Hey Bible Readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for The Bible Recap.

Today we hit a big day in our reading, the instructions for the day of atonement, the day of

covering for sins and purging impurity from their midst.

This annual event happens in the fall about halfway through the Jewish year.

In our current reading, we're just at the start of the Jewish year, so the day of atonement is still a

few months off for the Israelites.

Here, God's telling them how it's all going to happen when the time comes.

The Jewish name for this day is Yom Kippur and it's the only day of the year when

the High Priest can enter into the Holy of Holies.

As a refresher, the Holy of Holies is the section at the far back of the Tabernacle,

separated from the Holy Place by a curtain,

and it's where the Ark of the Covenant sits with the mercy seat on top of it,

serving as God's throne on earth.

No one gets to enter, ever, except the High Priest on this one day.

God gives instructions for how Aaron is supposed to enter, and his instructions present

us with a new theory on what happened to his two oldest sons who were struck dead recently.

Some commentators believe they possibly tried to enter the Holy of Holies which was strictly

forbidden for them. God has done so much to draw

his people near, but there's still a set-apartness to him, a holiness that must be revered.

Why does Aaron get to go in on this particular day?

He's presenting the annual sacrifices that cover the sins of the priests and the sins of the people.

And because even the Tabernacle itself was impacted by their sins, these sacrifices had to take place at the very heart of the tabernacle.

...