Day of Atonement
Class 4 Issues
Study: Leviticus 16: 11 – 19
Background: Leviticus 16:1 – 19
Devotional: Psalm 40: 9 – 17
Lesson 5 March 29, 2025
Key Verse
And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. Leviticus 16:16
INTRODUCTION
It is difficult for a human person whom the Holy Spirit has not brought illumination to understand the holiness and righteousness of God. Even people exposed to the incredible and miraculous work of God have difficulty understanding the holiness of God has direct relevance to them. If they understand they have been saved, and bought out from the slavemarket of sin they would begin to appreciate God’s assertion
“Be ye holy for I am holy”.
Those called by God to be His people were like children in kindergarten. But they were worse than those children for they had accumulated all the vile pagan approaches to life that God hates. Jesus therefore had to warn His disciples and the other listening people that they had to go into reverse and become like little children they wanted to enter the kingdom of God. Hence Jesus had tell the noted religious teacher Nicodemus that he like all who wanted to enter the kingdom of God that they had to be “born again”.
Hence we will now study the system God had to establish to bring His people to a knowledge His holiness, and the way of life they are called to be in.
This Study of the ministry of Aaron and the precise nature of what he had to do in worship, the sacrifice, and on the Day of Atonement makes much clearer what the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ involved as He fulfilled all the types and shadows required of Messiah, the Suffering Servant of Jehovah, yet without sin.
The Day of Atonement is one of seven feast or ‘appointed times’; times that were memorials for Israel, so that they would see the outline of their history and be constantly reminded that the Lord was their God. These were
1. Passover, which represents the death of the Lamb whose shedding of blood saved the nation, Unleavened Bread, which represents the life of the believer who in holiness have come to know Jesus as the Passover lamb.
2. First Fruits, those who first came to the Lord
3. Pentecost, a Feast designated to represent the union of Jew and Gentile in the same God.
4. The Feast of Trumpets signifying the re-gathering of Israel,
5. The Feast of Tabernacles which applied the mercy of the work of Christ to the remnant of Israel. The first four were Spring feasts and the remaining three were celebrated in the Fall.
It must be noted that after the destruction of Israel the Temple, the priesthood, the secular/religious ruling strictures disappeared. The followers if Jesus who they accepted as the promised Messiah and who they believed the destruction of the Temple, the priesthood, and the rituals had warned of this disaster. The believers quoted from the Greek translation of the Old Testament to prove Jesus was Messiah and in opposition, the Jews rejected this translation and came up with their translation which cleansed any possible reference to Jesus as Messiah. The Mishnah was later made a part of the Talmud, and so Jews today have refused to accept the Old Testament as was normally interpreted before those in exile paper coated their gross sin of rejecting their Messiah which led to the destruction of the nation. It is most important not hide the fact that men, then and now, will do anything to reject the Lord Jesus Christ. So Psalm 2 laments what His people and the other nations have done:
“Why do the nations rage
And the people plot a vain thing.
The king of the earth set themselves
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the LORD and against His Anointed?
The theme of Leviticus is the incomparable holiness of God and its insistent that the people of God are holy.
Biblical usage of the word atonement conveys the meanings: to cover over, pacify, propitiate. A dictionary definition is satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury.
Further in the word’s various configurations and contexts, it can mean “ransom,” “payment of money,” “bribe,” or “pacify” (Exodus 30:12; Job 31:39; 1 Samuel 12:3; Proverbs 16:14, respectively). These meanings are not mutually exclusive; they can shade into one another depending on context.
israel had been freed from egyptian slavery, watched as they passed through the red sea, watched the egyptian army destroyed, led by a pillar of cloud and fire fed manna, but all did not free them from sinful behaviour
Sin had to be dealt with.
THE Day of Atonement was the most sacred religious event on the Hebrew calendar. It took place on the tenth day of the seventh month (Tishri) (Leviticus16:29; Num. 29:7-11) that month being late September and early October. The tenth day was five days before the Feast of Tabernacles.
Unlike the other Jewish holidays, the Day of Atonement was no festive event. It was a day of national mourning and repentance. This was a day when the people were to “afflict their souls” (Lev. 16:31; 23:27; Num. 29:7), which, according to many, included fasting. This would thus be the only religious holiday which was characterized by mourning, fasting, and repentance.
It was a day of fasting for each Israelite, being the only such fast that the Law of Moses prescribed (the meaning of “afflict your souls” in Leviticus 16:29, 31; 23:27).
Note that this was not one of the pilgrimage festivals where all male Israelites were required to attend
at the Tabernacle, they were to remain at home. This was a solemn day of contrition. (Verses 29-31).
