THE DAY OF ATONEMENT. Leviticus 16 Yom Kippur still holds great significance for many Jews today who do not accept that the Messiah has come and believe that the shadows' value is past. For those living in Old Testament times before Christ's arrival, this was the most important day of the year. The tenth day of the seventh month was a time of fasting and solemn reflection on whether God was willing to accept the offering made on behalf of the people or not. Nadab and Abihu had died because they sinned by doing things their way instead of God's instructions. Death for sin was the backdrop to this holy day.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Perfect High Priest and the Perfect Sacrifice, had not yet come. The Day of Atonement by blood foreshadowed Him. Sacrifices were made on that day for the priest, for the people, and for the Holy Place, and the blood of the sacrifices had to be applied. The ceremonies associated with the Day of Atonement were important, but they offered no real benefit unless performed with genuine contrition and a commitment to right behavior. The order of the rituals was as follows.
- The high priest took off his garments, washed himself, and then went into the Holy Place to put on special garments designated for the Day of Atonement.
- He offered a bull as a burnt sacrifice for himself and the other priests.
- He then entered the Most Holy Place with incense on hot coals from the altar, creating smoke to conceal the mercy seat from him, and also carried the blood of the bull.
- The high priest sprinkled the blood of the bull on the front of the mercy seat.
- He then went outside and cast lots to decide which goat would be sacrificed and which would serve as the scapegoat.
- At the altar, the high priest sacrificed the goat for the people, then re-entered the Most Holy Place and sprinkled its blood on and in front of the mercy seat.
- Then he entered the Holy Place and sprinkled blood for the sins committed there.
- He returned to the outside altar and sprinkled the bull's blood on it for himself, then the goat's blood for the people.
- While there, he placed his two hands on the scapegoat's head as a symbol of transferring their sins onto the innocent animal and sending it into the wilderness by a “fit man.”
- The man who took the goat into the wilderness had to wash himself and his clothes before going back to the camp.
- The high priest went back to the Holy Place and took off his special garments.
- Then he went to the laver to wash and put on his usual priestly garments.
- Next, he went to the altar and offered a ram as a burnt offering for himself and a second ram as a burnt offering for the people.
- The final step was to remove the sacrifices for the sin offering, take them outside the camp, burn them there, and wash himself before returning to the camp.
We should never think of serving God as something we can add to or take away from. Whether we are "inside the veil" in holy worship or "outside the camp" in public allegiance with Christ, serving Him in a way different from the world’s common practices, we should show reverence and holy respect for what we are engaged in. The children of Israel would approach this day, wondering if they would be accepted for another year. We have been accepted in Christ forever. How much more reverent should our approach be in God's holy presence, with heartfelt gratitude, thanksgiving, and appreciation for what has been done for us? We are able to enter into the Holiest through this new and living way.
Aaron would have spent careful hours preparing himself to enter God's presence on behalf of the people. He had washed himself to be personally clean before putting on his white linen garments that day. They symbolized the need for purity of character before approaching God's presence and being personally clean. These are shadows of Christ's perfections in Himself and the purity of His life before God as a man among men. He was the Perfect High Priest and needed no sacrifice to make Him acceptable to God as our substitute. He was also the Perfect Sacrifice that satisfies every claim made against us. The two aspects of the atonement represented that day were to uphold God's glory and to meet man's needs.
To honor God's glory, there was that which reflected His nature of absolute purity, righteousness, authority, and everything else that is uniquely His. The atonement foreshadows His character of holiness, grace, compassion, mercy, and all other ways He is revealed to us. The holy throne of God and all that is involved in His legal justice and righteous demands were represented on that day of atonement. It was not a day of careless celebration like some holidays, but a day of reverent fear. Man's needs had to be addressed because of sin and guilt that could not be dismissed or overlooked for any reason. As a nation, their needs had to be met. They had to be right with God, and they needed that assurance.
After Aaron carefully washed and dressed in white linen garments, he brought a bullock for himself and his family, two goats for the people, and a ram for the burnt offering. As a spiritual house, we in the Church need the perfections of Christ to make us acceptable to offer spiritual sacrifices. The Church is a kingdom of priests who can only worship and serve God because of the sacrifice Christ made for us. A people for His name is not something to be taken lightly, nor can it be compared to some worldly nationality. The place God has placed within us is to be a "holy priesthood, a peculiar people." We must not carelessly engage in the holy things or ever think that what we are and what we do is insignificant. God's people are important because God declares so, and He expects our representation of Him to "be holy, for I am holy."
