September 15, 2021
Honoring God, and
the Holiest Day of the Year
“You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. For seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful. “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you. (Deuteronomy 16:13-17 ESV)
My beloved child, tomorrow is the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year! What does this really mean? If you are like me, I grew up and I was not taught to honor the three holidays established by the Lord, Passover, Pentecost, and Day of Atonement. In 2012, I began to hunger to know more about our Jewish roots and began sowing, a sacrificial First Fruits Offerings on Passover, Pentecost, and Day of Atonement. I cannot tell you how blessed I have been – for one thing I am debt free today because of my obedience to live out the Word. There have been times I didn’t think I would have the money to sow, then suddenly at the last-minute God has always shown up. I can tell you I haven’t missed a time in almost ten years, and by God’s grace I never will. I know I am blessed because I obey His Word. Try it! You will be amazed what God will do for you!
The Bible says we are to honor the day sowing your First Fruits Offering unto the Lord for what He is going to do for you in the coming year. I choose to see it as sowing a ‘Gratitude Seed’ for all the Lord has done for me and my family, and ‘Thank You Seed’ for what He is going to do in the coming year. I wouldn’t miss this opportunity! God set all these holidays to continually draw us back to Him! (2 Chronicles 7:14) He provided a way for humankind to come back into harmonious relationship with Him through repentance of their sins. The Lord says, ‘My Son Jesus was willing to be the sacrifice, dying on the cross and shedding His blood, so you don’t have to. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, and you owed a debt you couldn’t pay and through repentance you are reconciled. Jesus paid the price once and for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption for you. That’s the purpose of honoring ‘the Day of Atonement!’ (John 3:16) The law required the blood of goats and lambs for sanctification and purification of the flesh, so how much more will the blood of Christ, who offered Himself without blemish mean to Me. Purify your conscience from dead works to serve a Living God. (Hebrews 9:11-15) “Be careful to celebrate ‘the Day of Atonement’ as I gave Moses specific instructions to proclaim to you, for you to follow throughout all generations, and you are to teach your children to do likewise. (Leviticus 23:31)
Observe it as an official day for holy assembly, a day to repent of your sins and every man shall give as he is able according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you. Everyone shall observe this Holy day and you shall rejoice in your feast, you, your sons, your daughters, your servants, strangers, the fatherless, widows, all who live in your home and are part of your family. Three times a year that I have commanded you to honor: Passover, Pentecost, and the Day of Atonement. “Three times in a year every man shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. (Deuteronomy 16:16) That’s called a ‘First Fruits Offering,’ when you bring a sacrificial offering to the Lord on the three set times God established. Don’t work during the entire day, because it is to honor God, ‘the Day of Atonement,’ and the price Jesus paid for your shedding His blood on Calvary. This is a permanent law for you to observe from generation to generation wherever you live. (Leviticus 23:23-36 It’s a day to examine your heart through repentance – and I will create in you a clean heart and renew a right spirit within you. (Psalms 51:10) Shalom.
