Atonement

⁜ Prayer ⁜

Intro

Today we touch on one of the great themes of Scripture... atonement. Now the question may arise: "Why this is essential." We have been exploring so many themes that fill our hearts with hope... For instance: we have seen the Bible teach us that we are children of the Father, that we are the bearers of his promises, and that he cares for us in and through his providence. Then we explored how God has gone about redeeming a people for himself through the story of Exodus.

So why atonement?

Well, while we have explored many hopeful themes so far, you have likely noticed that lingering as a sub-plot throughout all of those sermons there is an important fact... And that is, that humanity is pressed down under the weight of sin.

In fact we have seen that humanity is unable to escape sin by any power of our own. (For instance - very soon after Moses ascends Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments we see the Israelites fall to the sin of idolatry... even while God is still quite visibly present upon Mount Sinai and is still speaking with Moses!). And we have seen that the only way out of the mess that we have gotten ourselves into is by God's gracious action.

So what we arrive at today is the very means by which God gives humanity a way out. And what is that way? Yes, it is atonement.

But now we must ask another question! ...what does atonement mean and entail?

Well, recently scholars have offered a lot of new theories about what atonement is and how God goes about it. Some of those theories have become rather popular and some of them even ignore or contradict aspects of what the Bible teaches about what atonement is and how it is accomplished.

But I am not going to recite all the controversies and debates that exist about this. Instead, it seems much more fruitful to stick with what the Bible itself teaches - which we also find expressed in our historic Reformed theology.

And we see that what atonement is, is laid out quite clearly in our reading today, in the first two verses. What do we find there? Read with me: "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."

What is going on here?!

First off, it is a reference back to ch. 10 of Leviticus where we see that Aaron's two sons Nadab and Abihu offer, within the tabernacle, "unauthorized fire contrary to his command" (as we see in Lev. 10:1). To which God responds by immediately killing them!

Now many people, even Christians, read that story and respond with shock, or are even scandalized by God's response. So goes the question: "How could God respond with such apparent viciousness and wrath against an apparently harmless act of worship!?"

But let us take note of an important fact about this question. Notice that it fails to acknowledge a number of central biblical teachings!

The first is that obedience to God is required (even in the New Testament we find this taught by Jesus who said: "Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me" (Jn. 14:21)). And God had given clear and detailed commands about how the Israelite’s worship was to take place… commands that Aaron’s sons disobeyed!

Secondly, we see here that sin provokes God's righteous wrath, and however uncomfortable that word makes us, the Bible teaches that God responds to sin with great anger. And that is not a minor theme: indeed we see the Bible refer to God's wrath against sin around 180 times!

Thirdly, the whole reason for God's wrath against sin is because of the fact that sin is an affront to God's absolute holiness and glory. Indeed, it is only when we forget how holy and glorious God is, when we replace what the Bible teaches about God and start thinking of him according to merely human knowledge, that we can be shocked by God's response to Aaron's sons.

And sadly, much of modern Christianity has forgotten (or even tossed to the side!) those three points. But in attempting to ignore the Bible's teaching about God's wrath, and emphasizing in its place his love, a significant point is lost!

What do I mean? Well, when we ignore the Bible's teaching that God reacts with wrath towards sin, we grow blind to his love!

Yes, you heard me right. When we encounter God's wrath, it is a mercy, for in that encounter with God's righteous anger against sin, we are called to repentance... to return to God. And we see that taught in the Bible itself!

For instance, turn to Lamentations, ch. 3 with me. What do we find there. The Prophet Jeremiah writes in vv. 1-3: "I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of the Lord’s wrath. He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long." But notice how he continues in vv. 39-40: "[Yet] why should the living complain when punished for their sins? Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord."

Do you now see what I mean! Yes, God's wrath works towards love! It drives us towards his mercy. So in fact, we should praise God for his anger towards our sins... for in it we are driven into his merciful arms!

But we still need to ask: how is this wrath removed?!

