I have mentioned “convocation” before, during trumpets and the first ten days, but now we also see this descriptive word connected with “atonement.” This convocation can be described as being encountered by another, and in this case, having a meeting with God. Our Father in heaven called this meeting for us to be involved with His holy purpose called “Atonement.” Atonement means to cover, but it is a covering made by God and not man such as Adam and Eve’s covering described in Genesis 3:7 “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” In actuality, the first record of atonement is found in Genesis 3:21when God killed an animal, obviously shedding its blood saying, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” It is to expiate, or pardon, and repair by means of propitiation. I would go into the full meaning of propitiation but that might involve writing another book, so I will describe the basics of definition. Breaking it down, “pro” means to go forward, and even though “pitiate” is not a word per se, it is relative to “pitiable” meaning “the suffering of one person excited by the distress of another.” Some might think that the day Jesus cleared the temple, that there was nothing but total anger in His heart, but in truth, pity was actually the catalyst for His fervent disgust, exercising compassion toward those who were being robbed by a religious institution. Matthew 21:12-13 says “And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” 1 John 2:1b-2 describes One taking pity which is the catalyst of compassion.“And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
Knowing the aforesaid as truth instills in us a core belief that gives incentive to “afflict” our souls. Is this self-works? The answer is an emphatic no. It is an attitude toward oneself, striving to see ourselves as God sees us, which is impossible to do without looking into His Word for identification. Therefore, to afflict oneself is not our works but His, for His works instigate self-denial if we believe. In short, we discipline ourselves by holding ourselves accountable for ourmistakes that are revealed by the Word of God. We are to give accountof our true self in prayer with our heavenly Father, and testify of our true state accordingly. If we see our true self we will also see our dire need to be salvaged from a certain death. Try this some morning right after you climb out of bed. Stare at yourself in the mirror for a minute or two before you do anything else, and thank God that He looks at your heart instead of what you are seeing. Then look at your own heart the way God sees it, and don’t forget what you saw after you walk away. Then ask yourself through the day if you saw someone who needs help. If you see yourself as God sees you, then you are looking into the “law of liberty” as James 1:23-25 puts it. “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” Then memorize James 4:10, and 1 Peter 5:6-7 that say; “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”