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LEVITICUS 16 COMMENTARYEDITED BY GLENN PEASE
The Day of Atonement1 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of
the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord.
BARNES, "The reference to the death of Nadab and Abihu is a
notice of the occasion on which the instructions were given, well
calculated to add point and emphasis to the solemn admonition to
the high priest in the second verse. The death of his sons
Lev_10:2, for drawing near to Yahweh in an unauthorized manner, was
to serve as a warning to Aaron himself never to transgress in this
respect.
CLARKE, "After the death of the two sons of Aaron - It appears
from this verse that the natural place of this chapter is
immediately after the tenth, where probably it originally stood;
but the transposition, if it did take place, must be very ancient,
as all the versions acknowledge this chapter in the place in which
it now stands.
GILL, "And the Lord spake unto Moses, after the death of the two
sons of Aaron,.... That is, either immediately after their death,
and so this chapter would have stood in its natural order next to
the tenth; or else after the above laws concerning uncleanness on
various accounts were delivered out, designed to prevent the people
entering into the tabernacle defiled, whereby they would have
incurred the penalty of death; wherefore, as Aben Ezra observes,
after the Lord had given cautions to the Israelites, that they
might not die, he bid Moses to caution Aaron also, that he might
not die as his sons died; these were Nadab and Abihu: when they
offered before the Lord, and died; offered strange fire, and died
by flaming fire, as the Targum of Jonathan; or fire sent down from
heaven, as Gersom, by lightning; see Lev_10:1.
HENRY, "Here is, I. The date of this law concerning the day of
atonement: it was after the death of the two sons of Aaron
(Lev_16:1), which we read, Lev_10:1. 1. Lest
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Aaron should fear that any remaining guilt of that sin should
cleave to his family, or (seeing the priests were so apt to offend)
that some after-sin of his other sons should be the ruin of his
family, he is directed how to make atonement for his house, that it
might keep in with God; for the atonement for it would be the
establishment of it, and preserve the entail of the blessing upon
it. 2. The priests being warned by the death of Nadab and Abihu to
approach to God with reverence and godly fear (without which they
came at their peril), directions are here given how the nearest
approach might be made, not only without peril, but to unspeakable
advantage and comfort, if the directions were observed. When they
were cut off for an undue approach, the rest must not say, Then we
will not draw near at all, but, Then we will do it by rule. They
died for their sin, therefore God graciously provides for the rest,
that they die not. Thus God's judgments on some should be
instructions to others.JAMISON, "Lev_16:1-34. How the High Priest
must enter into the Holy Place.after the death of the two sons of
Aaron, when they offered before the Lord, and died It is thought by
some that this chapter has been transposed out of its right place
in the sacred record, which was immediately after the narrative of
the deaths of Nadab and Abihu [Lev_10:1-20]. That appalling
catastrophe must have filled Aaron with painful apprehensions lest
the guilt of these two sons might be entailed on his house, or that
other members of his family might share the same fate by some
irregularities or defects in the discharge of their sacred
functions. And, therefore, this law was established, by the due
observance of whose requirements the Aaronic order would be
securely maintained and accepted in the priesthood.
K&D, "The chronological link connecting the following law
with the death of the sons of Aaron (Lev_10:1-5) was intended, not
only to point out the historical event which led to the appointment
of the day of atonement, but also to show the importance and
holiness attached to an entrance into the inmost sanctuary of God.
The death of Aaron's sons, as a punishment for wilfully drawing
near before Jehovah, was to be a solemn warning to Aaron himself,
not to come at all times into the holy place within the vail,
before the mercy-seat upon the ark, i.e., into the most holy place
(see Exo_25:10.), but only at the time to be appointed by Jehovah,
and for the purposes instituted by Him, i.e., according to
Lev_16:29., only once a year, on the day of atonement, and only in
the manner prescribed in Lev_16:3., that he might not die. - For I
will appear in the cloud above the capporeth. The cloud in which
Jehovah appeared above the capporeth, between the cherubim
(Exo_25:22), was not the cloud of the incense, with which Aaron was
to cover the capporeth on entering (Lev_16:13), as Vitringa, Bhr,
and others follow the Sadducees in supposing, but the cloud of the
divine glory, in which Jehovah manifested His essential presence in
the most holy place above the ark of the covenant. Because Jehovah
appeared in this cloud, not only could no unclean and sinful man go
before the capporeth, i.e., approach the holiness of the all-holy
God; but even the anointed and sanctified high priest, if he went
before it at his own pleasure, or without the expiatory blood of
sacrifice, would expose himself to certain death. The reason for
this prohibition is to be found in the fact, that the holiness
communicated to the priest did not cancel the sin of his nature,
but only covered it over for the performance of his official
duties, and so long as the law, which produced only the knowledge
of sin and not its forgiveness and removal, was not abolished by
the complete atonement, the holy God
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was and remained to mortal and sinful man a consuming fire,
before which no one could stand.
CALVIN, "1.And the Lord spake unto Moses. A copious description
is here given of what we have recently adverted to cursorily, as it
were, i.e., the solemn atonement which was yearly made in the
seventh month; for when Moses was instructing them as to what
sacrifices were to be offered on each of the festivals, he
expressly excepted, though only in a single word, this sacrifice,
where he spoke of the day of atonement itself, on which they
afflicted their souls. Now, therefore, a clear and distinct
exposition of it is separately given. For although at other seasons
of the year also both their public and private sins were expiated,
and for this purpose availed the daily sacrifices, still this more
solemn rite was meant to arouse the peoples minds, that they might
more earnestly apply themselves all the year through to the
diligent seeking for pardon and remission. In order, then, that
they might be more anxious to propitiate God, one atonement was
performed at the end of the year which might ratify all the others.
But, that they might more diligently observe what is commanded,
Moses makes mention of the time in which the Law was given, viz.,
when Nadab and Abihu were put to death by God, after they had
rashly defiled the altar by their negligence. COFFMAN, "In this
chapter we stand upon the summit of Moses' law, where, in the most
impressive ritual of the entire system, the Judaic High Priest
performed an atonement for Israel, the same being an inspired
shadow of that Greater High Priest, our Lord Jesus Christ, who
would give his life as a propitiation for the sins of the whole
world! (1 John 2:2). The Jews still observe this day which falls
upon the tenth day of their first month of the year, Tishri, the
same being the seventh month of their religious year, the very
numbers of these months symbolizing the truth that the Atonement
marks the beginning of Israel's national life and the fruition and
completeness (the seventh month) of their religious life."Yom
Kippur" is the name which the Jews have given this day. [~Yowm]
means day; and [~Kippur] refers to the mercy-seat, a translation
given by William Tyndale to the word for the lid or covering of the
Ark of Covenant, the [~kappereth], which in a figure means the
covering of sins, or atonement. In Hebrew writings, the day is
sometimes called simply [~Yoma], meaning "The Day."Critical writers
profess dissatisfaction with the placement of this chapter. They
would have put it somewhere else! But, as Seiss expressed it, "Its
proper place seems to be exactly where God put it."[1] The
theological point of departure for this chapter was accurately
discerned and convincingly presented by Gordon J. Wenham, a
highly-respected, present-day scholar:(Paraphrase). It began in
Leviticus 10, referred to from the outset here, where the death of
two of Aaron's sons demonstrated the wrath of God against all who
dared
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to approach God improperly. The intervening chapters (Leviticus
11-15) gave careful instructions regarding what was or was not
clean, and the next logical and necessary step is taken here in
Leviticus 16, where the proper procedure must be observed by the
High Priest to preserve him and the other priests from a fate like
that of Nadab and Abihu.[2]However, much more than the preservation
of the lives of the priests is involved. The elaborate rules for
cleanness in Leviticus 11-15 demonstrated the absolute certainty
that all people would at times be "unclean," that their
unworthiness to approach God was, in a sense, constant, that this
would of necessity contaminate the very articles and structure of
the tabernacle itself, and that even those sacred items thus
contaminated would need to be purified, or to have an atonement
made for them, the same being one of the great purposes discernible
here. (See Leviticus 16:16ff). Along with this, there also appears
the purpose of taking away the sins of Israel itself. Surely, we
stand at the heart of the O.T. system right here.One of the most
amazing things regarding the Day of Atonement is the scarcity of
mention of it throughout the O.T. The historical books paid little
or no attention to it, and the observance of it was apparently
suspended entirely, along with the rite of circumcision, during the
time of the journeys in the wilderness. Only a few of the specific
occasions of its observance are found in the whole Bible. These
facts, of course, have set the critical community in a frenzy of
desire to make this chapter "a later intrusion" into the sacred
record, or of a much later date than the times of Moses, or any
other postulation that might be pressed into the service of their
assault upon the Scriptures. The scarcity of Biblical reference to
Israel's observance of this day, however, is typical. There are a
number of the most important events in the O.T., and precisely some
of those that are the most prophetic witnesses of Jesus Christ that
are mentioned only one time. For example, the deployment of the
story of Melchizedek in Genesis 14, is the basis of several
chapters in the Book of Hebrews, despite the fact of there being no
other reference whatever to Melchizedek in the O.T. (except in
Psalms 110:4). The Passover itself is also distinguished in that
only four or five occasions of this actual observance by Israel may
be found in the Bible, including that of Josiah.THE DAY OF
ATONEMENTSummary of Procedures:(1) The High Priest came to the Holy
Place with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a
burnt-offering (Leviticus 16:3).(2) He bathed himself all over
