For every soul that is not afflicted on that same day, shall be cut off from among his peoples.
The Day of Atonement carried two commands: mourn, and do no work. This verse gives the penalty for ignoring the first — but why would God cut a person off for failing to grieve, when the day's work was being done for them by someone else?
The word points to an outward act with an inward meaning. Without it, the day did the person no good.
Israel kept the day on the tenth day of the seventh month. It was a Sabbath of rest, and on it they were to afflict their souls. What is called "afflict" was fasting, the outward sign of inward sorrow over sin. When this was left out, the atonement did not profit anything. Only true faith shown by repentance gives the sinner a share in the great work of atonement.
The same day also forbade all work. The two commands cut in different directions: one forbids self-confidence, the other self-effort.
The soul that dares to rest on grace without condemning itself for its sins before God is trifling with Him. It has not yet learned to hate its own unholiness as something completely at odds with God's character. And the soul that dares to work puts itself, so to speak, on a level with Christ and God Himself. The only work that can serve as the basis of atonement must be done before God by One who is God's own fellow.
Rest did not mean sitting back at ease. The day's mercy was itself the reason for their sorrow.
They rested from all work. But they were not to sit at home idle and unconcerned while the High Priest was inside the sanctuary. They were to afflict their souls. Atonement was God's gracious provision for His people who had sinned. The people were not therefore to think lightly of it. If the High Priest was actively engaged on their behalf, it was because they had sinned. So God required them to afflict their souls. Anyone who refused faced the penalty of being cut off from his people.
The sorrow reaches every level of the nation, and rank gives no exemption.
Affliction of soul is repentance. To see what that repentance will produce, we have only to turn to Zechariah 12:10-14. There the repentance in the remnant who will be the election of grace (Romans 11:5) is seen in its widest character. David — the kingly line; Nathan — the prophetic line; Levi — the priestly line; Shimei — the common people. All will be involved in that day. No privileged position will keep anyone who wants God's blessing out of that repentance.
Commentators read the mourning as personal as well as national.
It is true that Christ died for the nation, and the nation — that is, the remnant that comes into that place before God — will own its sin in rejecting the Messiah. But every individual must own his sin "apart," alone in the presence of God. That is how he is brought under the value and efficacy of the sacrifice of Christ. This was foreshadowed indeed in the directions for the Day of Atonement.
Writers read the whole ceremony forward, to a repentance Israel has not yet passed through.
The great public summons now given brings on the day of atonement for Israel — that is, their coming in personal humiliation under it — and this was separating in its character. It was a day for them to afflict their souls, stopping entirely from all worldly employment: "You shall do no work." Whatever soul was not afflicted was to be cut off, and so it will be. We find it in Joel 2; we find their character in Zephaniah 3:12; we find the affliction itself in Zechariah 12. Their acknowledgment, in words, of the value of that which made peace for the mourners is in Isaiah 53.
The warning looks forward to a day still coming. One writer names those it falls on.
There is a solemn warning in Leviticus 23:29. It seems to refer to the ungodly in the land of Israel, the followers of antichrist. Zechariah writes of them, "In the whole land, declares the LORD, two thirds shall be cut off and perish." God will not have among His people in that day any who have not truly repented.
The day required a state of heart that always goes with real faith.
First, his soul was to be afflicted in that day, not to be merry. Wherever there is genuine faith, there is genuine repentance. Where souls do not feel their sins, it is useless to expect forgiveness for them. Instead of light talk about receiving the word with joy, there is deep self-judgment. It rests on that most solemn, humbling scene where the Lord Jesus died for us. Secondly, there was no pretending to work on that day; it was to be a sabbath day, the work was Another's.
- Afflict — the word means fasting, the outward sign of inward sorrow over sin. Without it, the day did the person no good.
- Rest — the same day forbade all work, because the work belonged to Another. Sorrow without self-effort is the pattern.
- Refuse — to skip the mourning is to think lightly of sin while the High Priest works on your behalf. That is why removal follows.