That was the very question that the story of Nadab and Abihu highlights. Namely, that God because of his glory and holiness cannot be approached by sinful people. Aaron's sons pridefully thought they could simply go before God and offer him incense - without any cleansing for sin!

That is why in today's reading God tells Moses that Aaron "is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place... or else he will die" (Lev. 16:2). And that applied not only to Aaron, but to all of the priests.

God goes on to tell us in Lev. 16:3, 11, & 14 that the proper way for the priest to come before the Lord is as such: "Aaron... must first bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering (v. 3)... and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering (v. 11) then "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 (v. 14)."

Here, in these verses, we find exactly what atonement is and does. First, and this is an essential point, atonement begins with a substitute for the person who has sinned. So here we see the animal takes the person's place, and receives what the person ought to receive; which is, death due to sin.

But we also see that as this happens "the sacrifices accomplish four things through the shedding of blood.

(1) First, the substitutionary sacrifice washes away sin through the spilt blood - this is called expiation (and we see this highlighted in v. 30 of today's reading).

(2) Second, sin angers God, and so the sacrifice and turns God's anger away by taking on the penalty humans owe God - this is called propitiation. And we see it taught here, in vv. 18-19, when Aaron takes the blood of the slain animals and sprinkles it around the temple and on the altar. And we see the purpose of this in Lev. 17:11 where God says that: "the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make appeasement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life." Did you notice that! The blood does not merely purify, but it "makes appeasement for yourselves" - that is it appeases God's wrath against his people.

(3) Third, as sins are expiated (that is wiped away) and God's wrath is propitiated (that is turned away), God's people are reconciled with God and so are made to no longer be his enemies - this is called reconciliation. We see this in today's reading in vv. 22-25, when after completing the shedding of blood and turning the second goat loose in the wilderness he returns to the "tent of meeting" and can then remove the rough and bloodstained linen garment, wash and put on his priestly robes to then burn the offerings before God with whom he and the people have restored fellowship.

(4) And finally, the atonement purchases God's people back, from sin, for him - this is called redemption. We do not see this explicitly here in this passage... however, when we turn to Ps. 130, which was sung by the ancient Israelites each time they came to Jerusalem to offer the sacrifices for atonement, we find this explicitly mentioned. So we read in Ps. 130, vv. 7-8, that the Israelites sang these words:

7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,

for with the Lord is unfailing love

and with him is full redemption.

8 He himself will redeem Israel

from all their sins.

So... to summarize what we have explored so far: we see that God is emphasizing the essential fact that, as Gordon Wenham writes: "no man, however holy, can approach the presence of God without appropriate atonement being made." And God establishes in Scripture that atonement works to expiate, propitiate, reconcile, and redeem - all of which are worked by means of a substitutionary victim.

But we are not yet done! Indeed, all of these details are only the beginning.

See... in Lev. 16:3 the priest is to make atonement first for himself and his household who serve in the Lord's temple! Yes, the priests themselves needed atonement... for they too were sinful humans. Only after this can Aaron then move onto the next part which is to offer atoning sacrifice for the rest of the Jewish people!

And what does God command be done to make atonement for the sins of the people? Well, we find this rather strange ritual established

God says to Moses, in Lev. 16:7-10, that "[Aaron] 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."

It sounds odd right! But let us dive in and see what is happening here.

First, let us notice that the priest is to cast lots to decide which goat shall be sacrificed, and which is to be the scapegoat. On first glance this looks like some form of pagan divination. But that is not strictly what is happening here - at least not in a pagan sense.

The concept of casting lots appears among God's people in both the Old and New Testament and is grounded: FIRST, in the fact that God told his people to do this (as we see in Lev. 16:8 for example), and SECOND the Israelites did this not because they believed in fate, but rather because they understood that since God providentially guides all things throughout the cosmos, he will also guide his people through this means of communication which he gave to them.

But we also see then that in the casting of lots it is not humans who were to decide which goat would be sacrificed, but God alone. He would decide which goat would be slaughtered and which would be the scapegoat!

