12. The Day of Atonement (2)

Introduction

This is the final lesson in this series of studies on the sacrificial system of the Law of Moses. This closing lesson will present the conclusion of the sacrifices and the functions of the Day of Atonement taken exclusively from Leviticus 16:1-34. Aaron had to prepare himself. We mentioned in our last lesson that the people had to prepare themselves for the day—but so did Aaron. His preparation involved several arrangements that he had to make.

For all 364 days prior to the Day of Atonement, Aaron wore the glorious garments that had been specially prepared for him. They were called “. . . sacred garments . . . to give him dignity and honor” (Exodus 28:2). Other versions say they were “. . . holy garments. . . for glory and for beauty”(NASU). They were multi-colored garments—the colors representing his function as heaven’s representative to the nation of Israel.

On the Day of Atonement, Aaron was to go into the Tabernacle, remove those garments and leave them there. He would then take a bath. Actually it was more a “baptism” as he prepared himself. That ceremonial bath seems to imply that he was being immersed into another role. Then he had to clothe himself with the simple, white linen garments of the ordinary servant priest to carry on the functions of the day. He was then ready to receive the sacrificial animals that were to be offered that day.

There were five animals that were selected for the Day of Atonement. First of all, there was the bull of the sin offering that was for the priestly family, for Aaron and all the Levitical tribe. There was a ram, a male sheep, for a burnt offering for all of the priests. Then there were two goats, each of them representing one-half of the sin sacrifice for the people. The first goat would be designated as Jehovah’s. The second goat would be designated as Azazel’s. Those two goats stood as one sacrifice. Leviticus 16:5 explains: “From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a sin offering . . .” There was to be another ram for a burnt offering for the people.

At the end of this lesson we will conclude the study of all of the sacrifices of the Law, giving special attention to the sacrifices and ritual of the Day of Atonement. Then we will explain the application of all of those sacrifices to the priestly sacrifices of Jesus Christ. Jesus is foreshadowed by all of the Levitical sacrifices, including those of the Day of Atonement, and Aaron foreshadowed Jesus’ work as the High Priest.

Review From Lesson Eleven

By way of review, let us remember the time—the tenth day of the seventh month—a high Sabbath. Aaron had the total functions of the sacrifices for that day. Leviticus 16:17 says that there would be no man in the Tent of Meeting from when Aaron went in until he came out. All the people had gathered in solemn assembly, and the High Priest had prepared himself by bathing and changing his garments. He was then ready to begin the ceremonies of the day. The five animals had been penned for a week and had been examined daily be Aaron to be sure that they were without flaw.

The Stages of the Ritual

The rituals for the ceremonial that took place on the Day of Atonement were quite extensive. Stage one of the ceremonial involved Aaron’s preparations for the day. The removal of his ordinary High Priestly robes, the bathing, and the re-clothing of himself with the humble white, linen garments of the ordinary servant priest constituted the first stage and was done in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle.

Stage One:
Reception of the Preselected Animals

This stage involved the reception of the animals that have already been mentioned—pre-selected for this day and examined for a week to be sure that they were without defect. On this day there was a final examination by Aaron to be sure that the animals were without any kind of flaw. The physical perfection of the animals symbolized the spiritual perfection of Christ Jesus. Therefore, they were shadows of the sacrifice of Christ that would be offered on the cross of Calvary.

Stage Two:
Presentation of the Animals to God

Stage three involved the presentation of all the animals to God. From that moment forward they belonged to Him. Their purpose was to accomplish global atonement. Each animal would serve the specific purpose and accomplish the function for which it was selected by Divine arrangement.

Stage Three: Aaron Casts Lots Over the Two Goats of the People’s Sin Offering

Aaron then cast lots over the heads of the two goats. He would take two stones, one in each hand. On one of them was written “For Jehovah” in Hebrew, and on the other was written: “For Azazel.” Aaron didn’t know which of the stones was in which hand, and he held them over the heads of the goats. He would open his hands and find the one that was for Jehovah. In Hebrew tradition, Aaron tied a scarlet ribbon around the neck of that goat because it would die. That one belonged to Jehovah. Then the other one, quite obviously, was the goat for Azazel. Tradition says that he tied a scarlet ribbon around the horn of that animal because that was the one that would become the scapegoat.