(Leviticus 16:4).(3) He put on, after divesting himself of his High
Priestly regalia, the pure white linen garments, even less ornate
than that of the ordinary priests. Not as a semi-royal person
clothed in his full authority and dignity, but as a servant he
would
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perform his duties (Leviticus 16:4).(4) He received from the
people two he-goats for a sin-offering and one ram for a
burnt-offering. Note that the two goats were but one offering, a
sin-offering (Leviticus 16:5).(5) He offered the bullock as a
sin-offering for himself and "his house," meaning all the
priesthood (Leviticus 16:6), following the regulations in Leviticus
4.(6) He offered the two goats "before Jehovah," at the door of the
tent of meeting (Leviticus 16:7). This is an emphatic declaration
that both goats were here presented to God Himself.(7) He cast lots
for the goats, not to determine who was to receive them, that
having already been decided and stated in Leviticus 16:7, but for
the purpose of determining which goat would serve in which phase of
their dual offering to Jehovah. (Leviticus 16:8).(8) He offered the
goat as a sin-offering that was identified by the lot (Leviticus
16:9), meaning that phase of this particular sin-offering, since
both goats were part of that one sin-offering to Jehovah (Leviticus
16:5).(9) He received instructions regarding the other goat which
was to be sent away as "the remover of sin" (Leviticus 16:10).(10)
Having already killed the bullock which was the sin-offering for
himself and his house (recapitulated in Leviticus 16:11), he took a
censer full of live coals from the altar and his hands full of
sweet incense and went to the veil through which the Holy of Holies
would be entered (Leviticus 16:12).(11) He entered within the veil
(Leviticus 16:12).(12) He put the incense upon the fire (which he
brought inside in the censer) producing a thick cloud of smoke from
the incense (Leviticus 16:13), sufficient to cover the mercy-seat,
so that he would not die.(13) He sprinkled the blood of the bullock
(Leviticus 16:11) seven times on the mercy-seat on the east side
(the front side). "Upon the mercy-seat," and "before the
mercy-seat" would mean that the blood was sprinkled twice seven
times (Leviticus 16:14).(14) He then killed one of the goats of the
sin-offering, as determined by the lot (Leviticus 16:15).(15) He
then repeated, in full, the procedures recounted above in (11) and
(12), entering within the veil with live coals and the sweet
incense (Leviticus 16:15), and
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sprinkling the blood seven times upon the mercy-seat and seven
times before it. The blood sprinkled here was that of the first
goat offered as one-half of the sin-offering of the people.(16) He
then, through the device of sprinkling blood of the people's
sin-offering, made atonement for the Holy Place, the larger
sanctuary of the tabernacle (Leviticus 16:16), the same being one
of the great purposes of the whole Day of Atonement.(17) He then,
alone, with even the whole area of the Holy Place being cleared of
any observers, entered the Holy of Holies (the 3time) and completed
the atonement for himself, his house, and all the people of Israel
(Leviticus 16:17).(18) He then left the Holy of Holies and went
into the Holy Place where a special atonement service for the great
altar was performed by the sprinkling of the blood upon the horns
of it (Leviticus 16:18,19).(19) The atonement was extended to
include the tent of meeting in its entirety. And when Aaron had
finished with this, "he presented the live goat" (Leviticus 16:20).
To whom? To the Devil? Certainly not! He presented it to God. It
was already God's, having been designated so from the moment of its
being brought "before Jehovah" (Leviticus 16:7). We are outraged
and disgusted by the critical nonsense about this goat's being for
a demon, or the Devil, named Azazel. Allegations to that effect are
examples of criticism having gone absolutely insane!(20) Aaron then
laid his hands upon the heads of the live goat and confessed "all
the iniquities ... all their transgressions ... even all their
sins, putting them on the head of the goat" (Leviticus 16:21).(21)
He then, by the hand of a special messenger, dispatched the goat,
bearing all the sins of Israel into a "land that is cut off," where
it was commanded that the goat be released (Leviticus 16:22).These
twenty-one specific steps (the sacred number three multiplied by
the sacred number seven) constituted the ceremonies of the Day of
Atonement. The balance of the chapter merely records the various
"mopping up" activities after the ceremonies were concluded. Aaron,
after concluding the ceremonies, came out, bathed himself, changed
to High Priestly regalia, offered, the burnt-offerings for himself
and for the people, making atonement and concluding the observance
of the instructions for the sin-offerings as given in Leviticus 4.
Also, the messenger who had led the goat away and the ones who
carried the remains of the sacrifices "without the camp" washed
their clothes and bathed themselves (Leviticus 16:23-28). The
concluding paragraph of the chapter (Leviticus 16:19-34) called for
the observance of this Day of Atonement throughout the history of
the Chosen Nation, providing for a solemn fast on that Day, the
same being the only fast commanded by God in the entire O.T.
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"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, after the death of the two sons
of Aaron, when they drew near before Jehovah, and died; and Jehovah
said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at
all times into the holy place within the veil, before the
mercy-seat which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will
appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat. Herewith shall Aaron come
into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a
ram for a burnt-offering. He shall put on the holy linen coat, and
he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be
girded with the linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be
attired: they are the holy garments; and he shall bathe his flesh
in water, and put them on. And he shall take of the congregation of
the children of Israel two he-goats for a sin-offering, and one ram
for a burnt-offering."In his office as High Priest, Aaron was a
type of the Son of God himself, our Great High priest. Of course,
there were inevitably some great dissimilarities. Jesus had no need
to offer sacrifices for himself, as did Aaron, but in other
particulars there is an amazing correspondence. It will be
remembered that Jesus, being first arrayed in that gorgeous purple,
scarlet, and (perhaps also) blue robe, had it stripped from him
prior to the crucifixion, and was clothed again with his own
clothes which were of a very humble variety, even as were those
which Aaron wore here after having been divested of the formal
dress of the High Priest. There was also another distinction: "When
the high priest went into the Holy of Holies on the Day of
Atonement, he had to wear a simple linen garment without seams, a
garment of the type Jesus wore when he went to the Cross as our
sacrifice (John 19:23,24)."[3]Another analogy appears in the
requirement that two he-goats were to constitute the single
sin-offering for the people. No single animal could have typified
what Jesus did for mankind in the removal of sin. He not only made
the sacrifice in his death for our sins, but he bore them away from
us forever, exactly after the analogy of the second goat, called
the scapegoat. One animal could not have typified this, hence, the
requirement for two.Still another analogy is seen in the fact that
before Aaron entered upon this ministry of Atonement on the sacred
Day, he had to bathe himself, just as Jesus began his ministry by
being immersed of John in the Jordan river. Despite the blindness
of many commentators who cannot see this and never mention it, the
striking analogy is most certainly there. In all of these adjacent
chapters, a similar thing is witnessed in the release of one of two
birds in certain sacrifices, the birds serving even somewhat better
than the scapegoat, in that they flew into the heavens, whereas the
goat merely wandered around in the wilderness.It is interesting
that all of the instructions for the priests here, even those for
Aaron, were not communicated to Aaron, but to Moses, who thus holds
a place even superior to that of Israel's high priest. "The
peculiarly exalted role of Moses runs through Exodus to
Deuteronomy, and is evident here as well."[4]
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The fact that Aaron's entry into the Holy of Holies was
restricted to his performance of these duties on the Day of
Atonement was significant: "Holiness communicated to Aaron did not
cancel his sin, but only covered it for the performance of his
official duties. So long as the Law which produced a knowledge of
sin, but not its forgiveness, existed, the holy God was and
remained to mortal men a consuming fire."[5]The fact of these Day
of Atonement rituals having to be repeated every year "shows that
the question was not really settled."[6] Sins were not in any
ultimate sense forgiven, for, "There was a remembrance made of the
sins year by year" (Hebrews 10:3), not merely of the sins committed
since the last day of atonement, but all their sins; note the
emphatic triple mention of this in Leviticus 16:16 and Leviticus
16:21.There were some remarkable differentiations in Aaron's attire
for these sacred duties that stressed the chasm between the priests
of paganism, who are called three times in the Sacred Text the
[~chemarin], meaning "the BLACK-ROBED ones" (Zephaniah 1:4; 2 Kings
23:5; and Hosea 10:5). Aaron was clad totally in WHITE for these
ceremonies, and particular mention of the WHITE linen breeches was
included.[7] Those breeches also carried a sharp repudiation of the
conduct of the priests of paganism, "Where ritual nakedness,
especially for priests, was a feature of some of their ancient
religions."[8]The simplicity and humility of Aaron's dress here
showed, that when men appear before God as sinners, "The highest
and the lowest were on a level, for God is no respecter of
persons."[9] As a matter of fact, Wenham declared that, "On the Day
of Atonement, Aaron looked like a slave."[10] So he did, and Jesus
fulfilled the picture perfectly when, upon the night of his
betrayal, he took a towel and girded himself and washed the feet of
his apostles (John 13:1-5)!Our observation that the two goats
(Leviticus 16:5) actually constituted only ONE offering is
corroborated by all conservative scholars. As Maclaren said, "They
(the two goats) are spoken of as constituting but ONE
offering."[11]Verse 6"And Aaron shall present the bullock of the
sin-offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself,
and for his house. And he shall take the two goats, and set them
before Jehovah at the door of the tent of meeting. And Aaron shall
cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for Jehovah, and the other
lot for Azazel. And Aaron shall present the goat upon whom the lot
fell for Jehovah, and offer him for a sin-offering. But the goat,
on which the lot fell for Azazel, shall set alive before Jehovah,
to make atonement for him, to send him away for Azazel into the
wilderness.""Aaron shall cast lots ..." Jamieson described this
procedure thus: "The priest placed one of the goats on his right
hand, and the other on his left.
