Day 38 or February 7.
When a whole nation repents.
Our thoughts today are rooted in Leviticus chapter 16 verse 30.
On this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you.
Then before the Lord you will be clean from all your sins.
First the big picture surrounding this verse.
The very special festival called the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur dominates these two
chapters.
According to the website of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is the day of divine
judgment and of affliction of souls, a day when the individual may be cleansed of sins
and the only fast day decreed in the Bible.
It is a time to enumerate one's misdeeds and contemplate one's faults.
A Jew is expected on this day to pray for forgiveness for sins between man and God,
and correct his wrongful actions against his fellow man.
Leviticus reminds us that it was the day when Aaron would enter the Holy of Holies to seek
forgiveness for the whole nation.
This is also the place where we hear about the scapegoat, which took the sins of the
people away, exactly as Jesus Christ did, many years later.
And now our action step for today.
First the priest is prepared, and then he is able to serve the people by releasing the
scapegoat bearing their sins.
There are many today who want God to use them, but never take the first essential step of
getting prepared for service.
This doesn't mean we have to be perfect or know everything before God can use us, far
from it.
If this were the case, then none of us would ever make it.
A friend, new to Christ, wanted to preach and teach, even though he knew very little.
He soon ran dry and became disillusioned.
He refused to submit to a learning process, so he could be used as a teacher.
And sadly, eventually slipped away.
John chapter 14 verse 26 tells us, When the Father sends the Holy Spirit, He will teach
you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
If you are running dry, it may be that you need more preparation.
Are you prepared to be prepared?