[WE'RE IN BUSINESS!! The State of California issued our funeral establishment license number (FD#1034) on Friday. England Family Mortuary, Temecula Valley's Family Funeral Home is finally a reality. Now we just need business. Anyone feeling a little under the weather today?]
Back to the Feasts of the Jews… If you are just joining us, the first two articles on Atonement can be found here and here.
The rabbis said, "Until you have seen Atonement, you have never seen sorrow."
After sacrificing for his own sins, two goats were selected by the high priest to be sacrificed for the sins of the people. He would lay his hands on the head of one goat and repeat the sins of Israel over that goat. This would be the second time you heard your sins aloud that day. This process could take hours, but there was nothing else to be done on that day until atonement was complete.
The priest was symbolically polluting that goat with all the sins of Israel. The goat was then killed, it’s blood caught in a basin and sprinkled on the altar. The remaining blood was carried into the Most Holy Place (MHP) and poured over the mercy seat … which was stained with the blood of past years.
When the high priest entered the MHP, he represented every man, woman, and child in Israel. To say the least, it was a most frightening and solemn moment. If God accepted the sacrifice, the priest would emerge from the inner tent. Should God reject the offering, the priest would die on the spot. And since no one could enter the MHP to retrieve his body, tradition says a rope was tied to his ankle so if he died, the Levites could pull his body out. We’re also led to believe he wore a bell so the Levites could hear him moving about. This was very serious business!
The priest also wore a linen robe and linen undergarments so as not to sweat in the MHP. Sweat, if you remember, was the signature of man’s rebellion to God. After the sin that polluted creation and humanity for the duration of time, Adam worked out of his own strength and sweat. You could not bring the offering of atonement with the signature of the fall! For the life of me, I can’t imagine a high priest entering that room and not sweating!
All of the above was done by faith. The people saw nothing other than their high priest entering with a basin of blood and exiting with an empty basin. But it was not over . . .
There was a second goat. The high priest would lean over this goat and, you guessed it, repeat the sins of the people of Israel again. For the third time that day, they heard their sins announced! For the third time that day they felt the weight of their sins. For the third time that day, they were embarrassed by their sinfulness.
The second goat was then sent off into the desert (symbolic of their sins leaving the camp) and when it was but a speck on the horizon, the people could finally rejoice!
Installment 4.0 (the final article on this feast) tomorrow . . .
Glad to ya , that ya are in the business!
have been , but I hope not that sick!
Praise God for sin that’s out of sight…
Congratulations, England Family Mortuary! Turn the phones on and get the advertising in your local paper going. (The second one there is a MUST, of course, and Tom would be happy to give you some tips about how to do the most effective advertising for your business. He was an Advertising Director for umpteen years before becoming a newspaper publisher, so he knows the advertising ropes.)
As for the sin rituals – good grief! I can’t even begin to imagine being under such a system and such dictates. It’s scary to me and doesn’t correlate very well with our ideas of a God of supreme love, above all else.
What blessings, indeed, we have! Thanks be to God!
Dee
I love the psalm that says he separates our sin from us as far as the east is from the west.
Two thoughts, neither of which are very inspirational. First, if I were a goat in that day and age, I would certainly hope to be the SECOND goat! Second, were SPECIFIC sins were mentioned, or do you think it was handled kind of how I (and probably others) do it sometimes. “Lord, please forgive me sins (all inclusive)?!
Until reading Yancy’s book on prayer (have I mentioned it had a profound effect on my prayer life?), I had let it slip my mind about confessing specific sins to God. After all, most of us may not like to put them into words, even to ourselves!
Congratulations on the mortuary being official. If I happen to be in Temecula (!!) when I pass on, just make sure my makeup is on, especially my eyebrows.
Congrats on officially being in the business of the dead. Maybe you could drive through the streets of Temecula yelling “bring out yer dead!”
The spiritual stuff you wrote today was good too.
I don’t think anybody could do my hair like I like it so I’m just going to be cremated… it’s a long way to Cali anyway.
Congrats on the license, brother! My prayers are with you. -bill