Now in our daily reading (Leviticus16-18) about the Day of Atonement & laws about blood & immorality.
This is a long one, but bear w/me!
The most important day of the year for the Jew was the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) when God graciously atoned (or covered) for the sins of the people & gave them a fresh new beginning.
It is traditionally thought that this was the end of Moses’ 2nd set of 40 days on Mt. Sinai when he received the 2nd set of the 10 Commandments, & it was a Day of Atonement after Israel’s sin w/the Golden Calf (Exodus32.30).
Exodus 32:30 “30 On the next day Moses said to the people, “You yourselves have committed a great sin; & now I am going up to the LORD, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.””
The word Atonement is the Hebrew word that means to cover, to cancel, to purge away & reconcile.
The Hebrew name for this day is Yom Hakkippurim, but mostly it is shortened to “Yom Kippur”.
Yom=Day
Kippur=Repentance
It carries w/it the idea to remove by paying a price.
We see 04 things that the LORD instructed Moses about this day…
01. Once a Year (Leviticus16.01-02, 29-30, 34)
So we see that the High Priest (in Hebrew Kohen Gadol) was only allowed to enter the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).
We are also told in…
Exodus 30:10 “10 “Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year; he shall make atonement on it w/the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.””
The writer of Hebrews says…
Hebrews 9:7 “7 but into the second (the Holy of Holies), only the high priest enters once a year, not w/o taking blood, which he offers for himself & for the sins of the people committed in ignorance.”
02. To Cover The Sins (Leviticus 16.30-34)
Atonement is mentioned 16 times in this chapter.
03. Order of Service (Leviticus16.03-28)
Here God describes in detail what He wants Aaron, (& later the High Priests who follow) do on the Day of Atonement.
Leviticus16.03-05 The High Priest prepares
·Make sure proper sacrifices were available (a bull & a ram for him & his family, 02 goats & a ram for the people) & examined to make sure there were no defects.
·The High Priest then took off his glorious garments, washed at the laver (act of sanctification), & put on the simple linen garments of a priest (act of humiliation), leaving his special holy garments in the Holy Place, where he would return to put them on again.
All of this a picture of Jesus Christ, who set Himself apart to serve us, humbling Himself to die on the cross to save us. Then after rising from the dead, He returned to glory.
Leviticus 16.06, 11-14 The High Priest offers his own sin offering
·Now that he has been washed & is dressed, the High Priest went to the altar to sacrifice the bull as a sin offering.
·Taking some of the blood, plus a censer of coals from the altar, & some incense, he entered into the Holy of Holies.
·He then put the incense on the coals so that the cloud would cover the mercy seat upon the ark.
·Then he would sprinkle some of the blood on the mercy seat & some of the blood 07 times before the mercy seat.
The cloud of incense symbolized the glory of God, the High Priest then put the glory of God ahead of everything else.
The High Priest drew near to the animal. Facing the sanctuary, he placed his two hands on the head of the bull, between its horns, & confessed. This was in keeping the directives of the verse:
Leviticus 16:6 “6 “Then Aaron shall offer the bull for the sin offering which is for himself, that he may make atonement for himself & for his household.”
The sages of Israel received a tradition that these words refer to oral confession.
And this was the wording of the High Priest's confession:
“I beseech You, O Lord; I have sinned, rebelled, & transgressed against You. I & my household; I beseech You, O Lord, Grant atonement for the sins, & for the iniquities & transgressions which I have committed against You, I, & my household. As it is written in the Torah of Your servant, Moses:
'For on this day of atonement shall be made for you, to purify you from all your sins
- before the Lord you shall be purified'."
Leviticus16.07-10, 15-22 The High Priest offers the sin offering for the people
·The 02 goats together constituted 01 sin offering (Leviticus16.05), even though only 01 goat was slain. The High Priest cast lots to choose the goat to be slain.
There in the eastern sector of the court, to the north of the altar, stand two goats in preparation for the lottery:
Leviticus 16:8 A wooden lottery box was kept there as well, & inside of it were the two lots, in accordance w/the verse above. This box was just large enough to hold the two lots, & for the priest to put both his hands inside. On one lot the two Hebrew words meaning "For the Lord" were written, & the other was inscribed w/single word "For Azazel."
The word “scapegoat” here is the Hebrew word “Azazel” & it means goat of departure; the scapegoat
Azazel is actually the name of a place; it was to this location that the scapegoat was sent. Azazel was a high, rocky precipice in the Judean desert. The goat was sent off this point to its death.
These lots were originally made of wood. Later, the lots were prepared from gold by the High Priest, Yehoshua ben Gamla, during his term of office. He was praised by the sages for this initiative, which was done to increase the honor of the holy day.
The lot having designated each of the two goats, the High Priest tied a tongue-shaped piece of scarlet wool to the horn of the goat for Azazel-the so-called 'scapegoat'-& another round the throat of the goat for YHWH, which was to be slain.
The goat that was to be sent forth was now turned round towards the people, & stood facing them, waiting, as it were, till their sins should be laid on him, & he would carry them forth into “a land not inhabited.”
