Written by Megan Meier
The Word
“ 1 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, 2 and the Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. 3 But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.’”
Leviticus 16:1-5 (ESV)
20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.”
Leviticus 16:20-22 (ESV)
Reflection
God is Holy, but the Israelites weren’t (even after they had witnessed the miracles of God and been set free, they quickly grumbled and even made an idol (Exodus 16:1-3, 17:1-3, 32:1-6)), and to be fair, Moses wasn’t either (Exodus 2:12, 4:10-13, 32:19), they were all children of the Fall. But God had provided a way for His people to be with Him while they were waiting for the True Sacrifice and a Way to always be with the Lord. If you have time, the Bible Project has a great video that clarifies the book of Leviticus (6:40-7:21 addresses Leviticus 16):
Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu did not treat their position with respect, they approached God physically but not spiritually, therefore God let their unauthorized fire consume them (Leviticus 10:1-3). God told Moses the instructions Aaron was to follow before coming into the Lord’s Presence on the Day of Atonement. Aaron had to bathe then put on holy clothing, simple linen as opposed to the priestly regalia, to be humble before God, and to indicate that he was “free” from sin and in a holy mindset. For Aaron himself to enter the Holy Place required the lives of a bull and a ram. To atone for Israel’s sins, they required a ram and two male goats, one for sacrifice and one for release. One goat was to be sacrificed as a reminder of the price to be paid for sin, and another was to be released into the wilderness as a reminder that Israel’s sins are gone:
“12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”
Psalm 103:12 (ESV)
Why did God require all of this? It wasn’t for His benefit, but to remind the Israelites constantly the severity of sin and the heavy price that must be paid.
“23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…”
Romans 3:23-24 (ESV)
Jesus’s Sacrifice provided a Way for us to be with God.
Application
Sin, every sin, is serious. It keeps us from God. But only through Jesus Christ are we redeemed. He is the True Sacrifice. A tremendous price had to be paid for our sins. Jesus Christ has paid it. What will you do with this gift?
Prayer
Dear Jesus, thank You for being the True Sacrifice, for paying the price of my sins. Help me to see sin as the serious offense it is. In Your Name I pray, amen.
City Life Starter 
Leave a Reply