Introduction
This chapter is the heart of the book. It is its foundation. Here the question is answered how a holy God can dwell among an unholy people and have fellowship with them.
The offerings in the first chapters of this book are almost always made by individual Israelites, either voluntarily – burnt offering and grain offering –, or compulsorily – sin offering and guilt offering. There is no question of a special day. The offerings on the day of atonement must be brought annually on a prescribed day and are for the whole people. The emphasis is on the sin offering and the blood. In picture the cross is presented in the most fundamental way in this chapter as the place where the Lord Jesus died as the sin offering, thereby laying the foundation for the fellowship between God and His people.
The Passover represents the foundation of salvation, the deliverance out of Egypt. The day of atonement covers more. This makes it possible for a redeemed people to have fellowship with God and to approach Him in the sanctuary.
The sanctuary is a picture of the heaven of heavens where the throne of God is and where we may approach boldly as priests. “We have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus” (Heb 10:19). The letter to the Hebrews is in fact one great comment on Leviticus 16. This is especially evident in the differences between Leviticus and the letter to the Hebrews:
1. The veil is still closed here; in the letter to the Hebrews the entrance is free.
2. Aaron is a sinful high priest, while the Lord Jesus is perfect.
3. In Leviticus we see a repetition of sacrifices and thus a recurring reminder of sins (Heb 10:1-3); in the letter to the Hebrews it is about an offering that has been made once and for all: “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Heb 10:14).
The repetition proves that it is nothing more than a symbol; the strength lies in pointing to the offering of the Lord Jesus.
4. In Leviticus the priest stands; in the letter to the Hebrews He sits down (Heb 10:11-12).
1 - 2 Reason for the Day of Atonement
1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the LORD and died. 2 The LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.
The starting point of this chapter is the death of two of the most privileged people on earth (Lev 10:1-2). If it is impossible for them to enter the presence of God without dying, then the total loss of man is established. How then can a man approach God? God reveals this in picture in this chapter. It answers the question: How can the holy God dwell among such men? God indicates the way.
The high priest lays the foundation for this by the offering he brings every year. On that one day he may enter the holy place. But not without blood, that he must offer for himself and for the people (Heb 9:7). The blood comes from different offerings. Every offering speaks of the Lord Jesus.
3 - 4 How Aaron Must Enter the Sanctuary
3 Aaron shall enter the holy place with this: with a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be girded with the linen sash and attired with the linen turban (these are holy garments). Then he shall bathe his body in water and put them on.
When entering the holy place Aaron does not wear his official garments for glory and for beauty with which he represents the people before God. He wears simple white linen clothes. This speaks of the personal purity and practical righteousness of the Lord Jesus. He is the only One Who was able to accomplish the work on the cross for the benefit of others. On the cross He did not look after the interests of the people in view of their weaknesses, but made Himself one with their sins. He made their sins His, as He prophetically speaks of “My iniquities” (Psa 40:12).
5 - 11 The Offerings That Aaron Must Bring
5 He shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. 6 Then Aaron shall offer the bull for the sin offering which is for himself, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household. 7 He shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 8 Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the LORD fell, and make it a sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat. 11 “Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering which is for himself and make atonement for himself and for his household, and he shall slaughter the bull of the sin offering which is for himself.
There are two sin offerings: one for Aaron and his house, the other for the people. There is a difference in animals: a bull and a goat. There is also a difference in number: one bull for himself and his house and two goats for the people. Aaron and his house represent the Lord Jesus and God’s heavenly people, the church (Heb 3:1,6). The people are God’s earthly people Israel. A bull is a greater offering. The church has a greater insight into and appreciation for the work of the Lord Jesus than Israel.
Two goats are needed to represent the truth of atonement. The first goat is for the LORD, the second for the people. First, God’s holy demands must be met, then the needs of the people. Both goats also present two aspects of atonement. The goat for the LORD represents the work of the Lord Jesus by which all the holy demands of God are fulfilled. In this way the offer of the reconciliation based on the work of the Lord Jesus can be made to all men. The work is so great and perfect that all men can be saved (1Tim 2:3-6; Acts 17:30; 2Cor 5:19-21).
The other goat, that is sent away, proposes the substantiation. On this goat are confessed the sins of all who belong to the people of God (verse 21). In this we see that the Lord Jesus has borne the sins, not of all men, but only of those who accept God’s offer of reconciliation, that is, those who repent. The Lord Jesus gave His life “a ransom for many” (Mt 20:28). Here is not “for all”, but “for many”. The word ‘for’ here has the meaning of ‘instead of’, while the word ‘for’ in 1 Timothy 2 means ‘extending to’, in the sense of an offer (1Tim 2:6).
12 - 13 The Incense
12 He shall take a firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground sweet incense, and bring [it] inside the veil. 13 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 ark of] the testimony, otherwise he will die.
The high priest enters the sanctuary with his hands full of incense. For Aaron as a sinful person it is, that he may not die. The cloud of incense fills the sanctuary and envelops him. The Lord Jesus Himself does not need any incense to enter the sanctuary. He entered by virtue of all His glories, His attributes, all of which are a pleasant fragrance to God. Incense does not speak so much of what He has done, but of what and Who He is.
14 The Blood of the Bull
14 Moreover, he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle [it] with his finger on the mercy seat on the east [side]; also in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
The blood of the bull is sprinkled on and in front of the mercy seat. The blood on the mercy seat is for God. He sees the blood as a covering, a fulfilment of His holy demands written on the tablets of the law that lie in the ark under the mercy seat. One sprinkling is enough for Him. He perfectly knows the value of the blood.
