In this sermon, the preacher discusses the future of Israel and the coming day of the Lord. He references Zechariah chapter 12, which describes a great national crisis that Israel will face before their restoration and cleansing. The preacher emphasizes the importance of Israel being cleansed and restored by God before they can enter into their future glory. He also encourages believers to share the gospel with the Jewish people and pray for their salvation. The sermon includes references to Numbers chapter 35 and the concept of the blood of the first goat being brought into the sanctuary.

Shall we turn again to the word of God in the book of Leviticus, chapter twenty-three? We read today, beginning at verse twenty-three, or verse twenty-six, rather, verse twenty-six, and the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement. It shall be an holy convocation unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And ye shall do no work in that same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people, and whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generation, in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls in the ninth day of the month, and even from even unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath. May we turn to the prophecy of Zechariah? The prophecy of Zechariah, chapter twelve, please. Next to the last book in the Old Testament, beginning to read in chapter twelve from verse nine, and it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem, and I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem as the mourning of Hader-Dremen in the valley of Negev, and the land shall mourn every family apart, the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart, the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart, the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart, the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart. All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart, in that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. May God bless the reading of the hearing of his words. We look with utter dependence to the Spirit of God to illuminate our hearts and our minds as we meditate upon the great day of atonement, which was the sixth annual feast in Israel when commemorated in past centuries long ago. The great day of atonement was perhaps, with the exception of the feast of the Passover, one of the most solemn important events in the history of Israel each year. For it maintained their relationship with Jehovah their God. Throughout the years they had undoubtedly, as all human beings, they had undoubtedly been characterized by human sin and failure, shortcomings, and the transactions that were accomplished in the great day of atonement established and maintained the proper relationship between Jehovah and his people. It actually was a national day of forgiveness, the national day once each year when God forgave the sins of the nation of Israel. If you will take time with me to go to the 16th chapter of the book of Leviticus, I'd like very briefly, but as clearly as possible, to touch upon the event of that day as it is recorded in Leviticus chapter 9, 16 rather. And in chapter 16 you have in great detail all that transpired in that day of atonement, and in their annual history. It was of such importance, and not most important, they realized, as did God, the need of the sins of the nation to be forgiven. May I point out some of the scriptures in this 16th chapter without reading it entirely? Go with me to verse 3. In the third verse we have the high priest commencing his ceremonial preparation to officiate on that national day of forgiveness. Verse 3 declares, the chaleron come into the holy place with a young bullet for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. Now, this was the preparation for the priest in himself. He must offer a sin offering for himself before he begins his official act. Also, as we read in verse 4, there was to be a complete ceremonial dance. He shall put on the holy linen coat, he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, he shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired. These are the holy garments, and thus with the complete preparation of the garments provided by God, we read on, therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. There was not only a sin offering, but there was the ceremonial bathing, so indicative that he must come in the presence of God's Lamb. And, of course, these things remind us they are a type of the holy, thoughtless purity of the Lamb of God who, as our high priest, has come into the presence of godly aura. The garments of the priest put on, those garments were so typical of the intrinsic righteousness of Christ in whose value we come into the presence of God. Now, go with me, please, in verse 5, and note. He shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids on the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. In the preparation, there was to be given not only two kids, one for a sin offering, but a ram for a burnt offering. And then, beginning at verse six, seven, and eight, you have there an offering, his own sacrifice. He shall offer his bullet for the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself and for his house. Now, let me interject. Our great high priest, the Lord Jesus, had no need to make an offering for himself. He was spotless, and pure, and without blemish. But Aaron the priest, and all the successive high priests, must of necessity bring an offering for himself, as well