32 Psalm  
  The Day of Atonement    [1491 BC]
       (Yom Kippur, Sept17-18, 2010)                                  
     When Moses brought down the first tablets of the 10 Commandments he found the Israelites, led by his brother Aaron, worshipping a golden calf.  Moses threw the tablets down breaking them into many pieces.  He then went back up the mountain for another 40 days of prayer and fasting asking God to forgive his people for their sin.  After the 40 days God forgave their sin and gave Moses a second set of 10 Commandments.  The Day of Atonement is the anniversary commemoration of this 40th day - a day to seek God's forgiveness and have sins atoned.  The date each year, like Easter, is determined by full moons so it varies.   In 2008 it is from Sunset October 8 to one hour past sunset October 9.
    The Hebrew word for atonement כפר  means 'a ransom.'  A payment must be made for our sins.   Atonement can  also sometimes take on the same meaning as the word nullify; meaning God pardons our sins.   Moses was instructed that on the Day of Atonement a bullock,  a ram, and one goat were to be sacrificed on an alter.  These sacrifices represent payment for sin.  But another goat, the scapegoat, was to be sent off to wander in the wilderness.  The scapegoat represents sin nullified. 
    In the Jewish religion salvation depends on atoning for sin during the two High Holiday periods by prayer, repentence, and acts of charity. One High Holiday known as the Day of Atonement is called Yom Kippurim יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים .  The Jewish people are supposed to observe a complete fast and not work that day or eat or drink anything.   They are also prohibited from bathing, using body lotions,  cosmetics,  or wearing leather.   As a sign of purity while fasting many Jewish people wear white clothing.   Religious services at a local synagogue are attended that start early in the morning and last most of the day.  In the Nation of Israel all businesses close and no radio or TV broadcasts are allowed.  Ambulances, police cars and firetrucks are the only motorized vehicles seen on the streets, but bicycle-riding is permitted. 
      Asking forgiveness and confession of wrongdoing is required for atonement.   Confession is made by saying,  'Please God! I have intentionally sinned, I have sinned out of lust and emotion, and I have sinned unintentionally. I have done [such-and-such] and I regret it, and I am ashamed of my deeds, and I shall never return to such a deed.'  On Yom Kippur two sins are confessed for each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
      A Jewish Holy book, The Talmud, emphasizes that observing Yom Kippur celebration only atones for sins against God.  Atonement for sins against another person must be made during the 'Days of Awe' just before Yom Kippur.  You must tell the person face to face you are sorry for what you've done and, if possible, try to correct your wrongdoing.

              Yom Kippur ends with the recitation of Shema Yisrael , Deuteronomy 6:4-9:  
                        "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord:
                             And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart,
                                      and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
                             And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
                             And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children,
                                      and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house,
                                      and when thou walkest by the way,
                                      and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
                             And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand,
                                      and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
                             And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house,
                                      and on thy gates."

 A Shofar, a musical instrument made from an animal horn, is blown to signify the time of fasting is over.

      I've often heard it mistakenly explained that God in the Old Testament is the God of judgment while God in the New Testament is a God of mercy.   "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord."  In the Old and New Testaments God is perfect Love and perfect Holiness. 
    Sinful man can not stand before God's Holiness and live.  So God arranged a way to have our sins atoned.   First God elected a people through whom this plan would be revealed.  These were the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel).  God blessed them, set them apart, and made them into a great nation.  He also gave them prophets with revelations regarding the Messiah.  Until that great day of the Messiah, God provided His chosen people with laws and ceremonies that served as a schoolmaster to teach His people about their need for Holiness and as a model of what salvation would be like when Jesus atoned for the sins of mankind.
     Jesus  was the perfect sacrifice.  No more bullocks, rams, or goats need to be laid on an alter.  No more scapegoats need to be sent away into the wilderness.