Leviticus 16: 1 – 34
Not Vulnerable
16 Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the LORD, and died; 2 and the LORD said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat. 3 “Thus Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering. 4 He shall put the holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore he shall wash his body in water, and put them on. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. 6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 He shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 8 Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the LORD’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness. 11 “And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull as the sin offering which is for himself. 12 Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. 13 And he shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD THAT the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he die. 14 He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. 15 “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. 16 So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 There shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 And he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD, and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. 19 Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, cleanse it, and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. 20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. 21 Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. 22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. 23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of meeting, shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. 24 And he shall wash his body with water in a holy place, put on his garments, come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar. 26 And he who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. 27 The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. And they shall burn in the fire their skins, their flesh, and their offal. 28 Then he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. 29 “This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. 30 For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. 31 It is a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. 32 And the priest, who is anointed and consecrated to minister as priest in his father’s place, shall make atonement, and put on the linen clothes, the holy garments; 33 then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year.” And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.
Today we are going to look at our Holy God’s declaration of The Great Day of Atonement. It will be for Israel the most holy day of the year. We will read and understand that all are to refrain from any work. Every Jewish family will be home together enjoying each other and hopefully thinking about the Lord God Who rescued them from Egypt.
I was thinking about how the enemies of Israel had thought that this tiny nation was vulnerable for a sneak attack. They would all be at home and the thought was that they could be overrun quickly. Even in our present time we witnessed the God of Israel come to their rescue.
Israel’s stunning victory in the Six-Day War of 1967 left the Jewish nation in control of territory four times its previous size. Again our Holy Yahweh would not allow His people to suffer any attack from Egypt. He would not allow, not now, nor ever suffer. In just 6 days He performed miracle after miracle in rescuing His obedient sons and daughters who were celebrating the Day of Atonement.
When Anwar el-Sadat (1918-81) became president of Egypt in 1970, he found himself leader of an economically troubled nation that could ill afford to continue its endless crusade against Israel. He wanted to make peace and thereby achieve stability and recovery of the Sinai, but after Israel’s 1967 victory it was unlikely that Israel’s peace terms would be favorable to Egypt. So Sadat conceived of a daring plan to attack Israel again, which, even if unsuccessful, might convince the Israelis that peace with Egypt was necessary.
On October 6, 1973 — Yom Kippur -- the holiest day in the Jewish calendar – The Day of Atonement (and during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan) — Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated surprise attack against Israel. When the fourth Arab-Israeli war began many of Israel’s soldiers were away from their posts on leave at home observing Yom Kippur (or Day of Atonement), and the Arab armies made impressive advances with their up-to-date Soviet weaponry. The equivalent of the total forces of NATO in Europe was mobilized on Israel’s borders. On the Golan Heights, approximately 180 Israeli tanks faced an onslaught of 1,400 Syrian tanks. Along the Suez Canal, fewer than 500 Israeli defenders with only 3 tanks were attacked by 600,000 Egyptian soldiers, backed by 2,000 tanks and 550 aircraft.
At least nine Arab states, including four non–Middle Eastern nations (Libya, Sudan, Algeria, and Morocco), actively aided the Egyptian-Syrian war effort. A few months before the attack, Iraq transferred a squadron of Hunter jets to Egypt. During the war, an Iraqi division of some 18,000 men and several hundred tanks was deployed in the central Golan and participated in the October 16 attack against Israeli positions.
Besides serving as financial underwriters, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait committed men to battle. A Saudi brigade of approximately 3,000 troops was dispatched to Syria, where it participated in fighting along the approaches to Damascus. Also violating Paris’s ban on the transfer of French-made weapons, Libya sent Mirage fighters to Egypt. Other North African countries responded to Arab and Soviet calls to aid the front-line states. Algeria sent three aircraft squadrons of fighters and bombers, an armored brigade, and 150 tanks. Approximately 1,000 to 2,000 Tunisian soldiers were positioned in the Nile Delta. Sudan stationed 3,500 troops in southern Egypt, and Morocco sent three brigades to the front lines, including 2,500 men to Syria.
Lebanese radar units were used by Syrian air defense forces. Lebanon also allowed Palestinian terrorists to shell Israeli civilian settlements from its territory. Palestinians fought on the Southern Front with the Egyptians and Kuwaitis.
Thrown onto the defensive during the first two days of fighting, Israel mobilized its reserves and began to counterattack. In the south, Israeli forces were having little success in stopping the Egyptian onslaught. Still, the Sinai Desert offered a large buffer zone between the fighting and the heart of Israel.