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Two pieces of gold exactly alike, inscribed "for Jehovah" and
"for Azazel" were then placed in a bag or covered box, and the
priest placed both hands inside and took out both pieces, one in
each hand. That in his right hand he placed on the head of the goat
on that side, and that in his left hand on the other goat's head.
This determined the fate of each."[12]"Azazel ..." The
capitalization of this word making a proper name out of it is
ridiculous, such being a work entirely of man, not of God, and it
is rejected here categorically as extremely ridiculous. The basis
for this corrupt translation comes principally from two
arguments:(1) The Hebrew word for [~`aza'zel] has no article
([~la-`aza'zel]); so, from this, it is alleged by commentators who
don't know their grammar that it must refer to a person, but as
Meyrick pointed out, theirs "is a grammatical error." "When a noun
expresses an office or a function, it does NOT require a definite
article in Hebrew any more than it does in French."[13] Meyrick
cited half a dozen Biblical references confirming this.(2) The
second argument is somewhat more convincing, but still wrong.
"There is, of course, a great likelihood that when two phrases,
`for the Lord' and `for something else' are set in contrast with
each other that, if the first refers to a person, then so also does
the second. But it is an incredibly rash assertion that this is
always the case."[14] The instance here is one in which it is
impossible for that to be the case. Moses did not write in a
strait-jacket, restricted and smothered by all the rules that
grammarians observe. And it has been the mark of great men in all
ages that the rules never failed to get kicked around somewhat in
their writings and lectures. We think of that instance when Sir
Winston Churchill was heard to end a sentence with a preposition,
upon which a critic pointed out what he considered an error. The
incomparable Churchill froze his critic with a stare and replied,
"Indeed, indeed! This is bastard English, up with which I will not
put!" Those who overheard it, declared that a belly laugh put the
critic to shame and left Churchill's "error" uncorrected. The same
kind of belly laugh is deserved by the "Azazel" rendition.Think of
the implications of this, if it could be accepted as correct. The
critics themselves have spelled it out for us: "The most popular
explanation among commentators is that Azazel is the name of a
demon that lived in the wilderness.[15] Azazel was the name of
something that was the opposite of God. This means that we should
identify him as the chief of the forces of evil, hence, the
Devil.[16] He was probably some demon of the desert.[17] Azazel is
understood to be the name of one of those malignant demons with
which the superstition of the Israelites peopled the wilderness and
all waste places."[18]Well, there you have it! This particular
example of scholarly "fembu" leads to the acceptance of the most
bizarre and preposterous declarations ever advanced by so-called
"believers in Christ." Can such men actually accept the proposition
that on
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the great Day of Atonement itself, one of the principal features
of it was a sacrifice to the Devil! Men should reject such notions,
not with cautious scholarly reserve, but with the same blunt denial
that the advocates of this rendition make of the whole Word of God.
The Lord specifically forbade the recognition of any evil power
(Leviticus 17:7). How can it be thought that God Himself recognized
the Devil here by sending him a sacrifice, in fact sharing with
him, on a share and share alike basis, the sin-offering of Israel?
The discernment of Maclaren in this was correct: "It is surely
sacrificing a great deal to rhetorical propriety to drag in an idea
so foreign to the Pentateuch, and so opposed to the plain fact that
both goats were one sin-offering (Leviticus 16:5), just in order to
get a pedantically correct antithesis.[19]What then, is the correct
rendition for the word here given as Azazel? We are happy to note
that Meyrick has not only answered this but justified and defended
it with the most thorough discussion of the whole question that may
be found anywhere. He rendered the passage: "And Aaron shall cast
lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and one lot for a
remover of sins."[20] In this rendition is also the apparent reason
for the difficulty of putting this thought into language. The words
"for the Lord" and "for the remover of sins" do not apply to the
Lord and some other person, but to the two goats and the diverse
functions each played in the sin offering of Israel. In the Bible,
especially in the N.T., there are many examples where grammatical
constructions cannot convey the truth at all. For example, Christ
is spoken of as THE BEING; THE WAS, and THE COMING! This is the
literal rendition of the Greek text of Revelation 1:4.[21] It is
not grammatical in either Greek or English. And Moffatt stated,
"This is a deliberate violation of grammar to preserve the
immutability and absoluteness of the divine name."[22] The same
kind of violation of the pedantic rules of rhetoric is discernible
in Leviticus 16:8. (See further discussion of the false word Azazel
at end of this chapter.)COKE, ". And the Lord spake unto Moses,
after the death of the two sons of Aaron The death of the sons of
Aaron giving occasion for the declaration of the before-mentioned
laws; (see ch. Leviticus 10:10 and ch. 11:) they are here inserted,
and are to be read as in a parenthesis; and the present chapter is
to be considered as in natural dependence upon the tenth.ELLICOTT,
"(1) And the Lord spake unto Moses.As the observance of the minute
regulations given in the preceding chapters about the daily
sacrifices and purifications would necessarily be tainted with many
imperfections and shortcomings, both on the part of the mediating
priests and the offering laity, a general day of atonement is here
instituted, when priest and people are alike to obtain atonement
once a year for the sins which were mixed up even with their sacred
worship. The day of atonement enacted in the chapter before us is
therefore an appropriate conclusion of the laws of purification in
the preceding chapters. It is an annual supplement and completion
of all the ordinances which were daily practised, and the design of
which was to obtain atonement and reconciliation.
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After the death of the two sons of Aaron.That is, after Nadab
and Abihu, his two eldest sons, had died, in consequence of having
presumptuously entered the sanctuary in a profane manner, and at an
irregular time. (See Leviticus 10:1-2.)PETT, "IntroductionChapter
16 The Great Day of Atonement.We now come to a description of that
great Day to which all that has gone before looked forward, Israels
great Day of Atonement. Once every year this Day was to take place
in order to cancel out all of the past sins and uncleannesses of
Israel that had occurred since the previous Day of Atonement that
were not already seen as fully atoned for. All that remained
unatoned for, whether secret or public, would be dealt with on this
Day. Israel would, as it were, begin the coming year with a clean
sheet.This in itself spells out the failure of past offerings and
sacrifices to deal fully with sin, and the fact that the Day of
Atonement had to be kept every year demonstrated that its effect
too was temporary. But it was on that Day, and only on that Day,
that the High Priest was allowed to pass through the veil into the
inner sanctuary of the Holy of Holies in order to present the blood
of offerings in the actual earthly sanctum of Yahweh, His throne
room.The description of the Day fits aptly after the chapters on
uncleanness. Five chapters on uncleannesses prepare us for the
significance of this day. Patterned on Genesis they had spoken of
what was clean and unclean, with regard to cattle, clean birds and
fish, unclean animals, unclean birds and sea creatures, and
creeping things with which men came in contact (Genesis 1-3); they
had pointed to women in childbirth suffering through Eves sin and
producing children in uncleanness (Genesis 3:16); to mans
sinfulness and uncleanness as portrayed in those with suspicious
skin diseases which meant that they were cast out of the camp as
Adam was cast out of the Garden (Genesis 3:17); to mans clothing
which covered his nakedness (Genesis 3:21) and which could become
defiled; to the resultant triumphal return to God of the unclean
(Genesis 4:4; Genesis 4:26) made possible by Gods mercy; to the
establishing of houses in a city (Genesis 4:17) which too could
become unclean; and to the fact that through death, resulting from
the fact that man was now a sinner, springs up life (Genesis 5).
