cgimaryland.org · web viewwe are also to “afflict our souls”… meaning we fast… of any...

To Be At One ( of 14)

Introduction Wanted to reemphasize what I spoke of last year. Many who keep the holy days of Yahweh tend to

focus on fasting for this day. Fasting is an important part of Atonement. It helps

provide a much needed reminder that we are absolutely dependent on what Yahweh provides to us… our very existence… life, water, food, air!

It also prepares us to better receive new understanding, by clearing and opening up our minds.

Many times it frees us of the sluggishness we feel as we trudge along in our earthly existence.

It puts us in the right state of mind to receive what Yahweh has in store for us.

But fasting is only one part of the equation. There are actually many aspects to this day that we

should consider. Principally, the name itself, the “Day of Atonement”,

provides its ultimate purpose for us.

Atonement Background Listed as a high holy day. Leviticus 23:26-27, 29:

26 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying: 27 “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall

be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.”

29 For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people.

Note that we are to meet as an assembly of believers.


We are also to “afflict our souls”… meaning we fast… of any food or liquids, for this day. This preps our minds… to open them to receive the Holy Spirit… to allow for the maximum opportunity to learn what Yahweh expects of us… to build on what we know now, and to gain further insights.

Offerings and sacrifices were also made, by the priests, in the OT times.

Additionally, we refrain from doing any work. Leviticus 23:28, 30-31: 28 And you shall do no work on that same day, for

it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before Yahweh your Elohim.

30 And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.

31 You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

What are we to do? Leviticus 23:32: It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.”

The book of Numbers also summarizes these 2 important commands. Numbers 29:7: On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall afflict your souls; you shall not do any work.

So, overall, this is something one would normally not do.


It is a day set aside, and it is a day to make a point… to be a reminder.

It frames our mind for something very important… something we need to be reminded of… something we need to put into practice… not only once a year, but as part of our character and habit.

That is… to fast and do no work… in preparation of something absolutely profound.

Removal of Sin Leviticus chapter 16 also stresses these main thoughts

concerning the Day of Atonement… with one added purpose. Leviticus 16:29-31: 29 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.

30 For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before Yahweh.

31 It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.

Note what it says here:1. It is commemorated once a year; on the 10th day of

the 7th month.2. It is a statute forever! We shall always celebrate it!3. We shall afflict our souls (by fasting).4. We shall do no work (unlike some other high

Sabbaths that say we do no servile work).


5. One other element; the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, from all your sins!

The slate is being wiped clean! How can the priest do that? Because Yahweh says He

can… through a process that Yahweh instituted! Leviticus Chapter 16 also brings another element into

the overall ceremony; that of the use of 2 goats to represent sin, and how their sacrifice draws away our sin, now and in the future. Leviticus 16:5, 7-10: 5 And he <Aaron> 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.

7 He shall take the two goats and present them before Yahweh at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

8 Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for Yahweh and the other lot for the scapegoat.

9 And Aaron shall bring the goat on which Yahweh’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 Yahweh, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.

Now what does all of this mean? Leviticus 16:15-17: 15 Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering,

which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat.

16 So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel,


and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

17 There shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.

Even the tabernacle of meeting needed cleansing because of the sins of the people!

This part of the ceremony removed the sins… all of the sins… of the people that have occurred over the previous year… when the last ceremony was performed.

This is a preview of the sacrificed Messiah… Yahshua… the perfect, sinless being… that was… and is… the only sacrifice that takes away your sins and mine… when we sincerely apply that sacrifice.

Why the need to a blood sacrifice? Leviticus 17:11: For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.

The 1st goat represented Yahshua the Messiah, who would come in human form years later, whose blood was required to be shed.

But what about the other goat? Leviticus 16:20-22: 20 And when he has made an end of atoning for the

Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat.


21 Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man.

22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

The 2nd goat had all the iniquities of the children of Israel put on its head. But didn’t all the sins of the children of Israel just get removed with the 1st goat?

They were, to the goat that represented Yahshua the Messiah. So what sins are we speaking of here with the 2nd goat.

Humans, as humans are and have always been, continue to sin.

That 2nd goat, which also takes on our sins, also represents Yahshua the Messiah!

Only now, He is the risen, triumphant conqueror of sin and death, seated at His Father’s right hand, as our mediator. I Timothy 2:5-6: 5 For there is one Eternal and one Mediator

between the Eternal and men, the Man Messiah Yahshua,

6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Not all see it this way, but I recognize Him as that scapegoat of the OT ceremony, who went away (raised to eternal life, going to heaven) to continue to


intervene for us, and to take on our sins, when we repent of those sins!

So, both the sacrificed goat, and the scapegoat, of Leviticus 16, represent the Eternal Yahshua, our Messiah, and our Saviour!

He is the one that takes away your sins immediately… the 1st goat… when you come into initial repentance and baptism.

He is also the one that takes away your sins when… the 2nd goat… as we all fail after our baptism… but return to Him in repentance and ask for forgiveness.

Yahweh the Merciful So… a major element of Atonement is the removal of

your sins! Why did Yahweh set up this system? Because mankind, because of their inherent nature,

could not pass the test to please Yahweh, left to their own devices. Romans 8:7: Because the carnal mind is enmity against the Eternal; for it is not subject to the law of the Eternal, nor indeed can be.

But thankfully, Yahweh is merciful. Ephesians 2:4-7: 4 But the Eternal, who is rich in mercy, because of

His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us

alive together with Messiah (by grace you have been saved),

6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Messiah Yahshua,


7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Messiah Yahshua.

