Habakkuk 1:5 Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. -LORD God
There are 4 proofs that support God rejecting Israel’s Yom Kippur sacrifice.
The lot of the Lord was in the left hand.
The crimson strap remained crimson.
The western light was out.
The doors of the Temple were open in the morning.
As a reminder, the first time the concept of “Casting Lots” is noted in the Bible is in Leviticus. This is where directions are provided for the High Priest during the Yom Kippur sacrifices.
So the lot of the Lord was in the left hand for 40 consecutive years…
According to tradition as documented by Frank, when the lot was cast in the right hand, it was a favorable sign for the nation Israel. For 40 years, the lot was cast in the left hand, not favorable.
History would confirm unfavorable conditions were on the horizon in Israel’s very near future. In 70 AD, Jerusalem was destroyed. The Temple was flattened. The Jewish people were dispersed from the land.
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Biblically speaking, the right hand is a place of honor, a position of power, presence and authority.
Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…
In the verse below, God the Father is talking to the Son.
Psalm 110:1 The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
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Ultimately, God the Father is telling Israel, my right side is taken. His name is Jesus Christ and He is the High Priest of Israel.
Hebrews 8:1 Now the main point in what has been said: we have such a High Priest, Who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens…
Mark 14:62 “I am,” said Jesus, “and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
The are 4 proofs that support God rejecting Israel’s Yom Kippur sacrifice.
The lot of the Lord was in the left hand.
The crimson strap remained crimson.
The western light was out.
The doors of the Temple were open in the morning.
In this post, we are going to study the idea of “Casting Lots”. Simply stated, this is a chance decision by drawing straws or casting pebbles. In today’s vernacular, “Let’s roll the dice!” This hardly seems like a reasonable solution to a serious consideration. But…
Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
Remember, God Himself commanded the Israelites to divide the land according to lots in Numbers 26:55-56 Be sure that the land is distributed by lot. What each group inherits will be according to the names for its ancestral tribe. Each inheritance is to be distributed by lot among the larger and smaller groups.” This same concept is restated in Numbers 34:13.
Saul was chosen as Israel’s first king by lot in 1 Samuel 10. Casting lots sniffed out Jonah at sea. Casting lots was a common practice in Scripture for consequential decisions.
Imagine that, the first time the concept of “Casting Lots” is noted in the Bible is in Leviticus. The context is the role of Aaron, the High Priest, and a Yom Kippur sacrifice per the Mosaic Law.
Leviticus 16:8-10 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel. And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD and use it as a sin offering, but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.
But who is Azazel? The word is used only four times in the Bible. By most accounts, the word has an uncertain meaning. The text seems to indicate Azazel is an entity.
Leviticus 16:26a And he who lets the goat go to Azazel…
The Book of Enoch offers insight into the Watcher, Azazel. Yes, Enoch is an extra biblical book. The book was on Noah’s Ark and survived. The original King James Version included the Book of Enoch. Jude 1 quotes the Book of Enoch. The early Christian church recognized the Book of Enoch until the 4th century. According to Enoch, Azazel is a fallen angel.
Enoch 8:1-2 And Azazel taught men to make swords, and daggers, and shields, and breastplates. And he showed them the things after these, and the art of making them; bracelets, and ornaments, and the art of making up the eyes, and of beautifying the eyelids, and the most precious stones, and all kinds of colored dyes. And the world was changed. And there was great impiety, and much fornication, and they went astray, and all their ways became corrupt.
So Azazel introduced weapons of war, jewelry, make up, cosmetics, more jewelry, fashion, seduction… Azazel was found guilty.
Enoch 9:6 See then what Azazel has done; how he has taught all iniquity on the earth and revealed the eternal secrets that are made in Heaven.
Enoch 10:4-6 And further the Lord said to Raphael: “Bind Azazel by his hands and his feet and throw him into the darkness. And split open the desert, which is in Dudael, and throw him there. And throw on him jagged and sharp stones and cover him with darkness. And let him stay there forever. And cover his face so that he may not see the light. And so that, on the Great Day of Judgment, he may be hurled into the fire.
Enoch 10:8 And the whole Earth has been ruined by the teaching of the works of Azazel; and against him write: ALL SIN.”
Azazel is the essence of sin. The scapegoat was a symbol for the totality of sin for the people of Israel. Take sin back to its teacher.