There would have been many instances of uncleanness in the camp
which had not been dealt with correctly and fully, and may even
have been hidden or overlooked, but all these would now be covered
by the Day of Atonement.And after Genesis 5 was to come the great
new beginning when the world was swept clean of sin in the flood
and man began again (Genesis 6-9). This was also the yearly
function of the Day of Atonement for Israel. Man in his
uncleannesses could find purification and atonement before God. The
uncleannesses resulting from Genesis 1-5 and from constant failure
to apply the laws of uncleannesses could be swept
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away. And this along with all the sins of Israel that previous
sacrifices had not been able to atone for. It was the day of
purification when the very presence of God was itself
approached.The Day followed exactly six months after the setting
aside of the lambs for the Feast of the Passover, and was followed
five days later by the Feast of Tabernacles/Booths, but unlike the
day of the setting aside of the Passover lambs and of the three
great feasts it was a day of solemnity and mourning for sin. It was
the supreme day of getting right with God. The acceptance of the
offerings by God on that day was seen as a symbol of hope for the
future.Verse 1And Yahweh spoke to Moses, after the death of the two
sons of Aaron, when they drew near before Yahweh, and died,These
words of Moses are timed as taking place after the death of the two
sons of Aaron in Leviticus 10:1-2. They had drawn near before
Yahweh and died because they offered what was false and behaved
foolishly. Now it was necessary that the High Priest offered what
was true, otherwise he too would die. But the laws of uncleanness
had previously been expounded on in order to fill out the need for
this day by stressing the daily uncleannesses of Israel. It
explained how a holy God could continue to dwell in a camp of such
uncleannesses. For in spite of the extreme efforts made to preserve
the holiness of the Sanctuary, it could not avoid being to some
extent tainted by surrounding and sometimes hidden and/or
unconscious uncleanness. TRAPP, "Leviticus 16:1 And the LORD spake
unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they
offered before the LORD, and died;Ver. 1. After the death.] That
others might be warned. Lege historiam, ne fias historia, saith
one.When they offered before the Lord.] A little strange fire might
seem a small matter in the eyes of indifferency: and yet it was
such a sin as made all Israel guilty, as appears by the sacrifices
offered for that sin, set down in this chapter.PULPIT, "THE
CEREMONIAL PURIFICATION OF THE WHOLE CONGREGATION ON THE GREAT DAY
OF ATONEMENT.This chapter, containing the account of the
institution of the ceremonial to be used on the Day of Atonement,
would take its place chronologically immediately after the tenth
chapter, for the instructions conveyed in it were delivered to
Moses "after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered
before the Lord and died" (Leviticus 16:1), when the fate of Nadab
and Abihu would naturally have led Aaron to desire a more perfect
knowledge than had as yet been imparted to him as to the
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manner in which he was to present himself before the Lord.
Logically it might either occupy its present position, as being the
great and culminating atoning and cleansing ceremony, or it might
be relegated to a place among the holy days in Leviticus 23:1-44,
where it is, in fact, shortly noticed. That it is placed here shows
that the most essential characteristic of the Day in the judgment
of the legislator is that of its serving as the occasion and the
means of "making an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and making an
atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the
altar, and for making an atonement for the priests, and for all the
people of the congregation" (Leviticus 23:33).Annually there
gathered over the camp, and over the sanctuary as situated in the
midst of the camp, a mass of defilement, arising in part from sins
whose guilt had not been removed by the punishment of the
offenders, and in part from uncleannesses which had not been
cleansed by sacrifices and the prescribed ceremonial rites.
Annually this defilement had to be atoned for or covered away from
the sight of God. This was done by the solemn observance of the
great Day of Atonement, and specially by the high priest's carrying
the blood of the sacrifices into the holy of holies, into which he
might enter on no other day of the year; while the consciousness of
deliverance from the guilt of sin was quickened on the part of the
people by their seeing the scapegoat "bear away upon him all their
iniquities unto a land not inhabited" (Leviticus 23:22).
2 The Lord said to Moses: Tell your brother Aaron that he is not
to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the
curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will
die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.
BARNES, "The holy place within the vail - See Exo_26:33-34;
Heb_9:3.13
-
The cloud - Compare Exo_16:10 note.The mercy seat - See
Exo_25:17 note.
CLARKE, "That he come not at all times into the holy place - By
the holy place we are to understand here what is ordinarily called
the Holy of Holies, or most holy place; that place within the veil
where the ark of the covenant, etc., were laid up; and where God
manifested his presence between the cherubim. In ordinary cases the
high priest could enter this place only once in the year, that is,
on the day of annual atonement; but in extraordinary cases he might
enter more frequently, viz., while in the wilderness, in decamping
and encamping, he must enter to take down or adjust the things; and
on solemn pressing public occasions, he was obliged to enter in
order to consult the Lord: but he never entered without the deepest
reverence and due preparation. That it may appear that the grand
subject of this chapter, the ordinance of the scape-goat, typified
the death and resurrection of Christ, and the atonement thereby
made, I beg leave to refer to Heb_9:7-12, and Heb_9:24-26, which I
shall here transcribe, because it is a key to the whole of this
chapter. Into the second [tabernacle] went the high priest alone
once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself,
and for the errors of the people. The Holy Ghost this signifying,
that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest,
while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: which was a figure
for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and
sacrifices that could not make him that did the service perfect, as
pertaining to the conscience; which stood only in meats and drinks,
and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until
the time of reformation. But Christ being come, a 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; neither by
the Blood of Goats and Calves, but by his Own Blood; he entered
into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For
Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which
are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear
in the presence of God for us: nor yet that he should offer himself
often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year
with the blood of others; (for then must he often have suffered
since the foundation of the world); but now once in the end of the
world, hath he appeared To Put Away Sin By The Sacrifice Of
Himself.
GILL, "And the Lord said unto Moses, speak unto Aaron thy
brother,.... Who was the high priest; and what is here said to him
was binding on all high priests in succession from him: that he
come not at all times into the holy place; or "holiness" (p), which
was holiness itself, or the most holy place, as distinguished from
that which was sometimes called the holy place, where stood the
incense altar, the showbread table, and the candlestick, into which
Aaron went every day, morning and evening, to do the service there
enjoined him; but into the holy of holies here described, as
appears by the after description of it, he might not go at all
times, or every day, or when he pleased, only once a year, on the
day of atonement; though, according to the Jewish writers, he went
in four times on that day, first to offer incense, a second time to
sprinkle the blood of the bullock, a third time to sprinkle the
blood of the goat, and a fourth time to fetch out the
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censer; and if he entered a fifth time, he was worthy of death
(q). Some have observed (r), that this respected Aaron only, and
not Moses; that though Aaron might not go in when he pleased, and
only at a time fixed, yet Moses might at any time, and consult the
Lord upon the mercy seat, see Exo_25:22. Pausanias makes mention of
several Heathen temples which were opened but once a year, as the
temples of Hades Dindymene, and Eurymone (s), and particularly the
temple of Minerva, into which only a priest entered once a year
(t); which perhaps was in imitation of the Jewish high priest:
within the vail, before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; this
is a description of the holy place, into which the high priest
might not go at any time, or at pleasure; it was within the vail
that divided between the holy place, and the most holy, where stood
the mercy seat, which was a lid or covering to the ark, at the two
ends of which were the cherubim, the seat of the divine Majesty;
which was a type of heaven for its holiness, being the habitation
of the holy God, Father, Son, and Spirit, and of holy angels, and
holy men, and where only holy services are performed; and for its
invisibility, where dwells the invisible God, where Christ in our
nature is at present unseen by us, and the glories of which are not
as yet to be beheld; only faith, hope, and love, enter within the
vail, and have to do with unseen objects there; and also for what
are in it, as the ark and mercy seat, types of Christ, through whom
mercy is communicated in a way of justice, he being the
propitiation and the fulfilling end of the law for righteousness.
And this caution was given to Aaron: that he die not; by appearing
in the presence of God without his leave and order: for I will
appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat; this one would think
should be a reason why he should not die, when he came into the
most holy place, because there was the mercy seat, and Jehovah on
it: and besides the cloud of incense on it, he went in with, for so
many understand by the cloud, the cloud of incense: thus Aben Ezra
says, the sense is, that he should not enter but with incense,
which would make a cloud, and so the glory not be seen, lest he
should die: and Jarchi observes, that the Midrash, or the more
mystical and subtle sense is, he shall not go in but with the cloud
of incense on the day of atonement; but the more simple meaning, or
plain sense of the words is, as the same writer notes, that whereas
he did continually appear there in the pillar of cloud; and because
his Shechinah or glorious Majesty is revealed there, he is
cautioned not to use himself to go in, i.e. at any time; with which
agrees the Targum of Jonathan,"for in my cloud the glory of my
Shechinah, or divine Majesty, shall be revealed upon the mercy
seat.''And this being the case, such a glory being there, though
wrapped up in a cloud and thick darkness, it was dangerous to enter
but by divine order.
HENRY, " The design of this law. One intention of it was to
preserve a veneration for the most holy place, within the veil,
where the shechinah, or divine glory, was pleased to dwell between
the cherubim: Speak unto Aaron, that he come not at all times into
the holy place, Lev_16:2. Before the veil some of the priests came
every day to burn incense upon the golden altar, but within the
veil none must ever come but the high priest only, and he but on
one day in the year, and with great ceremony and caution. That
place where God manifested his special presence must not be made
common. If none must come into the presence-chamber of an earthly
king uncalled, no, not the queen herself, upon pain of death
(Est_4:11), was it not requisite that the same sacred respect
should
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be paid to the Kings of kings? But see what a blessed change is
made by the gospel of Christ; all good Christians have now boldness
to enter into the holiest, through the veil, every day (Heb_10:19,
Heb_10:20); and we come boldly (not as Aaron must, with fear and
trembling) to the throne of grace, or mercy-seat, Heb_4:16. While
the manifestations of God's presence and grace were sensible, it
was requisite that they should thus be confined and upon reserve,
because the objects of sense the more familiar they are made the
less awful or delightful they become; but now that they are purely
spiritual it is otherwise, for the objects of faith the more they
are conversed with the more do they manifest of their greatness and
goodness: now therefore we are welcome to come at all times into
the holy place not made with hands, for we are made to sit together
with Christ in heavenly places by faith, Eph_2:6. Then Aaron must
not come near at all times, lest he die; we now must come near at
all times that we may live: it is distance only that is our death.
