The holy of holies, the part of the temple where the Ark of the Covenant stayed, was only to be entered into by the High Priest once a year, on the Day of Atonement. The high priest had to go through a routine, of washing and putting on special clothes and then entering with the blood of special sacrifices, that were made on that day (see Leviticus 16).

This day, the tenth day of the seventh month, was to be a day of rest and a special day for the holy assembly of God’s people. While daily sacrifices reminded the people of their need of forgiveness through a sacrifice for sin, the Day of Atonement was a special and solemn annual reminder of this. It was a day pointing forward to Jesus, the great High Priest who would enter the holy of holies of heaven, to deal with sin once for all.

We need daily reminders of what Jesus alone could do at the cross, but we also need special times to remember such as at communion. Take some time to consider the cross, how Jesus alone can deal with your sin and pray about this (see Matthew 27 v45-54).