Gtcotr/ss091513
In
the fall of 1973 I was home on leave from the military before reporting to my
next duty assignment with 2nd Air Force’s, 2nd Security
Police Squadron located at Barksdale AFB, which was a part of the old Strategic
Air Command of the United States Air Force. The newly-agreed-to Paris Peace
Accords had detailed the end of the Vietnam War and the Homecoming for our
POW’s had taken place just a few months earlier. The last American bombs were
dropped in Indochina on August 15th of 1973 on a target in Cambodia and
for the most part, things were quieting down on the world scene … or so it
seemed.
Anwar
el Sadat, the newest President of Egypt, was struggling with his country’s
failing economy. President Sadat had recently expelled the 22,000 Russian
advisors from Egypt and opened up new diplomatic channels with the US. His hope
was to gain sympathy and support in recovering the land in the Sinai which had
been lost to Israel in the 1967 Six Day War. Sadat also formed an alliance with
Syrian President, Hafez al-Assad, the father of the current Syrian President,
Basher al-Assad, and was formulating a secret plan to attack Israel.
To
complete the political scene in the fall of 1973, the Prime Minister of Israel
was Golda Meir, the Russian President was Brezhnev, the US Secretary of State
was Kissinger, and the President of the United States was Richard Nixon. These
all played their roles in the events which took place now 40 years ago.
Why
am I mentioning these things today? Because of the anniversary which just took
place yesterday in Israel … the 40th Anniversary of the Yom Kippur
War, marked by celebration of the most holy day of the year for Jews. I
remember it well. I was sitting in the living room of Brenda’s parents home
when an announcement interrupted the programming on the television requesting
all US military personnel on leave or away from post to report to their
superiors immediately. I did so and found that my name was not on the
deployment list and that my leave had not been cancelled as of yet. Nonetheless
I was intensely interested in the unfolding events.
That
evening the news carried the report that Israel had been attacked and invaded
by both air and ground attack by Egypt from the south and Syria from the North.
The attack happened while Jewish families were celebrating the most holy day of
the year, Yom Kippur. A day in which all Jews are called to 25 hours fasting
and prayer … a day in which many military personnel are released from duty to
travel home to be with family on this special day set aside for repentance and
return to God for forgiveness of sin. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, a day
to reconcile with neighbors, friends, enemies and Almighty God.
It
took a few days before Israeli forces could get organized and begin to aggressively
repel the onslaught. President Nixon withheld sending military support for a
week to show sympathy for Egypt’s concerns. In the meanwhile, Iraqi forces
joined Syria who also received support from Jordan. However … once the Israeli
military got fully into place they pushed back the Syrians and held off the Egyptians
for 19 days amid heavy casualties until a cease fire was secured by the United
Nations. In the end, Israel held its ground in the south while gaining new
ground in the north. Perhaps this war, more than any other, is remembered
because of the element of surprise and the total disregard of the holy moment
observed on Yom Kippur.
In
Leviticus chapter 16 we are told of the significance of this holy day. The fall
season is marked with several important events all beginning with the first day
the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. The month is called Tishrei and
although it is the seventh month it nonetheless is the beginning of the Jewish
New Year. The first day of Tishrei is Rosh Hashanah – the New Year’s Day.
Jewish
tradition teaches that on that day God writes names in the Book of Life and the
Book of Death along with each person’s fate for the coming year. Those fates, however,
are not sealed for 10 days thus giving each person an opportunity to get right
with God. Two things are generally required during those 10 Days of Awe: 1) to
reconcile with others; & 2) to get right with God. The 10th day
of Tishrei, called the Day of Atonement, is a day of total fasting and long
prayers of repentance. That day ended last night at sundown in Israel.
According to the law, it is now too late to change your fate. Either your name
is written in the Book of Life or it is not!
It
was on the Day of Atonement that the High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy
of Holies for his once per year visit, to consecrate the Temple by sprinkling
the blood of a bull and a goat on and before the mercy seat which set atop the
Ark of the Covenant. Then the High Priest would also sanctify the whole temple
by consecrating the altar with the same sprinkling of blood. Once these holy
moments were accomplished, he would turn his attention to a scapegoat which had
been chosen by God for that purpose. The High Priest would lay both of his
hands on the head of the goat and pronounce, or confess, all of the past year’s
sins of Israel over the goat thereby laying all of the sins of Israel on this
scapegoat which would then be led into the wilderness and released.
This
had to be done each year to clear the people of sin and temporarily release
them from the penalty of death which sin requires.
Leviticus 16
10 But the goat, on which the
lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make
an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the
wilderness.
21 And Aaron shall lay both
his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the
iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their
sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by
the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
22 And the goat shall bear
upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the
goat in the wilderness.
Once,
this was the only hope mankind had to temporarily rid himself of the penalties
of sin and be accepted by God. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the sprinkling
of blood and the confession of sins, laying them on the chosen scapegoat, were
all shadows of a better and more permanent event to come. These elements of
worship were foreshadows of what God would do through Messiah – not once each
year, but once and for all, eternally and forever!
Jesus
is not only the Sacrifice whose blood cleanses us from all sin and reconciles
us to God but He is also the High Priest of God entering into the very throne
room of heaven once for all mankind to obtain mercy and make a way for us.
Jesus
bore our sins and took our infirmities to the grave. He also rose victorious
without those sins, sicknesses, worries or fears … He left them in the grave …
He left them in hades … He left them in hell with the devil.
As
I said earlier, according to the law,
it is now too late to change your fate. Either your name is written in the Book
of Life or it is not!
Personally,
I am thankful that the law does not have the last say concerning the salvation
of my soul! Don’t get me wrong … in order to have eternal life we still must be
right with God – however, righteousness cannot come by keeping the law.
Galatians 3:21 Is the
law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a
law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by
the law.
Righteousness
and eternal life cannot come by the law but rather by faith in the Righteous
One who is the Giver of life.
Romans 8
3 For what the law could not
do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the
flesh,
4 that the righteous
requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to
the flesh but according to the Spirit.
1 John 5
11 And this is the testimony:
that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
12 He who has the Son has
life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Colossians 1:14 In Jesus we
have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.
You
can seal your eternal fate today by simply opening your heart to God and
receiving Jesus as Messiah. This can be your Yom Kippur, once and for all.