This was the day of Israel’s national cleansing. It is called the Day of Expiation, or simply “the day” in Israel.
It points to the day of Israel’s future reconciliation, while stressing the present, temporary and recurring reconciliation with God, an act necessary for the continuance of the nation, as acceptable in the sight of God. This greatest of the appointed times in the Jewish Year is called Yom Kippur from the
Leviticus twenty-three reference whichstresses that “the day” rests on the expiation or atonement of Israel’s sin.As the holiest day in Israel, it was spent in prayer, fasting and strictly observing the rituals which they were instructed to bring about reconciliation with God. The priests were enjoined to carry out the ritual and make special sacrifices.
The prophet Zechariah prophesied that there would come a great national day of repentance which would precede the establishment of Our Lord’s kingdom on the earth.
Zechariah says the eyes of Israel are blinded and one day they will see their Messiah and there will be incredible amount of mourning for what they had done to Him. But today they remain in blindness.
The critical and not to be forgotten point is that day of true atonement refers ultimately to the work of Jesus Christ on Calvary which will bring about the eventual reconciliation of the remnant of the nation to God.
This most sacred day in Israel’s religious calendar had associated rituals which pointed to this fact. There were strict rules in clothing to be worn in the presence of God on “the Day”. The High Priest, Aaron had to take off his exceptionally glorious garments (Exodus 28:2-38) and dress himself in simple white linen, holy garments to carry out his duties. He had to be meticulous in his behavior on “the Day” as he ministered in the sanctuary. This was where God localized His presence. Approaching God had to be done with a holy attitude and a clear conscience.
The problem for Israel was how a sinful priesthood established by the Lord, this priesthood and a sinful congregation could approach God who was willing to be their God despite His infinite holiness! The answer to this question came on this one day in the year and it had to be repeated year after year until the greater Aaron, the greater High Priest could come and enter the Holy of Holiest with His own blood and bring about eternal redemption.
The sacrifices and offerings that Moses described thus far in the Law were not sufficient to cleanse all the defilements of the people. Much sinfulness and uncleanness still needed removing.
Therefore, God appointed this yearly sacrifice that cleansed all the sins and impurities not covered by other means that the Israelites committed ignorantly (Heb. 9:7).
The sacrifice of the Day of Atonement was in this sense the most comprehensive of the Mosaic sacrifices.
Importantly it was the day when God stated that atonement would be made “for all the people . . . for the children of Israel for all their sins” (Leviticus 16:33-34; Hebrews 9:7).
Interestingly by the time of the New Testament era, the sacred nature of the High Priest’s duties compelled him to rehearse what he had to do on the Day of Atonement to avoid mistakes and so put himself in harm’s way.
– Tradition tells us seven days ahead of time, he moved into one of the chamber rooms that were on three sides of the temple. – There he could ensure that he remained ceremonially clean (by avoiding contact with a dead body and other defiling things.
– Just in case, another priest was designated to serve if the High Priest became defiled in any way.
During the seven days, the High Priest rehearsed his duties of lighting the lamps in the temple, carrying the incense and live coals with a censer, sprinkling and applying blood, and accomplishing the essential features surrounding the burnt offering sacrifices.
– Others were with him to make certain that he knew each part of the day’s events and how they were to be executed.
The High Priest ate a light meal on the evening before the Day of Atonement. He wore ordinary clothing as the day began, then bathed and changed into his colorful high-priestly garments to perform the burnt offering that was done each morning (Exodus 29:38-42).
– As he went through the day, he bathed and changed clothing five times. His hands and feet were washed twice that much.
Every Christian is aware that permanent atonement for sins did not happen until the death of Christ. This is developed in Hebrews 9:11-10:14. Yes believers now have ready access to the ‘Holy of Holies’ through Jesus but we must be cognizant that God is no less holy than in the time of Moses and Aaron. Sin is always an affront to God and believers must be holy as underlined in the Day of Atonement rituals. One writer comment: “For I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat”. The cloud in which Jehovah appeared above the mercy seat, between the cherubim (Exodus 25:22). was the cloud of the divine glory, in which Jehovah manifested His essential presence in the most holy place above the ark of the covenant.
Because Jehovah appeared in this cloud, not only could no unclean and sinful man go before the mercy seat, i.e. approach the holiness of the all-holy God, but even the anointed and sanctified high priest, were he to venture at his own pleasure, or without the expiatory blood of sacrifice, would expose himself to certain death.
