PROLOGUE — A Regulation of Life Given in the Wake of Death
Leviticus 16 is given directly in the aftermath of Nadab and Abihu’s death for offering “strange fire” (Leviticus 10). Having witnessed how fatal it was to approach God’s presence carelessly, Israel now receives the only permitted path of access — the regulation of the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.
ACT ONE — Not at Any Time (verses 1–2)
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.”
Not at any time. Even the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies only once a year, and only according to a precisely prescribed rite. This reveals the sheer weight of God’s holiness.
ACT TWO — Two Goats, Cast by Lot (verses 5–10)
“And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering… And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.”
Two goats, two fates. One was slain as a sin offering to the LORD. The other — “for the scapegoat” — was sent away into the wilderness. Together, the two goats expressed a single act of atonement in two parts: substitutionary death, and the removal of sin carried far away.
ACT THREE — Inside the Holy of Holies: Blood and Incense (verses 11–17)
“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: And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat… that he die not.”
That the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat. The smoke of the incense served as a protective veil between God’s glory and the high priest. No human being could face God’s full glory directly — a mediating covering was absolutely necessary.
The rite of blood followed.
“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.”
Seven times — the number of completeness. The sprinkled blood atoned for himself and for all of Israel.
ACT FOUR — The Scapegoat Sent into the Wilderness (verses 20–22)
“And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness… and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.”
A land not inhabited. An image of sin completely, irreversibly removed. This becomes the origin of the confession in Psalm 103:12 — “as far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
ACT FIVE — Afflict Your Souls (verses 29–31)
“In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all… for on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.”
Afflict your souls. A day of fasting and self-examination. To this day, Yom Kippur remains the most solemn observance in Judaism.
REFLECTION — From Shadow to Substance
Hebrews 9–10 interprets the whole of Leviticus 16 as a foreshadowing of Christ’s own work. The high priest had to enter the Holy of Holies year after year, but Christ accomplished eternal atonement once for all, by His own blood (Hebrews 9:12). What the two goats symbolized separately — substitutionary payment through death, and the complete removal of sin — was united and fulfilled in Christ.
Do you receive the atonement Christ accomplished once for all as an already-completed reality, rather than a rite to be endlessly repeated?
NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW
Leviticus Chapter 17 — the prohibition against eating blood and the command to offer sacrifices only at the designated place follow.
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