Leviticus 16:1-2 As a sequel to the death of Nadab and Abihu (10:1-3), Moses now records instructions for entering the Most Holy Place, the place where God is present. The High Priest is not to come in whenever and however he chooses to. Further instructions on timing are given later. (16;29, 23:26-27).
Leviticus 16:3-10 An overview - Aaron is to bring a young bull and a ram, plus two goats and a ram from the community. He must bathe, and put on specific linen clothing - a tunic, undergarments, and a turban, all linen. The breastplate and ephod described in Exodus 28 are not mentioned, and presumably not to be worn. (Need to check);
It is worthwhile to keep in mind, based on Hebrews 9:7-26, that Jesus is our ultimate high priest, and also the lamb whose blood was shed for the sin of the world. The entire ceremony is an earthly picture of the presentation by Jesus of His own blood in the true tabernacle in heaven. And the New Testament continues to speak of Jesus’ second coming to rescue His people. (Hebrews 9:27-28) That passage continues by contrasting the Old Testament sacrifices which can’t really take away sin (Hebrews 10:1-4) with Jesus’ rescue of us which not only really, truly takes away our sin, but gives us His nature by putting His law in our hearts (Hebrews 10:5-18). This passage boldly says that we have confidence to enter the true Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus. (Hebrews 10:19-21), followed by an admonition to Christian living, which includes drawing near to God, holding fast to hope in the midst of hardship, and encouraging others to persevere in love and good deeds and fellowship. (Hebrews 10:22-25) Leviticus 16, the entire atonement ceremony, is a precursor, a picture, of this divine reality.
Leviticus 16:11-14 Aaron is to slaughter the bull for his sin offering, then take a censer full of burning coal and two handfuls of incense and enter the Most Holy Place. The smoke from the burning incense will obscure the atonement cover - the lid on the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:10-22) - so that he will not see YHWH and die. He sprinkles some of the bull’s blood on the front of the atonement cover then seven times in front of it.
Leviticus 16:15-17 Aaron then repeats the procedure with the blood from the goat to make atonement for the people of Israel. No one else is to be in the tent of meeting while Aaron goes into the Most Holy Place.
Leviticus 16:18-19 Next, Aaron is to take both the bull’s blood and the goat’s blood and put some of each on the horns of the altar in the Tabernacle. He then sprinkles some of each seven times with his finger, to cleanse it from the Israelites’ uncleanness.
Leviticus 16:20-22 Aaron then takes the scapegoat and lays his hands on it to confess all the sins of the Israelites. These are transferred to the goat, who is then sent out to a remote wilderness. Its life was spared but it will spend the rest of it apart from human company; or wild animals might quickly devour it. The goat carries the Israelites’ sins to that remote fate, called azazel, which has acquired additional connotations over the centuries.
In one sense, the scapegoat illustrates for us the ultimate fate of those who die without salvation in Christ. Those who don’t want to be reconciled to God will be consigned to the outer darkness, the wilderness of loneliness. (Matthew 8:12) C. S. Lewis’ book The Great Divorce illustrates this in modern vernacular. But in a second sense, the sins of all of us were laid on Jesus on the cross. (Isaiah 53:6) When Jesus died and spent three days in hell, one might speculate that He took those sins that had been laid on Him and deposited them in hell. But since He is God, He was able to leave them there and return to the land of the living, and then to heaven, taking with Him (eventually) all who follow Him.
Leviticus 16:23-25 Aaron is to undress from the linen clothing and leave it there, in the sanctuary area. He bathes (again) and puts on his regular clothes. He then comes out (presumably into the courtyard) to sacrifice the burnt offerings for both himself and the Israelites. Also, the fat of the sin offering that was offered in the sanctuary is burned up at this time.
Leviticus 16:26-28 The laborer(s) who took the scapegoat into the wilderness, and those that took the carcasses of the bull and goat that were offered to be burned up outside the camp, must also bathe and wash their clothes before coming back inside.
Leviticus 16:29-31 This ritual, Yom Kippur, is only allowed once per year, on a specified date - the 10th of Tishrei, the seventh month of the year, about six months after Passover. (23:26-27) This is to be a day of rest; a Sabbath - no work is allowed to be done. The Israelites were to deny themselves as well, possibly meaning to fast.
We are called to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to God. (Romans 12:1) Although there will be martyrs (and there have been many throughout the last 2,000 years), every believer is called to sacrifice any part of their life that is in between them and Jesus. Reasonable service could mean many things depending on circumstances. What the Day of Atonement shows us is the serious cost of sin in our relationship with God. It was ultimately fulfilled on Cavalry. We can but offer ourselves, not to atone for sin (our own or others’), but to be what God wants us to become.
Leviticus 16:32-34 This is a permanent command: Succeeding high priests were to do just as Aaron was commanded to do.
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