11. The Day of Atonement (1)

This lesson will present the introduction to the ceremonies and sacrifices of the great Day of Atonement. This will be the last sacrifice to be studied in this course. The final part of the study of the Day of Atonement will be covered in the next lesson. Leviticus 16:1-34 contains most of the instructions and explains most of the purposes related to its ceremonies. Mention is made of the Day of Atonement in Numbers 29:7-11 and again in Numbers 30:10. This lesson will study the Day of Atonement, together with the extensive obligations of Aaron, the anointed high priest. Then we will look at the full implications of all of the ceremonials of the day as a prophecy of the total sacrificial ministry of Jesus Christ.

Historical Background of Day of Atonement
Name: Day of Atonement

The name for Day of Atonement in Hebrew is Yom Kippur. It literally means “the day of covering.” Kafar in Hebrew means “to cover.” In Genesis 6:14, the same word is used in God’s command to Noah to “cover” the ark with pitch (that is, tar). Therefore, on the Day of Atonement there were several aspects of Hebrew worship and redemption that were to be “covered” or atoned for. It was not simply a covering of sin. The covering was much broader in scope. That will be understood better as we proceed through the ceremonial. The rich symbolism of that day was nothing more than a beautiful, prophetic anticipation of the work of Jesus Christ.

The Most Significant Day
in the Hebrew Calendar

The Day of Atonement was the greatest and most significant day on the Hebrew calendar of celebrations. On that day the sin offering received its most complete development and its most signal meaning.

It Is Basically National in Thrust

It was national in thrust, yet each individual Hebrew was expected to enter into the spirit, the mood and the attitude of the day. He was expected to personalize its ceremonies—indeed to make personal application of everything that happened—as though everything that was done applied to himself alone. He was to approach the day as if all the ceremonials were being conducted exclusively for him.

The Day of Atonement contained the highest expression of symbolic expiation, atonement and reconciliation between God and His covenant people. All of the prerequisites of the sacrifices and of the functions of the High Priest were necessary in order to establish and maintain fellowship and covenant union between God and the nation of Israel. The object, purpose and necessity of the Day of Atonement need to be explained.

The Object, Purpose and Necessity
for the Day of Atonement
To Present Atonement for Sin as God Accounts Sin

There are several reasons that explain the Day of Atonement. First, it presented atonement for sin as God accounts sin, not as man records his wrong doings. Out of man’s ignorance there were many laws that he violated without being conscious either of the law or of his violation of it. Man has never been dependable in determining what is right and what is wrong. He is not at all consistent in the monitoring of his actions. Often the sinner is not even conscious of his sin. Leviticus 4:2, 13, 22, 27 and 5:15 mention sins committed unintentionally, or “unwittingly” as another version says—in other words, sins committed in ignorance. It was possible for man to ignore many of his sins, but God did not and could not ignore them. Those sins still had to be covered by sacrificial blood.

To Reveal the Inadequacies
of the Sacrificial System

The Day of Atonement was needed to convince Israel that their sacrificial system was not really dealing with the sin problem at all. There were factors built into the system that fully demonstrated its shadow nature. There were built-in evidences that the ceremonials of the day simply pointed to the one great sacrifice in the future that would actually make full atonement for sin—the sacrifice of Christ. There will be ample explanations of that as we continue into the commentary on Leviticus 16.

Another reason was that God wanted to establish, through a system of sacrificial prophecy, the finished work of Jesus Christ. Everything involved in that day pointed directly and exclusively to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross of Calvary. The day was also prophetic of the continuing work of Jesus Christ as the great High Priest who constantly applies the benefits of His sacrificial blood on behalf of sinful mankind. God wanted to build a shadow prophecy of the reality of Messianic redemption so that future generations could learn to depend exclusively on the coming Messiah. The Hebrews could not have understood back then that their “shadow sacrifices” (which they offered) could only give “shadow atonement.” Such understanding can be appreciated only after the “reality sacrifice” of Christ can and does grant “reality forgiveness.”

Atonement Must Be Universal

On that day, atonement was given universal attention. It was not only for the sins and trespasses of the priests and the whole nation, but also for everything related to the Tabernacle. Aaron, his household and the whole congregation were to all be involved in the Days of Atonement. Even the Most Holy Place, the very symbolic residence of God, had to be cleansed of any impurity or contamination because of the sins of the people. The burnt offering altar in the courtyard of the Tabernacle had to be cleansed and purified because many sins had been symbolically covered there.

Even God, the all Holy God, had His presence among a nation that was sinful. Therefore He had to clear Himself of any thinking on the part of Israel that might contaminate Him by simple association with sinful men. God’s fellowship with Israel must not be construed so as to make Him a partner with them in their sin. God’s residence must be purged of contamination. All that had to be clarified to establish His innocence and holiness.