Stage Four: Aaron Kills the Bull of the Priests’ Sin Offering and Stage Five: The Incense is Offered

Then Aaron killed the bull of the sin offering for the priests. He was required, at this point, to take some incense and coals of fire from the altar of burnt offerings, as God had given specific instructions. With those embers from the altar placed in the censer, he was to take two handfuls of incense “beaten small.” Incense was a symbol of prayer. “Beaten small” simply means that it was finely ground into power for quick burning.

Aaron was to take the incense into the Most Holy Place and offer it there—“. . . so that he will not die” (Leviticus 16:13). He had either pulled the veil of separation to one side or perhaps had lifted it up to make it possible for him to enter into the Most Holy Place. As soon as he crossed the threshold he would cast the two handfuls of incense upon the censer of coals or perhaps on the altar of incense that seemed to have been moved into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement. This created an immediate cloud of smoke that covered the mercy seat. In the symbolism of incense, it seems that Aaron thus offered a prayer for his survival—“. . . so that he will not die.” He seemed to be saying, “I know that I am entering the presence of the all Holy God, and I am an unholy man. I acknowledge that I have no right to be here. I have come into Divine presence, because God so requires of my office.” It was an attitude of humility because of his sins. Perhaps this aspect of the ritual was built around the abusive entrance into the Most Holy Place by Nadab and Abihu as recorded in Leviticus 10.

Stage Six:
Sprinkling Blood of the Bull

In this same stage of the ceremonial, Aaron applied the blood of the bull on the ark of the covenant (the mercy seat) seven times—“on the east side of the ark,” says the Hebrew. The Tabernacle faced the east, thus the east side of the ark was toward the rising of the sun—symbolic of God’s presence. Then he sprinkled the blood seven times before the mercy seat. Seven, remember, was the symbol for completion and for the work of God. Then he would retreat back into the Holy Place with the blood of the bull, and he would sprinkle the blood seven times before the curtain of separation between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The blood that was left over was set down and left temporarily in the Holy Place.

Stage Seven: Kills Goat
“For Jehovah” But “Before Jehovah"

Then Aaron was to exit the Tabernacle and proceed with the slaying of the sacrificial goat that had the scarlet ribbon around its throat. That was the one for Jehovah. Then he had to take the blood of that goat and return to the Holy of Holies. He was to do with that sacrificial blood exactly as he had done with the blood of the bull—sprinkle it on the mercy seat, sprinkle it seven times before the mercy seat and retreat into the Holy Place to sprinkle it seven times before the veil in the Tabernacle.

This question arises: Why was this blood sprinkled in the Most Holy Place and in the Holy Place? Quite evidently these were the symbolic quarters or residence of God in the presence of an unholy nation. Leviticus 16:16 says that he had to cleanse the Most Holy Place and the Holy Place “. . . because of the uncleanness and the 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.” God had to clear Himself of any implication of guilt simply by the fact that He was associating in the presence of sinful man.

“Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the LORD (the altar of burnt offerings in the courtyard) and make atonement for it. 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” (Leviticus 16:18-19).

Stage Eight:
The Azazel Ceremony

Following is an overview of the last phase of the ceremonial on the Day of Atonement. In stage eight, Aaron was required to lay both of his hands on the head of the goat for Azazel. When he offered the bull and the first goat for Jehovah there was no laying on of the hands. Quite evidently, that was in view of the fact that both hands would be laid upon the head of the goat for Azazel. One hand was laid there in representation of the priest, and the other hand was in representation of the people. Leviticus 16:21 tells us that when he lays his hands on the head of the goat, “He is to . . . confess over it (the goat) all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head.” Such action involved the symbolic transfer of sin. Aaron could not possibly know all the sins of Israel. So how could he confess them all? Some have suggested that he must have simply listed all the commandments of the Law and summarily acknowledged that Israel had violated each one of them. Yet, God surely knew all the Laws He had given Israel, and also all their violations of those laws.