as his household, to make an atonement for himself and his family. And then, in verse seven and eight, that which was then taken was for the sins of the nation, and he shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat. Now, here are two goats, one was for the Lord. The first aspect of these two goats, one was for the Lord. The Lord himself must have the first one, and then the second one was to be the scapegoat, which, of course, was the one that was led in the wilderness, as we shall see. Now, first of all, let me suggest there is an important principle. Before God can forgive the sins of the nation, he himself must be satisfied by the sacrifice of a victim that meets the required righteousness of a holy God. And, for before we can forgive the nation, his righteousness must be satisfied. And, I'm sure that we who are believers realize and recognize before God could forgive your sins and mine, before sins could be forgiven for the whole world, the death of his dear son must meet the need of his holy demand, and God's righteousness must be completely satisfied, and thank God they have. What a joy to realize God first has his portion out of the death of Christ, before the sinner can enjoy his or her portion. Thank God that we know God is satisfied with the death of his dear son. Then, go down to chapter three. I want you to note how Aaron was to come into the presence of God in verse 12 and 13. After making the sin offering for himself and for his family, then he was able to kill the offering that was to be brought in the presence of God for the nation, and on both occasions when he came into the presence of God, for he came in first with the offering for himself, then he went out, made the sacrifice of the goat upon the altar for the nation, and brought the value of that blood into the presence of the Lord. But, verses 12 and 13, as well as 14, give us the important fact how he came into the presence of God. Verse 12. He shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from up the altar before the Lord, and his hand full of sweet incense, big and small, and bring it within the veil. And he shall put the incense upon the fire, the fire within the censer that he carried, he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony that he dine up. And he shall take of the blood of the bullet, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward, and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. Now, note, as he sprinkled the incense upon the fire of the altar, a cloud of incense filled the holy place, and there was a reason for this. That, as you note at the end of verse 13, the cloud of incense must cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony that he dine up. May I give this suggestion? There's no doubt. The glory of the Lord within that holiest of all, the glory cloud of Ishikaina presence was there covering the mercy seat. That glory the priests could not look upon, and visibly view, except entering with the cloud of incense to fill the holy place. Neither could the Holy God look upon a man in whose body, and in whose soul, was the knowledge and the presence of faith. And that cloud of incense was necessary lest he die, for he would have died had he gone into the presence of Jehovah without the cloud of incense before the mercy seat. And then he was able to sprinkle the blood upon the mercy seat, and before it according to the divine requirement. That was what the priest must do, both for himself, then for the offering to be drawn on the behalf of the people, and the entrance into the holiest for the national forgiveness of sins. That was required. Beloved, may we just rejoin that when our Lord Jesus passed into the heavens, carrying the value of his own blood into heaven itself, there was no need for a cloud of incense, for that blessed one, in the glory of his presence, and through the value of that one offering that he made for our sins, went into the holiest through the value of his own blood, by that new and living way which he has consecrated for us through the veil. That is to say, his flesh. But, this was the requirement on the day of national forgiveness. But, I want you to notice something which is very important. You note in verse 15, the blood of atonement was sprinkled seven times on and before the mercy seat, signifying the perfection of the blood of Christ in the presence of God. Seven is the number of perfection, as we undoubtedly know, in its numerical structure and value in the word of God. And, as the priest sprinkled the ark of the covenant seven times, there you have the indication of that blessed Christ, the perfection of the blood of Christ, which has redeemed your soul and mind. Now, let's look at the secondary aspect of this offering. The blood of the first goat was brought into the sanctuary. The first goat was slain. The first goat, his life was sacrificed upon the altar. But, go down the chapter, please, and I want you to note verse 20. When he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place and the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, he shall bring the live goat, and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited, and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. Now, when the foundation of forgiveness was laid through the sacrificial offering of the first goat, and it was accepted in the presence of God, then Aaron came out, and the live goat that was standing near the altar, he laid his hands upon the head of the goat, in complete identification with the sins of the nation, as he confessed