City Life Starter

Written by Efe Abbe

The Word

1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the Lord and died. 2 Lord said to Moses:

“Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. 3 Aaron shall enter the holy place with this: with a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be girded with the linen sash and attired with the linen turban (these are holy garments). Then he shall bathe his body in water and put them on. 5 He shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.

20 “When he finishes atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. 21 Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

Leviticus 16:1-5; 20-22 NASB

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

John‬ ‭1‬:‭29‬ ‭NLT

Reflection

Our gracious God’s desire for us has always been to be with us. He also lovingly gave us the freedom to choose to be with Him. We already studied in Genesis 3 that humanity’s choice was to mistrust God by disobedience which resulted in death and separation from God. So, how does the Holy God come near to sinful humans in a way that we do not die?

This is the dilemma God is working out with His chosen people, the Israelites, when He gives Moses the instructions for the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16. It requires the Holy Spirit’s help and meditation to see the love and the grace of God in these instructions. Moses (the author) introduces this section with a reference to an episode in Leviticus 10:1-3 where Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, did not revere God’s holy presence and paid with their lives. God is intent on making sure that it doesn’t happen again (v. 2). He gives Moses instructions for the requirements for: 1) Aaron to approach His presence; and, 2) for His presence to remain with His people.

Sins must be atoned for and taken away.

But atoning for sin requires the death of the offender, so how can God satisfy His own just requirement for atonement and His desire to be near His people simultaneously? He provides them with substitutes for atonement – the sacrificial goat and the scapegoat. One to be killed on their behalf for their sins and the other to carry away their sins outside their camp and the presence of God.

Application

While these substitutes satisfied God’s requirements to make His people clean in His presence for a while, the annual ritual of the Day of Atonement was a powerful symbol and reminder of their need for permanent atonement. Thousands of years later, John the Baptist would point to Jesus as “God’s lamb who takes away the sins of the world!” (John 1:29). God gave His one and only precious Son as both the sacrificial lamb to cover our sins and the lamb to carry our sins away from His presence, permanently. In the person and work of the resurrected Jesus, the Holy God comes near to and remains with all who receive this gift of atonement by faith.

Prayer

Dear Holy God, thank You for wanting to bring me into Your presence, even though I am a sinner. Thank You for sacrificing Your only Son, Jesus, to cover and take away my sins to make me holy. It’s only in Him, that I come into Your presence. Amen.