Stage Nine:
Removal of Goat for Azazel

Aaron would then send the goat for Azazel into the desert. That goat was often called “the scapegoat.” A scapegoat, even in our modern usage, refers to any person who carries the guilt for the actions of others. Azazel’s goat was the sin-bearing animal. He was sent into the desert and there was released in “a solitary place,” (verse 22). In later years, the Hebrews, perhaps as much out of superstition as fear, would later find that goat with the scarlet ribbon around his horn and push him over a cliff. They wanted to be sure the goat did not wander back into the camp with an accumulation of a year of Israel’s sins and trespasses still on his head. There seemed to be some fear that such would in some way contaminate the camp.

Aaron did not carry the goat out of the camp. He was sent out into the desert “. . . in the care of a man appointed for the task” (verse 21). That man was probably not a priest, otherwise it would have been specified. He was incidental to the ceremonials of the day, just to indicate the fact that those sins were symbolically placed on the head of the goat, the man who led him into the desert was considered ceremonially unclean until he had bathed his body and changed his garments. Then when the sun had set, he would be clean and could re-enter the camp.

Stage Ten:
Aaron’s Robes Changed Again

It is evident that Aaron was seen to be the only one conducting the totality of the ceremonial. Aaron then re-entered the Tent of Meeting, the Tabernacle. He then had to remove the white linen robes of the ordinary servant priest that had been used for the functions of the day. Those garments he was required to leave in the Holy Place. He then once again bathed himself by immersion. In effect, Aaron would disappear and then reappear. This time he again clothed himself with the glorious garments that were characteristic of his regular service throughout the rest of the year. Those were the multicolored garments, according to Exodus 28:2, for glory, beauty, holiness and honor. He thus represented God’s minister, God’s representative to man or heaven’s representative to earth.

Stage Eleven:
Sacrificing the Burnt Offering

Aaron then exited from the Holy Place, having re-clothed himself in his own garments, and sacrificed the burnt offerings—the ram for the priest and the ram for the whole congregation. The ceremonial of these burnt offerings would probably follow more or less the format of the continual burnt offering as outlined in Leviticus 6:8-13. Then the blood was sprinkled in the appropriate fashion. These burnt offerings were sweet aroma sacrifices of worship of the priests and of the nation. It was naturally an expression of rededication of the priests and nation to fidelity toward God.

Stage Twelve: Burning the Fat of the Bull and Goat With the Burnt Offerings

Aaron was required to remove the fat from the slain bull and goat. He did not have to remove the fat from the burnt offering rams; they would be burned entirely on the altar anyway. All the fat would be fumed to God. He placed the fat on the altar together with the burnt offerings and sacrificed them to God.

Stage Thirteen:
Disposal of the Sin Offering Bodies

Then Aaron would dispose of the bodies of the animals that had been offered for sin: the bull and the goat. They were to be carried outside of the gate of the camp of Israel. The reason is clear: they would be burned with the fires of seraph. Those were the fires of divine wrath against Israel’s sin. There is definite typology built into this action. It was a “shadow” of the sufferings of Christ Jesus outside Jerusalem.

Meaning and Applications of the Day of Atonement
Azazel – Compound Word in Hebrew: Means – Strong Removal

Quite evidently there are a number of applications to be made from these elaborate ceremonials. We need to give some attention to some of the ceremonials and then offer some of their obvious explanations. The first thing we want to notice is Azazel. That is a compound Hebrew word—two words put together. The first part of the word means “strong” or “strength.” The latter part of the word means “removal” or “taking away.” Therefore, when the two meanings are joined, the resulting meaning is the “strong removal of Israel’s sins.” Of course that demanded that God, at a later date, would actually strongly remove all of the sins.