There is no room for human opinion here. And so from the start, this rite was intended to remind God's people that while, yes... this sacrifice was for them, it was always done under his guiding and in obedience to him. And that is especially pertinent because of the fact that their sins needed his forgiveness and because his anger towards their sins required propitiation and so he alone could guide them into how to best accomplish those goals.

And so our attention now turns to the goats.

Now the first goat we are told in vv. 15-16 was "slaughtered" and its blood "sprinkled on the atonement cover and in front of it" to "make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites" because of "their sins." We also find in vv. 16 & 18 that this rite was to be repeated "for the tent of meeting" and "the altar."

And so, the whole place of the people's worship was to be cleansed of the impurity caused by the people's sins throughout the year and God's wrath would be appeased so that his anger would not break out against the people and destroy them, and so he could continue to dwell among them.

All of this may seem terribly foreign to us, but again it makes sense when we consider how holy our God is!

And perhaps we need a reminder of that today... We need to remember that while the Lord is good, loving, kind, and merciful; he is also a holy God... that he, in his holiness, is not indifferent to people's sins.

So, while God invites his people into relationship with him, he in his holiness also requires that his people be formed in into a holy people. This is why throughout the Bible we see that redemption never ends with God's people simply being set free to go and do as they please!

No! Redemption always entails being set free with a purpose. And that purpose is that God's people are to become like their Father... to be formed by his grace in accordance with his holiness. Yes, God meets his people where they are, in the midst of our sin, but he does not leave us there!

And that is something we are also reminded of as we read this passage today.

But let us continue! We see that the rite does not end with the shedding and sprinkling of the goats blood. So, we see in vv. 20-22, God continues by instructing Moses that "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. 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. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness."

It is important to notice a number of things here. First, just as the sacrificial goat highlights the substitutionary nature of the rite... that the goat is taking the people's place. So we also see here, again, that this goat also stands in for the people... it is a substitution.

And what happens? We see in v. 21 that Aaron lays his hands upon the goat and "confess[es] over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head." Yes, just as the other goat received the punishment due the people's sin, so here too, this goat becomes the bearer of the people's sins.

But it is interesting what happens next, right!? Yes, we see that the goat is then lead by a member of the congregation out to the wilderness and is released there. And the purpose of this is laid out for us in v. 22 where we read that: "The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness."

R. K. Harrison comments on the meaning of this action, writing: "The goat was.... sent [far] out into the wilderness area beyond the camp from which it could not return, typifying the complete removal of the nation’s sin and guilt."

Isn't that amazing! Yes, now we see the full wisdom of what God wanted his people to understand.

That is why this portion of the rite was done before the eyes of all the people. For as they saw the goat upon whose head all their sins had been lain driven out from among them and out into the vast wilderness, they were to understand that that is how far God had removed their sins and forgotten about them! What a great comfort!

Perhaps this is the very ritual that David was thinking about when he beautifully wrote in Ps. 103:12 - "as far as the east is from the west, so far has [the Lord] removed our transgressions from us."

Finally, we see, in vv. 24-25, the ritual concluding with Aaron bathing, then putting on his priestly garments, and then burning the sacrificial offering upon the altar, which makes atonement for himself and for the people.

Now we need to ask, what is happening here! Hasn't atonement already been accomplished?

If you asked that question, you are right! This is not simply a repetition. All the previous rituals were intended to restore Israel to a right relationship to God. So now, as Richard Hess writes, "With the possibility of fellowship between Israel and God restored, the burnt offerings define that fellowship as one of total commitment to God and the covenant."

That is what is symbolized here... Israel is reminded that now that their slate has been wiped clean, they are to recommit themselves entirely and whole heartedly to God and the covenant they have entered into with him!

But there is a problem still... isn't there!

Yes, anyone who is reading this can see that in the fact that the ritual had to be repeated year after year there was no definitive cleansing. The people continued to fall into sin, and they continued to fall under God's wrath over and over again!