the sins of Israel requiring to be forgiven. And thus, as he laid his hands upon that goat, confessing those sins, a man who was fitted took the live goat out of the tabernacle, and away from the testimony of Israel, into a land not inhabited, a wilderness, barren place. I believe Jewish commentators have suggested he brought that goat to a mountain precipice, and there in that barren place, he pushed the goat over the precipice, not to be seen again. Thus, the indication their sins had been taken away for another year. Note verse 21 again. He shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, confess over him, and note the next word, all the iniquities of the children of Israel, all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send them away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness, and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited, and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. O beloved one, the picture it must have been to the heart of an Israelite, who piously realized their sins were being forgiven, though only once a year, for the blood of animals could not take away sin, and purge the guilty conscience as does the blood of Christ. But, picture the delight of its sole burden with the sins of the nation, and their singing God's provision, as the blood of the first animal has been accepted in the presence of God, and the high priest on the behalf of the people comes out and confesses the sins of the nation, and he watches, and there he sees the live goat bearing, figuratively bearing away, the sins of the nation for that year. What rejoicing to know the establishment and the maintenance of a relationship with God would continue for another year! Well beloved, you and I can have greater joys than that, for you and I can indeed say, when we came to the Lord Jesus by faith, I laid my hand on that dear head of thine with broken contrite heart. I stand and there confess my sins, for when you and I confess our sins, and place them in faith upon him, he took them all away, and as we have often sung, my sins are all pardoned, my guilt is all gone, I'm saved by the blood of the crucified one. And oh beloved, what a great day of rejoicing it must have been in Israel! But may I say again, what a joy it is for you and for me in this day. Look at verse 30 in our chapter, and I want you to note the result, the unfailing result in that day long ago, when God forgave them their sins on that annual day. Verse 30, for on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. Beloved, what a happy day it must have been, when not the conflict. Well, I can only say what you and I could indeed sing with joy. Oh happy day, oh happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away, and the joy of knowing the sins of the believer of all God. May I give you three thoughts? I love them myself, I'll pass them on to you quickly, for when God forgives sins in this age, I quote the words of Psalm 103 verse 12, as far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgression from us. For when God forgives sins, he puts them out of breach, as far as the east is removed from the west. And as the poet said, the east and the west, the twain they never meet, for you continue in one continuous circle, never finding a meeting place of the east and the west as you travel in such a direction. And then, in Micah chapter 7 verse 19, a verse that is very typical of the national day of atonement that we shall speak of when we go to the prophecy of Zechariah, when Israel's sins will be forgiven as a nation. And, in Micah 7 verse 19, God said, I will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea, for when God forgives sins, he puts them not only out of reach, he puts them out of sight. O beloved, the joy of the figurative illustration in the depths of the sea! And then, those words of Jeremiah 31-34, Hebrews 10 verse 17, their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Not only out of reach, not only out of sight, out of mind, forgiven and forgotten by God. O beloved, hallelujah, what a salvation when we have a God who, through the blood of his Son, takes all our guilt away. May God help you and I, indeed, to rejoice and enjoy the knowledge that is ours through this typical teaching of the great day of atonement as it took place in the land of Israel. This is a solemn time. May I point out to you verse 31 of our chapter before going further. It shall be a Sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls by a statute forever. Linking with chapter 23, please, I want you to notice in this 21st chapter of Leviticus what the Lord has to say about the conduct and the attitude of the people of Israel. Read with me in verse 27. On the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement. It shall be an holy convocation unto you. Ye shall afflict your souls. It was the most solemn feat, perhaps of all, with the exception of the Passover, as we have said. Ye shall afflict your souls. And you know the need today when the day of atonement is piously set by the Jews. It is supposed to be a day of solemnity as they thus reflect upon their sins, their guilt, and their shortcomings in the presence of Jehovah. Ye shall afflict your souls, and may I give the thought on how true it is. Oh, how we who came to Christ came under the judgment and the penalty of God's wrath upon our sins, bearing upon our conscience, and there was the deep conviction we were lost and undone, and the realization we deserved the eternal judgment that God had decreed. But, thank God, in humble