We also learn from this that the sins were symbolically removed from the camp. Generally, the goat is called the scapegoat. He was the one who bore the sin. Therefore, when this goat was led out into the desert, all of the people of Israel began to shout for joy and sing, “Hallelujah unto the Lord,” because they knew that their sins had been removed. In the picture of the final judgment, presented in Matthew 25, the Lord will sit upon His throne and as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, so He will divide the innocent (the sheep) from the guilty (the goats). So quite evidently this goat was symbolically carrying the guilt of Israel into the desert.

The Two Goats are ONLY ONE Sin Offering

The third lesson to learn involves the explanation that these two goats were only one sacrifice. Therefore, they stood as a unit of accomplishing two different sides of the same redemptive activity. The first goat for Jehovah was presented as the cause and source of atonement. The second goat for Azazel was presented as the effect of atonement, granting forgiveness.

Possibly Clear Suggestions of Jesus in That:

It suggests that in Jesus Christ the first goat actually died, so we see Jesus dying as the sacrifice on the cross. However, the second goat, as a part of that same sacrifice, was led into the wilderness. It foreshadowed Jesus in His resurrection. He survived the sacrifice; He came back from the grave. All through the ceremonials Aaron portrayed Jesus as the Great High Priest. Jesus, as the High Priest, officiated at the sacrificial offering of Himself on the cross. In the second goat, Jesus was seen as having been raised from the dead and, as further function of His High Priestly role, He removed the sin from His people. He is now alive, after His sacrifice, and is able to take away the sins of the people. Hebrews 9:26-27 indicates that Jesus put away the sins of the people with the sacrifice of Himself. Thus Jesus is seen as both these goats and the bull offered that day.

Aaron’s Preparation

Another important lesson is drawn from Aaron’s preparation and the role he carried that day. Aaron had unclothed himself of his garments—those for glory, beauty and holiness—before he began the ceremonies of the day. That action indicated that when Jesus came down from heaven he had to divest Himself of all of the external qualities of His Divine glory, holiness and beauty that went with His deity. When He bathed Himself (immersed Himself), He thus seemed to disappear as the Divine being and then reappear after that immersion as the humble servant and ministering Priest of God. By putting on the garments that would ordinarily characterize the position of a humble servant priest, He symbolically clothed Himself with humanity. It was in that function, as a human being, that He carried out His role as the humble servant of God, obedient to all the commands that God had given Him.

Then, having accomplished all of this activity of atonement, Aaron returned to the Tabernacle. He re-clothed himself with his royal robes of heavenly splendor. Thus we see Jesus ascend back to the right hand of the Father. Israel probably did not understand all of this. However, it is quite clear that God intended that the symbolism of that day—symbols designed and inaugurated by the Holy Spirit—would foreshadow the accomplished Priestly and sacrificial ministry of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 9:8-9 tells us that the Holy Spirit had some symbolic implications in what was happening on the Day of Atonement.

What of Israel’s Sins Afterwards?

Surely we have learned from this story that Israel’s sins were not carried away by a goat, only symbolically so. What happened, then, to those sins that were symbolically placed on the head of the goat? Where were they once they had been carried out of the camp? Ask the Hebrew, “Where are you sins?” “Oh, they have been forgiven,” he would reply. “Yes, but where are they now?” “Well, they are out in the desert on the head of a goat.” “Are they going to stay there on the head of the goat?” “Well, I really don’t know. I am sure that God will take care of them some way.” Did the Israelite of Moses’ day believe that Israel was saved by a goat? Every Hebrew would emphatically deny such an idea. None has ever believed that, but there must have been some way in which God was taking care of their sins.

Have the Sins Been Forgiven?

At least this much they knew: their sins had been forgiven. Whether they understood it or not, they were forgiven because of their faith and obedience to God’s arrangements for atonement. Also, only those who had personalized the ceremonials of that day could be forgiven. That made is possible for God to forgive them; they had entered into the spirit of the day and their sins had been forgiven—though not yet covered. It is clear that God assumed the responsibility for those sins. God seemed to be saying: “I will take care of those at the cross of Calvary.”

