Chapter 7
THE DAY OF ATONEMENT - SIFTING THROUGH TRADITION
Before we examine the DAY OF ATONEMENT, please take a look at the 4th commandment as found in Exodus 20:8. "Remember the SABBATH DAY, to keep it holy". Notice two very important words in this sentence. "SABBATH" and "DAY". Most of the time when we say the word Sabbath, we simply mean the 7th day of the week. In most cases when the Bible uses the word Sabbath it refers to the 7th day.
As many of you know, the Bible also mentions annual Sabbaths such as the "Feast of Trumpets" (Leviticus 23:24). Although the word "Sabbath" alone can be used to refer to the 7th day, Elohim is very specific in Exodus 20:8 when He tells us to remember the "SABBATH DAY". He does NOT simply say "Remember the SABBATH" in this verse. He adds the critical word "DAY". Why? One major reason is the fact that the word "SABBATH" DOES NOT MEAN "DAY". Most sources including the "New Bible Dictionary" state that the word "Sabbath" means "to CEASE' 'to DESIST" (p. 1042). The length of cessation is NOT found in this definition. It is Elohim who determines how long a period of cessation lasts. That is why Elohim says, "...the seventh DAY (LIGHT) is the SABBATH of YHWH thy Elohim..." (Exodus 20:10). The WEEKLY Sabbath is only the period of LIGHT. Speaking of the ANNUAL SABBATH (Yom Kippur) in Leviticus 23:32, Elohim says, "...from EVEN UNTO EVEN, shall ye celebrate your SABBATH..." Note. Once again, Elohim does NOT just say "ye shall celebrate your Sabbath". He specifically says that this ANNUAL SABBATH is "FROM EVEN UNTO EVEN".
It is important to keep in mind that the word "SABBATH" does NOT mean "Saturday", it does NOT mean "24 hours", nor does it mean "DAY". It means to rest.
Elohim has determined that the WEEKLY Sabbath is simply the period of LIGHT and that the ANNUAL Sabbath in Leviticus 23:32 is from EVENING TO EVENING (About 24 hours).
There are also Sabbatical years in the scriptures. Turn to Leviticus Chapter 25 and read verses 1 through 4. And YHWH spake unto Moses in Mount Sinai, saying, "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, 'When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a SABBATH UNTO YHWH. Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the SEVENTH YEAR SHALL BE A SABBATH OF REST UNTO THE LAND, A SABBATH FOR YHWH...'" What does all this mean? It means that the land Sabbath lasts an entire year.
With the above information in mind, please turn to the command for the DAY OF ATONEMENT found in Leviticus Chapter 23, starting with verse 26. And YHWH spake unto Moses, saying, "Also on the TENTH day of this seventh month there shall be a DAY OF ATONEMENT..." (v. 26-27). Continuing in verse 32 we read; "...It is a Sabbath of rest to you, and you shall afflict your beings. On the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you observe your Sabbath..."
The way most interpret the above is that we are to afflict our souls from the beginning of the 10th day until the beginning of the 11th day. The correct interpretation is that we are to afflict our souls from the 9th day at evening until the 10th day at evening. If a day begins with morning light, why would Elohim start the 24 hour fast in the evening? It would seem to be so that the fast would end at the end of Yom Kippur.
We are commanded to observe a fast which is also a Sabbath from the evening of the 9th day until the following evening. But everything that is commanded in Leviticus 16 is to be done on the 10th DAY of the 7th month. Remember, YHWH called the light "day," Some might say that the command is not to work during the entire fast (evening to evening), but Yahushua said, "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work." (John 9:4)
There is a major difference between the Sabbath in Lev. 23:3 and 23:32. Verse 3 is the WEEKLY 12 HOUR SABBATH THAT TAKES IN ONLY THE LIGHT OF DAY. Verse 32 is the ANNUAL 24 HOUR SABBATH.
The Day (Light) of Atonement IS exclusively on "one day". IT IS THE SABBATH THAT LASTS 24 HOURS (the evening of the 9th until the following evening). The Author continues by saying that "...verse 32 does not intend to change the date of the Day of Atonement from the 10th to the 9th day of the month..." Verse 32 explains with utmost precision that this Sabbath began "on the ninth day of the month beginning at evening" and it was to be kept "from evening to evening."
"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of YHWH your Elohim which I command you." (Deut. 4:2).