July 2, 2010 Lesson 11 of Leviticus 16

Sketch out the order of the ceremonies of the Day of Atonement. Answer: 1) Aaron is to get a sin (young bull) and burnt (and ram) offering. 2) Bathe and put on the sacred linen tunic. 3) take with him a sin (two male goats) and a burnt (ram) offering for the Israelites. 4) Present his own sin offering. 5) cast lots with the Lord for the scapegoat. 6) The goat that is for the Lord, he is to make it a sin offering. 6) The scapegoat is to be sent alive into the desert. 7) Take burning coals from the censer and incense to burn behind the curtain to conceal himself. 8) take the bulls blood and sprinkle it on the atonement cover. 9) do the same with the goats blood. 10) then do the same for the Tent of Meeting. 11) then the same for the altar. 12) place his hands on the scapegoat and confessing all the sins of Aaron and the people and letting it go. 13) Aaron is to bathe and change back to “street clothes” to offer the burnt offering for himself and the people. 14) the remaining pieces of the offerings are to be burned outside the camp. 15) all who touched the scapegoat and the remaining sacrifice pieces must be bathed.


What do you learn from this chapter about: a) the conditions of approach into God’s presence; b) the complete removal of sin’s guilt through substitution; c) the necessity on man’s part of submission in penitence and faith to God’s way of salvation? Answer: The first thing that comes to mind is how we would think of this kind of thing today. Many today would look at this like, “really, I have to do what?” In other words “I have to do that to atone for my sins to a God I can’t see? I don’t need that.” I wonder, how many of the Jews felt the same way? Anyway, back to the questions. A person has to be made holy and righteous in order to approach God, and even then we cannot see Him. It is through a process (in these times it is sacrifice and today a belief in Christ as the Way) that removes our sins. Either then or now submission is mandatory to the forgiveness of sins.


Note: v 8, 10, 26. ‘Scapegoat’ in Hebrew (azazel) means ‘destruction’.