Azazel or the scapegoat was designated by the High Priest to take away the sins of the nation Israel. The sins of the people were transferred to the goat and lead away for removal.
Leviticus 16:21-22 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.
The premise of the article is that God rejected the Yom Kippur sacrifice the forty years preceding the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. Since the Temple is no more, the High Priest of Israel has been unable to enter the Holy of Holies and make the sacrifice on behalf of himself and the nation to this day.
We are approaching 2,000 years of God rejecting Israel’s Day of Atonement sacrifice.
Historically, who arrived on the scene 40 years prior to 70 A.D.? Well, that would be our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now depending on the timeline one subscribes to, Jesus was sacrificed for sin in one of two likely dates, 30 A.D. or 33 A.D. In either case, His ministry and/or death were on the scene in 30 A.D. Israel rejected their Messiah. Jesus is the atonement for sin for all and for all time.
How do we know God rejected the sacrifice prior to the flattening of the Temple? What proof is there for 40 years of history prior to 70 A.D.? Scribes of the times observed some strange happenings taking place starting in 30 A.D.
Authors of the Talmud chronicled their observations from 30 to 70 A.D. The Talmud, meaning learning or study, is a Jewish book of teachings and commentaries regarding the law, theology, sayings, arguments and rebuttals.
Granted, these documents are not Biblical Canon but they are historical documents of events that took place. In the case of the Talmud, there are two witnesses.
Babylonian Talmud: “Our Rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the lot [‘for the Lord’] did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-colored strap become white; nor did the westernmost light shine; and the doors of the Hekal (Temple) would open by themselves” (The Soncino Talmud, tractate ‘Yoma,’ 39b).
Jerusalem Talmud: “Forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the western light went out, the crimson thread remained crimson, and the lot for the Lord always came up in the left hand. They would close the gates of the Temple by night and get up in the morning and find them wide open” (The Yerushalmi, translated by Jacob Neusner, p. 156f).
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Why Two Witnesses?
Deuteronomy 19:15-21 A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed. If a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. Thus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
The evidence presented is consistent. History agrees, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. The time frame of 40 years is noted. There are 4 points of agreement.
The lot of the Lord was in the left hand.
The crimson strap remained crimson.
The western light was out.
The doors of the Temple were open in the morning.
Per the Mosaic Law, the findings of the Babylonian Talmud and Jerusalem Talmud are established facts per two independent witnesses.
There is legal evidence, God has been rejecting Israel’s Yom Kippur sacrifice for a long time…
As the Fall Feasts are finishing, welcome to a new series… Sacrificial System REJECTED
Amos 5:21-24 “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Of note, the context of the verses above is “The Day of the Lord”. We are talking End Times and Israel’s future.
The name Amos means burden bearer. Amos was a shepherd from Tekoa, a small village a few miles south of Bethlehem and about 3 to 4 miles east of Ephratah. Who else do we know that was born near by and bears the burden of many?
Amos was sent to the Northern Kingdom of Israel to warn against oppressing the poor, self indulgence, and the obsession of luxurious and lavish living. Sound familiar?
Jerusalem, October 1, 2023: Yair Hanoch of Return to the Mount was arrested for attempting to bring a sheep to the Temple Mount for sacrifice.
“There is no more room for Muslim rule on the Temple Mount, the time has come to build a Jewish temple and renew the sacrificial works,” Return of the Mount Spokesman.
Hebrews 10:11-14 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until His enemies should be made a footstool for His feet. For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
A common theme with members of the body of Christ is to proclaim sacrifices are no longer necessary. True! Read Hebrews 10 as well as many other chapters and verses! There is no more need for the sacrificial system. A major theme of the book of Hebrews is Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Mosaic Law sacrifices with His death and shedding of His blood on the cross at Calvary. Encouraging all to read the book of Hebrews.
Historically in the Old Testament, God frequently rejected sacrifices of the Jewish people. He did not want their sacrifices. Nation Israel was merely going through the process, a religious work. God does not want pomp and circumstance, He wants heart, conviction, and dedication to Him and His word.
Isaiah 66:3 Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.
Jeremiah 6:20 What use to Me is frankincense from Sheba or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please Me.”
Jeremiah 7:21 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves!
As we move forward in this series, to this very day in the 21st century, we have no idea to what extent God has rejected nation Israel and their sacrifices…
