The Days of Awe. That's what the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are called. And right now, we're smack-dab in the middle of it.
What's so awesome about these ten days, you ask? Well, each one brings you closer to Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. And that is an awe-filled day like no other.
It is the one day each year that the Lord allowed anyone to enter the ancient Holy of Holies. There, in the innermost chamber of the sanctuary, is where God's tangible Presence resided (Leviticus 16:2).
But "allowed" isn't really the right word. God didn't just permit the High Priest to enter His Presence on that day - He demanded it. What would happen on that day was so sacred, so foundational, that it must be done in the very Presence of Almighty God.
It was the one day each year that all of Israel fasted while the High Priest stepped inside the veil. It was the one day they collectively held their breath, praying that the blood sprinkled on God's earthly throne would be accepted, their sins forgiven.
It was - and still is - a day of spiritual desperation. When a person sees plainly the gulf separating selfish mortals from a righteous, all-powerful God. Recognizing that, on that day, one's eternity hangs in the balance.
And so, with awe and trembling, Jews watch as Yom Kippur approaches, and do the only thing a human being can possibly do when such a desperate day looms.
T'shuvah. It means to turn back. As in turning back to God.
From the sounding of the ram's horn on the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), to the sprinkling inside the veil on the Day of Atonement, the hearts of the children turn back to the Father.
T'shuvah. It means to return. To repent. To restore and be restored.
As repentant hearts look toward the Day of Atonement, a vision appears: deserved judgment replaced by complete forgiveness. It simply overwhelms.
And when a person spends ten days anticipating such divine restoration, the ache to be reconciled with God spills over into the rest of your relationships.
It's the Jewish root of Jesus' command: "...first make things right with your brother or sister and then come back and offer your gift." Matthew 5:24 CEB
The Talmud actually teaches that, since Yom Kippur deals solely with man's sins against God, the days leading up to it are for making amends with other people.
That's right. For Jews, the Days of Awe are filled with the awkward yet beautiful, painful but sweet task of asking forgiveness from anyone and everyone you may have hurt or offended in the past year. In person.
It is humbling. It is scary. And it is the most freeing experience you can imagine.
You may not be Jewish, but if you know Jesus, then you do know atonement.
You know about THE Day of Awe, when all the punishment you deserved was paid for with Someone else's blood. When separation was replaced with reconciliation. When hostility was replaced with restoration.
So perhaps you, too, could observe these Days of Awe like Jesus' friends may have done. As Jews today still do.
Be ye reconciled. To the people in your life, and to the God who gives you life.