Assuredly a more marked type of Christ could not be conceived, as He was brought forth by Pilate & stood before the people, just as He was about to be led forth, bearing the iniquity of the people.
·He killed the goat, took some of its blood into the Holy of Holies, where he sprinkled it onto the mercy seat, then 07 times before the mercy seat, just like w/what he did w/the bull.
·Then he applied the blood to the horns of the brazen altar.
·The High Priest then put both hands onto the head of the living goat & confessed the sins of the people.
·This goat was then led out of the camp into the wilderness, never to be seen again.
Psalms 103:12 “12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
·One goat died because there must be blood sacrifice before there can be forgiveness. The other goat lived but was “lost” in the wilderness having carried away the nation’s sins.
These lengths of wool were specifically dyed crimson on account of the verse which reads, Isaiah 1:18 “18 “Come now, & let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.”
It is related that a great miracle occurred concerning this crimson-colored wool: For in addition to the piece which was tied to the scapegoat, a similar length was tied to the entrance of the Sanctuary where all could behold it, high up like a banner.
The Rabbi Yishmael taught (Yoma06.08) that when the scapegoat reached its destination in the desert, this wool miraculously turned white before the eyes of all Israel, in keeping w/the words of the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah01.18, which provided a Heavenly sign that the sins of the people had been atoned for.
And, as if to add to the significance of the rite, tradition has it that when the sacrifice was fully accepted the scarlet mark that the scapegoat had borne became white, to symbolize the gracious promise in Isaiah01.18; but it adds that this miracle did not take place for forty years before the destruction of the Temple!
We read in the Jerusalem Talmud (The Talmud is Jewish Oral Law written down):
"Forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the western light went out, the crimson thread remained crimson, & the lot for the Lord always came up in the left hand. They would close the gates of the Temple by night & get up in the morning & find them wide open" (Jacob Neusner, The Yerushalmi, p.156-157). [the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE]
A similar passage in the Babylonian Talmud states:
"Our rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple the lot ['For the Lord'] did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-colored strap become white; nor did the western most light shine; & the doors of the Hekel [Temple] would open by themselves" (Soncino version, Yoma 39b).
Leviticus16.23-24 The High Priest washes himself & puts on his official garments
·Once he was sure that the scapegoat was officially lost, he would go into the Holy Place, take off his linen garments, take a bath, & put on his official robes.
This pictures Jesus Christ return to Heaven, where He received the glory He had laid aside when He was here on earth.
Leviticus16.03,05,24 The High Priest offers the burnt offerings
·He then offered a ram for himself, & a ram for the people, each a symbol of total devotion to the LORD.
Jesus offered Himself up to the Father in total obedience, & we cannot do less when we follow Him!
The Order of Service for the Day of Atonement is as follows…
01. The High Priest comes into the Holy Place & makes a sin offering & a burnt offering. (Leviticus16.03)
02. The High Priest is to take a bath & put on holy garments. (Leviticus16.04)
03. The High Priest is to offer a bull as a sin offering for himself & those in his household. He did this too remind himself & the people the fact that the priests, even of the highest order, were sinners, & needed mediator just like everyone else. (Leviticus16.06, 11)
04. The High Priest then takes the 02 goats & presents them before the LORD. (Leviticus16.07)
05. The High Priest then cast lots for the 02 goats, to determine which 01 is sacrificed & which 01 is the “scapegoat” & set free to wander. (Leviticus16.08-10)
06. (1st time entering Holy of Holies) The High Priest is to take a golden censer (a fire-pan which was made for the purpose of carrying fire, in order to burn incense on it in the place of worship) & burn the incense in the Holy of Holies. (Leviticus16.12-13)
07. (2nd time entering Holy of Holies) The High Priest is to take the blood of the sacrificed bull (his own sin offering) & sprinkle it on the East Side of the Mercy Seat or he will die. (Leviticus16.14)
08. (3rd time entering Holy of Holies) The High Priest is to kill the goat of the sin offering of the people & bring its blood into the Holy of Holies & sprinkle it on the Mercy Seat. (Leviticus16.15)
09. All this time no one is to come even in to the Tabernacle. (Leviticus16.17)
10. The High Priest is to then go to the altar in the Holy Place & take the blood of the bull & of the goat & put it on the horns of the altar. Then he is to sprinkle the blood 07 times w/his finger. (Leviticus16.18-19)
11. (4th time entering Holy of Holies) The High Priest is to enter the Holy of Holies again to bring out the golden censer.
12. The High Priest then puts both of his hands on the scapegoat & confess the sins of the nation, symbolically putting them on the head of the goat, & then send the goat into the wilderness. (Leviticus16.20-22)
13. The High Priest is to then take off his Holy garments & take another bath & get on his previous clothes. (Leviticus16.23-24)
14. The High Priest is to then offer a burnt offering (worship).
Leviticus 16:34 “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.”
