LEVITICUS 41
We began the study of the way the offering is made in the holy of
holies in the last lesson. The only one permitted to go into the holy
of holies is Aaron, the high priest, and him only, one time a year.
Every detail must be carried out to the letter, or God will kill him.
He learned this the hard way when 2 of his sons carried strange fire
into the tabernacle, and God killed them.
Now we will continue in Leviticus 16:15 "Then shall he kill the
goat of the sin offering, that [is] for the people, and bring his
blood within the veil, and do with that blood as he did with the blood
of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the
mercy seat:"
The offering of the blood of the bullock, in the last lesson, was
to make him acceptable to God to bring the blood of the sin offering
into the holiest place for the congregation. Symbolically it was as if
the sins of the people were under this blood that he sprinkled. We
have said it before, but it bears repeating, this blood sprinkled
could not clear the conscience of the person being offered for. It
could only cover the sin, not do away with it. Only the blood of Jesus
Christ can clear the conscience.
Leviticus 16:16 "And he shall make an atonement for the holy
[place], because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and
because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do
for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in
the midst of their uncleanness."
We see that even the tabernacle must be sacrificed for, because
the place that it was set up was in the midst of a sinful people. Just
as Aaron had to sacrifice for himself first, and then for the people.
God is a holy God.
Leviticus 16:17 "And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of
the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy
[place], until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself,
and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel."
Not only could no one except Aaron go into the holiest place, but
there could not any of the congregation even be in the tabernacle when
Aaron was in the holiest place. Any error, in the way the offering was
made, could cause death.
Leviticus 16:18 "And he shall go out unto the altar that [is]
before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the
blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put [it] upon
the horns of the altar round about."
The cleansing of the altar itself must be done with blood. We
mentioned before that the blood on the horns symbolizes that the power
was in the blood.
Leviticus 16:19 "And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with
his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the
uncleanness of the children of Israel."
Again we see that the 7 times completes the cleansing. The
holiness of God is very evident.
Leviticus 16:20 "And when he hath made an end of reconciling the
holy [place], and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar,
he shall bring the live goat:" Leviticus 16:21 "And Aaron shall lay
both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him
all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their
transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the
goat, and shall send [him] away by the hand of a fit man into the
wilderness:"
We mentioned earlier, that the blood of these animals could only
cover the sin. It could not clear the conscience. In these verses
above, Aaron puts both of his hands on the live goat. While both his
hands are on the head of the live goat, he confesses all the sins of
the people. Just as the other animal shed his blood to cover the sins,
this live goat will be sent into the wilderness bearing the sins out
of their sight. Both animals symbolize what Jesus has done for us. He
shed His blood for us, and he put our sins away from us as far as the
east is from the west. They have been put into the sea of
forgetfulness.
Leviticus 16:22 "And the goat shall bear upon him all their
iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in
the wilderness."
There was no real way to completely do away with their sin. Only
Jesus Christ's sacrifice for us has done away with our sin. All of
these things they did, were just a shadow of what He would do for all
who would believe. The shadow resembles the thing it shadows, but is
not perfect in detail.
Leviticus 16:23 "And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the
congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on
when he went into the holy [place], and shall leave them there:"
These linen garments were special garments to be used only in the
presence of God. When Aaron had completed his work in the holy of
holies, he must remove these garments and put on the garments that he
ministered to the people in. Remember, no one was in the tabernacle
while Aaron was ministering in the holy of holies, so it would be no
problem to change into the other garments.
Leviticus 16:24 "And he shall wash his flesh with water in the
holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his
burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an
atonement for himself, and for the people."
These offerings were made at the bronze altar, just inside the
tabernacle of the congregation.
Leviticus 16:25 "And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn
upon the altar."
The fat was always the Lord's. This burning of the fat made a
sweet savour before the LORD.
Leviticus 16:26 "And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat
shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward
come into the camp."