The reason for this prohibition is the fact, that the holiness communicated to the priest did not cancel the sin of his nature, but covered it over for the performance of his official duties, and as long as the law, which produced only the knowledge of sin and not its forgiveness and removal, was not abolished by the complete atonement, the holy God was and remained to mortal and sinful man a consuming fire, before which no man could stand”.
Let us with this in mind look at the precision of the commands to be met on the Day of Atonement. Let us keep in our minds that we are privileged to approach a holy God in prayer and supplication and He observes everything that we do. He remains holy and does not deal with uncleanness in any form. So when we come before God, let us come with the righteousness of Christ, for God the Father delights only in those that have come to belief in Christ and so have His righteousness in them. Let the Father see Christ in us.
Our Text picks up with the Lord’s instruction on how Aaron, brother of Moses and the first High Priest (Leviticus 16:2–5), was to discharge his duties when that sacred day came around each year.
THE TEXT
Verse 1. This recalls the very recent, untimely deaths of Aaron’s son due to their disregard of proper protocol ‘when they had approached the presence of the Lord’. They had been so full of their privilege that they felt they could ignore the precise and detailed instructions God had given and God immediately killed them. Aaron obviously was dumbstruck at God’s rigorous demand and he would have remembered the Golden Calf experience in which he had participated. Aaron was then cautioned:
“… he shall not enter at [a]any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the [b]atoning cover which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the [c]atoning cover. 3 Aaron shall enter the Holy Place with this … .” Consequently, specific and detail instructions to Aaron then follow on his dress, deportment, the needed sacrificial animals and attendant articles and procedures for the rituals of the day.
Verse 11: And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself.
This verse begins to list the sacrificial procedures needed to cleanse the most holy place, starting with the cleansing of the high priest, Aaron himself. He had to address his uncleanness before taking the next step of atoning for the people’s sins. After doing so, Aaron proceeded to offer the required sacrifices that were part of the day’s procedures.
Preliminaries and preparation completed the essential actions of the ‘Day’ begin with the priest killing the bullock. The killing of the bullock by the High Priest with his own hands was for a sin offering for himself and his house.
There is always the theme that due to sin, the only way to atone oneself is through the shedding of blood. The priest must first make reconciliation for his sins before he could make reconciliation for the sins of the people. The sacrifice for himself also included his family and all the priests who are called the house of Aaron. This charity first was extended to himself and his family, then to the people whom he served, that is Israel.
There are many aspects to the offered sacrifice that is crucial to its acceptance to God. All the assembly of priests supported the one who would go into the Holy of Holies. As the bullock was killed, another priest was assigned the task of stirring the blood so that it might not thicken, because then it would not be acceptable for use in the offering.
Note that it was God who established the priesthood and it was God who laid down the conditions that would govern access into His presence. All of the details of the sacrifice related to Christ and the mission of redemption.
The duties of the High priest and that of Christ as our High Priest are somewhat similar. One difference between the work of the priests and Christ is that Christ did not have to offer a sacrifice for Himself in order for Him to complete His duty. Christ was both the perfect Priest and the perfect sacrifice.
Verses 12. And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail.
Aaron (or any high priest who would take part in these proceedings on the Day of Atonement) had to prepare himself carefully and appropriately before entering within the vail, meaning the curtain that separated the holy place from the most holy place within the tabernacle (compare Exodus 26:33; Hebrews 6:19; 9:2–5). The source of the needed burning coals of fire was likely the altar of burnt offering, which was located near the front of the courtyard of the tabernacle (Exodus 27:1–8). Aaron’s loss of two sons when they misused censers of fire (Leviticus 10:1–2) made clear the necessity of following these instructions with great care and dedication.
The ingredients for the sweet incense are found in Exodus 30:34–38. Such incense had two purposes. First, it was another kind of sacrificial item showing honor to God. Second, the aroma permeated the area around the tabernacle and highlighted the uniqueness and separateness of the place. It thus served as a perceptible reminder that God was holy and that the precincts of His abode should be respected.
13. And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not.
The cloud of smoke created by the burning of incense is for Aaron’s protection (Exodus 28:43), since no one can see God’s face and live (33:20). The mercy seat refers to the elaborate cover of the ark of the covenant, which was topped with two golden angelic figures (cherubim) facing one another with outstretched wings (25:10–22). The ark represented God’s presence among the people. The word translated as testimony refers to the stone tablets into which Moses chiseled God’s law (34:14, 29), tablets that were kept inside the ark of the covenant (16:34; 25:21; 40:20).
