Afflicting the Soul
By
Gary Primo
Afflicting the soul is something we all do on the Day of Atonement every fall festival season. The following is the general understanding of what this day means.
What Does Atonement Mean? Bible Definition of Atonement
https://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/what-does-atonement-mean...
The English word for atonement originally meant “at one-ment” or “at one with” like being in harmony with someone and in this case it means to be at one with God through the atonement that was made possible by the substitutionary death of Christ on our behalf. The Hebrew Word for atonement is “kipur” with the verb form being “kaphar” and means “to cover, purge, make reconciliation” and “to cover with or coat with pitch.” That last definition is very interesting because the same Hebrew word used for pitch is “kaphar” and that is what the Ark was covered with. When God commanded Noah to build an Ark to save him, his family, and many of the animals from the coming judgment of the flood, he was commanded to cover the Ark with pitch or “kaphar” which is to cover, make reconciliation with, or to purge. Since the floodwaters were indicative of the judgment of God on fallen, sinful mankind, it is not ironic that God used the word “kaphar” in telling Noah to cover the Ark with pitch. Thus, the Ark is seen as symbolic of God’s salvation and the atonement or covering from God’s judgment (of the floodwaters) as seen in the pitch that Noah applied to the outside of the Ark whereby God sparred Noah and his family from the judgment of sin by an atoning, reconciling covering or cover that the pitch was known for. This is indicative of salvation being fully a work of God and not of man (Eph 2:8-9).
Eph. 2: 8 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of Elohim:
9 - Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Salvation depends our putting sin out of our lives. One reality that is historically evident is that mankind seems to be totally incompetent in achieving this state. Therefore, Yahuwah sent His Only Begotten Son, to pay the price in our stead. If he had not, or if Yahushua had failed for any reason, there would be no redemption for sin.
The penalty for sin is death. We tend to rate sin in order of severity, but that is strictly a human practice. We certainly cannot rate the severity of death. With Yahuwah; however, all sin is serious. It is about attitude more than the act itself. Our goal is to drive all sin out. If we hang onto seemingly insignificant sins, we will develop the attitude that a little sin is ok. IT IS NOT! We know it’s not, and yet, we try to make excuses anyway.
Yahushua did not take His sacrifice lightly and neither should we. Just think about what He gave up for us. He did not have to suffer such a fate to gain His own salvation; He was already saved. He did it totally for OUR salvation. This was a very incredible sacrifice. I mean, we hear of military heroes all the time that went above and beyond to save their regiments; but here Yahushua was sacrificing himself for the entire creation. There has never been an earthly hero of His magnitude. Second place would go to Noah.
It is absolutely humbling to think about how Yahuwah planned out His creation to the very last detail. He made His own Son the fail-safe plan. This is what the sacrificial system was about all along, sacrificing one’s most prized possession to Elohim for the forgiveness of sin. Yahuwah’s most prised possession was His Son. Yet, He also loved mankind and foresaw great things for man that he could not see himself. Many today still cannot see it (or, at least, believe it).
We hear a lot of talk about New Covenant vs. Old Covenant. Many claim that the Old was done away with. That is not entirely true. The general theme of both Covenants remains the same. Both are dependent on obedience to Yahuwah’s every word (law). They are both about putting away sin to gain salvation. The biggest difference is that under the old, there was no redemption for sin and death was the only promise. Under the New we still must die a physical death but have the promise of resurrection to eternal life. Also, under the New, the Jews are not the only ones promised salvation but the believing Gentiles too. But again, all is conditional upon obedience. Just because Yahushua paid the penalty of sin for us does not mean that we can do whatever.
Perhaps the most humbling point here is that we did absolutely nothing to gain salvation on our own. We are totally dependent on Yahuwah. We are charity cases. He did it all for us. Without Him we would remain dead men walking. The fact that He called any of us into His family is a miracle in itself.
Afflicting our souls on this day reminds us of these facts and fasting from food and drink for a 24 hour period is an acknowledgement of our appreciation for His sacrifice and His forgiveness. It is the bare minimum that is required of us. And, when considering the reward, it is well worth it.
Yahushua’s sacrifice was a very solemn occasion. The Creator of heaven and earth was about to die. And, the future of the entire universe rested upon the advent of His prophesied resurrection from the grave. It was indeed an intense 3 days and 3 nights. And then, it happened; and the whole universe breathed a sigh of relief.
On this day we make somewhat of a sacrifice ourselves, denying ourselves of the sustenance of life (food and drink) for an entire day – one day out of the year. That is not so much to ask, is it?
And, of course, when broken down atonement means at–one-ment or being one with Yahuwah, which the whole plan of redemption is really all about. This is what Yahushua prayed for in John 17. We become one with Yahuwah by taking on His nature. We take on His nature by bring ourselves under strict obedience to His word/law. We practice obedience until it becomes second nature. So, that is something else to contemplate on this day.