- Reach — the mourning spreads to king, prophet, priest and common people alike. Each one owns his sin alone before God.
- Result — the picture points to a coming day when Israel will repent; and the test stands for anyone: real faith always carries real repentance.
And every soul that doeth any manner of work on that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.
The Day of Atonement was the day Israel's high priest went in alone with blood to make atonement for the people. It came with two commands: afflict your soul, and do no work. This verse puts death on the second one. Why should a day's ordinary work cost a person his life?
One writer sets the two commands side by side and shows what each was meant to teach.
They rested from all work. But they were not to sit at home listless and unconcerned while the High Priest was inside the sanctuary. They were to afflict their souls… Anyone who refused to do that exposed himself to the penalty of being cut off from his people. If anyone did any work on that day, destruction from among his people would be the due reward of his deeds. Two things they were to learn — and not they only. First, another made atonement for their sins on their behalf — yet they were not to think lightly of sins, which required, as we now know, the death and the shed blood of the holy Lamb of God. Second, God will have the sinner admit that he can have no hand in that work.
Work on other days was expected. The offence lay in working on this day. One writer names what such a person was claiming.
There was enough and to spare of work for other days; but for this day there must be none. Man has absolutely no part in the task. Only the Saviour can work for it, and He did so by suffering for us… The soul that presumes to work shows its presumption. It puts itself, so to speak, on a level with Christ and God Himself. The only work that can serve as the basis for atonement must be done before God by One who is God's own equal.
The ban on work was not simple harshness. It guarded the people from the urge to add something of their own before God.
The other command, "no work," will deliver them from any attempt to work out a righteousness for themselves. How carefully God lays this command down. Like Israel of old, who rested on the day of atonement, so will the remnant. Aaron did all there was to do on that day when he went in alone, with the blood, and sprinkled the mercy seat.
Kelly draws out how completely this cleared the ground: the day "shut out everything, if I may so say, but Christ, their propitiation and substitute; so that their self-loathing will be as complete as their abandonment of their own works… nothing can mix with His work."
Stopping work did not mean taking the day lightly.
In connection with atonement the meaning is most simple. Whether for Israel or for the believer now, no work of man must supplement the glorious work which has been done for sinners. On the other hand, the rest so dearly purchased for us is not to be received with light and indifferent hearts: Israel were to "afflict their souls" on the day of atonement, just as at the passover they were to eat the bitter herbs with the lamb.
This warning also looks ahead. One writer ties it to a day still to come for Israel.
The Lord would destroy the one who ventured to do any work on that day. Sin, and its consequences, are no light subjects in God's eyes, nor were they to be in the people's. They will enter fully into that when the mourning of Zechariah 12:10-14 takes place, as they look on Him whom they pierced.
Another writer reads the man who works that day as an open rebel, not merely a careless one:
In Leviticus 23:28 Jehovah commanded, "You shall not do any work on that very day," so that those who worked were rebels, disobeying the command of God… God will not tolerate self-will among His people; such will not enter into His rest.
One writer presses both conditions on the reader today, and answers a common question about repentance.
First, you must afflict your soul. To translate that sentence into one New Testament word is simple. It means repentance… Does repentance earn salvation? Does it win it? Is it a work? It isn't a work, because we read that they had to afflict their souls, and do no manner of work. To neglect the one, or try the other, brought death upon them. So repentance is not a work. What is it, then? You find deep down in your soul that you are a guilty sinner. Yet God, in His love, offers you salvation, and you get this thought: "God is good and I am bad." In short, you get right thoughts of God and yourself.
- Two commands. The day asked two things: sorrow over sin, and hands off the work of atonement.
- Two penalties. Refusing to afflict your soul brought cutting off. Doing any work brought destruction. Both penalties were death, because both sins denied what God was teaching.
- One reason. Working that day put a man on a level with Christ, claiming a share in work only God's own equal could do.
