The Day of Atonement A Sabbath of Affliction 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. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.—Leviticus 16:30,31 Aaron Kuehmichel Leviticus chapter 8 describes the consecration of the priesthood. Once the priesthood was consecrated, the events of Leviticus chapter 9 followed. It describes the consecration of the service of the priesthood for the nation of Israel. Both the rituals in Leviticus 8 and 9 were necessary for, and preceded the atonement of, sin offerings in Leviticus 16. Leviticus 16 gives the procedure the high priest was to follow for atoning for the sins of the nation once a year. This day, the Day of Atonement, is specifically stated as being the tenth day of Tishri, the seventh month. For this service, the high priest washed and cleansed himself completely, dressed in a white linen robe, and slew a bullock at the entrance to the holy. The blood was collected and taken into the tent, incense was put upon coals, and the blood was sprinkled upon the mercy seat in the most holy. The high priest then came out to the door of the holy (where two goats were tied), determined which goat was to be the Lord’s goat, and except for the offering of incense performed the same ritual with this goat as he did with the bullock. When he came out the second time, the mingled blood of the bullock and goat was used to sanctify the holy and the altar. Then the high priest confessed the sins of the people over the remaining goat and sent it out into the wilderness by the hand of a fit man.Once the scapegoat was sent out, the high priest removed his white linen garment, washed and cleansed himself completely again, then changed back into his high priest robes. He then slew two rams and offered them with the fat of the bullock and the goat as a burnt offering. The bodies of the bullock and goat were then taken outside of the court of the tabernacle and completely burned there. Once the burnt offering was made the high priest could leave. The offering for sin was complete. God signified the acceptance of the atonement sacrifice to the high priest by sparing his life. If anything was done incorrectly in this service, the high priest would die. The Israelites, who were outside of the court of the tabernacle, could not discern God’s acceptance of this offering. They were not witnesses of the events transpiring within and would need a different method of being informed. There were four ways they would know the offering for sin was progressing and acceptable thus far:
Three things were accomplished with the Day of Atonement ceremony:
Consciousness of Sin The high priest and priests were the representatives of God to the people. One way this was indicated was by the different manner the sin offerings of Leviticus 9 and 16 were accepted. In Leviticus 9, God sent fire to consume the sin and the burnt offerings on the altar. In this way, God showed that he approved of the priesthood’s service. However, inLeviticus 16 God did not burn the sin and burnt offerings, the priests did. They provided the fire that consumed the offerings, and because they did, they represented God to the people, i.e., they were his representatives. The Day of Atonement was a very solemn event, a holy convocation, a time when the Israelites were to have their sins atoned. However, the very ceremony that would cleanse them required the cleansing of God’s representatives and his holy tabernacle (Leviticus 16:16-20, 23,33; Exodus 30:10,11,16). The high priest and priesthood, though the representatives of God, were human and thus liable to sin. Because sin is so pervasive and defiling, even the sanctuary of God became defiled by the interaction with the priesthood and Israel. Leviticus 16:33 tells us of five things that needed to be atoned for this day: 1) the [most] holy sanctuary; 2) the [holy] tent of meeting; 3) the altar; 4) the priests; and 5) all the people of the assembly [New American Standard Updated]. One would normally consider the high priest, the priesthood, and the tabernacle as being holy and undefiled. But on this day they needed to be cleansed as well. An "Israelite indeed" (John. 1:47) could not help but realize how sin contaminated his relationship to God. Atonement for Sin This day was to atone for the sins of the nation of Israel and to give its people a standing of righteousness before God. Some state that atonement was for Israel’s sins for the past year. Others say it was atonement for the sins of the coming year. Which view is correct? The Jewish year followed the lunar cycle, not the solar. A year was divided into months according to the cycle of the moon. Observers watched for the first glimpse of the new moon, a small crescent, and when seen, the new month was heralded with the blowing of two silver trumpets (Numbers 10:2,10). The Jewish year was also divided into two main seasons: winter and summer. Winter commenced with the start of the rainy season and was when the Israelites planted their crops. The month of Tishri marked the start of the rainy season and the beginning of the new agricultural or civil year. Israel was an agricultural society and had three main occupations: raising crops, tending flocks, and cultivating vineyards. These three activities figured prominently in the calendar and festivals. The Israelites had seven main festivals: three with the barley harvest, three at the end of the harvesting of the agricultural year, and one between these two periods at the time of the wheat harvest. With the exception of the Day of Atonement, each of these major festivals was set to the moon, either on a new moon (the beginning of the month) or on a full moon (the middle of the month). However, God instituted a sacred calendar year with a separate starting point for it, the month of Nisan. Nisan is best known for the festivals Israel kept in this month: Passover, theFeast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Firstfruits. Nisan