Then God appeared in the cloud upon the mercy-seat, but now with
open face we behold, not in a dark cloud, but in a clear glass, the
glory of the Lord, 2Co_3:18.JAMISON, "Speak unto Aaron thy brother,
that he come not at all times
into the holy place within the veil, etc. Common priests went
every day into the part of the sanctuary without the veil to burn
incense on the golden altar. But none except the high priest was
allowed to enter within the veil, and that only once a year with
the greatest care and solemnity. This arrangement was evidently
designed to inspire a reverence for the most holy place, and the
precaution was necessary at a time when the presence of God was
indicated by sensible symbols, the impression of which might have
been diminished or lost by daily and familiar observation.I will
appear in the cloud that is, the smoke of the incense which the
high priest burnt on his yearly entrance into the most holy place:
and this was the cloud which at that time covered the mercy
seat.
CALVIN, "2.Speak unto Aaron. The sum of the law is, that the
priest should not frequently enter the inner sanctuary, but only
once a year, i.e., on the feast of the atonement, in the month of
September. The cause of this was, lest a more frequent entrance of
it should produce indifference; for if he had entered it
promiscuously at every sacrifice, no small part of the reverence
due to it would have been lost. The ordinary sprinkling of the
altar was sufficient to testify the reconciliation; but this annual
ceremony more greatly influenced the peoples minds. Again, by this
sacrifice, which they saw only once at the end of the year, the one
and perpetual sacrifice offered by Gods Son was more clearly
represented. Therefore the Apostle elegantly alludes to this
ceremony in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where it is said that by
the annual entrance of the high priest the Holy Ghost
signified,"that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made
manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing,(Hebrews
9:8;)and a little further on he adds, that after Christ the true
Priest had come,"he entered in once into the holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us.
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(Hebrews 9:11.)Thus the year, in the ancient type, was a symbol
of the one offering, so that believers might understand that the
sacrifice, whereby God was to be propitiated, was not to be often
repeated. That God may inspire greater fear, and preserve the
priests from carelessness, He proclaims that His glory should
appear in the cloud in that part of the sanctuary where was the
mercy seat; for we know that the sign was given from hence to the
Israelites, when the camp was to be moved, or when they were to
remain stationary. But this testimony of Gods presence should have
justly moved the priests to greater care and attention; and hence
we may now learn, that the closer Gods majesty manifests itself,
the more anxiously should we beware, lest through our
thoughtlessness we should give any mark of contempt, but that we
should testify our submission with becoming humility and
modesty.COKE, "Verse 2Leviticus 16:2. Speak unto Aaron thy brother,
that he come not We have in this chapter an account of one of the
most solemn and important ceremonies of the law; to the spiritual
intent of which, we are immediately directed by the writer of the
epistle to the Hebrews. Spencer observes, that God wisely made the
ritual institutions of the Jews to answer a double end, both to
keep up a certain regard to the [Mosaic] modes and forms of
worship; and, at the same time, to exhibit a figure or shadow of a
new and better dispensation, which was to take place under the
Messiah. Thus the whole ceremony practised at the solemn feast of
expiation, appears to have been typical, and intended to prefigure
the great atonement made by Jesus Christ, the High-Priest of our
profession. Accordingly, the writer to the Hebrews observes, that
the high-priest entering once a year into the holy of holies with
the blood of the sacrifice, figured Christ's entering into heaven
by his own blood, to obtain eternal redemption for us. (Hebrews
9:11; Hebrews 9:28.) And because Christ's death and resurrection
could not both be fitly shadowed out by one animal, which the
priest, having once killed, could not again make alive; therefore
God appointed two; that in the slain animal Christ's death, and in
the living one his life and victory, might be foreshewed; see ch.
Leviticus 14:5. With this key, the reader will better understand
the whole of this chapter. The high-priest, according to his
office, went every day, morning and evening, into the holy place:
but here it is enjoined, that he enter not into the holy place
within the vail, which is commonly called the most holy place,
except only upon one day in the year, that of expiation for the
sins of the whole people, Hebrews 9:7. It is true, upon
extraordinary occasions the high-priest was allowed to go within
the vail; as for the purpose of consulting the oracle, &c. but
otherwise he was allowed in ordinary to enter but once a year; a
prohibition, which, some have imagined, arose from Aaron's sons
breaking into the most holy place, there to offer incense; and
which presumption, according to these commentators, occasioned
their death. But the reason is subjoined why Aaron should not
presume to come within the vail without due preparation: though
that reason does not strike us through our translation; for I will
appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat: it should be rendered,
when I shall
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appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat; ne moriatur tum cum ego
in nube apparebo super propitiatorium, says Houbigant; i.e. "lest
if he shall enter the most holy without due preparation, and more
than once in a year, he may perish through that very cloud, in
which I am about to appear. Approaching my presence improperly and
unbidden, may procure him death; for to such that Presence is
death;" see Exodus 19:21; Exodus 19:25. Some think that the cloud
here mentioned, means the cloud of incense arising from the censer
brought into the holy of holies by the high-priest. We may just
remark, that several of the heathen nations had sacred places, or
adyta, which were entered but once a year, no doubt, after this
example; see Outram de Sacrif. lib. 1: cap. 3.ELLICOTT, " (2) That
he come not at all times.Moses is therefore to warn his brother
Aaron, the high priest, that if he wishes to escape a similar fate,
he is not to presume to enter the Holy of Holies except on one day
of the year, the Day of Atonement. As Aaron here stands for all
those who in future are to succeed him in the pontificate, so
Moses, who teaches him his duty, stands for his successors who are
hereafter to impart instruction to the high priests on these most
solemn occasions. Hence during the second Temple the tuition and
preparation of the high priest for his functions devolved upon the
Sanhedrin, who prescribed most minute rules for his guidance. Seven
days before the Day of Atonement he was separated from his wife,
and lodged in a chamber in the Temple, lest he should contract
defilement, which might unfit him for the performance of his
pontifical duties. The elders or the representatives of the
Sanhedrin read and expounded to him the ordinances contained in
this chapter; which he had to practise in their [presence, so as to
make sure that he could rightly perform all the ceremonies. This
continued during the whole night previous to the Day of Atonement,
when he was kept awake, so as to prevent any pollution arising from
a dream or accident by night.He read, in the silent hours of
darkness, the Books of Job, Daniel, Ezra, and Chronicles; and if he
was no scholar, and could not read, the elders read them to him. As
it was deemed important that he should not fall asleep, the priests
who surrounded him alternately snapped their fingers, and made him
walk on the cold pavement of the court. When the chief of the
thirteen priests who were appointed to perform the ordinary duties
in connection with the service in the sanctuary had ascertained
that the morning had dawned, that the ashes had been removed from
the brazen altar, and that the time of the early sacrifice had
arrived, the high priest was conducted to the baptistery, where he
immersed his whole body in water.Into the holy place.This is here
more minutely defined by within the vail, thus showing that the
Holy of Holies is meant. In the succeeding portions of this
chapter, however, the expression holy is used for Holy of Holies
without this adjunct. (See Leviticus 16:3; Leviticus 16:16-17;
Leviticus 16:20; Leviticus 16:27.)Before the mercy seat, which is
upon the ark.Or, according to the accents of the received text, nor
come to the mercy seat, which, &c. The present text exhibits
the view of the Phariseesthat the high priest, though at some
distance from the ark, is
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yet hid through the frankincense on the burning coals in the
Holy of Holies itself (see Leviticus 16:12-13); whilst the
Sadducees maintained that he must put it on the coals already in
the court, because they deemed it improper to work in the presence
of the Lord, and because the pontiff would otherwise see the ark.
The Authorised Version, therefore, here, as elsewhere, follows the
view of the Sadducees, and departs from the received accents, which
are an essential part of the traditional text.For I will appear in
the cloud.That is, because the Lord appeared over the mercy seat
and between the cherubim in the bright luminous cloud which
constituted the symbol of His Divine presence (see Exodus 25:22),
therefore even the high priest must not approach it except on the
occasion here prescribed. The Sadducees, however, render it, only
in the cloud of incense will I be seen on the cover, that is, in
the cloud arising from the burning incense which the high priest is
to produce by fumigation before he enters the Holy of Holies, and
which is to conceal the manifested Deity.PETT, "Verse 2And Yahweh
said to Moses, Speak to Aaron your brother, that he come not at all
times into the holy place within the veil, before the mercy-seat
which is on the ark, that he die not. For I will appear in the
cloud on the mercy-seat. Gods first warning is that Aaron recognise
that the High Priest does not have the right to enter the Holy of
Holies, the holy place within the veil, except by strict
permission, that permission being given only on the Day of
Atonement. He does not have unrestricted access. For while God
appears in the cloud on the mercy-seat, man may approach Him, apart
from on the Day of Atonement, only from the other side of the veil.
