Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20080604.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Leviticus: Fellowship With A Holy God
Part III: Acceptable Living Before A Holy God, Leviticus 11:1-27:34
M. Honoring God's Great Works In History
6. Honoring God's Cleansing Repentant Israel For The Kingdom
(Leviticus 23:26-32)
  1. Introduction
    1. Israel rejected her Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, cf. John 1:11. Consequently, He withdrew His offer of the blessed Messianic Kingdom until Israel would accept Him at a future date, Matthew 23:37-39.
    2. Israel will repent in connection to Christ's Second Coming to earth, a fact prophetically taught in the Hebrew feasts presented in Leviticus 23. We view that great event, drawing from it encouragement to confess our sins as believers for gracious reinstatement to God's fellowship and future blessing.
  2. Honoring God's Cleansing Repentant Israel For The Kingdom, Leviticus 23:26-32.
    1. We learned in this series that though the first four feast of Leviticus 23 are connected and relate to Christ's death, resurrection and the Church, the last three (Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and Tabernacles) are separate from these first four, but connected to each other, J. S. Baxter, Explore the Book, 1975, p. 143.
    2. We learned in our last lesson that the Feast of Trumpets held on the first day of the seventh month typified the future regathering of Israel for the institution of Christ's revived Davidic reign, the messianic kingdom.
    3. Soon after this regathering, on the tenth day of that same seventh month, was the Day of Atonement with its unusually austere requirements, Leviticus 23:26-27. The people were to afflict their souls and sacrifice for sin, and the high priest would enter the holies t of holies to atone for the nation's sins, Lev. 16:1-34.
    4. This day would be marked by several distinguishing features (as follows), Leviticus 23:27-32:
      1. This would be a day of assembly, implying the nation as a whole would be involved, Lev. 23:27.
      2. It would also be a Sabbath of offering sacrifices, or rest from man's works, Lev. 23:28-29; 16:5-28. Indeed, if anyone did servile work on that day, God promised to destroy him, Lev. 23:30-31.
      3. That day would be a day of repentance for the nation's sins, Leviticus 23:27, 32, a day of offering the appropriate sacrifices to that end, Leviticus 23:27 with Leviticus 16:5-28.
    5. Thus, when Christ returns to the earth, and Israel accepts Him as her Messiah, she will repent with deep remorse, and God will graciously forgive her in fulfillment of these features of the Day of Atonement:
      1. Zechariah 12:9-10 predicts that when Christ returns at the end of the Great Tribulation to rescue Israel from her foes, Israel will look on Him whom they pierced at His crucifixion. (Ps. 22:16; Jn. 19:34-37)
      2. In recognizing from His wounds that they crucified their Messiah (Zechariah 13:6), and brought on themselves God's wrath in accord with Moses' Deuteronomy 18:18-19 prophecy, the nation will deeply, personally mourn for Christ in remorse for having thus rejected Him, Zechariah 12:10-14.
      3. However, in great grace, and apart from any human merit, God will open up a fountain of cleansing for sin for the nation Israel, Zechariah 13:1.
      4. Accordingly, the elements of the Day of Atonement shared in Leviticus 23 will be fulfilled as follows:
        1. The nation as a whole, made up of its parts of individual Hebrews, will repent (Zechariah 12:11-14), fulfilling the element of a national assembly for this day predicted in Leviticus 23:27.
        2. Since the forgiveness of Israel will be based on God's grace through Christ's atonement, it will fulfill the typified Sabbath rest when sacrifices were offered, one in which no one was to perform servile work, signifying the need to rest in the finished work of Christ on the cross, Leviticus 23:28-31.
        3. Any Jew (or Gentile) who will not repent and trust in Christ will be executed (Matthew 24:40-41), fulfilling the Leviticus 23:30-31 typological prediction where God promised to slay those who did not afflict their souls in reference to sin on the Day of Atonement.
Lesson: The Day of Atonement prophetically anticipates Israel's repentance regarding her rejection of Christ, which repentance will be met by God's gracious provision of forgiveness through Christ's atonement on the cross. All who still reject Christ will be judged by God to be removed from the earth.

Application: (1) May we as believers confess our sins to God for blessed restoration to His fellowship. (2) May we then turn from sin to live righteously in anticipation of life in His coming kingdom!