Leviticus 16:1-34
Day of Atonement
1 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord. 2 The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.
3 “This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place: He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on. 5 From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.
6 “Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. 7 Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 8 He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. 9 Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. 10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.
11 “Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. 12 He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the tablets of the covenant law, so that he will not die. 14 He is to take some of the bull’s blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover.
15 “He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull’s blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it. 16 In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the tent of meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 No one is to be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.
18 “Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar. 19 He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.
20 “When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. 21 He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.
23 “Then Aaron is to go into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and he is to leave them there. 24 He shall bathe himself with water in the sanctuary area and put on his regular garments. Then he shall come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people, to make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
26 “The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp. 27 The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; their hides, flesh and intestines are to be burned up. 28 The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.
29 “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work—whether native-born or a foreigner residing among you— 30 because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins. 31 It is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance. 32 The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments 33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the tent of meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the members of the community.
34 “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.”
And it was done, as the Lord commanded Moses.
The Day of Atonement as described by Moses is also called Yom Kippur...The holiday of Yom Kippur is the most solemn holy day of all the Israelite feasts and festivals, occurring once a year on the tenth day of Tishri, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar...Moses writes that the LORD told him to tell Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he would die...For God will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover...This is a sacred and holy day and time...The High Priest could only come on this special day once a year, or he would die...Yom Kippur is a day of Atonement of our sins and was an annual Atonement day for our sins...Yom Kippur was the annual day where the Temple, the priesthood and the people would be cleansed, having all their sins Atoned for...This gave all the people of Israel where their sins were atoned for -for the past year... This was the only day where the High Priest would enter the Most Holy Place, the Holy of Holies...The ritual and ceremony would include the sacrifice of a bull and two goats...These sacrifices would atone people for the past year of their sins...
Yom Kippur was not a ceremony to be taken lightly, and the people were to understand that Atonement for Sin was to be done God’s way...Two of Aaron’s sons had died while offering incense to the LORD...After their deaths, the LORD spoke to Moses...The LORD said, “Talk to your brother Aaron...Tell him that he cannot go behind the curtain into the Most Holy Place anytime he wants to...The atonement-cover is in the room behind that curtain on top of the Ark of the Covenant, and God would appear in a cloud over that atonement-cover....And if Aaron would happen to go into that room, he too would die!...God shows His Greatness and His Holiness and makes Himself known in the eyes of all nations...When they see and feel His Holiness and His Sacredness they will know that I AM is the LORD...There is none Holy like the LORD: for there is none besides Him; there is no rock like our God...
God told Moses that Aaron must not enter the area of the Most Holy Place without bringing a sacrifice...He must bring a young bull for a sin offering...He must also bring a ram for a burnt offering...He must put on the sacred inner robe made out of linen...He must wear linen underwear next to his body...He must tie the linen belt around him...And he must put the linen turban on his head...Those are sacred clothes...So he must take a bath before he puts them on...The community of Israel must give him two male goats and a ram...The goats are for a sin offering...The ram is for a burnt offering...“Aaron must offer the bull for his own sin offering...It will pay for his own sin and the sin of his whole family...Then he must take the two goats and bring them to me at the entrance to the tent of meeting...He must cast lots for the two goats...One lot is for Me...The other is for the goat that carries the people’s sins away...Aaron must bring the goat chosen for Me by lot...He must sacrifice it for a sin offering...But the goat chosen by the other lot must remain alive...First, it must be brought in to Me to pay for the people’s sins...Then, it must be sent into the desert as a goat that carries the people’s sins away...“Aaron must bring the bull for his own sin offering...It will pay for his own sin and the sin of his whole family...He must kill the bull for his own sin offering...He must take a shallow cup full of burning coals from the altar in My Sight... He must get two handfuls of incense completely ground up...The incense must smell sweet...He must take the cup and the incense behind the curtain...He must put the incense on the fire in My Sight...The smoke from the incense will hide the cover of the Ark where the tablets of the covenant law are kept...The cover is the place where sin is paid for...Aaron must burn the incense so that he will not die...He must dip his finger in the bull’s blood...He must sprinkle it on the front of the cover of the Ark...He must sprinkle some in front of the cover. He must do it seven times...“Then Aaron must kill the goat for the sin offering for the people...He must take its blood behind the curtain...There he must do the same thing with it as he did with the bull’s blood...He must sprinkle it on the cover of the Ark...He must also sprinkle some in front of it...That is how he will make the Most Holy Place pure...He must do it because the Israelites are not ‘clean.’...They have not obeyed Me...They have also committed other sins...Aaron must do the same for the tent of meeting because it stands in the middle of the camp...And the camp is ‘unclean.’...Aaron will go into the Most Holy Place to pay for the people’s sin...While Aaron is there, no one may be in the tent of meeting...No one may enter the tent until Aaron comes out...He will not come out until he has paid for his own sin and the sin of his whole family...He will not come out until he has also paid for the sin of the whole community of Israel...“Then he will come out to the altar for burnt offerings...It is in front of the tent where the Ark of the LORD is...He will make the altar pure and clean...He will take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood...Then he will put the blood on all the horns that stick out from the upper four corners of the altar...He will sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times...He will do it to make the altar pure...He will do it to set it apart from the Israelites...They are ‘unclean.’...
