Day of Atonement
YOM KIPPUR
by The Watchman

Leviticus 23:26-32: 26. And Yahweh spake unto Moses, saying, 27. Also on the tenth [day]
of this seventh month [there shall be] a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation
unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the
Yahweh. 28. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it [is] a day of atonement, to
make an atonement for you before Yahweh your El (Elohim).
29. For whatsoever soul [it be] that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut
off from among his people. 30. And whatsoever soul [it be] that doeth any work in that
same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. 31. Ye shall do no manner
of work: [it shall be] a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32.
It [shall be] unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth [day] of
the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.

We see in the above passage that the Day of Atonement is the 10th day of the seventh
month. We are not to do any work on this day and we are to afflict our souls. It is a time to
be remorseful for our sins and to repent if we haven't already.
To ask Yahweh to show us if we have any hidden or unknown sin in our lives and to ask
for forgiveness. To ask for His mercy.

In what way are we to afflict our souls? And for just how long?

We get a glimpse of David's remorse for his sins with Bathsheba as he afflicts himself
knowing that his son is going to die.

2 Samuel 12:15-23: 15. And Nathan departed unto his house. And Yahweh struck the child
that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. 16. David therefore besought El
(Elohim) for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. 17.
And the elders of his house arose, [and went] to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he
would not, neither did he eat bread with them. 18. And it came to pass on the seventh day,
that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for
they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not
hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?
19. But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was
dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
20. Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed [himself], and changed
his apparel, and came into the house
of Yahweh, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they
set bread before him, and he did eat. 21. Then said his servants unto him, What thing [is]
this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, [while it was] alive; but
when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. 22. And he said, While the child
was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell [whether] El (Elohim) will be
gracious to me, that the child may live? 23. But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast?
can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

Here we see David not eating, sleeping on the floor, not washing, or changing his clothes.
He was asking for Yahweh to be gracious unto him and to spare the child.

This is what we need to be doing on the Day of Atonement. We need to be in deep sorrow
for our sins. Knowing that Yahweh's innocent son Yahushua has died because of us.
Because of our sins. We need to ask for him to be gracious unto us.

The Encyclopedia Juaica under the topic of Day and Night states that there are a number
of fasts that are day only that begin at dawn. We see in the following scriptures that when
people fasted for a day that it was from sunrise to sunset.

The house of Yahweh was only open during the day.

Judges 20:26: Then all the children
of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of El (Elohim), and wept,
and sat there before Yahweh, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings
and peace offerings before Yahweh.

1 Samuel 14:24: And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the
people, saying, Cursed [be] the man that eateth [any] food until evening, that I may be
avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted [any] food.

2 Samuel 1:12: And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for
Jonathan his son, and for the people of Yahweh, and for the house of Israel; because they
were fallen by the sword.

2 Samuel 3:35: And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet
day, David sware, saying, So do
El (Elohim) to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or ought else, till the sun be down.   

The Day of Atonement is different from a regular day fast though because it begins on the
preceding evening. It begins
the evening of the 9th and runs til the evening of the 10th.

In the following verses we see that people use to work in their fields until evening.

Genesis 30:16: And Jacob came out of the field in the evening and Leah went out to meet
him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's
mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

Judges 19:16: And, behold, there came an old man from his
work out of the field at even, which [was] also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in
Gibeah: but the men of the place [were] Benjamites.

Ruth 2:17: So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it
was about an ephah of barley.

Psalm 104:23: Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.   

It appears that people ate breakfast and lunch in OT times as well.

Proverbs 31:15: She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and
a portion to her maidens.

Ruth 2:14-15: 14. And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the
bread, and dip thy morsel
in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched [corn], and
she did eat, and was sufficed, and left. 15. And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz
commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach
her not.

Taking all this into consideration makes me believe that they wouldn't have had their
evening meal (dinner) until late.

So perhaps instead of doing our fast the way we have in the past, we should be missing
the evening meal of the 9th as well as breakfast and lunch on the 10th.

Then once night has fallen on the 10th we may eat again.

We also see in the writings of Josephus that the fast ended at evening.

And, besides these, they bringtwo kids of the goats; the one of which is sent alive out of
the limits of the camp into the wilderness for the scapegoat, and to be an expiation for the
sins of the whole multitude; but the other is brought into a place of great cleanness, within
the limits of the camp, and is
there burnt, with its skin, without any sort of cleansing.

With this goat was burnt a bull, not brought by the people, but by the high priest, at his
own charges; which, when it was slain, he brought of the blood into the holy place,
together with the blood of the kid of the goats, and sprinkled the ceiling with his finger
seven times, as also its pavement, and again as often toward the most holy place, and
about the golden altar: he also at last brings it into the open court, and
sprinkles it about the great altar.

Besides this, they set the extremities, and the kidneys, and the fat, with the lobe of the
liver, upon the altar. The high priest likewise presents a ram to El (Elohim) as a
burnt-offering.

Something that has also struck me about afflicting our souls is the fact that we pleasantly
sleep 8-10 hours away.

Perhaps we should follow David's example and lay miserably on the floor or ground.

Some may even be convicted to stay awake all night in prayer
visual as Messiah Yahushua did the night before he died.

We aren't to go to work and shouldn't worry about our physical cares such as food,
showers, or clean clothes but should be focusing on the hidden man of the heart.

May Yahweh be merciful unto each of us.
The TRUE Day of Atonements (Coverings)