repentance and faith, we came to Him. Now, look at verse 28. Ye shall do no work in that same day, for it is a day of atonement to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. Know what? I love to thought, if I may indeed illustrate these words by reminding you, not by works of righteousness that we have done, but by His mercy He alone has saved us. I cannot work my soul to save, for that my Lord has done, and what joy it is when we have found our own atonement through the blood of His Son, forever having our sins washed away. But, go with me to Zechariah chapter 12, please. I want you to notice, as we have on the chart, that this great day of atonement, as likewise other feasts, represents the demons of God's redemptive purposes with Israel, even yet to come. And, may I point out, as we did last night, these last three feasts, they have a blessed application in the future. As we saw yesterday, the Feast of Trumpets, the awakening of Israel to repentance, and as we shall see now, Israel's cleansing and restoration. For this great day of atonement, long ago, portrayed a future day, when again Israel, in need of national cleansing and restoration, shall have that effectively brought to pass in a coming day. Now, go with me to then, to the book of Zechariah. We have already seen, through the Feast of Trumpets, that the Jews will return, and we could all, we could indeed say many have, returned to their own land. They have returned in unbelief, and there will be a national awakening of Israel. For God, now may I point out this, look, the Feast of Trumpets, in its dispensational application, leads to the day of atonement. The Feast of Trumpets, in the day of Israel's history, when kept annually, was but a stepping stone to that great day which followed immediately, the day of atonement. Now, may I emphasize, and this is something you and I should realize, we who are Christians, there is no question of doubt. God has his earthly people in Israel today for one specific purpose, to bring them to that national day of atonement, and the cleansing and the restoration of the nation to himself, which we shall see in our church. O beloved, you and I who see and know the mind of God in this precious book, relating to his earthly people, must realize he is working towards that end. My, the wonder of it that we should live in such a day, when for centuries the absence of Israel from the land has been so manifest, and they have been casted throughout the nation during the formation of the church. You know, I can almost feel the Lord was coming for us, to realize the threshold of such an event. Now, you and I will not, as the church, be indeed involved in this national day of atonement for Israel, but you and I are seeing that God has begun awakening his people. He has brought many of them, and also given them the privilege of restoring themselves to some national entity as they exist today. For what purpose? To bring them to that great national day of atonement. Now, let me repeat what we said yesterday in relation to Israel's sin. You remember we said they had broken God's law, they had defied his promises, they had slain his prophets. Greater still, they had rejected and crucified their own Messiah. Third, we said they had also despised the Spirit of God. Now, beloved, I want you to realize God is going to bring all that to account, nationally, to the whole nation of Israel, and their great day of national judgment is ahead. For brevity's sake, we must only think, as you have in chapter 30 of Jeremiah, verse 7, as you have in the in the words of Jesus in Matthew 24 15, it will be the great day of tribulation for Israel. Now, the great tribulation will have a worldwide effect, but the center of that great tribulation period will be Jerusalem and the environment of Israel. Now, let me briefly state three purposes for the great tribulation. First, and this is a solemn thing, first, that great tribulation period, though brief, is for the destruction of the undaunted. Now, let me remind you of that again. It's a solemn thing. We're living in a world of explosive population, but do you and I realize that upon that world, during the period of greatest trouble, God's judgment is going to be poured and finalized for the utter destruction of the ungodly? Read the epistle of Jude, chapter 1, only one chapter, in verse 14 and 15. When God, when he had prophesied, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints to execute judgment upon all that are ungodly and poor, and one purpose of that great tribulation is for his judgment to be upon the ungodly of the nation. And, second, another purpose, and one of the greatest purposes of the great tribulation, is to bring his people Israel, the remnants of that day, to the great day of atonement. That through that day of atonement, and the cleansing of the remnants, he may populate the millennial kingdom with the remnants of his dear people, side by side. Third, a third purpose for the great tribulation is also to bring down to the nation, out from among the Gentiles, those who will, with Israel, populate the millennial kingdom in that coming day. And, that great tribulation is going to be the national day of judgment for Israel as a nation. May I give you this story? I mentioned it to one or two at the table the other day. I was reading a book many years ago written by a journalist who was not a Christian, and he was a noted character in his field of journalism, and he was very pro-Jewish, and before the days of the second world war, while in Palestine, he wrote many