The presence of the Lord in this most holy place is what made it “most holy.” That was why the high priest could not enter it carelessly or casually. God must be approached on His terms, not ours
Verse 14. And he shall take of the blood of the bullock and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
This action is similar to what was to be done for other sin offerings (Leviticus 4:6–7, 17–18). In those cases, the blood was to be applied to the altar of incense, which was located immediately in front of the veil (curtain) that shielded the most holy place. Here, however, the blood was first to be sprinkled on the east side of the Ark of the covenant. Since the tabernacle was situated facing east (Numbers 2:3), the eastward side is the front side.
The High Priest was also to sprinkle some of the blood seven times on the ground directly in front of the Mercy seat. This represented the entirety of the most holy place being brought into contact with the blood of the sin offering. The number seven often represents completeness or perfection (examples: Revelation 5:6; 15:1, 8). See Hebrews 9:7–8 for further explanation.
In this act he in symbolic fashion made reference to the substitutionary atonement. Leaving the coals and the incense burning, he went out a second time to carry on the sacrifice with the goat.
Verse 15. Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people.
Having provided atonement for himself and his family, the high priest was then to prepare to enter the most holy place a second time on behalf of the people, his fellow Israelites. That preparation involved killing one of the two goats of the sin offering, mentioned in Leviticus 16:5. The first goat was slaughtered as an atoning sacrifice, cleansing the sacred precincts from the impurity of Israel’s sins.
The other goat became the scapegoat, which was released into the wilderness (Leviticus 16:8–10,
20–22). The priest would first lay hands on the goat’s head and confess the people’s sins over it, thus transferring them symbolically to the animal (16:21). A person would then be charged with taking the goat into the wilderness and releasing it so that it could not return (16:22, 26–28). The scapegoat and its destination thus represented the complete removal of the sins and impurities of the people.
And bring his blood within the vail and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat.
The High Priest was to follow the same procedure that he did in providing atonement for himself and his household. Sin offerings on behalf of the people are described in detail in Leviticus 4:13–21.
In this next part of the observance, the priest was to come out from the sprinkling of the bullock before the Mercy seat. Her would then move to the next ritual, that is, the sacrifice of the goat which is to represent the sin offering for the people.
Now this is the third time that the Priest will be entering into the Holy of holies with each entry having a particular purpose. The Priest which had now been cleansed and his sins atoned for could now sacrifice the goat and he would now be the representative carrying the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the nation. For Israel this was their great Yom Kippur, their atonement.
He would now enter and sprinkle the blood as he had done before for himself and his family.
The High Priest can be seen as a representative type of Christ. His being slain, was similar to the goats in that He was made an offering for the sins of His people, and all of man. The goat chosen was spotless as was Christ.
Note however that in Hebrews 7:26 the word used to describe Jesus’ holiness is a word meaning He had inherent purity, inherent moral perfection, so He was holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. It was not simply being “spotless” in the common sense of the word. So He was holy, His offering of Himself was holy so that He was able to obtain expiation, redemption, and reconciliation for us.
Verse 16. And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins. And so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
The blood was applied to the Mercy Seat, but also to the Tabernacle. This blood cleansed the house of God itself, which was made ceremonially unclean by man’s constant touch.
He must do the same for the outward part of the Tabernacle that he had done for the inner room, by sprinkling the blood of the bullock first and then that of the goat, without the veil, where the Table and Incense Altar stood, eight times each as before. The reason intimated is because the Tabernacle remained among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
Still, we may wonder why the Holy Place would need atonement. After all, inanimate objects have no consciousness or ability to sin! As pointed out in the comment on verse eleven, atonement addressed not only individual sins but also the contamination of places and things closely associated with the holy God. Therefore, atonement was not only for people but also for consecrated things and areas.
Three words underline the seriousness of the spiritual state of the children of Israel: uncleanness, transgressions, and sins. The Hebrew word rendered transgressions is the most serious word in Hebrew for disobedience toward God; it implies deliberate and willful rebellion. It occurs twice in Leviticus 16 (vs.21) and nowhere else in the book.
Chapters 11 through 15 of Leviticus address various sources of uncleanness and impurity in greater detail. Certain prescribed sacrifices and purifications provide atonement for these. God foresaw that the Israelites would pollute the places of worship to the degree that they, too, needed to be cleansed.
God would hereby show them how much their hearts needed to be purified, when even the Tabernacle, only by standing in the midst of such an impure and sinful people, needed this expiation and also that even their devotions and religious performances had much amiss in them, for which it was necessary that atonement should be made.
When Moses set apart the nation of Israel as God’s covenant people, he did so by sprinkling blood on an altar, on the book of the covenant, and on the people (Exodus 24:6–8; Hebrews 9:19–20). And when the tabernacle was completed, it too (and everything within it) was sprinkled with blood (9:21). The tabernacle remained among the people, even in their state of uncleanness, but atonement by means of blood needed to be provided for the tabernacle each year (Exodus 30:10).
