Day of Atonement
Leviticus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Leviticus 16.29-34
Creation with which he can Relate
Genesis chapter 2 we find God taking his very good creation a newly minted man and woman and in vs 8 he places them in a garden in which he will meet with them as they spend their day caring for the garden.
And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
God has created man with a mission that is similar in type and kind to the work that God has been doing the last 6 days. Here take and care for it. Barak this garden the same way I Barac this garden.
He gave Adam a partner, a “bone of my bone” “Flesh of my flesh” he names her Eve and with them their very first home is the perfect and beautiful Creation of God’s own Word. A place that man and woman can fill and multiply and experience the joys of walking in communion with Him.
As you know one chapter later Adam and Eve are hiding their nakedness in response to the shame that followed their Fall.
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
This is the first time we find the act of Imputation taking place in the Bible.
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Adam has brought in the pain, consequence and environment of Sin.
And to bring a covering for that shame an innocent lamb will give its life so that the pair can leave the garden “covered”.
Relation Reestablished.
In Exodus we find the freshly released slaves of Egypt out in the wilderness. It is here that God outlines for Moses a structure that will act as a meeting place for the people and God. A tabernacel to act as a new ‘garden of eden’ God will not allow man into the Garden but he moves the meeting place to walk with them.
The prime location of this meeting place is called the Holy of Holies. In the center of this small room of the Tabernacle is a throne called the Ark of the Covenant on which sits the “Mercy Seat”.
Leviticus records that within just a few chapters Nadab and Abihu the very first day of business do that which is right in their own eyes and instead of following God’s instruction they replay the fall. They choose their way over obedience to God’s strict instruction.
They are struck dead as a result of their sin. Now we are able to see what God saw on the day of the Original fall. We see Adam and Eve God saw two souls fall from his grasp. Nadab and Abihu fall and the people see death associated with the Worship of God. In a Holy set aside place there is death.
It helps us to understand then that Sin not only brings a consequence but a contamination. Sin seeps into the very fabric of relationship, culture, and community.
In response to this we find the central Story of the Book.
Central Story:
As a matter of a fact Chapter 16 is the central story of the Book of Leviticus.
Chapter 16 of Leviticus is the centeral chapter of the whole Torah.
God has given the Day of the Atonement Central place in the whole story of God bringing a place for them to be with him.
Modern day this event is Known as “Yom Kippur” - The word Yom means ‘day’ or more specifically a unit of time reckoned from sunset to the next sunset.
Kippur is strictly translated - “to cover”. Even in its definition there is no expectation of God to remove sin Rather the reader knows that this is a day to merely cover up the sin and failings of God’s people.
Consider what this day had going on.
(1) Clothed in His White linens:Aaron was to take off his normal priestly garments, wash, and then put on the special garments which were prescribed for the sacrifices which took him into the holy of holies (v. 4; cf. Exod. 28; 39).
(2) Aaron slaughtered a bull for his own sin offering (vv. 6, 11).
(3) Create a “cloud” of incense in the Holy of Holies, covering the mercy seat, to “veil” the glory of God so that he could enter in (vv. 12-13). In the case of Aaron, he was to offer only the prescribed incense so as to create an obscuring veil of smoke, thus dimming the glory of God’s presence and sparing his life.
Aaron sprinkled it on the mercy seat seven times(v. 14).
(4) Lots were then cast for the two goats(vv. 7-8).
The goat for slaughter, the goat of the people’s sin offering, was sacrificed, and its blood was taken into the Holy of Holies and applied to the mercy seat, as the bull’s blood had been (v. 15).
(5) Cleansing was then made for the holy place (v. 16), seemingly by the sprinkling of the blood of both the bull and the goat.
Outside the tent, Aaron was to make atonement for the altar of burnt offering, using, it would seem, the blood of both the bull and the goat (vv. 18-19).
(10) Scape Goat, had the sins of the nation symbolically laid on its head, and was driven from the camp to a desolate place, from which it must never return (vv. 20-22). Seeing once again the Imputation of Sin on to an animal.
(11) Aaron then entered the tent of meeting, removed his linen garments, washed, and put on his normal priestly garments
(12) The burnt offerings of rams, one for Aaron and his family and the other for the people, was now offered (v. 24)
(13) The earlier sacrifices of the bull and the goat were completed. The fat of the sin offering was burned on the altar (v. 25), and the remains of the bull and the goat were taken outside the camp, where they were burned (v. 27).