The following is another way of interpreting this day.
https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/yom-kippur-day-atonement
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur means "Day of Atonement" and refers to the annual Jewish observance of fasting, prayer and repentance. Part of the High Holidays, which also includes Rosh HaShanah (the Jewish New Year), Yom Kippur is considered the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.
Yom Kippur is the moment in Jewish time when we dedicate our mind, body, and soul to reconciliation with our fellow human beings, ourselves, and God. As the New Year begins, we commit to self-reflection and inner change. As both seekers and givers of pardon, we turn first to those whom we have wronged, acknowledging our sins and the pain we have caused them. We are also commanded to forgive, to be willing to let go of any resentment we feel towards those who have committed offenses against us. Only then can we turn to God and ask for forgiveness. As we read in the Yom Kippur liturgy, “And for all these, God of forgiveness, forgive us, pardon us, and grant us atonement.”
Indeed this is the holiest day of the year. What greater gift can Yahuwah give us than redemption from all sin and graduation to eternal life? And it is indeed a gift, since we did nothing to earn it.
This is a day of rededication of us to Yahuwah. Unlike Adam, we believed Yahuwah, not HaSatan. “Him that you obey, him also do you worship”. We have brought ourselves under obedience to Yahuwah, making Him the One whom we worship. However, the bulk of the human race has chosen to obey HaSatan, making him the elohim that this world worships. Yahuwah is indeed pleased with His called-out ones.
On this day we are not only to seek out the people we have wronged but those who have wronged us as well. This is all about forgiveness. We have this opportunity to forgive those who have wronged us, and ask forgiveness from those we have wronged. We must not dare to approach Yahuwah and seek His forgiveness while harboring any bad feelings between one another.
https://www.learnreligions.com/day-of-atonement-700180
· When the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D., the Jewish people could no longer present the required sacrifices on the Day of Atonement, so it came to be observed as a day of repentance, self-denial, charitable works, prayer, and fasting.
· Yom Kippur is a complete Sabbath. No work is done on this day.
· Today, Orthodox Jews observe many restrictions and customs on Yom Kippur.
· The book of Jonah is read on Yom Kippur in remembrance of God's forgiveness and mercy.
· Learn more about Yom Kippur in Judaism.
The Day of Atonement was a yearly reminder that all of Israel's daily, weekly, and monthly ritual sacrifices and offerings were not sufficient to atone for sin.
The ritual sacrifice denoted to Atonement is no longer required. It was replaced by Yahushua’s sacrifice. Of course the Jewish elite did not recognize that fact and if the temple were restored today, they would continue to perform the ancient rites.
Ah yes, the Jews love their made-made customs and traditions above and beyond the commandments of Yahuwah, just like Christians do. While paying the utmost attention to every detail of these rites, they totally miss the big picture. Instead of believing and following after the Messiah, they had Him put to death. Kill the lawgiver, kill the law. That is what the Jewish scribes and Pharisees believed. In turn, the Christians came to believe the law was abolished with the death of Yahushua.
If all the other yearly sacrifices weren’t enough to atone for sin, why was Israel commanded to perform them? Well, at the time, Yahushua had not arrived to pay the ultimate price for our sins. The animals were merely a substitute until He arrived. .Now that He has come, animal sacrifices are no longer necessary. Since the Jews do not believe that He has come, they continue to look toward the rebuilding of the temple and the resumption of animal sacrifices. They have, in fact, refused redemption for their souls. None are so blind as those who choose not to see.
Conclusion
Affliction of the soul has an ominous ring to it. It sounds like something no one would normally wish to do to themselves – perhaps something even disastrous or extremely painful. If you count hunger pains, I guess it is somewhat painful, but nowhere near the pain that Yahushua suffered. This is a good time of the year to picture ourselves as being the one who suffered forty lashes of the whip, tipped with fragments of bone and metal; and after surviving that ordeal, to be hung on a stake afterwards for 6 hours until finally succumbing to death. Yahushua had no legitimate reason for being executed. He freely surrendered His life for us. Now we are asked to surrender our lives for Him.
We have gotten off easy. We have been victorious over sin. And the most glorious aspect of it all is that we did not have to do a thing, except BELIEVE. That is all that Yahuwah ever wanted – for us to believe Him. Have you ever been in a situation where you have been accused of something that you were completely innocent of? It certainly does not feel good. You know for a fact that you are innocent but your accusers simply will not believe you. It is much worse when you are on your way to the chopping block. And, even more so when the accused is completely incapable of lying!
There are going to be times when we are or will be tested beyond all human endurance in our service to Yahuwah. Aside from the Messiah, the Apostles and many others who followed Him were made to suffer death for His sake. We have no idea yet what our end will be. We could pass peacefully in our sleep or we could be martyred – we simply do not know. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Let us keep these things in mind as we commemorate this day.