It was a vicious cycle - cleansing, wrath and destruction averted, a renewed clean conscience, and restoration to fellowship all took place in one moment - only to be followed perhaps immediately by a fall back into sin!

What was to be done with this situation? Well, the book of Hebrews points out that all of this was only a temporary fix - a stopgap - which pointed to a time when God would definitively end the need for yearly sacrifices of bulls and goats which really could not cleanse God's people from sin or truly avert his wrath!

How does Hebrews put it? We find in chapter 9, vv. 9-10: "This [was all] an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order."

My brothers and sisters, here is where we see the Gospel portrayed vividly for us in the Old Testament! Yes! In the very insufficiency of the Temple rituals, God had laid out a sign for his people - a promise! He was pointing out what any observant person would notice... that God would need to provide a sacrifice which would not need to be repeated over and over!

But how would God do this?

Well, we see that God provided for his people in a way that they did not expect! He provided the sacrifice that would only need to be offered once. And that sacrifice has a name: JESUS!

Yes, this is why Hebrews, ch. 9 continues in vv. 11-15, saying: "But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance."

How beautiful and amazing is that!

This is what Jesus accomplished. This is what the atonement rituals of Old Testament always pointed towards. They pointed to the one who could did not need to offer sacrifices over and over. In the words of Heb. 10:10, they pointed to Jesus, by whom "we have been made holy through the sacrifice of his body once for all!"

So my friends, we have a great hope to offer in the midst of our broken world. When we encounter those who are aware of the fact that they are lost.. When we encounter those who are weary because of their sin and their inability to escape it... We have the joy of sharing this Gospel message, as Paul noted in Rom. 5:8 and 10 - God demonstrated his love for us in this way: While we were still sinners - and his enemies - Christ died for us... and so we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son. And in the words of John's Gospel, ch. 3, v. 16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life!"

And when we encounter those who are unaware of their need for Jesus and his blood which was shed for them... let us not be fearful or shy of sharing this news with them. My brothers and sisters, why should we be bashful in sharing such good news. Yes, the ugliness of sin and God's anger against sin are not popular topics to speak about today. But we have a message of hope!

While subjects of sin and God's wrath agains sin are tough to talk about they are also not the end... no, we have the joy and privilege of sharing a message of hope. We can point people to the Jesus and his life laid down for us on the Cross! As Jesus himself said in John 10:18: "No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord!"

Yes, Jesus, chose take upon himself the punishment we deserved and which our sins required, and he made satisfaction to God on our behalf... he shed his blood for us and in doing so fulfilled what the Temple rituals ultimately called for - a perfect, unsullied, eternally satisfactory sacrifice that is more than sufficient to atone for our sins.

Yes, we have a great message of hope to share. But even if people reject this message, my friends, don't give up! Get on your knees and pray for those who reject this Gospel message! Storm heaven's gates on their behalf!

That is how Paul himself accomplished the mission Jesus himself gave to him. What did Jesus tell Paul? He said: "I will rescue you from your own people [that is, the Jews] and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me."

And how did Paul react when his own people rejected the Gospel offer? Did he give up? No! He prayed! We see this in Rom. 10:1 when he writes: "Brothers and sisters my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved!"

So let us not grow weary! Like Paul, let us share the great news that God has not left us in our sin and weariness, and that in Jesus, God has himself provided the substitutionary atoning sacrifice which cleanses us from sin, appeases God's wrath, purchases us back from sin's grasp upon us, and restores us to right relationship with God. And when people reject that message - and I can guarantee you that some people will reject it! - let us also follow Paul's example and pray for them

What a great and faithful God we have... and what great news we have to share! Without the atonement there would have been no Gospel or hope for us or the world! For without Jesus as our substitute, dying in our place for our sins, there is no Gospel and no demonstration of God's great love! But that is not what happened. Jesus came and took our place, shedding his blood upon the cross for the forgiveness of sins!

How could we be shy about sharing such great news! So let us always be ready to tell what God has done for those he calls to himself, for us... and not only share it, but share it with joy!

⁜ Let us Pray ⁜