On that day the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies 04 times…
1st time was to burn incense, Leviticus16.12;
2nd time to sprinkle the blood of the bull on the mercy seat, Leviticus16.14;
3rd time he was to kill the goat of the sin offering, & bring that blood w/in the veil, & sprinkle it also on the mercy seat;
4th time he entered again to bring out the golden censer/firepan.
Hebrews 10:1 “1 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come & not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.”
You see, offering the sacrifices can never make us free from the guilt of sin.
But look at what Paul tells us in…
Colossians 2:14 “14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; & He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
The picture here in this verse is that of a written contract, in which we bind ourselves to do any work, or to make a payment, & which remains in force against us until the bond is cancelled.
Once the contract is fulfilled, they would either then blot out the names, or draw lines through it, what was also common in that culture they would take a nail & drive it through it.
The Jewish law is here represented as such a contract, binding those under it to its observance, until it was then nailed to the cross when Jesus died.
So, what this means is that the burdensome requirements of the Mosaic Law are abolished, & that it is now replaced by the death of Christ. His death had the same effect, in reference to those laws, as if they had been blotted from the book of the law.
This was accomplished by fulfilling them, by introducing a more perfect system & by rendering their observance no longer necessary, since all that they were designed to typify had been now accomplished in a better way.
Hebrews 10:2-4 “2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls & goats to take away sins.”
If the blood of animals would have been good enough, the writer of Hebrews is saying then that they would no longer have to offer sacrifices.
All that the sacrifices did was to cover their sins; it never took away the guilty conscience that is w/in man. In fact we see a perfect illustration of this in…
Genesis 3:21 “21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam & his wife, & clothed them.”
The 1st shedding of blood is recorded here. But what we see is God’s perfect plan of redemption already laid out that there needs to be the shedding of blood to 1st cover then to forgive us of our sins. This shedding of blood only covered them, later when the Savior came it completely forgave!
By offering sacrifices all it did was to remind the Jews how sinful they were. Look at what Jesus say to the disciples in…
Luke 22:19 “19 And when He had taken some bread & given thanks, He broke it & gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.””
We are to remember that He died for us once & for all. We no longer need to offer sacrifices, or be bound by legalism, such as: Did I read my Bible & pray today? Did I go to church this week?
The blood of animals was not sufficient because in order for our sins to be completely forgiven & us to be redeemed, we need a kinsman redeemer.
Leviticus 25:25 “25 ‘If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come & buy back what his relative has sold.”
So what the kinsman redeemer would do is help a relative that is in debt to be able to get all their property back. This is so perfectly pictured for us in the story of Ruth, & of course, w/our own LORD & Saviour!
You see, in order for us to be redeemed (bought back) we needed One who was like us to do the buying back. Since an animal is not related to us, the sacrifice of animals could only cover our sin…but Jesus came as a man!
Philippians 2:8 “8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Hebrews 2:17 “17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful & faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
04. A Day of Fasting (Le16.29, 31)
“humble” here means to fast & confess your sins.
Of all of the 07 feasts (Leviticus23) that Israel celebrates, this was the only one that they fasted.
Also they were to not do any work, no matter what the day of the week was. They were to regard it like a Sabbath day (the 4th Commandment, Exodus20).
James 4:8-10 “8 Draw near to God & He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; & purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable & mourn & weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning & your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, & He will exalt you.”
By doing this, it was to remind them that they did nothing to cause God to pick them & rescue them, & the same goes for us today!
We also see in Levitius23 it tells us that the Day of Atonement is a strict day of rest & fasting. By law in Israel, there are no radio or TV broadcasts on Yom Kippur, airports are even shut down, & plus there is no public transportation, & all shops & businesses are closed.
In 1973, an air raid siren was sounded on the afternoon of Yom Kippur & radio broadcasts were resumed to alert the public to the surprise attack that launched the Yom Kippur War, which was started by Egypt & Syria.
Even the Jews who don’t observe most other holidays usually attend a local synagogue on this day.
There are 05 additional prohibitions (besides praying, fasting & resting) that are traditionally observed, as told to us in the Jewish oral tradition (Mishnah Yoma08.01):
01. No eating & drinking
02. No wearing of leather shoes
03. No bathing or washing
04. No anointing oneself w/perfumes or lotions
05. No marital relations
We can’t earn salvation because we were given salvation! This is an attitude of the heart.
Throughout the Bible we see this word mentioned…
Genesis 6:14 “14 “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark w/rooms, & shall cover it inside & out w/pitch.”
The word “pitch” here is the Hebrew word “Kopher” which means to cover!
Isaiah 6:7 “7 He touched my mouth w/it & said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; & your iniquity is taken away & your sin is forgiven.””
The Hebrew word for “forgiven” is “Kaphar”, which is the root word that means to cover, cancel, pardon, purge & reconcile.
Jesus the Christ was our atoning sacrifice.
Hebrews 10:12 “12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,”
Hebrews 10:14 “14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
1 John 2:2 “2 & He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; & not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”
1 John 4:10 “10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us & sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
No comments:
Post a Comment