To Show the Insufficiency
of Daily Sacrifices

God wanted to prove to the Hebrew people that any system of sacrifices based on one sacrifice for one sin could never meet the needs of the people and could certainly never meet the needs of God. The utter insufficiency of the daily sacrifice to cover the daily sins of the people stood proven. They just were not adequate to handle the sin problem. Such a problem was further aggravated by the fact that the people did not always have the full knowledge of the Law. They were certainly not even keeping all of the laws that they did know.

The fact that man has always had a poor memory of his wrong doing intensified the need for the Day of Atonement. Even if a man had the best of intentions when he became aware of his wrongdoing and planned to offer the required sacrifice, he could soon forget his intent. The result would be that the sin would remain uncovered. Maybe he even promised himself, “I will take care of it next week or next month,” but before long he forgot. It would be easy for them to fail in sacrificial requirements because of ignorance, neglect, forgetfulness or indifference. Regardless, those sins had to be accounted and atoned for somewhere. Therefore, they needed a Day of Atonement on which all of the sins of all the people could be accounted for and covered.

It is quite evident that there just simply were not enough animals in the nation of Israel to take care of all of the sins and trespasses of all the people. Looking back into the book of Leviticus and contemplating their situation, if we were under that kind of system today, it is evident that some men could wipe out a herd of animals or a flock of goats or sheep in a month or so.

The Holiness of God
Vindicated and Defended

On this Day of Atonement the holiness of God had to be vindicated. He had to defend the righteousness of His dealings with an unrighteous people. God did have external signs of His presence and fellowship with Israel. That fact could create an impression that He was an accomplice and a partner with them in their sin. Such was the obvious implication the Jews drew about Jesus in His association with sinners (Luke 15:1-2, Matthew 11:19). Potentially, every sin had to be covered before God and the worshiper could have proper fellowship. Therefore, the Day of Atonement was needed.

God has His residence, according to the statement of Leviticus 16, among sinful men. On the Atonement day Aaron was to take the blood of the priest’s bull and,

“He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it. In this way, he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the Tent of Meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness” (Leviticus 16:15-16).

Then again, he must take the blood of the people’s goat and do with it as he had done with the blood of the bull. Then he would take the blood of both the bull and the goat and apply it to the altar of burnt offerings out in the courtyard of the Tabernacle. “He shall take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar. He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites” (verses 18-19). Such ceremonials were imposed so that God could be cleared of any contamination by association. This was stressed on the Day of Atonement.

The Whole System Foreshadowed Christ

The Day of Atonement stressed the total dependance of God’s people upon the finished work of Calvary—yet in the future as to time, but very visible in the ceremonies that were being unfolded that day. All the sacrifices quite evidently foreshadowed Christ, and so did the High Priest in all his functions on the Day of Atonement; his work foreshadowed the work of Jesus Christ as the “reality” High Priest.

To Convict Israel
of Its Sinfulness Before God

God wanted to convince Israel of its sinfulness. The Day of Atonement impressed upon them that fact. It gave to the people of Israel an opportunity to mourn over their sins. They were given a period of time especially dedicated to reflection about their sins and to give them an opportunity for genuine repentance. Such repentance was to be shown through fasting, mourning and external manifestations of sorrow for their wrong doing. It offered each individual an occasion for personal and spiritual renewal.

Yom Kippur gave the Israelites the conviction that God had removed their sins and they could enjoy the sense of forgiveness with confidence. God wanted to publicize before Israel His promise: “. . . I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover” (Leviticus 16:2). The atonement cover is called the “mercy seat” in other versions. It was from the mercy seat that God granted Israel forgiveness of their sins. God wanted the people to know that He would exercise mercy and grace to them.

To Publicize God’s Promise

The total God-ward thrust of this day of Atonement was clearly established in the minds of the people. After all, He was the one whose law had been offended. He was the one who had to be appeased for the violations against His commandments that had brought guilt upon the people. God appeared on the cover lid of the ark of the covenant, and there He accepted sacrificial atonement for the people.

To Send the Accumulation
of a Year of Sins to the Cross

It will become evident, as we proceed in this study, that on the Day of Atonement God was interested in sending an accumulation of a year’s sins of the children of Israel to the cross of Calvary. That will be understood as we get into the study of the ceremonial in our next lesson. God wanted to symbolize the sin-bearing mission of Jesus Christ. Whether they understood it or not, it is evident that God was building typology. He was preparing a beautiful shadow system that later generations would be able to identify once the sacrifice of Calvary had been accomplished.

