How to Celebrate the Day of Atonement
The Day of Atonement is a special day, representing a future time when God will provide a redeeming payment for the sins of mankind.
The Bible provides two sets of instructions for how to observe this day.
One set of instructions is for the high priest, who had to perform certain ceremonies at the temple on this day. You’re not the high priest, and there hasn’t been a temple in Jerusalem since 70 AD, but you can read about these symbolic ceremonies to learn about what Jesus Christ, who is our high priest, has done and will do for us.
The second set of instructions for the Day of Atonement are for everyone, and include three main things:
- Fasting
- Not working
- Assembling for worship
We find these three instructions in Leviticus 23, which has instructions for all of God’s appointed times, and also in Leviticus 16, which is specifically about the Day of Atonement.
It is best to always go to the Bible and read what it says for yourself, rather than relying on someone else to summarize it for you, because sometimes important details are lost (or changed!) in a summary.
So let’s look at what God tells us to do on the Day of Atonement:
“This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and you shall do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you.” (Leviticus 16:29)
First, note that God’s commandment wasn’t just for the Israelites. All the non-Israelites were also required to “afflict their souls” on this day, and anyone who did not would be “cut off” from the community (Leviticus 23:29). So if anyone tells you that the day of Atonement was never for Gentiles, this scripture is proof that God commanded both Jews and Gentiles to keep this day.
But what exactly does “afflict your soul” mean?
1. Humble Yourself with Fasting
The word afflict means to humble, and soul here just means self, so a better translation would be to “humble yourself.” In the Bible, this phrase specifically refers to fasting. You can find this connection in Psalm 35:13 and Isaiah 58:3, and as always, be sure to look up those scriptures to see what they say.
And what does fasting involve? We find the answer in Esther 4:16, which describes fasting as not eating or drinking. So we should neither eat or drink for 24 hours, from sunset the evening before, until the next sunset (Leviticus 23:32). Like all of God’s holy days, the day begins at sunset the evening before the date given on the Roman calendar.
Some may ask at what age children should fast on the Day of Atonement. The Bible does not give any specific instructions about this, but it does mention the children who were old enough to understand participated in learning on feast days (Nehemiah 8:3) and entered into covenants with God (Nehemiah 10:28). So if you have children who will be keeping the Day of Atonement with you, you will have to use your best judgment about their ability to understand and to fast for 24 hours.
You can find instructions on the proper way to fast here:
- Matthew 6:16-18
- Isaiah 58
2. No Work
On most holy days, no work should be done except for preparing food (Exodus 12:16). But on the Day of Atonement no kind of work is allowed. And since it is a day of fasting, there isn’t any food that needs to be prepared anyway.
I think God is pretty serious about this, because He says:
“Any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.” (Leviticus 23:30)
3. Assemble for Worship
“Also on the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you…” (Leviticus 23:27)
As with the other holy days, this day is a holy convocation—a sacred assembly. So if you know where God’s people are assembling on this day, you should assemble with them to worship God and to learn more about the meaning of the Day of Atonement.
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For additional guidance, see How to Celebrate God’s Feasts.