“Aaron will finish making the Most Holy Place pure and ‘clean.’...He will finish making the tent of meeting and the altar pure...Then he will bring out the live goat...He must place both of his hands on its head...While he does that, he must tell Me about all the sins the Israelites have committed...He must tell Me about all their evil acts and the times they did not obey Me...In that way he puts their sins on the goat’s head...Then he will send the goat away into the desert...The goat will be led away by a man appointed to do it...The goat will carry all their sins on itself to a place where there are no people...And the man will set the goat free in the desert...“Then Aaron must go into the tent of meeting...He must take off the linen clothes he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place...He must leave them there...He must take a bath in the holy area...And he must put on his regular clothes...Then he will come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself...He will also sacrifice the burnt offering for the people...That will pay for his own sin and the people’s sin...He will also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar...“The man who sets free the goat that carries the people’s sins away must wash his clothes...He must take a bath...After that, he can come back into the camp...The bull and the goat for the sin offerings must be taken outside the camp...Their blood was brought into the Most Holy Place...It paid for sin...The hides, meat and guts of the animals must be burned up...The man who burns them must wash his clothes...He must take a bath...After that, he can come back into the camp...
“Here is a law for you that will last for all time to come...On the tenth day of the seventh month you must not eat anything...You must not do any work...It does not matter whether you are Israelites or outsiders...On that day your sin will be paid for...You will be made pure and clean...You will be clean from all your sins in My Sight...That day is a Sabbath for you...You must rest on it...You must not eat anything on that day...This is a law that will last for all time to come...The high priest must pay for sin...He must make everything pure and clean...He has been anointed and prepared to become the next high priest after his father...He must put on the sacred clothes that are made out of linen...He must make the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar pure...And he must pay for the sin of the priests and all the members of the community...“Here is a law for you that will last for all time to come...Once a year you must pay for all the sin of the Israelites.”...
And it was done, just as the LORD commanded Moses...And this Sacred and Holy Ceremony shows and symbolizes the need for mankind to be cleansed of sin... The blood of Christ has made us right with God...So we are even more sure that Jesus will save us from God’s anger...Once we were God’s enemies...But we have been brought back to Him because His Son has died for us...God so LOVES the world that He gave His One and Only Son to die for us on the cross...Anyone who believes in Him will not die but will have Eternal Life with Them...God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world and condemn us of our sins, but He sent His Son to save the world through Him...Anyone who believes in Him is not judged...Now that God has brought us back, we are even more secure...We know that we will be saved because Jesus has risen to life after His death and He lives...And that is not all...We are full of Joy in God because of our LORD Jesus Christ...Because of Him, God has brought us back to Himself...Sin entered the world because one man sinned...And death came because of sin...Everyone sinned, so death came to all people...Before the law was given, sin was in the world...This is certainly true...But people are not judged for sin when there is no law...Death ruled from the time of Adam to the time of Moses...Death ruled even over those who did not sin as Adam did...He broke God’s command...But Adam also became a pattern of the Messiah...The Messiah was the one who was going to come...God’s gift can’t be compared with Adam’s sin...Many people died because of the sin of that one man...But it was even more sure that God’s Grace would also come through one man...That man is Jesus Christ...God’s gift of grace was more than enough for the whole world...The result of God’s gift is different from the result of Adam’s sin...That one sin brought God’s judgment...But after many sins, God’s gift made people right with Him...One man sinned, and death ruled over all people because of his sin...What will happen is even more sure than this...Those who receive the rich supply of God’s Grace will rule with Christ...They will rule in His Kingdom...They have received God’s gift and have been made right with Him...This will happen because of what the one man, Jesus Christ, has done for us...So one man’s sin brought guilt to all people...In the same way, One Right Act made people right with God...That One Right Act gave eternal life to all people...Many people were made sinners because one man did not obey...But One Man did obey...That is why many people will be made right with God...The law was given so that sin would increase...But where sin increased, God’s Grace increased even more...Sin ruled and brought death...But God's Grace rules in the lives of those who are right with Him...The Grace of God brings Eternal Life...That’s because of what Jesus Christ our LORD has done...Our LORD Jesus Christ is the One “who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.”...Jesus gave Himself for our sins; He paid the penalty and provided mankind Atonement for our sins...