The situation was different in the north, where the Syrians had swept across the Golan and could, in short order, threaten Israel’s population centers. Consequently, most reserves meant for the Egyptian front were shifted to the Golan. The replenished Israeli forces stopped the Syrian advance, forced a retreat, and began their own march forward toward Damascus.
The Soviets gave their wholehearted political support to the Arab invasion. Starting as early as October 9, they also began a massive airlift of weapons, which ultimately totaled 8,000 tons of materiel. The United States had given Israel some ammunition and spare parts, but it resisted Israeli requests for greater assistance.
As the Soviets continued to pour weapons into the region, Henry Kissinger decided that the United States could not afford to allow the Soviet Union’s allies to win the war. The secretary of state wanted to show the Arabs they could never defeat Israel with the backing of the Soviets. He also couldn’t afford to let U.S. adversaries win a victory over a U.S. ally. By sending arms to Israel, the United States could ensure an Israeli victory, hand the Soviets a defeat, and provide Washington with the leverage to influence a postwar settlement.
After several days, Israel was fully mobilized, and the Israel Defense Forces began beating back the Arab gains at a heavy cost to soldiers and equipment. A U.S. airlift of arms aided Israel’s cause, but President Richard Nixon who received a lot of credit for helping Israel in truth delayed the emergency military aid for a week as a tacit signal of U.S. sympathy for Egypt.
On October 12, Nixon finally ordered an emergency airlift to Israel. Cargo planes carrying spare parts, tanks, bombs, and helicopters flew round-the-clock to Israel. The resupply efforts were hampered by America’s NATO allies who, capitulating to Arab threats refused to allow American planes to use their air space. The one exception was Portugal, which as a consequence became the base for the operation. Between October 14 and November 14, 1973, 22,000 tons of equipment were transported to Israel by air and sea. The airlift alone involved 566 flights. To pay for this infusion of weapons, Nixon asked Congress for and received $2.2 billion in emergency aid for Israel.
On October 25, an Egyptian-Israeli cease-fire was secured by the United Nations. Egypt ultimately lost the 23,500-square-mile Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip, Jordan lost the West Bank and East Jerusalem and Syria lost the strategic Golan Heights..
So now we now come to a description of that great Day to which all that has gone before looked forward, Israel’s great Day of Atonement. Once every year this Day was to take place in order to cancel out all of the past sins and uncleanness’s of Israel that had occurred since the previous Day of Atonement that were not already seen as fully atoned for. All that remained not atoned for, whether secret or public, would be dealt with on this Day. Israel would, as it were, begin the coming year with a clean sheet.
This in itself spells out the failure of past offerings and sacrifices to deal fully with sin, and the fact that the Day of Atonement had to be kept every year demonstrated that its effect too was temporary. But it was on that Day, and only on that Day, that the High Priest was allowed to pass through the veil into the inner sanctuary of the Holy of Holies in order to present the blood of offerings in the actual earthly throne room of Yahweh God.
The description of the Day fits aptly after the chapters on uncleanness. Five chapters on uncleanness’s prepare us for the significance of this day. Patterned on Genesis they had spoken of what was clean and unclean, with regard to cattle, clean birds and fish, unclean animals, unclean birds and sea creatures, and creeping things with which men came in contact; they had pointed to women in childbirth suffering through Eve’s sin and producing children in uncleanness; to man’s sinfulness and uncleanness as portrayed in those with suspicious skin diseases which meant that they were cast out of the camp as Adam was cast out of the Garden; to man’s clothing which covered his nakedness and which could become defiled; to the resultant triumphal return to God of the unclean made possible by God’s mercy; to the establishing of houses in a city which too could become unclean; and to the fact that through death, resulting from the fact that man was now a sinner, springs up life. There would have been many instances of uncleanness in the camp which had not been dealt with correctly and fully, and may even have been hidden or overlooked, but all these would now be covered by the Day of Atonement.
The Day followed exactly six months after the setting aside of the lambs for the Feast of the Passover, and was followed five days later by the Feast of Tabernacles/Booths, but unlike the day of the setting aside of the Passover lambs and of the three great feasts it was a day of solemnity and mourning for sin. It was the supreme day of getting right with God. The acceptance of the offerings by God on that day was seen as a symbol of hope for the future.