(14) Those who had been rendered unclean by handling the animals on which the sins of Aaron or the people were laid were to wash themselves and then return to camp (vv. 26, 28).
All of this was happening while the people of God Afflicted themselves…
They fasted and spent a day of Sabbath.
Basic elements are all in place
The purpose of the Day of Atonement was to leave Israel
A clean people
Consecrated
Afflicted (humbled)
A clean priest
He had to offer atonement for his own sins first before he could ever offer his own. Interestingly enough at the end of the day the priest would step out of the Tabernacle before the people back in his white robes. He entered in with the bloody garments and exits with white garments. So our Savior went before God as a bloody sacrifice and emerged from the tomb in white.
A clean place
This was to deal with the contamination that comes from Sin and the stains that sinners leave while living life as sinners.
This was accomplished through…
Identification
Imputation
the first is Identification
The first goat is sacrificed in the place of the Sinner. This is identification I did not die though I was the one that sinned. In my identity he died, in my place he died, in my stead he died.
The other is imputation.
This is the scapegoat. There is a moment when they are about to send the scapegoat into the wilderness that the priest places on him symbolically the sins of all the people. And the goat is led out into the wilderness.
David Guzik says,
Leviticus 4. The Release of the Scapegoat (20–22)
One ancient Rabbi says the goat was taken ten miles out of Jerusalem, and there were refreshment stations each mile along the way for the man who escorted the goat out of the city. He finally went the ten miles and then watched the goat wander off until he could see the goat no more. Then the sin was gone and the Day of Atonement was considered complete.
The fear then became what happens if you were to come across that scapegoat out on a walk later in the week? What if the goat finds it way back to the camp. To answer this they would tie a scarlet ribbon around its horns. Even later generations took matter into their own hands and would lead the goat to a cliff and shoo it off so that they never had to worry about that again.
This was a concern of the Psalmist David when he said,
As far as the east is from the west,
So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us;
He will subdue our iniquities;
And thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
By the way this is the point of the day of Atonement.
You and I see ourselves comfortably among those sinners in need of a Savior.
The whole system in agreement with the book of Hebrews is all about Christ.
The cleansings
The priests
The sacrifice
The White Robes
The blowing of the Shofar
It is all about Jesus and Jesus alone.
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
The goats are a reminder that in Imputation he became my sin. So that by identification I could have his righteousness for me. AS I STAND BEFORE GOD.
And here is the point that can be missed in all these beautiful pictures.
The key to undestanding this passage is hidden quietly patiently faithfully hidden in the dimness of a cloud of incense.
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.
And that is this reality God is still drawing people together that they might know, serve, and love him. All of this system was to draw worshippers to him. All of the Cross so that God could draw sinners to him. Sinners sick of sin and its destruction, and contamination.
Sinners that have much and sinners that have little. God wants to pray, and read your Bible, sing to him, and get excited about his blessings, and thank him for the big things and little things, he wants you call on him when your scared, happy, or tempted. He is not a God that has simply left us behind but has made a way to walk with him.
In this room there are people that have made yourself busy with a list as long as your arm. Can I tell you that the God fo heaven has made room for you to approach him.
Some of you chronicly distracted, tempted to squander time on social media, Set down your phone and open your Bible and you will find a God who has made room for you.
Some here need to take the Bible up daily again. Trusting that…
My son, keep thy father’s commandment,
And forsake not the law of thy mother:
Bind them continually upon thine heart,
And tie them about thy neck.
When thou goest, it shall lead thee;
When thou sleepest, it shall keep thee;
And when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
You diyer’s of Spirituality, need to get back to praying again. Well God Ive tried all the ways I know so maybe you can jump in here. No lets get back to the day where we turn it over to him first and then get busy watching what he will do.
You worriers and complainers, learn to sing again. Praise him litterally rejoice in him again.
You have made the Lord’s day into an optional worship day. Get back to setting that aside for him. Preacher I’m not under the Sabbath laws. I recognize that but it was John in exile on Patmos that knew that first day of the week is special to God and I will observe it not as mine, but as his.
Can I tell you that you will find your greatest Ally is the grace of Jesus.
He said “No man cometh unto the father but by me.”
To some that is a negative, but others have found that as a positive. “Want the Father. I’ll walk you there.
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