The bull that was offered was the sin offering for the priests, and the ram was the burnt offering for God alone. The way to God is open for us today through the Lord Jesus Christ. Because we have constant access to God now does not make it any less holy, nor should we ever take a casual view of the significance the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ has brought into us. The two goats brought to the Tabernacle's door were both presented to the Lord. The one was for the Lord, who could forgive the people's sins by virtue of the shed blood, even as Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures. The scapegoat was for the people to bear away the sins that had been confessed by Aaron on behalf of the people when he put his hands on the head of the goat.
After the bullock was killed as a sin offering for Aaron and his family, he took the smoking incense in a censer behind the veil to create a cloud of sweet-smelling smoke that would hide the mercy seat from his sight. The glory of God was more than a man could withstand without the covering of smoking incense. Then, Aaron could come out, take blood from the slain bull, and carry it behind the veil to sprinkle it on the mercy seat and seven times in front of the mercy seat on the east side. After stepping out from behind the veil, he would kill the goat on which the lot fell.
The blood of the goat chosen for the sin offering for the people was taken by Aaron and sprinkled on the mercy seat, and in front of it, it was similar to the blood of the bull. Our Lord offered Himself in His spotless perfection, and God was pleased with Him. He was also sacrificed for us, and in the same way, God was satisfied with Him, and now we are accepted by God. The blood of the bull and the goat was put in the same place and in the same way.
God was pleased with Christ because of who He is, and is satisfied with us because of what Christ did in our place when He bore our sins in His own body on the tree. "Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust that He might bring us to God." Some of the blood of both the bull and the goat was put on the altar and around it. Atonement had been made.
When the reconciling work was finished for the children of Israel, the Tabernacle, and the altar, then Aaron could confess the people's sins by placing his hands on the head of the live goat that was brought forward. The order followed on the Day of Atonement started with God in the Holiest of all, then moved to the holy place, then to the brazen altar, and finally to the confession of the people's sins on the head of the living goat. From there, the goat was taken by a designated man into the wilderness and released. One goat was to uphold the holiness and character of God, while the other served to meet the needs of sinners by making atonement for their sins. Everything begins with God and then extends out to us for our blessing. "Behold the Lamb of God which bears away the sins of the world." "Their sins and iniquities I will remember no more forever." "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us."
Finally, Aaron had to take off the white linen garments, wash thoroughly, and put on the garments of his priestly office. He then offered the burnt offerings on the altar along with the fat of the sin offerings. Communion and fellowship with God could continue for another year, and the people were assured of their acceptance by God. The sin offerings were taken outside the camp and burned. The man who led away the scapegoat and the one who burned the sin offerings both had to wash before returning and resuming their lives as they were appointed for that special work.
There was no joy in watching an animal be killed, so why was all this necessary? What’s the big deal about it? The problem lies with us, because we have only a shallow, surface-level understanding of sin and its effects. We can't fully grasp God’s attitude toward sin because He is Perfect in Holiness. The more committed we are to holiness, the better we can understand the gravity of sin in our minds, souls, and bodies. “The wages of sin is death” may seem extreme to those who think sin is just a minor mistake that can be easily fixed.
We should never underestimate the significance of our Lord's past, present, and future work. He was "made sin for us, He who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." We, in turn, are "sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all." "By His own blood, He entered into the holy place once, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Now, we can serve the living God without fear. We can "draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith."
The Day of Atonement and its associated ceremony served as a reminder that sin is like cancer. Drastic measures must be taken to permanently address sin and its consequences. Only death can fully resolve sin and its effects on us and those around us. Since every person has sinned, everyone must face death. Spiritual death separates us from God, just as physical death separates our soul and spirit from our body. By His grace, God has provided the Perfect Priest, who is also the Perfect Sacrifice, and He was willing and able to take away our sins once and for all.
The Day of Atonement occurred once a year for Israel and had to be repeated annually. The shadow and type are now behind us. Today, we live in the reality of Christ's finished work. His sacrifice was accepted once and for all and does not need to be repeated. We enjoy the benefit of our Lord Jesus Christ's great accomplishment. The fact that it is not repeated in no way lessens its value. Instead, the value of such a sacrificial act is increased. That is one reason we approach God with reverence and holy fear. A holy God and a holy priesthood share a common appreciation for the One who brought satisfaction to both. We are privileged to enter the "Holiest" through the blood of Jesus. We have experienced the sprinkling on our hearts and the washing of regeneration in our lives.