16 Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the LORD, and died; 2 and the LORD said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
God’s first warning is that Aaron recognizes that the High Priest does not have the right to enter the Holy of Holies, ‘the holy place within the veil’, except by strict permission, that permission being given only on the Day of Atonement. He does not have unrestricted access. For while God appears in the cloud on the mercy-seat, man may approach Him, apart from on the Day of Atonement, only from the other side of the veil. He cannot enter the throne room. To approach the mercy-seat direct could only be a once in the year experience. ‘The Holy Spirit signifying this, that the way into the Holy of Holies was not yet opened up, while the first tabernacle was still standing’ (Hebrews 9.8). The veil said, thus far shall you come and no further.
The ‘propitiatory’ or mercy-seat was the covering on the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh, where atonement could be made and man become reconciled to God. It was literally the place of propitiation, the place where reconciliation and atonement was finally performed. This was a solid gold slab on which were the two cherubim at either end looking inward. It was the same size as the chest which it covered. It comes from the root ‘kpr’ (to cover) and the conjugation used signifies the place where sins are ‘fully covered’ so that they are no longer seen by God and held against the sinner (Jeremiah 18.23). It is the place of propitiation and expiation, the place where the punishment for sin was met by the shedding of blood, the place of atonement, of reconciliation, where He and His people were made at one. There is also a suggestion behind it that it is the earthly throne of Yahweh between the cherubim.
The writer to the Hebrews 9-10 in the New Testament very much has this Day in mind seeing its real fulfillment in the offering up of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on our behalf by Himself as our great High Priest. That once-for-all offering of Himself would replace forever this Day of Atonement, and all the other offerings, sacrifices and rituals of this earthly tabernacle.
3 “Thus Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering.
On this day, after the morning whole burnt offering had been offered with its accompanying grain offering, Aaron’s approach to Yahweh had to commence with offerings for himself and the priests. He too was a sinner in need of atonement. These would consist of a young bull ox for purification for sin offering and a ram for a whole burnt offering.
How much different was this from our great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who was without sin, Whose perfections and Whose perfect life and Whose total obedience fitted Him for His office with no need of sacrifice (Hebrews 7.26-27).
4 He shall put the holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore he shall wash his body in water, and put them on.
But before presenting these the High Priest had to divest himself of his normal Priestly garments and, after thoroughly washing himself, put on the special garments only used on the Day of Atonement. These were pure white, and consisted of the holy linen coat, the linen breeches covering his ‘flesh’ (his unseemly parts), the linen girdle, and the linen headdress. These were the holy garments. And before donning them he had to wash himself thoroughly with water, this is spite of the fact that he had already offered the morning sacrifice and had probably not left the tabernacle since. All traces of earthiness had to be removed. He was about to enter the Holy of Holies.
The reason for having to wear these special garments was probably:
1). Because they had to be pristine in order for him to enter the Holy of Holies. His ‘every-day’ High Priestly clothes, in their entire splendor, were not sufficient. They were tainted.
2) Because he could not enter God’s presence on that day in garments ‘for glory and for beauty’ because he was coming as a penitent sinner and a suppliant.
3). Because this was a day on which he and Israel would be made ‘white’.
4). To emphasize the holiness of life required of the High Priest.
5 And he shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering.
For the congregation of the children of Israel, the whole people, he was to take two he-goats and a ram. The two he-goats were ‘for purification for sin offering’. As we shall see shortly the two were seen as one. The ram was for a whole burnt offering.
They were types and shadows of the great He-Goat and Ram, the Lamb of God, Who would offer up Himself once-for-all that He might offer Himself without spot to God, purging our consciences from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9.14) and perfecting for ever those whom He sanctified (Hebrews 10.14).
6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house.
First of all Aaron has to make atonement for himself and for his house by offering the bull ox for a purification for sin offering. At this stage, however, he merely ‘presents’ it, although it is pointed out that its final purpose is that it might make atonement.
7 He shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 8 Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the LORD’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.
Then he casts lots for them, selecting between the two, for one is to be for Yahweh, and one is to be for ‘azazel. The word meaning ‘the goat of a complete going away’
You see that all this pointed to the perfect sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ once forever. We read in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 27 this, “15Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. 16 And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. 19 While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.” 20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!” 22 Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” 23 Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!” 24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.” 25 And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” 26 Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.”
Please notice the words again, “Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the LORD’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.”
You see Barabbas’s name means ‘son of the father’. And as you know our Precious Holy God Jesus Christ is the ‘Son of the Father’. The lot for the Lord fell on our Precious Holy Lamb of God Who was picked to be the sacrifice for all of us while the other ‘son’ was set free. Wow!