He cannot enter the throne room. To approach the mercy-seat direct
could only be a once in the year experience. The Holy Spirit
signifying this, that the way into the Holy of Holies was not yet
opened up, while the first tabernacle was still standing (Hebrews
9:8). The veil said, thus far shall you come and no further.The
cloud was presumably the cloud that had accompanied Israel from
Egypt, the cloud of His presence which by night became a fire
(Exodus 13:21-22 and often).We are reminded here of how when God
revealed His glory on the face of Moses the people were afraid to
come near him, and he had to veil his face. None but Moses could
cope with the glory of God, until One came whose face also shone
like the sun revealing His Fathers glory (Matthew 17:2; John 1:14;
John 1:18). Thus the need for the veil and the cloud.The
propitiatory or mercy-seat was the covering on the Ark of the
Covenant of Yahweh, where atonement could be made and man become
reconciled to God. It was the kapporeth, literally the place of
propitiation, the place where reconciliation and atonement was
finally performed. This was a solid gold slab on which were the two
cherubim at either end looking inward. It was the same size as
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the chest which it covered. It comes from the root kpr (to
cover) and the conjugation used signifies the place where sins are
fully covered so that they are no longer seen by God and held
against the sinner (Jeremiah 18:23). It is the place of
propitiation and expiation, the place where the punishment for sin
was met by the shedding of blood, the place of atonement, of
reconciliation, where He and His people were made at one. There is
also a suggestion behind it that it is the earthly throne of Yahweh
between the cherubim.The writer to the Hebrews in the New Testament
very much has this Day in mind in Hebrews 9-10, seeing its real
fulfilment in the offering up of Jesus Christ on our behalf by
Himself as our great High Priest. That once-for-all offering of
Himself would replace for ever this Day of Atonement, and all the
other offerings, sacrifices and rituals of this earthly tabernacle.
BENSON. "Leviticus 16:2. That he come not at all times Not
whensoever he pleaseth, but only when I shall appoint. Into the
holy place without the veil, the high- priest, or one of the
inferior priests, went every morning and evening when they offered
incense but into this holy place within the veil, commonly called
the holy of holies, or the most holy place, as none but the
high-priest was to enter, so neither was he to enter it at all
times, as a common place of worship, or to perform divine service
there at his pleasure. He was ordinarily to enter it only once a
year, and that on the great day of atonement, or expiation for the
transgressions of the whole Israelitish nation. Upon extraordinary
occasions, he might also enter it oftener, as when he was to
consult the oracle of God, or when the tabernacle was to be taken
down or set up, according to the journeyings of the people. Lest he
die For his presumption. For I will appear in the cloud A bright
and glorious cloud over the mercy-seat. This sacred apartment he
was to look upon as the place of the special residence of the
divine glory, and therefore was not to enter there but when
appointed, and in such a manner as God directed.WHEDON, " 2. Come
not at all times Many of the ancient pagan shrines were
inaccessible, and hence they were called adytum and abaton, not to
be approached. This seclusion of the idol within the penetralia of
the temple was requisite in order to preserve the veneration of the
people, through the operation of that law of the human mind by
which the mysterious is clothed by the imagination with
extraordinary qualities. But no such reason is the ground of this
prohibition. Jehovahs majesty needs no imaginary splendours. The
old covenant says, Obey and live, disobey and die; the new one
says, Believe and be saved, believe not and be damned. Both
covenants are essentially the same, inasmuch as faith is the root
of obedience, and unbelief and disobedience are in the New
Testament expressed by the same word .In the cloud Not the cloud of
incense required to soften the insufferable splendours of the
shekinah, but the shekinah itself. Hence the Targum of Jonathan,
The glory of my shekinah shall be revealed. A resplendence beamed
forth from between the cherubim; but to make the vision supportable
to mortal eyes God hid
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himself while revealing himself. The cloud is the same as that
mentioned in Exodus xl, which appeared over the mercy seat whenever
the high priest came before it. The rabbins postulate a cloud
continually hanging over the cherubim. Luther, on the contrary,
says that over the propitiatory and cherubim there was nothing
located which might be seen, but by faith only was God believed to
be seated there. In the Scriptures the manifested glory of the Son
of Man, the Jehovah of the Old Testament, is often associated with
a cloud. Daniel 7:13; Revelation 1:7.The mercy seat We are required
by the truth to say that this expression, so poetical and so
consolatory to the God-fearing soul, is not a literal translation
of the original Hebrew, capporeth, the cover of the ark, in which
were enshrined the tables of the law. This cover was underneath the
luminous cloud, and hence was the footstool or throne of Jehovah,
as the sanctuary in which it was placed is called the place for
thee to dwell in. Exodus 15:17. The capporeth was a massive gold
plate equal to the ark in length and breadth, at either end of
which was a solid golden cherub. We find no scripture to sustain
Ewalds assertion that the ark had a cover distinct from this plate,
yet it is usually mentioned separately. Exodus 25:17. The word
capporeth may be derived from the Piel form of the verb caphar, to
cover, in which form it signifies to make atonement; it is very
doubtful whether the noun ever signifies an instrument of
propitiation (propitiatorium, Vulgate, , the Seventy) in the
Pentateuch. Yet it is more probable that in later Hebrew, as in 1
Chronicles 28:11, it acquired the additional meaning of an
atonement for sin. This relieves the writer of the Epistle to the
Hebrews of the imputation made by Furst, that he adopted a gloss in
Hebrews 9:5. In Hebrews 4:16 the capporeth is very beautifully
styled the throne of grace, to which we may come, not with
trembling and overwhelming awe, as did the high priest, but
boldly.TRAPP, "Leviticus 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.Ver. 2. that he come not at all times.] Whensoever he
pleaseth, but when I appoint him, i.e., once a year only, [Exodus
30:10] and then also with reverence and godly fear. God, as he
loves to be acquainted with men in the walks of their obedience, so
he takes state upon him in his ordinances, and will be trembled at
in his judgments.PULPIT, "Leviticus 16:2Speak 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. Nadab and Abihu having died for their rash presumption in
venturing unbidden into the tabernacle, it was natural that Aaron,
who had as yet but once penetrated into the holy of holies, should
be struck with fear, and that he should desire Divine instruction
as to the times and manner in which he was to appear before the
Lord, lest he should be struck dead like his sons. If the attempt
to enter the outer chamber
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of the tabernacle had been so fatal to them, what might not be
the result to him of entering within the vail which hung before the
mercy-seat which is upon the ark? The mercy-seatcapporeth, ,
propitiatoriumformed the top of the ark, and was the place where
God specially exhibited his Presence, on the occasions of his
manifestation, by the bright cloud which then rested upon it
between the cherubim. It was this Presence which made it perilous
for Aaron to appear within the vail unbidden or without the
becoming ritual; for man might not meet God unless he were
sanctified for the purpose (Exodus 19:14, Exodus 19:21-24; 1 Samuel
6:19). The words, for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy
seat, refer to the Divine Presence thus visibly manifested (see 1
Kings 8:10-12), and not, as they have strangely been
misinterpreted, to the cloud of smoke raised by the incense burnt
by the high priest on his entrance. They do not, however, prove
that the manifestation was constantly there, still less that it was
continued, according to Jewish tradition, in later times. "The
reason for the prohibition of Aaron's entrance at his own pleasure,
or without the expiatory blood of sacrifice, is to be found in the
fact that the holiness communicated to the priest did not cancel
the sin of his nature, but only covered it over for the performance
of his official duties; and so long as the Law, which produced only
the knowledge of sin, and not its forgiveness and removal, was not
abolished by the complete atonement, the holy God was and remained
to mortal and sinful man a consuming fire, before which no one
could stand" (Keil).BI 2-3, "I will appear in the cloud.Jehovah
appearing in a cloudI. The cloudy dispensations. By a cloud I
understand a density approaching to darkness and gloom; and yet
that very density and darkness inhabited by the glory of God. If
the glory of God were to burst upon us without a cloud, it would be
nothing less than a consuming fire. The Church of God has to pass
through dispensations that are cloudy in her public capacity, in
Gods providential dealings with her individual members. Look, for
instance, at the Church of God as a body at the present time. Is
she not beclouded? Are there not clouds of ignorance, superstition,
idolatry, despotic powerclouds of carnal wickedness under the name
of Christianity, overspreading Zion? The cloud is still more dense
when it overwhelms the soul, as it regards its conflicts when
darkness overspreads the mind, and the poor believer cannot pray,
cannot sing, nor cannot believe.II. The appearance that is
promised. I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat. He
appears as a wonder-working God; and when in any of the
dispensations to which I have referred, the hand of God is seen,
how are the souls of Gods people filled with awe! I will appear. Is
it the Church that is overwhelmed with a cloud? I will appear for
her deliverance, though I may suffer her to pass through fire and
through water first. Is it Providence that is mysteriousevery hope
cut off, all prospects darkened? I will appear, says Jehovah. Mark
the promiseit is positiveI will appear. The cattle upon a thousand
hills are His property; the gold and the silver He declares are all
His own; the hearts of kings are in His hands, and He turns them as
rivers of water as He pleases. So that He appears working wonders
frequently in the world, and those very things which were most
threatening appear to be the very things that God was making use of
for the real advantage of His people.
