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. But remember,

God's presence and glory are there at the highest levels of intensity, so Aaron has to create

smoke with the incense to cloud

his eyes from seeing God's glory, or he'll die. Wow. He even had special ceremonial garments that he

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