On Yom Kippur it is a custom to read the book of Jonah during this appointed time.

What a fitting book to read especially in the times we live in.

An era where the world is drifting away from God and His ways at an accelerated pace. A time where we as believers tend to flock together with our like-minded friends, or as the saying goes, we mix with like-kinded and like-minded people. Not going out and disciplining people in our going.

This is exactly where Jonah found himself. He had no desire to go out and mingle with the unbelievers of Nineveh, offering God’s mercy and grace to these godless people was unthinkable to him. So he decided to take a different trip.

Not following our mission might cause us, as it did Jonah, to be cast into the dark, rough sea.

But if circumstances cause you to find yourself in deep water, do not despair. It is not necessarily the end. It is most probably just a change of direction. It changed Jonah’s direction back to Nineveh.

Waters are a place of cleaning, it is like pressing a reset button on Yom Kippur. You see with the atonement of Yom Kippur, our slates are wiped clean. More than just our “accidental” sins are forgiven. Here our wilful sins are dealt with.

We see that in the offering of a ram on Yom Kippur. Why a goat and not a sheep? The sin offering of Yom Kippur do point to Yeshua our Messiah and he is never referred to as a goat, but as the Lamb of God (John1:29).

To answer this, we must look at nature. Lambs are animals that can function within boundaries. Goats on the other hand have almost no boundaries and will always test the boundaries. Not operation within the safe boundaries of His Word lead to wilful sins.

That is my understanding of why the offer on Yom Kippur is a goat and not a sheep.

It is with a grateful heart that we look at our Messiah and the atonement that makes for us daily, not yearly. Even our wilful sins are dealt with daily.

At this time of the year we are deeply moved and grateful for what Messiah did for us.

Our High priest took of His Royal High Priestly robes and on Yom Kippur became one that looked just like us, His priesthood.

It is on this day that He took the blood of the sacrifice and makes the return to Eden for us a reality. He sprinkles it on the mercy seat between the two cherubim (as the ones the guarded Eden after Adam left). God’s ultimate goal in sending our redeemer, Yeshua is to restore us to right relationship with him, as it was in the perfect Garden of Eden before the Fall.

He enters with the incense of our prayers.

We pray for peace, protection,  for salvation and above all for His Glory!