is the month of the exodus and the month the tabernacle of God was first raised and inaugurated. It is also the start of the harvest season; the first harvest of the sacred year is of barley. The sacred year follows the harvest cycle of three main crops: barley, wheat, and grapes. The agricultural or civil year follows the natural progression of planting: tilling, sowing, and harvesting. The agricultural and sacred year offset the starting point of the new year by six months. In the agricultural year, Tishri (the month of the Day of Atonement) was the first month of the year. In the sacred year, Tishri was the seventh month, and Nissan, the month of the barley harvest, was the first month. Now let us consider the question: Did the Day of Atonement atone for the sins of the past or for the future year? Viewing the Jewish year from the perspective of the agricultural calendar (starting with Tishri) implies that atonement is for future sins in the coming year because atonement was made in the beginning of the year. The sacred calendar implies that atonement is for the past year because atonement is made later in the year in Tishri, the seventh month. The perspective of the sacred calendar is correct and atonement was made for the sins past. The order of events supports this view. First Israel committed to keeping the law of God. Then the tabernacle was built. It was raised and sanctified (Leviticus 8 and 9) in Nissan, the first month of the year. The Day of Atonement occurred six months later, in the month of Tishri. During the intervening months, the five offerings in Leviticus chapters 1 to 7 (burnt, meal, peace, sin, and trespass offerings) were offered as the people recognized and repented of their sins. These offerings indicated the acknowledgement of their standing before God, their recognition of God’s grace and mercy, and their thankfulness. They were acceptable to God because the offerer had a standing before him; they were under the Law and they had a means to interact with God through the priesthood and the tabernacle. These sacrifices were to maintain their relationship; God’s acceptance indicated his forgiveness. Because the Israelites did not recognize or offer sacrifices for all of their sins, they lost their standing of righteousness before God. (Committing sin made them guilty under the Law; recognition, acknowledgement, and repentance of sin made their hearts right before God.) Hence the Atonement Day sacrifices returned Israel to a standing before God; justice was met with the sacrifice of the bullock and goat, and the two rams indicated God’s acceptance of the offering for sin. It is important to note that while atonement was for past sins, it restored the Israelites’ relationship with God for the future year so he could work with them. Redirecting the Hearts The third accomplishment of the Day of Atonement was to redirect the hearts of the people, and hence the nation, to God. Even as it marked a natural turning of the year, it also marked a turning point for Israel. (In the civil calendar Tishri was the start of the new year; in the sacred calendar Tishri was the last harvest month.) It was a day of judgment, a day of repentance, and a day of forgiveness. Most importantly, it was a day of renewal; they were, again, restored to a pure relationship with God. There is an amazing dichotomy in this Day of Atonement. This day was marked as one of the festivals Israel was to keep, yet it was also a holy day, a day of convocation. Because of the importance and holiness of this day, it was a day of rest in which no work could be done. Allfestival days were days of rest (Leviticus 16:29; 23:7-36). This day was also an important day of rejoicing for they had been forgiven of their sins and now had a relationship of righteousness once more before God. Festivals and rejoicing, by their very definitions, imply celebration, merriment, and feasting. However, this was not the case for this ritual. This day was a day of fasting (Leviticus 23:27; Numbers 29:7.) It was the only day of fasting Israel celebrated before going into exile. Perhaps the best illustration of the solemnity of this day mixed with the rejoicing (joy of forgiveness) is expressed in the way Christians observe the Memorial of our Lord’s death. The Scriptures do not say how Israel celebrated this day other than it was a rest day and a fast day. One can only imagine how the people felt that day. As a Christian keeps the Memorial, he rejoices inwardly for the gift of God’s son, the relationship he has as one of God’s people, and the promise of salvation for all. Yet this rejoicing is tempered with the realization that the gift came at a great price. God gave his only beloved son because God so loved his creation (John 3:16). Christ gave his life willingly because he so loved his father. Lastly, a Christian reflects upon the course of his life, both the days past and those yet ahead. With that reflection, he sorrows for sins and shortcomings, and determines to do better in the future. Perhaps this Day of Atonement was kept by a similar demeanor of celebration. As the Israelites fasted and rested, they turned their hearts and thoughts toward the tabernacle and toward God. They saw the high priest go into the tabernacle and they watched for the signs of God’s acceptance of their atonement offering. As they watched and waited, they reflected on their sins of the past year. As the mental list of their shortcomings grew, perhaps the tears of sorrow and repentance flowed proportionately as well. Would God forgive me, would God forgive us, his people? Would the high priest complete everything properly so we can be forgiven? As they waited, their hopes and anxieties were heightened by the passage of time. Finally, the high priest came out of the tabernacle. Yes! God had forgiven their sins and they were, again, his people. This day magnified God’s grace, for the remission of sins had been given. |