The purpose in washing his clothes and himself, would be so that
none of the contamination from the sin on the animal would remain on
him. He would not want to bring sin back into the camp.
Leviticus 16:27 "And the bullock [for] the sin offering, and the
goat [for] the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make
atonement in the holy [place], shall [one] carry forth without the
camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh,
and their dung."
This complete destruction of these animals without the camp,
symbolizes the fact that Jesus was crucified for us outside the city
wall. The complete destruction of them symbolizes the complete work
that Jesus did for us. Jesus held nothing back, when He paid our debt.
Leviticus 16:28 "And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes,
and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the
camp."
Here, again, this washing showed that they brought nothing back
into the camp with them. They were ceremonially clean.
Leviticus 16:29 "And [this] shall be a statute for ever unto
you: [that] in the seventh month, on the tenth [day] of the month, ye
shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, [whether it be] one
of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:"
This is speaking of the day of atonement. On our calendar this
would be approximately October. Why we say approximately is because
their months begin on the change of the moon. Their first month Abib
is approximately our April. This was one of the most important days of
their year. We must remember, that each year they had to do all of
this again. Their atonement just lasted one year. Thank goodness, our
atonement in Jesus Christ is forever.
Leviticus 16:30 "For on that day shall [the priest] make an
atonement for you, to cleanse you, [that] ye may be clean from all
your sins before the LORD."
The only thing I have to say about this is that this cleansing
was temporary. Our cleansing in Jesus blood is forever.
Leviticus 16:31 "It [shall be] a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye
shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever."
In this, we see that this is a time for a person to examine
himself and be cleansed for the sins of the last year.
Leviticus 16:32 "And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom
he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's
stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes,
[even] the holy garments:"
We see in this, that the priesthood is hereditary. The high
priest, before he leaves office, is to consecrate one of his sons to
take his place as high priest. The son would have been acting as
priest in the temple prior to his consecration to the LORD. The linen
clothes are mentioned, again, here, so that there would be no doubt
about this garment of the high priest being holy. The high priest is
never to altar the garments. The fancy garments are for representing
God to the people. The linen garments are to be worn by him when he
presents himself and the people to God.
Leviticus 16:33 "And he shall make an atonement for the holy
sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the
congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for
the priests, and for all the people of the congregation."
I will mention one more time, that the holy sanctuary and the
tabernacle needed to be atoned for, because they were in the midst of
a sinful people. The priest and the people were still in the flesh, so
they needed atoning for.
Leviticus 16:34 "And this shall be an everlasting statute unto
you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their
sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses."
As long as the law was in effect, this had to be done once a
year. Praise God! we are living by the grace of God. We are saved and
cleansed from all unrighteousness by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Questions 41
1. Who was the only person permitted to go into the holy of holies?
2. The goat of the sin offering is for whom?
3. Where did the priest put the blood of the goat for the sin
offering?
4. Symbolically it was as if the sins of the people were under what?
5. This blood could only _____ the sin.
6. Only the blood of _____ _______ can clear the conscience.
7. Why must the tabernacle be sacrificed for?
8. Who can be in the tabernacle while Aaron is in the holiest place?
9. Who did Aaron make atonement for?
10. What was meant by the blood being put on the horns of the altar?
11. How many times did he sprinkle the blood on the altar?
12. Why does Aaron place both of his hands on the head of the live
goat?
13. How does the live goat get to the wilderness?
14. What does verse 22 tell us the goat bears for the people?
15. Where does Aaron remove his holy garments?
16. After Aaron removes the holy garment, what does he do?
17. Who is the burnt offering made for?
18. What was to be done with the fat of the offering?
19. The person who took the skapegoat to the wilderness must do what
before coming back into the camp?
20. Where will the bullock and the goat be carried to be burned?
21. What day and month should they afflict their souls?
22. Approximately what time on our calendar is this?
23. How long is this statute in effect?
24. How does another high priest take office?
25. When could they stop this offering?
Home