Heb. 9:11-14). These verses refer to Christ's fulfillment of the prophetic command of God under the law of Moses that the high priest was to enter the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement to sprinkle the blood of sacrifice on the Mercy Seat for the yearly covering of the sins of God's people. It is interesting that the verses from Hebrews Ch. 9 not only show us the fulfillment already accomplished by Christ, but "of the good things to come" in the greater and more perfect tabernacle not of this creation (the Feast of Tabernacles is soon to begin after Yom Kippur). Christ sealed this future for us in the Spirit as He fulfilled the Atonement. These verses also talk about the atoning work of Christ as cleansing our conscience from "dead works". The phrase, dead works, in the Greek is translated as "lifeless (as a corpse), spiritually dead, destitute of force or power in that which any one is occupied". The LORD describes the Day of Atonement as a day to afflict our souls (Lev. 23:27, 29, 32). According to the Hebrew meaning of that phrase used in these verses from Leviticus, this means for us to humble, stoop, bow down, become low, to submit (to God) our soul, our person, and the activities of our mind, will and character. In addition to our understanding of the traditional practices of the observance of Yom Kippur, we should also seek to include this instruction from God in our observance of the Day of Atonement. Therefore, entering Yom Kippur we should remind ourselves of Who God is, and what God has done, and humble ourselves before Him as a result. This was Moses' vision of the atonement of God, which he incorporated into a Song to teach Israel. Moses brings us this point in this week's Sabbath reading from Deut. 32 titled Ha'azinu, or "Listen". As we read the Song of Moses in this chapter, Moses is attributing the future spiritual fall of His people to the fact that they have forgotten Who God is, and what He has done for them. The pathway to their return to God and His atonement provision (v. 43) that Moses has given to Israel in his Song is not in religious acts that seem good to do, but in remembering the truly awesome greatness of God. The people, Moses prophesied, would become puffed up in their own efforts, or "dead works", and would become continually dissatisfied, constantly wanting more, eventually serving other gods to attain what they want, because they have forgotten Who God is. Moses begins his Song of Return for Israel by telling the heavens and the earth to "listen" to his proclamation: "Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth...for I proclaim the name of the LORD; Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He." (Deut. 32:1-4). Moses reminds Israel in his Song, that God had chosen and created Israel from the beginning "when He separated the sons of Adam..." (v. 8). At this same time, the LORD assigned boundaries to these separated sons of Adam and their descendants, always keeping in mind ahead of time the inheritance that He was reserving for the children of Israel not yet born. Of Israel, Moses wrote in his Song that the LORD found them in the wasteland, the howling wilderness,encircled them, instructed them, kept them as the apple of His eye, hovered over them as an eagle, spreading His wings over them and carrying them on those wings (v. 10-11). However, they would forget God, and grow (spiritually) fat, even obese (v. 15), and yet still be dissatisfied: "Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, and have forgotten the God who fathered you." (v. 18). Our remembrance of Who God is, and what He has done brings us into a humbling, and a repentance before Him, and before the One who paid the price for our atonement in order to reconcile us back to our Father. Dead works won't do it, no matter how good they seem to us. In Isa. 58, God mocks Israel as they ask Him: "Why have we fasted," they say, "and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?" (Isa. 58:3). While their works impressed themselves, they didn't impress God, because the people had no reverence for Him, or for His precepts towards others. Dead works take something exalted and powerful and turn it into something that is all about us, and what we are doing. That road, however, is the road to "Fat City"! Let's go back instead to the root of the root: Let's remind ourselves Who God is, and be humbled by it. Remember when the thought of God used to humble us? Our remembrance would cause us to bow our heads. Yes, we have forgotten, I think. We have forgotten our beginnings, and what our Father miraculously and sovereignly did to bring us this far, and the price He paid to ensure the "good things to come" for each of us. When we are often easily discouraged and dissatisfied, and run to anything or anyone that might "feed" us, even if it satisfies for only a little while, then we have forgotten our God, and we have become "fat". In the haftarah portion for this Sabbath lesson, "Listen", David offers a similar declaration of exaltation to the one that Moses gave to the people of Israel in his Song: "Then David spoke to the LORD the words of this song, on the day when the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. And he said, 'The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; The God of my strength in whom I will trust; My shield, and the horn (strength; of rays of light) of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies...In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry entered His ears." (2 Sam. 22:1-7). Besides keeping the beloved traditions and observances of the Day of Atonement that have been established over many generations, I think that the power of the Day is also in our return to Him, reminding ourselves of, and humbling and bowing ourselves to, Who God is, and what He has done. This is the Song of our Return, and the provision given in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. This is what brings us back to our Father. If you would like to return to the LORD through the atonement of His Son, you can pray: "Heavenly Father, how great and merciful You are! You have provided the way for me to return to You through the atoning blood of Your only Son, Jesus. From the beginning, You separated me out from many people, and provided my place in Your inheritance. You set the boundaries that would allow me to have a place and a future among those who belong to You. You found me in the wasteland, encircled me, instructed and kept me, hovered over me, and carried me on Your wings as an eagle's. You have brought me to Your side by Your atonement provision for me. You have also sealed the good things to come for me by the atonement of Your Son. You have heard my cry, and rescued me countless times. Father, I remember and declare Who You are to me, and I humble myself in thanks, and in service, before Your wonder and graciousness. I return to You in the name of Your Son, Jesus, who died and rose again for me, and who sprinkled His blood in atonement for me. AMEN."