Verse 17. And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.
This verse might be summed up with just three words: Keep your distance! To do so would prevent the high priest’s being distracted from his duties. The absolutely vital nature of the high priest’s actions for atonement is seen in the all-encompassing applications to himself, his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. Such a restriction echoes what the Israelites were told when God’s presence came to them at Mount Sinai. No one, not even an animal, was allowed to cross the sacred boundaries except for Moses and Aaron; whoever did so would die (Exodus 19:10–13, 24). On the Day of Atonement, no one could reenter the tabernacle until atonement had been made for priest, places, and people.
During this solemnity, none of the lesser-ranked priests must come into the Tabernacle, but, by standing without, must own themselves unworthy and unfit to minister there, because their follies, and defects, and manifold impurities in their ministry, had made this expiation of the Tabernacle necessary. Only the High Priest could enter the sanctuary.
The comparison to Christ is that only by Christ our High priest, was atonement for sin made, because only He is worthy. No other bore or could bear our sins, and He Himself purged them away, or by His sacrifice alone expiated them. His own arm wrought salvation and of the people there were none with Him to help and assist Him. He is the only Mediator, between God and man, both of redemption and of intercession. He is the alone Savior, around Him are only sinners who look for salvation, and He is to have all the glory. He had no partner in the work, and He will have no rival its honor.
Verse 18. And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.
After the purification of the Most Holy Place, the cleansing regimen progresses outward. The tabernacle featured two altars: the altar of burnt offering (Exodus 27:1–3) and the altar of incense (30:1–10). We wonder which of the two altars is being referred to here. The statement that the high priest is to put [blood] upon the horns of the altar round about does not help us decide, since both altars were to be treated that way (Leviticus 4:7, 25).
Favoring the subject to be the altar of burnt offering is the fact that it was used for so many offerings to address the sins of the people that the need for its own atonement was much greater than that of the altar of incense (Exodus 29:36–37; compare Ezekiel 43:20). Favoring the altar of incense, however, is the phrase the altar that is before the Lord. The altar of incense was located very close to the curtain that separated the holy place from the most holy place, whereas the altar of burnt offering was located at the entrance to the tabernacle (Exodus 40:5–6, 26–29). Given its proximity to God’s abode, however, the position of the altar of burnt offering could also merit its description as before the Lord. Moreover, the fact that the priest is told to go out suggests that he is leaving the tabernacle, in which case the altar of burnt offering would be in view.
Verse 19. And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
The sprinkling of blood upon the altar with his fingers was done with his right finger, or forefinger, to denote the perfect cleansing of the altar with it.
Blood is not the only substance to be sprinkled seven times under the Law of Moses. Oil and water were also used ceremonially in this manner (Leviticus 8:10–11; 14:5). Such sprinklings could be done for the physical healing of someone’s body. But blood sprinklings were for cleansing the sacred space of the tabernacle and its objects. The term hallow means “to make holy.”
CONCLUSION
The phrase What a day! can convey very different messages. It can be used to mean there is joy or it can mean distress. The Day of Atonement highlighted God’s hatred of sin, the need for the blood of a substitute to be shed for the human sinner so that his sin would be covered (expiated) for one year.
It made us aware of the contagious nature of sin for everything in the “tabernacle” including the “furniture” needed atonement.
The ‘types’ used foreshadowed the death of Christ. The yearly repetition of the Day cried out the need for a permanent remedy for sin.
On the Cross Jesus achieved in one day what Aaron and the hih priests who operated under the old covenant who succeeded Aaron. The sacrifices simple “covered”sins for one year. The effectiveness and finality of Jesus’ sacrifices was demonstrated visually by the tearing of the temple’s veil that set apart the Most Holy Place (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38). The writer of the book of Hebrews refers to Jesus’ flesh as the “veil” that was “torn” to give every Christian access to the presence of God. Jesus is now our High Priest, the only one necessary under the new covenant (Hebrews 10:19-21)
In the work of our Lord, His own blood was shed after tremendous suffering. He left the glory of heaven to do the work of atonement for us. He was lifted us on the cross to die a violent death. And He finally said “It is finished”. Nothing else is need for our atonement.
The blood of Jesus had purifying power. It was shed once for all. When Jesus cried It is finished there was nothing else that had to be done for our salvation.
So make sure that you accept His sacrifice, for it is only that holy sacrifice that will make you acceptable to the Father.