articles for the benefit of God's earthly people in whom he was interested. He was not a Jew, but one day he had a delegation of three Jewish rabbis of a Jewish, of a Russian Orthodox order. They came to him, and as they entered into his room, he said, gentlemen, what may I do for you? The spokesman, who was the youngest, said, sir, first we want to thank you for your interest in our people, and for your writings upon our behalf, but we do have a request to make. He said, what is it? And the spokesman said, we wish you would leave us alone and write nothing on our behalf. In astonishment, he looked at the man and said, why? The young Jewish rabbi looked at him and said, sir, according to our sacred writing, before we Jews shall see our Messiah, we must pass as a nation through the greatest time of trauma we've ever experienced, and then he wiped the tears, slowed down the young man's face, when he continued to say, we so long to see our Messiah, we are willing to go through it. And, beloved, they will. Now, not all the Jews will be brought into the kingdom, but the nation is to be existed and that day of tribulation will certainly assist the nation, as we shall see in the reading of God's word in the prophecy of Zechariah. I want you to turn with me to it. Zechariah chapter 12. The words that we have read in chapter 12 of Zechariah, these words reveal the great national crisis to which Israel is coming. Now, Martin's words, they describe the great national crisis that is yet ahead for the restoration and the cleansing of the nation of Israel. Verse 9. It shall come to pass in that day. Now, may I state again, as I did yesterday, I believe, whenever you read the expression in that day, and if you will read the last three chapters of Zechariah, 12, 13 and 14, you'll find this expression in that day, you'll find it 16 times. And, in every occasion, as well as in other prophecies, to a Jew that meant the day of the Messiah, the day of his coming, in that day, it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. May I pause for a moment? My beloved, this is a deep conviction with me as I see the conditions today prevailing in Israel, as well as around Israel. I could not help but comment, as watching and listening and analyzing the news that comes out of the Middle East, that there is the indication that Israel is willing to fight all the nations of the world to maintain their identity. That is their spirit! They've gone back to the land, they've established themselves in that land for that purpose. It's either live or die as a nation. One cannot help but be amazed, as well as astonished, at the integrity of such a people to take a stand such as that. And, beloved, may I say that's exactly what is going to happen. All the nations have gone up around them, and cease to destroy them at the end time, and Jehovah will fight all His people. Go to chapter 14 for a moment, please. Let me read in verse 1, 2, and 3. Just the first 1, 2, and 3. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoils shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem. God is going to bring them there. Let me take the time to do it. Will you keep your place, please? And I want you to go with me to Numbers, chapter 35. The book of Numbers, chapter 35, and verse 33. Here is one of the most interesting principles of prophecy that I've ever seen, and that dear old brother, many years ago, thirty-some years ago, brought it to my attention. Chapter 35 in the book of Numbers, and I want you to read the 33rd verse only. What you read in the chapter is the establishing of the cities of refuge, and God ordering the required judgments upon the murderers, as well as protection upon those who inadvertently, unintentionally, may have been guilty of murder. But look in verse 33. So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are, for blood it defileth the land, and the man cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. Now, this divine principle still holds true. When human blood is spilt on the ground by the violence of men, God honors that blood that has been shed. He counts that blood sacred in its life, and he says that shed blood defiles the land, and there's only one way for that land to be cleansed from the defilement. It can only be cleansed by the blood of the man who shed the blood. Now, I want you to think with me. Why are the nations going to be surrounding Jerusalem? Will you go with me in memory to the death of Christ, and will you recall that over that cross, in three languages Pilate wrote, this is Jesus the King of the Jews? In Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin. In the language of the religion of that day, in the language of culture in that day, in the language of political power, it was written, this is Jesus the King of the Jews, and there at the cross, outside the gates of Jerusalem, the greatest violence of crime that was ever perpetrated by the human race was perpetrated upon the sinless, thoughtless, holy son of God. And not only is God going to require the judgment for the shedding of the blood of his prophet, but also for the shedding of the blood of the son of God. And before Jerusalem and the land of Israel will be morally cleansed in the sight of God, he will gather all the nations, together with his earthly people around Jerusalem, for the cleansing of the land. Oh beloved, this is God's decree. And in that day, when thus they are surrounded by their enemies, we read verse two again, chapter 14. Note the words in verse three, for I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, the