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III. The mercy displayed. It is the mercy of the Triune Jehovah,
the gift of mercy from God the Fatherimmutable, eternal, covenant
mercythe mercy of God. That mercy is fully and freely displayed in
the person of Christ; yea, more, so far as regards our view of
itthe mercy of God the Father laid up from everlasting, recorded in
the covenant, fixed in decree, is, to a certain extent, concealed
from us, until we discover it in the person of Christ. But when we
are brought to view Him as the mercy promised, and then mark the
display of that mercy in His incarnation, in His obedience, in His
merit, in His blood, in His sufferings, in His victories, in His
present employment before the throne, why He is all mercymercy
embodied in the person of the glorious Mediator. And then, if we
look at the merciful dealings of God the Holy Ghost with His
people, in melting their hearts, making them new creatures, giving
them life Divine, perfecting the work He has first commenced in
personal experiencewhy we come to this conclusion that our God,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is the God of mercy, a merciful God.
Then mark the transcendent glory of this mercy, how it is displayed
in the face of misery, and rebellion, and ingratitude, and all our
wanderings, and all our wants.IV. The effects which follow when
Jehovah comes down and appears in the midst of the cloud. It is not
merely for a momentary interposition, but for a permanent
deliverance, and mercies may be expected by all the praying seed of
Jacob. Now allow a familiar illustration here. If a benevolent
individual, very wealthy, were accustomed to take a seat, as they
used to do in olden times, at the gate of the city, or in any other
place of public concourse, and to do so for the very purpose of
distributing his bounty, would not that gate be crowded? Who would
not go there? Even if we did not want pecuniary alms, if honours,
jewels were to be distributed by this person, who would not be
there? Who would not receive some token of the kindness and favour
of such an one? My hearer, is it not grievous that you and I are
not oftener at the mercy-seat? (J. Irons.)
The concealing cloudI once visited an invalid woman. She had
been confined to bed for a long time, and when I spoke to her, she
said: I think the Lord has forgotten me altogether. The eye of
faith had grown dim through bodily weakness, and I replied to her,
Did you ever go down the river and see the lighthouse? She said she
had. Well, suppose you lived on the opposite side from it, and one
day the mist came down, and it grew so thick that you could not see
the lighthouse on the other side; would you believe it was there?
Oh, yes, she said, because I had seen it before. And there is
another thing would make you believe, I said; you would hear the
shrill whistle coming from the lighthouse warning mariners of the
danger that was near. In the same way you should believe that the
Lord is still near you; that He has not forgotten you, although a
cloud has come between you and God; if you will but listen, you
will hear His voice speaking to you; the mist will soon roll away
if you look right at Him with the eye of faith. She did look, and
beheld Jesus as precious to her as ever. (J. Cameron.)
3 This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy 23
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Place: He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering[a]
and a ram for a burnt offering.
BARNES, "Holy place - This name here denotes the sanctuary, the
whole sacred enclosure, the court of the tabernacle. The offerings
were for Aaron and his sons, supplied by himself.
CLARKE, "With a young bullock for a sin-offering - The bullock
was presented as a sin-offering for himself, his family, the whole
priesthood, and probably the Levites. The ram was for a
burnt-offering, to signify that he and his associates were wholly
consecrated, and to be wholly employed in this work of the
ministry. The ceremonies with which these two sacrifices were
accompanied are detailed in the following verses.
GILL, "Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place,.... The most
holy place; and this was after he had offered the daily sacrifice
of the morning, and had performed the rest of the service then
done, as Gersom observes; such as burning the incense and trimming
the lamps, for no offering preceded the daily sacrifice: with a
young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering;
which were both for himself and his family; and such were the
weakness, imperfection, and insufficiency of the Levitical
priesthood, and priests, that they were obliged first to offer for
their own sins, and then for the sins of the people: the meaning is
not, as Aben Ezra says, that he should bring the bullock into the
holy place, only that he should first give of his own a bullock for
a sin offering, to atone for himself, and for the priests; nor
could it be the body of the bullock he brought, only the blood of
it into the most holy place, where he entered not without blood,
first with the blood of the bullock, and then with the blood of the
goat; for the body of the bullock for a sin offering was burnt
without the camp, and the body of the ram for the burnt offering
was burnt upon the altar of burnt offering; see Heb_9:7.
HENRY, "The person to whom the work of this day was committed,
and that was the high priest only: Thus shall Aaron come into the
holy place, Lev_16:3. He was to do all himself upon the day of
atonement: only there was a second provided to be his substitute or
supporter, in case any thing should befal him, either of sickness
or ceremonial uncleanness, that he could not perform the service of
the day. All Christians are spiritual priests, but Christ only is
the high priest, and he alone it is that makes atonement, nor
needed he either assistant or substitute.
JAMISON 3-4, "Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place As the
duties of the great day of atonement led to the nearest and most
solemn approach to God, the
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directions as to the proper course to be followed were minute
and special.with a young bullock ... and a ram These victims he
brought alive, but they were not offered in sacrifice till he had
gone through the ceremonies described between Lev_16:3-11. He was
not to attire himself on that occasion in the splendid robes that
were proper to his sacred office, but in a plain dress of linen,
like the common Levites, for, as he was then to make atonement for
his own sins, as well as for those of the people, he was to appear
in the humble character of a suppliant. That plain dress was more
in harmony with a season of humiliation (as well as lighter and
more convenient for the duties which on that occasion he had singly
to perform) than the gorgeous robes of the pontificate. It showed
that when all appeared as sinners, the highest and lowest were then
on a level, and that there is no distinction of persons with God
[Act_10:34].
K&D 3-5, "Only , with this, i.e., with the sacrifices,
dress, purifications, and means of expiation mentioned afterwards,
could he go into the holy place, i.e., according to the more
precise description in Lev_16:2, into the inmost division of the
tabernacle, which is called Kodesh hakkadashim, the holy of holies,
in Exo_26:33. He was to bring an ox (bullock) for a sin-offering
and a ram for a burnt-offering, as a sacrifice for himself and his
house (i.e., the priesthood, Lev_16:6), and two he-goats for a
sin-offering and a ram for a burnt-offering, as a sacrifice for the
congregation. For this purpose he was to put on, not the
state-costume of the high priest, but a body-coat, drawers, girdle,
and head-dress of white cloth (bad: see Exo_28:42), having first
bathed his body, and not merely his hands and feet, as he did for
the ordinary service, to appear before Jehovah as entirely cleansed
from the defilement of sin (see at Lev_8:6) and arrayed in clothes
of holiness. The dress of white cloth was not the plain official
dress of the ordinary priests, for the girdle of that dress was
coloured (see at Exo_28:39-40); and in that case the high priest
would not have appeared in the perfect purity of his divinely
appointed office as chief of the priesthood, but simply as the
priest appointed for this day (v. Hoffmann). Nor did he officiate
(as many of the Rabbins, and also C. a Lapide, Grotius, Rosenmller,
and Knobel suppose) as a penitent praying humbly for the
forgiveness of sin. For where in all the world have clear white
clothes been worn either in mourning or as a penitential garment?
The emphatic expression, these are holy garments, is a sufficient
proof that the pure white colour of all the clothes, even of the
girdle, was intended as a representation of holiness. Although in
Exo_28:2, Exo_28:4, etc., the official dress not only of Aaron, but
of his sons also, that is to say, the priestly costume generally,
is described as holy garments, yet in the present chapter the word
kodesh, holy, is frequently used in an emphatic sense (for example,
in Lev_16:2, Lev_16:3, Lev_16:16, of the most holy place of the
dwelling), and by this predicate the dress is characterized as most
holy. Moreover, it was in baddim (linen) that the angel of Jehovah
was clothed (Eze_9:2-3, Eze_9:11; Eze_10:2, Eze_10:6-7, and
Dan_10:5; Dan_12:6-7), whose whole appearance, as described in
Dan_10:6, resembled the appearance of the glory of Jehovah, which
Ezekiel saw in the vision of the four cherubim (ch. 1), and was
almost exactly like the glory of Jesus Christ, which John saw in
the Revelation (Rev_1:13-15). The white material, therefore, of the
dress which Aaron wore, when performing the highest act of
expiation under the Old Testament, was a symbolical shadowing forth
of the holiness and glory of the one perfect Mediator between God
and man, who, being the radiation of the glory of God and the image
of His nature, effected
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by Himself the perfect cleansing away of our sin, and who, as
the true High Priest, being holy, innocent, unspotted, and separate
from sinners, entered once by His own blood into the holy place not
made with hands, namely, into heaven itself, to appear before the
face of God for us, and obtain everlasting redemption (Heb_1:3;
Heb_7:26; Heb_9:12, Heb_9:24).
CALVIN, "3.Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place. The rites
and formality are now described; first, that Aaron should put on
the holy garments, and wash his person; secondly, that he should
offer a bullock and ram for a burnt-offering; thirdly, that he
should take two goats from the people, one of which should be sent
away alive, and the other slain in sacrifice. We have stated
elsewhere why the priests were to be dressed in garments different
from others, since he who is the mediator between God and men
should be free from all impurity and stain; and since no mortal
could truly supply this, a type was substituted in place of the
reality, from whence believers might learn that another Mediator
was to be expected; because the dignity of the sons of Aaron was
only typical, and not true and substantial. For whenever the priest
stripped himself of his own garments, and assumed those which were
holy and separated from common use, it was equivalent to declaring
openly that he represented another person. But if this symbol were
not sufficient, the ablution again taught that none of the sons of
Aaron was the genuine propitiator; for how could he purify others,
who himself required purification, and made open confession of his
uncleanness? A third symbol also was added; for he who by a
sacrifice of his own atoned for himself and his house, how was he
capable of meriting Gods favor for others? Thus then the holy
fathers were reminded, that under the image of a mortal man,
another Mediator was promised, who, for the reconciliation of the
human race, should present Himself before God with perfect and more
than angelical purity. Besides, in the person of the priest there
was exhibited to the people a spectacle of the corruption whereby
the whole human race is defiled, so as to be abominable to God; for
if the priest, both chosen by God, and graced with the sacred
unction, was still unworthy on the score of his uncleanness to come
near the altar, what dignity could be discoverable in the people?