11 “And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull as the sin offering which is for himself. 12 Then he shall take a sensor full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. 13 And he shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD THAT the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he die.
The next step before the blood can be presented within the veil is to prepare the way for his entry. He has already sacrificed the bull ox for his own sins. Now, prior to taking its blood behind the veil into the Holy of Holies, he must first take a sensor full of coals from the altar into the Holy of Holies, with the sweet incense beaten small in his other hand, of the type laid down by Yahweh and specially prepared. And there he must burn the incense on the coals of fire so that the cloud from the incense covers the mercy seat that is over the tables of the Law, hiding it from his gaze. The implication is that otherwise he would die. The censer is then left in the Holy of Holies so as to continue producing the cloud.
14 He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
Then he must retire to collect the blood of the bull ox and make a second entry into the Holy of Holies in order to sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat on the east, and before the mercy seat seven times. Please note that he sprinkles on the nearest side only, not on all four sides. He is only a temporary visitor here with restricted rights, and even now must not come too close. The ‘seven times’ indicates completeness. He then retires again.
15 “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat.
His third entry into the Holy of Holies on that Day is after the killing of the he-goat for a purification for sin offering on behalf of the people. He also brings that blood within the veil and deals with it in the same way as with the blood of the bull ox.
16 So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of
This special Day above all days is in order to allow the dwelling place of God to be able to still continue to dwell among them, by dealing with all their uncleanness’s and their sins which have affected it. The holiness of God is such that even with all the precautions for the prevention of the defilement of that holy place, they have not been enough. But on this Day He will remedy that by these ceremonies, dispatching the uncleanness’s and the sins into the far off wilderness. It is because this will be done on the Day of Atonement that He can deal so lightly with their uncleanness’s during the year.
These were all but shadows until He should come Who would in Himself fulfill all this and more, making a way open for ever into the full presence of God for all who are in Him. He would enter but once and remain there forever, for His sacrifice was eternally complete, and nothing else remained to be done. It was a completed and eternal work.
17 There shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.
While all this was going on there was to be no one else in the tent of meeting. Throughout the whole process the High Priest was to act alone. Purified, atoned for, clothed in holy white garments, he alone was in a state to enter the tabernacle at this crucial time. Humanly speaking the task was his from start to finish. No other could take part. None could enter the sanctuary until atonement had been made for the Priest himself, for the other priests, for his entire household, and for all the assembly of Israel.
This is a reminder to us that Christ’s great work of atonement was also wrought by Him and by Him alone. No other was worthy to take part, nor could. The work was His and His alone. No priest, nor any other, could have any part in it. The work was total and complete.
18 And he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD, and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. 19 Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, cleanse it, and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
After the presentations of blood in the Holy of Holies, ‘the altar that is before Yahweh’ was to be atoned for. The blood of both bull ox and goat was to be put on its four horns. The blood of both sacrifices will be sprinkled on the altar with the High Priest’s finger ‘seven times’ in order to indicate complete cleansing. The purpose is in order to ‘make it holy’, re-separating it off to God from all uncleanness, by removing all traces of the uncleanness’s of the children of Israel
20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. 21 Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. 22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.
Having made atonement for the Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar he will then present the live goat, presumably before Yahweh. Aaron is now to lay both hands on its head and confess over it ‘all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins’. The description is all encompassing. Included within it were their inner sins and their outward behavior, sins in both thought and deed, and failure to do what God required, including rebellions of the heart.
The sins and transgressions of Israel are seen as ‘put on’ the head of the live he-goat. It is to be seen as carrying all their sins with it.
The idea is clear. All the sins of Israel have been borne away and are carried by another. With both the living bird (14.7) and the he-goat there seems to be the emphasis that they remained alive. They could not be offered to Yahweh, and any way of killing them would have been seen in that way. They were thus banished from Israel forever, and left with God.
There is in this a vivid reminder here that earthly ritual could not finally deal with sin. There was no way that sin could be destroyed. It would be left to wander in a desolate place. Its destruction would await the coming of One Who would put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 9.26), and Who would destroy him that had the power of death, the Devil (Hebrews 2.14).
We have in this vivid picture of the live he-goat the reminder that our Lord Jesus Christ too was ‘made sin for us’ (2 Corinthians 5.21). He took on Himself our sin, that we might be imbued with His righteousness. He was not only an offering and sacrifice for our sins, bearing their deserved punishment, but actually took them on Himself and bore them away with Him. He bore them to that must desolate of places, His grave. But such was His holiness and the sufficiency of His once-for-all sacrifice that those sins were neutralized, nay were destroyed, so that He did not need to remain in a solitary place, but was raised from the dead and glorified as the first fruits of His own work.