Concept of Their Sins Being
“Rolled Forward” is Wrong
Implications of “Rolling Forward"

It must be understood that Israel’s sins were forgiven on that day. They were forgiven but not covered. Many teachers of the book of Leviticus and even of the book of Hebrews seem to have the concept that those sins were “rolled forward” for a year. The thinking seems to be that in the sacrifices of the Day of Atonement, Israel’s sins were moved forward one full year until the next Day of Atonement. Then the blood of the next animals would roll them forward one more year. The process of moving their sins forward a year at a time would have continued until Christ was sacrificed on Calvary.

Refutation of This Concept

Deeper study of such thinking exposes the fallacy of the “rolling forward” concept. There is absolutely no Biblical evidence to support the idea. If such were true, it would imply that the blood of bulls and goats did have some power to forgive sin, even if it was temporary. However, Hebrews 10:1-2 clearly states that the law was only a shadow of future realities. “For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.” Besides that, Hebrews 10:4 assures us that the blood of animals could not remove sin, not even a little bit, not even for a moment.

Also, Hebrews 9:14 assures us that those sacrifices could only cleanse ceremonial defilements of the flesh, outward ceremonial impurities only. They could not touch the conscience or the soul of the individual. They did not really remove the spiritual and moral guilt. They only removed the external impurities that would disqualify them from participation in the ceremonies of the Tabernacle.

Then again, Hebrews 10:3 says that those sacrifices brought a remembrance of sin, not a removal of sin. On that day, God forgave Israel. But that meant that He personally accepted the responsibility of covering those sins through the sacrifice that Christ would offer later on the cross of Calvary. Hebrews 10:1 says they were simply shadows of good things to come. The good things to come, quite evidently, relate to the “reality” sacrifice of Christ. That sacrifice was even then on the horizon of God’s plans. It is clear that shadow sacrifices could give only shadow forgiveness. They could cleanse only external impurities. It took the “reality” sacrifice of Christ to cleanse the conscience of sin, according to Hebrews 9:14. Therefore, those sacrifices did not remove the sins for another year.

The Necessity of Blood
for Atonement

In their sacrifices, the Hebrews only symbolically transferred their sins to their victims. When this study is completed in the next lesson, these concepts will be better understood. Notice an interesting passage in Hebrews 9:22: “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” The statement “nearly everything” insists that blood was the principle cleansing element under the law, but not the only element used. In verses 19-21, the writer explained that some things were cleansed by blood, some by fire, some by water and some by scarlet wool and hyssop, but when it came to the remission of sins, according to the Law of Moses, there was absolutely no forgiveness without blood!

Often it is assumed that the writer is discussing in verse 21 the essentialness of the sacrifices of Christ. Though it is true that there can be no forgiveness of sin apart from the blood of Christ, the Hebrew writer is not discussing the sacrifice of Jesus. According to the Law of Moses, there was no forgiveness without the blood of those animal sacrifices!

Those Sacrifices Were Necessary for Forgiveness, But Not the SOURCE of Their Forgiveness

Hebrews 9:22 is not referring to the sacrifice of Christ. “And according to the Law . . .” (NASU), those Hebrews could not be forgiven until the blood of their substitute sacrifices was shed. Yet they were not forgiven by animal blood. They could not be forgiven without the blood, yet they were not forgiven by the blood! This concept must be understood. There is a way in which we might be able to explain this. In the New Testament, Jesus promised in Mark 16:16, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved . . .” Again in Acts 2:38, the apostle Peter told the Jews on the Day of Pentecost, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” In Acts 22:16, Saul of Tarsus is told: “Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away . . .” I Peter 3:21 says, “. . . baptism that now saves you also . . .”

All of the above scriptures insist that baptism is the moment when sins are forgiven. Yet surely no one believes that it is a river, or a basin, or a baptistry of water, that forgives our sin. However, it is at the baptistry that sins are forgiven. It is there that sinners come into contact with the cleansing blood of Christ. It is not the water that saves us. It is His blood that saves us. The believer is not cleansed by the baptistry, but cannot be cleansed without it! The baptistry recreates the redemptive connection that makes forgiveness possible.

Forgiveness Under the Old Law

Much in the same way, the Hebrew manifested his faith and obedient acceptance of God’s arrangements for atonement, and thus offered his sacrifices and was forgiven. It was through the blood of his sacrificial substitute that the redemptive connection with Calvary was made. He came into spiritual contact with the future sacrifice of Christ, whose blood actually removed the sin. So when God forgave those Hebrew people, He did so in view of the cross. It was as though He wrote a promissory note. “I will pay this later,” He seemed to be saying. It was as though He were creating a debt against His own righteousness and against His own justice. He simply “charged” the debt against Calvary.

Christ shed His blood, and Hebrews 9:15 says, “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” In other words, when Christ died He covered those promissory notes. God was forgiving people who were living under the law of Moses when they offered their sacrifices. He forgave them in view of Calvary, and He wrote a note of indebtedness against Calvary. Then Christ died to cover those debts, and therefore He redeemed their sins.