One Goat for One Year
Through Israel’s History

Another major lesson derives from the fact that one goat for each year of Israel’s accumulated sin throughout the 1400 years of her history would create quite a flock of goats. All this seems to tell us that God accumulated 1400 goats that He had sent out into the wilderness. They were not simply sent out into the desert. They were directed to the foot of the cross of Calvary. If you can imagine through the eye of faith, in your mind, when Jesus was hanging on the cross, He was crucified with 1400 goats standing around the cross with an accumulation of 1400 years of Israel’s sins upon their head. Then God, one by one removed those sins and placed them on Christ. God treated Christ as though He had committed all those sins. The accumulation of Israel’s sins over 1400 years were removed from the heads of the 1400 goats and were placed on Jesus. He died on the cross as a penalty for all of those sins. There those sins were actually taken care of, not symbolically, but in reality. That is the place where Jesus bore the guilt of the people. It was in His body on the tree, that the sins of the world were covered.

Three Days Later
He Will Rise from the Dead

Three days later Jesus was raised from the dead, as already symbolized in the goat for Azazel, the one that made strong removal of sin. After forty days Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father where He once again clothed Himself in His garments for glory, beauty and holiness as God. It is quite clear that in all of these ceremonials Jesus was being predicted, and it is clear that we must understand that both the ceremonials relative to the sacrifices and the priests are to be understood as fulfilled in Jesus.

We are told in Ephesians 2:8, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith . . .” God graciously provided the sacrifice for the sins of the people, but He seems to be saying in substance: “I will accept this animal in substitution for you, because he really represents Jesus Christ. In the final analysis I will accept the sacrifice of Jesus on your behalf on the condition that you accept it also.” That means that all men must accept the sacrifice of Christ as fulfilling the payment for their sins.

It was our sin that killed Him. As mentioned in some of the earlier lessons, we have to agree with God’s judgment against our sins in the person of Jesus Christ and so agree that we accept the fact that He atoned for our sins. It was our sin that nailed Him to the cross. We would have to so agree to the point that we personally would be willing to drive the nails into His hands and the spear into His side, because in all practical reality it was our sins that killed Him.

Summarization of the Sacrifices

By way of summary, let us put together all the sacrifices that were studied in this series. We must view each one of them as a different aspect of the one and only sacrifice of Christ. They must be brought together as a unit. Each of the sacrifices of the Law of Moses—the burnt offering, the grain offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, the Day of Atonement offerings and the drink offering—symbolized Jesus Christ.

Quite evidently, each individual, out of guilt, has lost his life before God. He could not give his life for anyone. He had already given his life to sin. Only the sinless would be able to give their life for someone else. Therefore, when Jesus ascended the cross of Calvary He had to be innocent. He had to be pure. That required that He spend His entire life in total consecration and devotion to God. In other words, He had to fulfill the typology and symbolism of the continual burnt offering. Never one time in His life did He let the fires of His consecration, sanctification and devotion to God terminate. That made Him a sinless sacrifice. When He went to the cross, God made Him a sinless sacrifice. When He went to the cross, God was able to place man’s sin and performance on Him and treat Him as though it were His performance, punish Him as though He had committed those sins and trespasses. Then God could take Christ’s performance which was flawless and perfect and lay it upon men of obedient faith and treat them as though Christ’s performance were theirs. That is the reason God is able to see the Christian today as sinless under the blood of Calvary.

Having offered atonement, man needed someone to present him to God as a first fruit of Jesus’ sacrificial offering. That Jesus did in the grain offering. Then man needed someone to restore the relationship of peace and confidence that he once had with God. Man can thus be restored to fellowship with God and enjoy the harmony of peace. Man and God can now share the festive banquet of all spiritual good in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, because Jesus was man’s peace offering. The banquet table, the marriage feast of the Lamb, is now enjoyed in peace with God (Revelation 19:9).

All of these sacrificial typologies find perfect fulfillment in Jesus Christ. So also do the functions of the High Priest; Aaron foreshadows the High Priestly functions of Christ. All this in its fulfillment was necessary for man’s initial and continued salvation from sin. Jesus saved the faithful obedient, and He keeps them saved! “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (II Corinthians 9:15).