23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of meeting, shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there.
The work of atonement having been completed for another year, Aaron divests himself of the holy garments, which remain in the Holy Place. These are too holy to leave that place.
24 And he shall wash his body with water in a holy place, put on his garments, come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.
Then he must wash his flesh thoroughly in water in a holy place. The special holiness which he has carried with him must be removed before he can again have dealings with men. This would probably be done in a specially set off place in the court of the sanctuary made accessible directly from the Holy Place so that his nakedness could not be seen. Then he puts on his priestly garments. One more he is the representative of the people before Yahweh. After which he offers up the whole burnt offerings, both for himself and for the people. This seals their oneness with God. They are renewed as His covenant people, rededicated and in submission. Atonement is made both for himself and the people.
25 The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar.
Then he offers the fat of the purification for sin offering by burning it on the altar. The fat is always Yahweh’s, an indication that the best was for Him.
26 And he who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.
Meanwhile the man who let the live goat go in the wilderness must wash his clothes, wash his flesh thoroughly in water, and may then return to the camp. We may see it that all of his part in the ceremony is to be washed off, with all its ramifications. The he-goat has taken all with it. Nothing must return to the camp.
27 The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. And they shall burn in the fire their skins, their flesh, and their offal.
Finally the remains of both purification for sin offerings, skins, flesh and dung, must be taken outside the camp and burned. Through them God has done His merciful work and they are offered back to Him
28 Then he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.
Then the one who burns them has to wash his clothes, wash himself thoroughly, after which he can return to the camp. Here we must almost certainly see the need to wash off the contact with holiness which must not be carried into the camp.
29 “This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. 30 For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. 31 It is a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.
It is now stressed that this is a statute to be carried out into the distant future. On the tenth day of the seventh month (the month of Tishri/Ethanim in the Autumn when the early rains were due) the day of Atonement must be observed.
On this day they were to ‘afflict themselves’. This probably represented some form of indicating penitence. It would later be related to fasting, but there is no hint of that here. In Isaiah 58.3-5 it is related to fasting but rather as something done while fasting, possibly ‘bowing down his head as a rush, and spreading sackcloth and ashes under him’.
They were also to do no manner of work, and this not only applied to Israel but to anyone who was living among them. It was to be a strict Sabbath, for on that day atonement was made for them and they were made clean from all their sins as far as Yahweh was concerned. It was a day when all attention must be on God and all must have the opportunity to take part without restrictions of work.
This is repeated for emphasis. It is a Sabbath of solemn rest in which they should afflict themselves in order to demonstrate penitence for sin and uncleanness. And this was a permanent statute ‘forever’.
32 And the priest, who is anointed and consecrated to minister as priest in his father’s place, shall make atonement, and put on the linen clothes, the holy garments;
The responsibility for the maintenance of this ritual lay with each descendant of the High Priest who took on his office. The one who was anointed and consecrated in his father’s place would be the one who had to make atonement and would be permitted to put on the especially holy garments, the linen garments.
33 then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.
The solemn responsibility of ‘The Priest’ is made clear. On this Day he is to make atonement for the sanctuary, for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and for the priests and all the people as described above.
34 This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year.” And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.
And it is repeated that this statute should be applied into the distant future so as to make atonement for the children of Israel because of their sins once a year. In the final analysis it was ‘the children of Israel’ whom God wanted to bless and save. And the writer finishes the record with a confirmation of Aaron’s obedience to what God had said.
As we cease our study into the Day of Atonement we, as Christians, have much to glory in. This Day was one that had to be repeated every year, it was carried through by a sinful High Priest who had first to offer purification for sin offerings for himself, on the basis of what was involved its effect could only be partial (no he-goat could bear all the sins of Israel, nor were they totally annihilated), it only allowed the High Priest into Yahweh’s presence once a year, and the remainder not at all.
But we as Christians know that Christ Jesus our Lord, Savior, Master, and King has made for us a total and complete sacrifice offered once-for-all (Hebrews 10.12), has no need to offer a purification for sin offering for Himself (Hebrews 7.26-27), made a sacrifice that was truly sufficient for all sin for all time (Hebrews 9.14), has borne all our sin for us and has removed it forever, and has made a way for each individual believer in Christ Jesus to enter into the Holiest of all, into the very presence of God, by His blood and through His death and resurrection (Hebrews 10.19-21) so that they may be presented perfect before Him without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5.27).
