Atonement (Leviticus 16:1-34)

If the Law as a whole was a description and a prescription of the life God expects of His people so that He will abide with them and not destroy them despite their sin (and it is), then Leviticus 16 is the part of the Law that shows God’s people how God is able to justly declare them His people in the first place. The Law is not about earning or deserving God’s mercy, but in the Day of Atonement we see what is required to earn it. Sin and rebellion earn us death, and death is required to pay down that debt.

On the Day of Atonement, and on no other day, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people. This was a serios and somber occasion. The people had to fast in repentance the whole day. The high priest had to offer a bull in sacrifice, merely to cover his own sins so that he could enter the holiest place without dying. And, once a lamb was sacrificed for the people, a life for a life, another lamb took those sins symbolically out of the camp, never to be seen again.

This all makes even more sense (and beautifully so) in Christ. In the book of Hebrews, we see how Christ performed these ceremonial requirements in a way that literally fulfilled them, not just for a people for a year but to all who receive God’s offer forever.