Leviticus 16:29-34
The Day Atonement Was Made
We have been studying the Offerings for the last few months. From
the beginning I mentioned that I wanted to look at 5 practical
(offered every day) and 2 ceremonial (done only once each year)
offerings. We looked at the first ceremonial offering, the Passover,
a few weeks ago and tonight we will finish our series by looking at
the last offering, Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is Hebrew for the Day of
Atonement.
I believe Yom Kippur is much like the Passover in that for most of
the years it was offered, it was little more than a picture. If you
will remember in the sermon on the Passover, I told you that except
for the first time it was offered, the Passover had no effect. Yom
Kippur was like that with several excepts.
1. I believe—there were two times it had an effect: the first
and technically the last.
2. I don’t believe the place of the second effectual Yom Kippur
was on earth but in heaven.
3. And I don’t believe the second effectual Yom Kippur had an
earthly high priest, but that it was offered by our great
and heavenly High Priest, Jesus.
Notice that our text tells us what the effect of the first Yom Kippur
was:
Lev 16:29 And this shall be a statute for
ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on
the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict
your souls, and do no work at all, whether it
be one of your own country, or a stranger that
sojourneth among you:
30 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.
31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and
ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for
ever.
Lev 16:33 And he shall make an atonement for the
holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for
the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the
altar, and he shall make an atonement for the
priests, and for all the people of the
congregation.
34 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto
you, to make an atonement for the children of
Israel for all their sins once a year. And he
did as the LORD commanded Moses.
To be honest there is much confusion about Yom Kippur. The Bible
makes it clear that it was for atonement but for what sins? God had
just given two offerings (the Sin Offering and the Trespass Offering)
to be offered when the Jews committed any future sins; yet Yom Kippur
was also given for the atonement of sins. Does that mean that the Sin
and Trespass Offerings did not atone for sins? If they did, why did
they need a Yom Kippur? If they did not, why did they need a Sin and
Trespass Offering?
The confusion arises when trying to reconcile these two atonement
offerings (an annual Yom Kippur and the Sin/Trespass Offering). I do
not believe they need to be reconciled. The first time Yom Kippur
was offered, it was a collective offering for all of the back sins of
the people. Once that was done, the people would use the Sin and
Trespass Offerings for their sins and Yom Kippur would be little more
than a remembrance ceremony for most of the centuries it was offered.
However, there was to be another Day of Atonement, one which was
future to those Old Testament Jews. I believe Yom Kippur pictured the
day when our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, entered into the
heavenly Holy of Holies to apply His own blood to the heavenly altar.
That was the true Day of Atonement.
I know that this view does not answer all the questions, but it is
the best I see at this point. Regardless, let’s look at how the Day
of Atonement was conducted.
I. \\#2-4\\ The Day of Atonement’s Preparation
A. A lot of cleansing had to be performed before the offering of
the Day of Atonement could be made.
B. That cleansing settled on two main areas: the priest and the
place.
1. The High Priest
Lev 16:2 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.
3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place:
with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a
ram for a burnt offering.
4 He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he
shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and
shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the
linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy
garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in
water, and so put them on.
a. Three things were done to cleanse the earthly High
Priest.
(1) \\#4\\ The earthly high priest had to wash his
body.
(2) The earthly high priest had to put on the holy
clothes.
(3) \\#6\\ The earthly high priest had to offer a Sin
Offering for himself and his house.
(a) The command was given in \\#6\\, but the Sin
Offering was described in \\#11-14\\.
(b) The blood was brought all the way inside the
Holy of Holies.
(c) The blood of no other sacrifice made it
there!
i. The blood of the Sin Offering would
make it to the vail of the Holy of
Holies.
ii. But the blood of this sacrifice made
it to the Mercy Seat.
iii. Remember that there was a Sin Offering
for the earthly High Priest, for the
ruler of the people, and for the
command person.
iv. This sacrifice is picture a Person of
higher status than any of those.
v. This sacrifice is picturing One who
must be holy enough to come into the
very presence of God.
b. Why was there so much emphasis on cleansing the
priest?
