The Day of Atonement

In Leviticus 23:26-32 the LORD speaks of another feast day - the Day of Atonement.
10 days following the Feast of Trumpets falls the Day of Atonement, which speaks of the atoning sacrifice for sins.  Under the First Covenant and the Levitical priesthood we saw that only once a year the high priest would enter into the Holy of Holies (the very back portion of the Tabernacle where the ark of the covenant was kept and the glory of the LORD would dwell) to make atonement for his sins and the sins of the people.  Speaking to Moses and the Israelite people, the LORD said it was to be a day of solemn rest and one in which the people were to afflict their souls.

Again, is this feast only for Jewish people, or is it for whoever calls on the name of the LORD to be saved...Jew and Gentile alike?

Over the centuries, those who have kept this feast day have done so by fasting and "afflicting" their souls, though how one actually accomplishes the affliction of their own soul is not clearly understood. 
The word for "afflict" in Leviticus 23 is the Hebrew word, 'ana' which literally means, "to depress; abase self; chasten self; deal hardly with; through the idea of brow-beating".   What exactly does that look like, practically speaking?  Well we'll take a look at a few passages of Scripture in just a second, that will hopefully shed some light on that.
The word for "souls" is 'nepes' which can have the meaning of a living thing or appetite.  Because appetite is there in the meaning of the word 'nepes' it is often ascribed as the reason that many abstain from food and drink on this day.

Something interesting is that which concerns the idea of fasting.  Nowhere in the commandment concerning this feast day is fasting mentioned.  So why do so many abstain from food on the Day of Atonement?  Is it because of the meaning of that word 'nepes'?  It has been a tradition of the Jewish people for millennia yet it isn't commanded in Scripture.  Fasting from food can certainly be afflicting, but does that afflict the soul or simply the flesh?  I do believe that denying the flesh does have some effect on the spirit since our spiritual nature and carnal nature are intertwined while still in this existence.  However, the concept that fasting from physical food can truly afflict the soul is not entirely proportionate as one might think.
I believe there are many who fast from food and drink because of tradition.  It's something that's always been done so let's keep doing it, right?  Also there are those who fast because of the fact that 'appetite' is in the meaning of the word 'nepes', but remember that word primarily means "a living being" or a "soul".

Also, we know that fasting from physical things doesn't completely afflict one's own soul.  And does "appetite" simply lend itself to eating?  No.  We have many appetites in this world that need to be abstained from such as those things that the flesh relishes in...like selfishness, anger, lying, murder, etc...

Now what about the command to afflict one's soul?  Well, one of the truest examples the LORD gives us is found in what He spoke through the prophet Isaiah.  In chapter 58 of Isaiah the LORD gives HIS interpretation of true fasting.  For sake of space I'm not going to type the whole chapter out so I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU READ IT.  But a few verses say this:

"Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness, 
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?"
- Isaiah 58:6-7

Wow.  Do I do those things?   That's pretty afflicting to the soul. 
If you read the entire chapter you'll get the full picture of why God is saying this to His people.  Their hypocrisy was in that they were fasting from food but not from their appetites for injustice and strife!  Basically we're talking about lawlessness here.  The very thing our Savior came to abolish by living and fulfilling His law.

The result of doing the things God commands is found in verses 8-9.  Read them in conjunction with Matthew 5:13-20.

Then the Lord says this in verse 10 of Isaiah:

"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."
- Isaiah 58:10

Again, wow.  That cuts right to it, doesn't it?  We have been given the ministry of reconciliation according to what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, which means the same thing that Isaiah was pointing out - that we are to be about reaching others with the love of God by walking in His commandments.  God has reconciled us to Himself through the ATONING sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Yeshua Messiah), so we ought to be about reconciling others to Him as His ambassadors and His body!

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
- Matthew 5:16

What good works?  The ones HE prepared beforehand for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10): His commandments, statutes, judgments, laws.  HIS WAYS.  Not our own.  Not the world's.  Not the devil's.  HIS ways.  HIS works.  That's the only way our ministry can be truly affective for HIS glory.

So afflicting your soul is a commandment for the Day of Atonement and it's a pretty serious one.  How you do that, though, is simply walking in God's truth and loving instructions and allowing Him to bring about real change in your heart.  Presenting an offering made by fire.  As we've looked at before, that looks like what Paul wrote in Romans 12:1.  To offer YOURSELF as a living sacrifice, acceptable to God.  If your offering is acceptable to God then He will consume it!  Our God is a consuming fire, thus you become the burnt offering!

Yeshua already made atonement for your sins...are you willing to walk in that knowledge and truth?  Are you willing to afflict your soul His way rather than trying to do it in your own?