The series which this article, “Afflict Your Souls” began with is “The Day of Coverings – Yom Kippur rim 1.” Yom Kippur rim is the moed which falls on the tenth day of the seventh month and it is all about covering Yehovah’s people, True Israel. No Gentile, no man serving any other elohim (law-maker or judge) will be covered on this day.
Yehovah desires that people live.
“Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says my master, Yehovah, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live? (Eze 18:23)
My people [True Israel] are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your Elohim, I also will forget your sons. (Hos 4:6)
A Day To Afflict Your Souls
Yom Kippur rim, the day to afflict your souls, is about providing a way for Yehovah’s people to live through the tribulation and come into the millennial kingdom alive and well; just like Noah moved from the antediluvian world into the perverted world we now know. We will see in part 3 that some of Israel will be covered and live while many others die. I believe it is simply because we will not learn the fear of Yehovah and afflict your souls. But what does it mean to “afflict” your souls?
Many will have you believe, just like I did, that we “afflict your souls” by fasting; and for some, fasting might be an affliction. But many people already fast one day a week as a matter of routine for health reasons or to draw closer to Yehovah with no great affliction. I have heard stories of those who even crucify or otherwise mutilate themselves on this day to “afflict your souls.” Is that what Yehovah intends?
Let’s take a look at the brief instructions about this feast in Leviticus 23.
“Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of
Atonement(coverings). It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and bring olah by fire to Yehovah. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the day ofatonement (coverings), to makeatonement(a covering) for you before Yehovah your Elohim (God). For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.” (Lev 23:27-32)
Afflict Your Souls – Your Thoughts And Emotions
As you can see, this entire day is about all Israel [a Gentile must become Israel] afflicting our souls (our nephesh, our thoughts and emotions) from evening to evening. If 
you have heard my teaching “Loving Yehovah God 101” you will know about this nephesh, and that man was created with two natures, a lower nature which he has in common with the animals and a higher nature which he shares in common with Elohim. The “soul” that we are to afflict in, “afflict your souls”, is this word nephesh, our thoughts and emotions!
This day is about getting in touch with that higher nature; and has nothing to do with the flesh, our lower nature or anything that can be seen. Doing any single act, in our effort to “afflict your souls,” is like offering an unasked for “tip”to appease the Creator of the Universe. He does not need it or want it; but, what he does want is us, especially his men! This day is about deep and profound repentance from our ways to the ways of Yehovah which were given to Israel’s seed through Moses.
As we prepare for this most holy gathering of all Yehovah’s gatherings, here are a few excerpts from scriptures you might want to read in their entirety.
Afflict your souls …
“But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me.” (Read – Lev 26:1-45)
“Speak not thou in thine heart, after that Yehovah, thy Elohim hath cast them out from before thee, saying, “For my righteousness Yehovah hath brought me in to possess this land:” but for the wickedness of these nations Yehovah doth drive them out from before thee.”(Read Deu 9:1-29)
Thus says Yehovah: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,” Says Yehovah. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.
(Isa 66:1-2)And I (Daniel) set my face unto my Master, the Elohim, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto Yehovah, my Elohim, and made my confession, and said, the El, the great and dreadful Elohim, keeping the covenant and the mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep His commandments; We have sinned! (Read Dan 9:1-19)
A Psalm of David When Nathan the Prophet Went to Him, After He Had Gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, Elohim [my lawmaker and judge]. According to Thy loving-kindness; according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight – that Thou may be found just when Thou speaks, and blameless when Thou judges. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. (Psa 51:1-5)
Create in me a clean heart, O Elohim, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy kodesh spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, And uphold me by Thy generous spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners shall be converted to Thee. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O Elohim, El of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness.
My master! Open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Thy praise. For Thou does not desire slaughters, or else I would give it; Thou does not delight in burnt offerings. Elohim’s slaughters are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. These, Elohim, Thou will not despise. (Psa 51:10-17)“When they [Thy people, Israel] sin against Thee (for there is no one who does not sin), and Thou become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to the land of the enemy, far or near; yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to Thee in the land of those who took them captive, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness’; and when they return to Thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray to Thee toward their land which Thou gave to their fathers, the city which Thou has chosen and the temple which I have built for Thy name: then hear in heaven Thy dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause, and forgive Thy people who have sinned against Thee, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against Thee; and grant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have compassion on them (for they are Thy people and Thy inheritance, whom thou brought out of Egypt, out of the iron furnace), that Thy eyes may be open to the supplication of Thy servant and the supplication of Thy people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to Thee. For Thou separated them from among all the earth’s peoples to be Thy inheritance, as Thou spoke by thy servant Moses, when Thou brought our fathers out of Egypt, my Master Yehovah.” (1Ki 8:46-53) Read all of 1 Kings 8
O my Master – forgive us!
“And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says Yehovah. Then Yehovah said to me, “Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: “Return, backsliding Israel.” says Yehovah; “I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,” says Yehovah; “I will not remain angry forever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou have transgressed against Yehovah, thy Elohim, and have scattered thy ways to the zoorim [those who hate Torah] under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed My voice,” says Yehovah. (Jer 3:10-13)
Isaiah 58 is all about this day to “afflict your souls.” One of my favorites! I am claiming this for myself.
Then you shall call, and Yehovah will answer. You shall cry, and He will say, “HERE I AM!“ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday. (Isa 58:9-10) Read all of Isaiah 58.
I work daily to satisfy the afflicted soul; the soul who has ears to hear the words of Yehovah.
We must always remember.
He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. (Pro 28:13)
In Leviticus 16 Two Goats – Yom Kippur rim (3) I try to give greater understanding to what is going on with the two identical goats and what they have to do with the lot that decides which one will die, and which one will live and go into the wilderness. These are all parts of a much bigger picture.