(1) Because this sacrifice, more than any other,
pictured our heavenly High Priest.
(2) The previous sacrifices pictured Jesus more as
our Sacrifice.
(3) For this earthly High Priest to picture Jesus, he
had some major cleansing to undertake!
2. \\#16\\ The Place
a. During the process of these offerings, the High Priest
will also be making atonement for "the holy place."
Lev 16:16 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.
b. Why cleanse the place? Because this place represents
heaven, the home of God!
C. Why so much cleansing?
1. This was not done for any of the other sacrifices or on
any other holy day.
2. Because this day the earthly High Priest represented
Jesus Christ Himself did in heaven!
Hebrews 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest
of good things to come, by a greater and more
perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is
to say, not of this building;
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but
by his own blood he entered in ONCE into the HOLY
PLACE, having obtained eternal redemption [for
us].
Heb 7:27 Who needeth not daily, as those high
priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own
sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did
once, when he offered up himself.
Hebrews 10:12 But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the
right hand of God;
D. There was A DAY IN HEAVEN when Jesus took His own blood into
the heavenly temple and applied it to the heaven altar.
1. The Day of Atonement pictured a holy High Priest - Jesus.
2. The Day of Atonement pictured a holy place - Heaven.
II. The Day of Atonement's Offering
A. There were some very unique happenings with the Yom Kippur.
Things that did not happen with any other sacrifice.
B. What things?
1. Two animals had to be offered for the one sacrifice.
a. They were to be goats.
b. One was to be offered for sin. The other released.
Lev 5:5 And he shall take of the congregation of
the children of Israel two kids of the goats for
a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
6 And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin
offering, which is for himself, and make an
atonement for himself, and for his house.
7 And he shall take the two goats, and present
them before the LORD at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation.
8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats;
one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the
scapegoat.
9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the
LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the
scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the
LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let
him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
c. Both goats picture Jesus’ dealing with our sins.
d. This sacrifice, better than any other, pictures the
effects of Jesus death.
(1) Jesus is the Sacrificed Goat who died for our
sins.
(2) Jesus is the Scape Goat who bore them away.
e. Someone might ask, "Was the sacrifice Jesus made not
enough to pay for our sins?"
(1) Yes! It was.
(2) But what this offering is showing us that is only
half the story.
(3) The sins also needed to be borne away.
2. Both goats bore the sin of the sinners.
a. The sacrificed goat:
Lev 16:9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon
which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a
sin offering.
(1) In every sin offering, the offeror lays his hand
on the sin sacrifice.
(2) \\#Lev 4:4, 24, 29, 33\\
(3) The sacrificed goat pictures Jesus dying (paying)
for our sins.
b. The scape goat:
Lev 16:21 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:
22 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.
(1) The scape goat was loosed into the wilderness
never to return.
(2) The scape goat pictures Jesus taking our sins
away.
Hebrews 10:17 And their sins and iniquities will
I remember no more.
Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out
thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will
not remember thy sins.
c. The two goats TOGETHER picture payment and complete
forgiveness of our sins.
3. The blood of the sacrifice goat was placed on the Mercy
Seat.
Lev 16:18 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.
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.
a. The High Priest only went into the Holy of Holies one
time so he was actually carrying the blood of his Sin
Offering and the blood of the sacrificed goat at the
same time, but just focus on the blood of the
sacrificed goat.
b. I have mentioned before that it was not enough that
the sacrifice die. The blood also had to be applied.
c. Human eyes saw the Lamb of God dying on the cross, but
that was only part of what took place.
(1) Jesus, our High Priest, had to gather the blood
from the foot of the cross and take it to the
heavenly temple.
(2) Then ONCE and ONCE ONLY, Jesus entered that Holy
Place and sprinkled His own blood upon the
altar.
d. Just like…
(1) …there had to be a birth for there to be
salvation…
(2) …and there had to be a death for there to be a
salvation…
(3) …and there had to be a resurrection for there to
be a salvation…
(4) …so there had to be a day when the blood was
applied on the heavenly altar for there to be a
salvation!
This is what the Day of Atonement pictured! It was the day our
atonement was made.
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