And hence to us now-a-days also very useful instruction is derived;
viz., that when the question arises how God is to be propitiated,
we are not to look this way and that way; since out of Christ there
is no purity and innocence which can satisfy the justice of God.
COKE, "Leviticus 16:3. Thus shall Aaron come,with a young bullock,
&c. Two solemn sacrifices were to be offered by the high-priest
for himself and his family, (Leviticus 16:6.in which family, some
have thought, are included not only the priests, but the Levites
also) preparatory to his entrance into the holy of holies: a
sin-offering, in confession of his own weakness, and need of a
better intercessor; see ch. Leviticus 4:3. Hebrews 7:27 and a
burnt-offering, in token of his entire dedication of himself to
God.ELLICOTT, "Verse 3
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(3) Thus shall Aaron come.Better, With this shall, &c, that
is, with the following sacrifices, ritual, vestments, &c, shall
he approach the most holy place, after having offered previously
the daily morning sacrifice, and performed the ordinary daily
service. During the performance of the morning service the high
priest, at the time of Christ, wore the golden vestments. These he
changed for the white garments before he commenced the special
ritual prescribed for this day.With a young bullock for a sin
offering.Which had to be of the second year (see Exodus 29:1), and
which the high priest had to buy with his own money. It was to be
his own property because the victim was to expiate his own sins,
since he, like the meanest sinner, required Divine mercy and
forgiveness, though, owing to his high office, he had to bring a
more costly sacrifice.PETT, "Verse 3With this shall Aaron come into
the holy place, with a young bull ox for a purification for sin
offering, and a ram for a whole burnt offering.On this day, after
the morning whole burnt offering (a lamb of the first year) had
been offered with its accompanying grain offering, Aarons approach
to Yahweh had to commence with offerings for himself and the
priests. These would consist of a young bull ox for a purification
for sin offering and a ram for a whole burnt offering. He must make
sacrifices first for himself (Hebrews 5:3; Hebrews 9:7). He too was
a sinner in need of atonement.How much different was this from our
great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who was without sin,
Whose perfections and Whose perfect life and Whose total obedience
fitted Him for His office with no need of sacrifice (Hebrews
7:26-27). BENSON, "Leviticus 16:3. Thus shall Aaron come
Preparatory to his entering on this solemn service the high-priest
was to offer two sacrifices in behalf of himself and his family.
These were, 1st, A bullock for a sin-offering, (no other sacrifice
being allowed for the sin of a high-priest,) in confession of his
own infirmities and transgressions, and those of his family, and to
put him in mind that he needed pardon himself, and was but an
imperfect intercessor with God, Hebrews 7:27; Hebrews 9:7. 2d, A
ram for a burnt- offering, in token of his dedicating himself
wholly to God, with a promise of new obedience. See note on
Leviticus 1:3. Aaron shall come into the holy place with the
bullock That is, with the blood of it; for its body was to be
offered upon the altar of burnt-offerings.WHEDON, " AN OUTLINE OF
THE WHOLE CEREMONIAL, Leviticus 16:3-10.3. Holy place This is here
used, not for the court of the priests, but for the holy of
holies.Bullock The high office of Aaron requires the greatest of
the sin offerings. See
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chap. 4, concluding notes. (4.) Note the presumption, that this
high official had so failed to keep the holy law of God that he
annually needed an offering not only for his conscious and wilful
sins, but also for his inadvertencies, ignorances, and
errors.Hebrews 5:2. See concluding notes to chap. 4.PULPIT,
"Leviticus 16:3Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place. "Thus"
would be translated more literally by With this. He must come
supplied with the specified offerings, dressed in the appointed
manner and using the ceremonial here designated. The efficacy of
the acts of the high priest on this day and throughout his
ministrations depended not upon his individual but on his official
character, and on his obedience to the various commandments
positively enjoined. Personal worthiness would not qualify him for
his service, nor personal unworthiness hinder the effect of his
liturgical acts (cf. Art. 26, 'Of the Unworthiness of the
Ministers, which hinders not the effect of the Sacrament'). Aaron's
special offerings for himself on this great day are to be a young
bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.BI 3-34,
"Make an atonement.The annual atonementBefore Adam transgressed he
lived in communion with God, but after he had broken the covenant
he could have no more familiar fellowship with God. Under the
Mosaic dispensation, in which God was pleased in His grace to dwell
among His people and walk with them in the wilderness, it was still
under a reserve: there was a Holy Place wherein the symbol of Gods
presence was hidden away from mortal gaze. No man might come near
to it except in one only way, and then only once in the year, The
Holy Ghost thus signifying that the way into the holiest of all was
not yet made manifest, while as the first Tabernacle was yet
standing. Our subject illustrates the appointed way of access to
God. This chapter shows that the way of access to God is by
atonement, and by no other method. I want you to notice that, of
course, this was only a type. The great Day of Atonement did not
see an actual atonement made, nor sin really put away; but it was
the figure of heavenly things to come. The substance is of
Christ.I. Now, then, let us come to the text, and note, first, what
was done on that particular day. The text tells us what was done
symbolicallyOn 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.
1. The persons themselves were cleansed. If any of them had
become unclean so as to be denied communion with God and His
people, they were made clean, so that they might go up to the
Tabernacle, and mingle with the congregation. All the host were
that morning regarded as unclean, and all had to bow their heads in
penitent sorrow because of their uncleanness. After the sacrifice
and the sending away of the scapegoat the whole congregation was
clean and in a condition to rejoice. It is a far simpler thing to
remove outward stains than it is to purge the very substance and
nature of man; yet this is what was done on the Day of Atonement
typically, and this is what our redeeming Lord actually does for
us. We are outlaws, and His atonement 28
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purges us of outlawry, and makes us citizens; we are lepers, and
by His stripes we are so healed as to be received among the
clean.2. Their persons being made clean, they were also purged of
all the sins confessed. Sin that is confessed is evidently real
sin, and not a mere dream of a morbid conscience. There is a
certain mythical cloud of sin which people talk about, and affect
to deplore, and yet they have no sense of the solid heinousness of
their actual iniquity. Sin confessed with tears, sin which causes
the very heart to bleedkilling sinthis is the kind of sin for which
Jesus died. Sin which you dare not confess to man, but acknowledge
only as you lay your hand upon the Divine sacrificesuch sin the
Lord removes from you. The passage is very particular to mention
all sins. The goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities. This
includes every form of stir, of thought, of word, of deed, of
pride, of falsehood, of lust, of malice, of blasphemy. This
comprehends crimes against man, and offences against God, of
peculiar blackness; and it does not exclude sins of inadvertence,
or carelessness, or of omission. Transgressions of the body, the
intellect, the affections are all blotted out.3. It seems that the
Divine atonement puts away the sin of sinthe essence and heart of
sin. Sin has its core, its mortal spot, within each iniquity there
seems to lie a something more essentially evil than the act itself:
this is the inner hate of the mind. Whatever may be the sin of the
soul, or the soul of the sin, atonement has been made for it all.
The Lord Jesus has not left upon those for whom He has made
atonement a single spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, so far as
their justification is concerned. He has not left an iniquity for
which they can be condemned before the bar of judgment. Ye are
clean every whit is His sure verdict, and none can contradict it4.
Not only were all the sins that they had committed put away, but
also all their holy things were purged. I do feel so glad that our
Lord has atoned for the sins of our holy things. I feel so glad
that Jesus has purified our prayers. Many saints spend much time in
hearty, earnest cries to God; but even on your knees you sin; and
herein is our comfortthat the precious blood has made atonement for
the shortcomings of our supplications. We need pardon for our
psalms and cleansing for our hymns. Jesus puts away not only our
unholy things, but the sins of our holy things also.5. Once more,
on that day all the people were cleansed. This gives great comfort
to those of us who love the souls of the multitude. All who believe
are justified from all things.
II. Now we notice, in the second place, how it was done.1. The
atonement was made first of all by sacrifice. We know that the
blood of bulls and of goats could never take away sin; but very
distinctly do these point to the sufferings of our Redeemer. The
woes He bore are the expiation for our guilt.2. Notice, next, that
the atonement was made not only by the blood of sacrifice, but by
the presentation of the blood within the veil. With the smoke of
incense and a bowl filled with blood Aaron passed into the most
Holy Place. Let us never forget that our Lord has gone into the
heavenly places with better sacrifices than Aaron could present.
His merits are the sweet incense which burns before the throne of
the heavenly grace. His death supplies that blood of sprinkling
which we find even in heaven.3. Furthermore, atonement was made
effectual by its application to the thing or person cleansed. The
atonement w