- One rest. Stopping work was never idleness. The rest cost dearly, and no one was to take it with a light heart.
- One day ahead. What Israel kept each year points to the day they look on Him whom they pierced. Then they will repent deeply and rest on a finished work.
No manner of work shall ye do [it is] an everlasting statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Leviticus 23:31 closes the instructions for the Day of Atonement, one of the most solemn days in Israel's year. For the third time the people are told to do no work — but why forbid work on the day when everything hung in the balance, and why for all time?
The commands here fall into a pattern. This verse is the last beat of it.
Leviticus 23 gives us the Day of Atonement from the Lord's point of view. The first thing we see is that it falls on the tenth day of the seventh month. The number ten in Scripture speaks of responsibility towards man and towards God. There were ten commandments. Now every failure to meet these responsibilities must be faced, met and covered. Three times we read that they are to afflict their souls (verses 27, 29, 32). Three times we read, "You shall not do any work" (verses 28, 30, 31). Three times we read the word "atonement," or covering.
reader:
The ban was not about work being wrong in itself. It was about who does the work of atonement — and how serious it is to reach for that place.
There was enough and to spare of work for other days; but for this day there must be none. Man has absolutely no part in the task. Only the Saviour can work for it, and He did so by suffering for us… And the soul that dares to work shows that pride by putting itself, so to speak, on a level with Christ and God Himself. The only work that can serve as a basis for atonement must be done before God by One who is God's equal.
The next verse calls this day a Sabbath of rest, and the Hebrew doubles the word. That rest points to God's finished work — and to Israel's future.
In Hebrew, "Sabbath of rest" is "Sabbath sabbatizing." Nobody was to do any work on that great day. The work was completely on God's side, and man must not try to add to it. But let us also remember how this applies to a coming day. Israel's great national day of atonement and repentance will come. They will look on the One they pierced, and the great mourning and grief of soul will take place (Zechariah 12:9-12). Then the glorious Sabbath will follow.
God gave this command to one nation in particular, and one writer sees a special fitness in that.
Could God have said this so fittingly and so forcefully to any other people? A nation is in view here — the one people the LORD had chosen. Were they not, above all others, the people who boasted about their works? Trying to set up a righteousness of their own, they "stumbled over the stumbling stone."… This does not mean that works will not follow. But for that time the Day of Atonement shut out everything except Christ, their propitiation and substitute. So their self-loathing will be as complete as their giving up of their own works.
One writer carries this forward to the day a faithful remnant in Israel turns to the Lord:
The other command, "no work," will save them from trying to work out a righteousness for themselves. See how carefully God lays this command down. Israel of old rested on the day of atonement, and the remnant will rest in the same way. Aaron the high priest did all there was to do on that day, when he went in alone with the blood and sprinkled the mercy seat.
Stopping work was not the whole of it. The same day that forbade work also called for sorrow. One writer makes that pairing the test of real faith.
First, he was to afflict his soul that day, not to be merry. Wherever faith is real, repentance is real. Where people do not feel their sins, it is useless to expect forgiveness for them. Instead of light talk about receiving the word with joy, there is deep self-judgment. It rests on that most solemn, humbling scene, where the Lord Jesus died for us. Second, no one claimed to work on that day. It was to be a sabbath day, and the work was Another's.
The verse reaches every home and every generation. This day stood almost alone in Israel's year.
This was one of the most solemn days in the whole year. Apart from the Sabbath, it was the only occasion when God commanded the people to stop work entirely. On the day of atonement they were also to afflict their souls, and that by a statute for ever.
- Three times. Sorrow of soul, no work and atonement each appear three times in verses 27-32. This verse carries the third ban on work.
- No work — because the work is done. Man has no part in atonement. To work on that day is to put yourself on a level with Christ.
- No work — because pride must go. The command struck at the one nation most set on building its own righteousness. It will strike there again on the day that nation turns to the Lord.