He is also longsuffering. Psalms 86:15: But You, O Lord, are an Almighty One full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

Yahweh is willing to work with us and remove our sins. Psalms 103:12: As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

But… He is willing to do these things… for you and me… but only on His terms.

What terms are those?

To Be “At One” One of the biggest characteristics that the Father and

the Son share is that they think alike and they act alike.

They do this perfectly… without flaw… without envy… without friction… without conflict!

They are in essence “one”… not divergent in purpose and methods to achieve that purpose.

Human beings are not like that. Even the most stable marriage between husband and wife cannot claim that they think and act the same.

After all, everyone has their own opinions, right? Just how do we know that the Father and Son think

alike? The OT indicates that there was only one Elohim; one

Eternal and Almighty One. Isaiah 44:6: Thus says


Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts: “I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no Elohim.”

The same idea is repeated in the next chapter. Isaiah 45:21-22: 21 Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take

counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, Yahweh? And there is no other Almighty One <Elohim> besides Me, a just Almighty One <El> and a Savior; There is none besides Me.

22 Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am the Almighty One <El>, and there is no other.

Even in the NT (e.g. – James 2:19) it tells us that belief in the Eternal One is essential.

Many have used these and verses like these to justify the Trinity doctrine; that the Eternal is really one Being with multiple personalities.

But is that what your Bible says? Is the “one” an indication of one, singular being… or does it mean something else entirely?

The Hebrew word Elohim itself is a plural noun; meaning more than one. It is used early in your Bible to identify the Creator of everything. Genesis 1:1, 26: 1 In the beginning God <English translation,

Hebrew is Elohim> created the heavens and the earth.

26 Then Elohim said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness”.

Who is the “Us” and “Our” indicated here?


These are the Ones (plural) that we refer to as the Father (Yahweh) and the Son (Yahshua).

These are two separate beings with a very, very superior characteristic… unity.

They think and act as one. Yahshua presented a testimony of unity. John 3:10-12: 10 Yahshua answered <Nicodemus> and said to

him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?

11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.

12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”

Again, Yahshua is referring to the other in “We” as His Father, and they speak as “One”.

So then, we have 2 distinct beings. How do they relate to each other?

There is in fact a unity between them; one that they wish to see for us also. Deuteronomy 6:4: Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our Elohim, Yahweh is one! (NKJV)

The KJV, and many other English translations, has it Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our Elohim is one Yahweh.

The word for “one” here is Strong’s #259, “echad” <ekh-awd>, meaning “united”… that is, one.

Sometimes it can be used as an ordinal, but to indicate “first”. Yahweh is 1st, above all.

This same word is used to indicate the problem that Adam and Eve presented to Yahweh when they took of the forbidden fruit. Genesis 3:22: Then Yahweh


Elohim said, “Behold, the man has become like one <echad> of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”.

Yahweh was not about to allow them to become “united” with Them on their human terms.

Yet even for the Father and the Son, with their “united” relationship, there is a hierarchy of authority which defines that “united” relationship further. John 10:29-30, 38: 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater

than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

30 I and My Father are one. 38 but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe

the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.

The Son, Yahshua, is subordinate to the Father, Yahweh. He states this many times in your Bible.

Yahweh and Yahshua are united because Yahshua understands the ultimate authority is with His Father. John 14:28b: …for My Father is greater than I.

Yahshua the Son was obedient to the will of His Father… unconditionally. Luke 22:42: Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.

In summary, the Father (Yahweh), the One Who is all knowing… all powerful… all present… perfect in all His ways is the Originator and Distributor of perfect righteousness… even to His Son Yahshua!


What About You and Me? Now that we understand the “oneness”… the

“unity”… and the relationship of authority between the Father and the Son, how does this type of unity apply to us?

You and I are invited to join in the same type of unity; being “in unity”… being “at one”… the same that the Father and the Son practice and incorporate into their beings.

Yahshua, praying to His Father what should really be called “the Lord’s prayer”, indicted such a desire. John 17:11: Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.

How do we become “one” as Yahshua and His Father are one? The same way Yahshua does it; total and absolute submission to the will of the Father! John 17:20-21: 20 I do not pray for these alone, but also for those

who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in

Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

How do we put that into practice? For one thing, among each other. Romans 15:5-7: 5 Now may the Eternal of patience and comfort

grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Messiah Yahshua,


6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the Elohim and Father of our Lord Yahshua Messiah.

7 Therefore receive one another, just as Messiah also received us, to the glory of the Eternal.

Keep in mind that all along, while you strive to be chosen to be part of the spiritual family of Yahweh, you will be part of a hierarchy of authority.

Just as the Father is above all, including the Son, there will be others, below the Father and Son in authority, but above you (e.g. – king David, the apostles, etc.) over all of new Israel.

The Oneness works because each being in the hierarchy recognizes that the One above them has authority over them.

We must recognize that the Father and Son will always be above us.

Conclusion The Day of Atonement is a vision of a future time that

all that are willing to submit to and obey the Father’s ultimate authority will become “at one” with Him… and everyone He leads.

It affords us the opportunity to stop, reflect, and regenerate our relationship with our Maker.

We study the Word, we repent and ask for the forgiveness and removal of our past sins.

As for our remaining time as human beings on this earth, we are reminded to maintain our “oneness” as a community of believers. I Corinthians 12:12: For as the body is one and has many members, but all the


members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Messiah.

We are to maintain this principle to our dying breath… to be like minded… to be “at one” with each other… just as we seek to be “at one” with the Father and the Son. I Peter 3:8: Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;

For us today, we need to discover and rededicate ourselves toward that oneness with ourselves… with our Maker… and our King… so that we can achieve that “at-one-ment”.

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