We have two annual holy days left to discuss in Chapter 23: the Day of Atonement and the Festival of Tabernacles. Today we'll be talking about the Day of Atonement.
We looked at the Day of Atonement in quite a bit of detail in Leviticus 16 and we won't go back over all the same material today. The Lord doesn't either. He doesn't discuss the procedures to be carried out on that day but solemnly reminds the people that it is a holy day set aside for repentance and worship. No regular work is to be done in it. "The Lord said to Moses, 'The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present a food offering to the Lord. Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God." (Leviticus 23:26-28)
This is a day of fasting from food ("deny yourselves") and a lot of people also fast in other ways, such as not engaging in sexual relations with their spouse on that day, and not attending to the appearance as one might do on a regular workday (dressing the hair, putting on makeup, etc.), and of course not going to work so the person can focus on attending religious services and fixing their minds on the Lord in prayer.
A harsh penalty is imposed on any Israelite who disobeys the Lord and goes about their regular workday on this day. "Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people. I will destroy from among their people anyone who does any work on that day. You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. It is a day of sabbath rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath." (Leviticus 23:29-32)
The congregation is to excommunicate anyone who does not obey the Lord's commandments regarding the Day of Atonement. When the Lord says He will "destroy from among their people anyone who does any work on that day" I am not sure whether He means He will see to it that they are excommunicated (separated somehow from the body of believers whether or not the congregation itself excludes them) or whether He literally means they will die for this sin. Either way it is not a penalty to be taken lightly at all. Who wants to be cast away from their people and their culture and shunned by the entire nation? Who wants to be on the wrong side of God? The Day of Atonement commemorates the great work God does in forgiving people of their sins. It is a small thing indeed for Him to ask those being forgiven to honor this special day.
The Day of Atonement is a holy day given specifically to the Jewish people. Those of us who are Christians are not commanded to observe it but in a sense we do celebrate a Day of Atonement when we observe Easter weekend each year (Good Friday---the day Jesus died on the cross, Saturday---when Jesus lay in the tomb having carried our sins far away from us and down into the grave, Sunday---resurrection day). It would not hurt us any to do some fasting and praying while thinking about what Christ did for us.
Whether Jew or Christian, or whether a Jewish Christian, anyone who wants to can observe a day of fasting and praying to the Lord to show Him special honor, or to pray intensely during a time of need, or to observe a day of thankfulness for the Lord's mercy and forgiveness. We can fast from food for a period of time or we can fast from a particular activity for a time in order to focus our minds on the Lord. And every day of the year we can offer our Lord a sacrifice of praise for His great mercy upon us.
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