The blood in front of the mercy seat is for us, priests. We may approach God on the basis thereof to serve Him as priests. For the priest, the blood is sprinkled seven times. That is to give us absolute certainty that we can be there because of the value of that blood.
15 - 19 The Goat for the LORD
15 “Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. 16 He shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities. 17 When he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 Then 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 of the blood of the goat and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides. 19 With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times and cleanse it, and from the impurities of the sons of Israel consecrate it.
The goat which is for the LORD (verse 8) is slaughtered for the sake of the people. Its blood, as well as the blood of the bull, is sprinkled on and before the mercy seat in the sanctuary. This is for the atonement of the sanctuary because of the sins of the Israelites, that God may continue to dwell among them.
God’s honor is restored through the work of the Lord Jesus. He has returned to God what He has not stolen, namely God’s glory (Psa 69:4). The dishonor we have done to God has been taken away by the Lord Jesus by glorifying Him, obeying Him in everything, and accomplishing His work perfectly. Therefore first the goat is slaughtered which is for the LORD. God must have the first place, only then will our need come.
The foundation of reconciliation with God was established by the Lord Jesus. God has demanded all His righteous demands as the holy and righteous God from the Lord Jesus. He made Him sin (2Cor 5:21; Rom 8:3). The Lord Jesus has perfectly fulfilled all God’s demands and desires. God is perfectly satisfied with regard to sin. On that basis God can now offer reconciliation to every human being (2Cor 5:20). Every human being can be reconciled to God (Tit 2:11; 1Tim 2:6). In sending Christ to earth, God has stretched out His reconciling hand to the world (2Cor 5:19).
The Lord Jesus is now in heaven. No man is present when He “through his own blood” enters the heavenly sanctuary as the basis of an eternal redemption which He has obtained (Heb 9:11-12). He is “designated by God as a High Priest” (Heb 5:10a). Because we may enter the sanctuary (Heb 10:19; Eph 2:18), we may know what Israel does not know yet, because the veil is still closed for them.
Blood is applied to the sanctuary, to the objects which are therein, and to the tent of meeting and the altar. In Hebrews 9 it says that the tabernacle is a copy of heaven (Heb 9:23-24). On the basis of the blood, once all things – so not: all people! – will be reconciled to God (Col 1:20).
20 - 22 The Live, Send Away Goat
20 “When he finishes atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. 21 Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send [it] away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who [stands] in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.
Aaron identifies himself with the live goat – laying on hands is identification. Then he confesses all the sins, which are “all the iniquities”, the evil deeds of the Israelites. The sins are put on the goat, as it were. Then the goat is released in the wilderness.
It refers to the Lord Jesus, Who has taken upon Himself the sins of all who believe in Him (1Pet 2:24). He has confessed every sin of every believer before God as His own sin, and He has borne the judgment over those sins. God says: “I will remember their sins no more” (Heb 8:12). The believer may know and say: “You have cast all my sins behind Your back” (Isa 38:17b). He has thrown them “into the depths of the sea” (Mic 7:19b). He has put them away “as far as the east is from the west” (Psa 103:12), that is, infinitely far away. They are borne “to a solitary land”. Where sin is, there is no dwelling place for God, neither for people who are reconciled to God.
23 - 26 Other Garments, Bathe, Offering
23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there. 24 He shall bathe his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes, and come forth and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar. 26 The one who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp.
After having sprinkled his blood his special work is done and he puts on his normal clothes again. Then he brings the ram for a burnt offering for himself and for the people. With the burnt offering he also brings the fat of the sin offering on the altar. This also speaks of the work of the Lord Jesus. The atonement cannot be separated from the perfect glorification of God, which is contained in the same work.
Everyone who has been in contact with sin must cleanse himself. The water bath of the Word works the cleansing.
27 - 28 Burnt With Fire Outside the Camp
27 But the bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire. 28 Then the one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water, then afterward he shall come into the camp.
From the sin offerings the blood is brought into the sanctuary and the bodies are brought outside the camp. This is also the place of the Christian (Heb 13:11-13), following the Lord Jesus. The camp stands for the organized religion in professing Christianity, where man is respected and takes the position of mediator between God and man. As a result, the Lord Jesus is not given the first and only place. The Christian is with Christ in the sanctuary in heaven; on earth he is with Him in a place of reproach.
29 - 31 Statute for the Day of Atonement
29 “[This] shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you; 30 for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD. 31 It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute.
Thinking of the atonement causes humbleness. After all, it is our sins that have made the work of the Lord Jesus necessary. We have dishonored God through our sins.
No work may be done on that day. The work of the Lord Jesus excludes any human activity. For everyone for whom this work has been accomplished, the result is: peace.
32 High Priestly Follow-Up
32 So the priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement: he shall thus put on the linen garments, the holy garments,
This verse shows that the institution in Israel is imperfect. There is succession of the priesthood, while the Lord Jesus is High Priest permanently (Heb 7:23-24).
33 - 34 Atonement Once a Year
33 and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the LORD had commanded Moses, [so] he did.
These verses are a summary of this chapter. Although this law can only be fulfilled in the seventh month, we already read here that it is done “as the LORD had commanded Moses”. Here is looked ahead to the realization.