women ravaged, half the city shall go forth into captivity, the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle. Take a note of this reference in Zechariah chapter 10 and verse 4. You have four titles belonging to the Lord Jesus. One is, he's the cornerstone for Israel. The second is, he's the nail. A most unique title, one that I love. The third is, he's the battle boat, and fourth, the expression means he's the absolute ruler. And oh beloved, what a day it will be when Christ the Messiah comes down from heaven to battle against the nations as they're gathered around Jerusalem. But, let's go back to chapter 12 in Zechariah, for I want you to note, particularly as our message is about the cleansing and the atoning of the nation of Israel. Chapter 12, verse 10. When in that time the Lord appears, verse 10, he says, I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication, and they shall look upon me whom they have seen. Oh beloved, what a revelation it will be. The godly remnant that shall remain shall see that one, their Jehovah coming, their Messiah in all of his glory. But, when they see him, he is the one they fear. And the very mark upon him reminds them he was the one they led out of the city of Jerusalem and named to the sea. And, what will happen? Notice what it says, they shall mourn for him. Their souls will be afflicted. It will be the greatest experience of atonement that the nation shall ever have known. They shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. And, in that day there shall be great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hader driven in the valley of Mageddon. And, note the distinction of the mourning. First, the land, the whole nation shall mourn. Second, every family apart. The family of the house of David, the royal family and their wives. The family of the house of Nathan, the prophetic families and their wives apart. Verse 13, the priestly families, the Levites apart and their wives, and the family of Shimei apart and their wives. And then, at the verse 14, all the families that remain, every family apart and their wives apart. And, what a day it will be! May I give this suggestion? Their great confession, their great confession will be Isaiah 53. I know we love the crucifixion chapter of the Old Testament, as we call it, but their great national confession of guilt will be Isaiah 53, from the beginning to the end. And, they will acknowledge we have seen enough. We believe he deserves the repose that he suffered. Yet, he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. And, the chastisement of our peace was upon him. And, with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned every one to his own way. Yet, Jehovah has laid on him the iniquity of it all. And, you'll read Isaiah 53 as being the great national confession of Israel. And, when you come into chapter 54, then you see and can hear the song of redemption and glory that he brings them into. What a day it's going to be! Look in chapter 13 of our Zechariah prophecy, verse 1, as we close. In that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and uncleanness. In that day they will find the value of his blood. Can I remind you of what happened when they crucified their Messiah? And, when Pilate brought him before the people and said, behold your king, we have no king but Jesus. And, then Pilate, as he delivered him to the people, washed his hands before the people, and said, I wash my hands of the blood of this just man. You remember the cry of the people? His blood be upon us, and upon our children. And, beloved, they borne the judgment. They suffered for that sin. But, in that day, when they see him face to face, his blood will be upon them for cleansing. There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel's veins, and sinners trounced beneath that blood lose all their guilty stains. Oh, beloved, let me say, I'm sure we all believe in the coming glory of Israel, which the Feast of Tabernacles represents in the future application. But, before God will ever bring his people into that glory, he will judicially and morally cleanse to make them pitted. Cleanse and restore them with a new heart to keep his laws, to obey his teaching, and to glorify him in all the earth. Oh, beloved, let us give thanks that for the nation of Israel there's coming a day of cleansing and restoration when that Messiah appears. And, until then, may God help us to win some of them to the Lord Jesus as we can. Shall we pray? Oh, blessed Father, what a book! Thy precious, Thy holy word. We wish to thank thee from the depth of our hearts for the divine revelation of such truth. Blessed God, thou alone by the Holy Spirit, through thy sacred writers, could write such words of prophecy pertaining not only to the world at large, but to thine earthly people in particular. We would be faithful to say, Lord we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and ask thee that soon our Lord will come, and that we shall be watching ourselves as those who were redeemed by his blood, waiting for that glad shout of a descending Lord, and the resurrection of those saints that have died in Christ, and our own transgression. Lord Jesus, we sometimes feel as though you must come any moment, and this is thy teaching. We pray, Lord, if thy word covers such, so clearly, such conditions that we are facing today, please Lord keep us awake! Keep us awake, Lord, looking for thy coming, and waiting to see thy face. We ask you to recommend ourselves in separating in our Savior's precious name. Amen.