In the original Greek, this verse says that Jesus “died to redeem sins.” Why would anyone want to redeem sins? We read about the redemption of the soul in Ephesians 1:7, and we read about the redemption of the body in Romans 8:23. Here, however, we read about the “redemption of sins.” Quite evidently, those sins were already forgiven, but they were not yet covered. Christ died to cover those debts that God took upon Himself in view of the cross of Calvary. Romans 3:25 tells us that in the cross God “did it to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.” Animal blood was not adequate punishment for human sin. God’s justice demanded the sacrificial punishment for human sin. God’s justice demanded the sacrificial blood of the man—Jesus. Jesus’ blood also demonstrates God’s righteousness in forgiving “at the present time,” insists the Roman passage (verse 26).

Omniscience of God Is Seen
in Forgiveness

Quite evidently, the omniscience, the foreknowledge of God was involved in His forgiveness of sins before and after the cross. In Old Testament times God was able to forgive sins in view of the future cross of Calvary. However, in New Testament times God’s foreknowledge of our sins—sins not yet committed—were covered by Christ on the cross. God gathered up the sins of all future generations and allowed Christ to bear them, suffering the penalty for them on the cross of Calvary. So whether in the Old or New Testament times, it is evident that God’s foreknowledge was functional.

The Timelessness of God’s Grace

I Peter 1:20 states, “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” Already in the plan and purpose of God was the fact that the sacrifice of Christ was coming. Quite evidently, there was as much grace and mercy available from God to the people under the Old Testament as there is in New Testament times. All of it, in either the Old or New Testament times, has the same basis: the cross of Calvary, because the cross has always been in the mind and purpose of God. So the cleansing power of Calvary has always been available to God. Revelation 13:8 assures us that Jesus was the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world. The simple fact is that God can forgive any person in any age on the basis of the cross. Of course, that person must manifest his faith and be willing to comply through obedience to the conditions God may demand.

The Awareness of Forgiveness Under the Law The Hebrews Knew They Were Forgiven, and Enjoyed It as We Do

There are a number of salient facts that come to attention in the study of the Day of Atonement. The Hebrews knew their sins were covered, and they rejoiced in the full sense of their forgiveness. We read in Leviticus 1:4 that if a man would offer his sacrifice, it would be accepted for him to make atonement for his soul. Leviticus 4:20, 31, 35; 5:6 and 10 assure the Hebrew that he was forgiven then and there. God did not become forgiving at the death of Christ. It was that death that justified His forgiveness beforehand.

Even before the Law of Moses, there were people who were counted righteous before God, even individuals who were sinners. In Romans 4, Paul used Abraham, an ungodly man, to show that God had always offered forgiveness to men on the basis of their faith and not on their performance. However, Genesis 15:6 says that Abraham believed God and his faith was credited to him as righteousness. Look at the record of Abraham. He was a righteous man in the eyes of God, not by performance, but by an obedient faith.

The Time of the Year Was Significant

The time of the year of the Day of Atonement was very significant. It was on the tenth day of the seventh month (Leviticus 16:29). These two numbers, ten and seven in Hebrew numerals, have symbolic implications. Ten stands for the completion of, or the totality of, the work of God. There were ten pre-flood patriarchs. There were ten righteous men who could have saved the city of Sodom. There were the ten plagues in Egypt. There were the Ten Commandments that were given in the Law of Moses. Ten indicates the totality of God’s word.

Seven also symbolizes the completed work of God. Therefore, when those two words are put together, you have God’s activity of completely bringing about atonement. So, the tenth day of the seventh month is symbolic of the time that God would accomplish redemption. Even the Sabbath day symbolically implied the future redemption of the people of God and the eternal rest that they will have with Him.

Preparations for Day of Atonement
Preparation of/by the People

For the Day of Atonement, there were elaborate, imposing preparations required of the people and of the priests. The people were expected to spend the day in solemn convocation. They assembled at the Tent of Meeting (Leviticus 16:29-34). In Leviticus 23:26-32 the day is called a Sabbath sabbathon. In other words, it was a “high Sabbath,” a most holy day for the Hebrews. No work was allowed; they were to spend the day denying themselves, afflicting themselves and mourning their sins. Generally the idea of fasting was required of the Hebrew people on that day. Anyone who did not enter into the spirit of that day would be cut off from the people (Leviticus 23:29-30).

Preparation of/by the High Priest

Aaron had to make special preparations for the day. That will be discussed in the next lesson. All of the other priests took their place with the rest of the people outside the Tabernacle courtyard on that day. They stood on common ground with the nation of sinners on this day. Atonement was made for them by Aaron and Aaron alone. However, each individual Hebrew was expected to identify with the spirit, the mood and the attitudes of the Day of Atonement or else he would be cut off from the people.