Yeshua is everything to us: our salvation, our hope, our future, to name a few. It is important to get to know Him as well as possible. We can do this by interacting with Him and also by reading the Bible. It is the word of Yehovah and Yeshua is the living Word of Yehovah. This series, entitled “Who Is Yeshua?” will consist of twenty-one articles. Each article will explore a different section of the Bible to discover different titles and roles of Yeshua and our response to each role. In the third article in the series, Yeshua is our Atonement.
In Leviticus 16, we discover the foreshadowing of Yeshua as our Atoning Sacrifice, our High Priest, our Scapegoat and our Covenant. Yeshua, the perfect Lamb, was sacrificed in our place, to make atonement for our sins. Then Aaron will come out to purify the altar that stands before the Lord. He will do this by taking some of the blood from the bull and the goat and putting it on each of the horns of the altar.Then he must sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times over the altar. In this way, he will cleanse it from Israel’s defilement and make it holy (Lev 16:18-19). This offering was to be made once each year on the 10th day of the appointed month early in autumn, the day known as Yom Kippur (day of covering) or, more accurately, Yom haKippurim (day of the coverings). Unlike a bull and goat that had to be sacrificed each year, Yeshua was sacrificed one time to make perpetual atonement for our sins, transgressions and iniquities.
Yeshua is also our High Priest, for He offered Himself as our atoning sacrifice. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.” (John 10 :18)
Yeshua is our Scapegoat. When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place and the Tabernacle and the altar, he must present the live goat. He will lay both of his hands on the goat’s head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people’s sins to the head of the goat. Then a man specially chosen for the task will drive the goat into the wilderness. As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will carry all the people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land (Lev 16:20-22). Yeshua carries our sin far away so that it no longer has the power to defile.
Yeshua’s sacrifice reconciles us to His Father. In order to properly relate to Yehovah, we must understand the idea of covenant, because Yehovah desires a covenant relationship with us. There are many instances of covenants in the Old Testament: in Genesis, Yehovah’s covenants with Noah (Gen 8-9), with Abraham (Gen 9-17), with Moses (Deut 28 and Ex 31) and with David (2 Sam 7). Each of these covenants was a step toward progressing Yehovah’s plan for establishing His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven. Our covenant with our Father has the same goal.
Covenants were common in ancient times and were taken very seriously. Generally, when a covenant was made, the parties would each pledge their promises. Then one or more animals were cut in two and placed across from each other to make a path. Those entering into covenant would walk that path as a pledge that they would not break the covenant or they too would be cut in half. Covenants involved blood and the curse of death for the one breaking the covenant.
In ancient times, covenants were used to define social and political relationships. Often, the covenant was between a greater king and a lesser king. The greater king offered care and protection from enemies while the lesser king offered loyalty and obedience. The greater king then “adopted” the lesser king and his household into the greater king’s family. Covenants involved ongoing relationship and partnering with the other party to achieve a desired common goal. In our case, Yehovah promises to care and provide for us and protect us from our enemies. We promise our loyalty and obedience to Him. We partner together to establish His Kingdom on earth. When we repent of our sins and turn our lives over to Yeshua, it means that we are to trust and obey Him. We remain loyal and obedient to Yehovah.
An important part of covenant-making included eating a meal together featuring the sacrificed animal or animals. In our case, we partake of what we call communion or kiddush to commemorate our covenant relationship with Yehovah. As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many (Matt 26:26-28)
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