- No work, but not no feeling. Sorrow went with the stillness. Real faith brings real repentance, not light talk.
- For ever, everywhere. The statute stands in every generation and every home. It ends in the Sabbath rest that comes when Israel looks on the One they pierced.
A sabbath of rest shall it be unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls. On the ninth of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
Leviticus 23:32 closes the instructions for the Day of Atonement by naming two things together: complete rest, and a soul brought low. It also fixes the length of the day, evening to evening, which raises a question: why count a day that way?
This sabbath was not a repeat of the weekly sabbath. One writer sets the two side by side, and the reason for resting is not the same. Tisri is the seventh month, when this day fell.
On that day the people were to rest not only from ordinary work, as at all their great feasts, but from every kind of work, just as they did on the sabbath. On the sabbath they rested in memory of God's rest after His six days' work of making the heavens and the earth. On the tenth day of Tisri they rested because a work was being done for them. They could take no active part in it, yet they had special and pressing interests in it.
The ban on work goes further than a rule about tools and trades. To work on that day was to intrude on something no man could share in.
There was plenty of work and more for other days, but for this day there must be none. Man has no part at all in the task. Only the Saviour can do that work, and He did it by suffering for us… And the soul that dares to work shows its presumption: it puts itself, so to speak, on a level with Christ and God Himself.
Resting did not mean sitting idle and unmoved. The word translated "afflict" points to something the people did with real feeling.
They kept the day itself on the tenth day of the seventh month. It was a Sabbath of rest, and on it they were to afflict their souls. This afflicting was fasting, the outward sign of inward sorrow over sin. When they left it out, the atonement did them no good.
Two commands stand together here, and both matter.
Notice how solemn the emphasis is on two things: "you shall afflict yourselves," and "you shall not do any work." They set out God's way of blessing for His people then, and His way of blessing for sinners now. (1) A sense of their sinful condition, which means repentance. (2) Their complete dependence on the work of another to remove their sins.
A day about sins forgiven might sound like a day for cheerfulness. One writer explains why it was not.
Wherever there is genuine faith, there is genuine repentance. Where souls do not feel their sins, there is no use looking for forgiveness. Instead of talking lightly of receiving the word with joy, there is deep self-judgment, resting on that most solemn, humbling scene where the Lord Jesus died for us. Second, no one claimed to work on that day. It was to be a sabbath day, and the work was Another's.
Scripture counts a day from evening to evening, not from morning to morning. One writer says readers today almost always miss this.
Next, Scripture counts the day from "the evening and the morning." This matters greatly for other parts of Scripture. The Spirit of God never forgets it, but people today almost always let it slip… Even scholars bring in their western notions from the familiar habit of counting the day from morning to evening.
So the rest covered a whole day, evening to evening. Nothing fell outside it.
The day also looks ahead. One writer finds a nation's future in it.
Here the stress falls on doing away with all work on that day, and even more strongly on the sorrow of heart and soul that was to mark the people. Seen in its setting among the other feasts, then, the day points forward to that great spiritual awakening in Israel. It will produce repentance of unusual depth and reality, as Zechariah 12:10-14 foretells.
Yet the day does not end in grief. Sorrow comes first, and rest follows.
They will be made to feel their guilt and be afflicted. They will also be led to see how effective the blood is, and they will find perfect peace — a sabbath of rest to their souls.
- Rest — they stopped work not to remember creation, but to own that a work was going on for them, and they could take no part in it.
- Refusal — to work on that day was to put yourself on a level with Christ and God Himself. Only Another could do the work that atonement rests on.
- Repentance — "afflict yourselves" meant fasting, the outward sign of inward sorrow. Where people do not feel their sins, there is no use looking for forgiveness.
- Reach — the rest covered a whole day, evening to evening. Among the feasts, the day also points to a nation's future awakening in Zechariah 12.
- Result — they feel their guilt, then they see the blood is effective, and the day ends where its name pointed: a sabbath of rest to the soul.