The streets are weirdly quiet on Yom Kippur in Israel. Driving is not exactly banned, but it is definitely frowned upon. As a result, children can (and do) safely ride their bikes in the middle of the road. Yom Kippur is a day of contemplation and reflection, fasting and praying. Though very different to the prescribed Day of Atonement in ancient Israel, in both cases Yom Kippur is a day where most people do nothing much. And this is a very important point.

If you’re paying attention while reading the biblical directives, you’ll notice that the high priest is very active on Yom Kippur, but the congregation…? Not so much. There is a great lesson for us in this today.

“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.” (Leviticus 16:21).

There are 81 verbs used to describe the high priest’s work of atonement in this chapter. Remarkably, there are only four verbs in this chapter addressed to the reader, i.e., what he is to do (Leviticus 16:29-31).

Each of the four verbs addressed to the reader is a response to the work of atonement, but these actions contribute absolutely nothing to the atonement itself.

“You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the LORD your God” (Leviticus 23:28).

We have absolutely nothing to contribute to our redemption from the slavery of sin

This exact sentence in Hebrew (“you shall not do any work”) is only found seven times in the entire Hebrew Bible (Exodus 12:16; Leviticus 16:29; 23:3, 28, 31; Numbers 29:7; Jeremiah 17:22), six of which are in the Torah. Of these six occurrences, four of them are commands related specifically to the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:29; 23:28, 31; Num 29:7). Its first occurrence is in Exodus 12:16, instructions concerning the Feast of Passover. I find it both interesting and incredibly encouraging that on two of the most redemptively significant days on our calendar, Passover and Yom Kippur, God commanded the people of Israel not to do any work whatsoever.

We have absolutely nothing to contribute to our redemption from the slavery of sin (Passover), and nothing to contribute to our atonement (Day of Atonement) as God’s people.

We are commanded not to work because these are exclusively the works of God, and to him alone belongs all the glory!