Read: Leviticus 16
Key Text: “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.” And it was done, as the LORD commanded Moses. (Leviticus 16:34)
Reflection: Atonement simply means ‘reconciliation between estranged parties, bringing them into agreement.’ (DofB) We have been estranged from God because of our sin. God is holy and we are not. ‘Atonement is God’s way of bridging the gap and giving life.’ (DofB) Atonement involves sacrifice, substitution, mediation and judgment.
The Day of Atonement was the holiest day in the ancient-Israelite calendar. The high priest would enter the sanctuary sacrificing a sin offering for himself (v.3) and for the people (v.5). The sacrificial blood represents the life that was given in place of the one making the offering, or whose behalf the offering is being made. Sin requires payment with one’s life. The blood of the animal is substituted for the blood of the sinner. The atonement sacrifice is a vicarious offering of an innocent life for a guilty life. On the day of Atonement, the High Priest would make a sacrifice on behalf of the whole nation of Israel. He was a mediator between God and the people (v.21). The Day of Atonement was understood to be a day of judgment when God dealt with Israel’s sins. It was a day of sober self-examination and fasting. A key part of the ceremony was when the High Priest would release a scapegoat into the wilderness to die, symbolizing that the sin of Israel had been eradicated (vv.21-23).
Atoning sacrifices had the effect of cancelling guilt and cleansing sin. The broken relationship between a holy God and his sinful people is restored. Through the atoning sacrifice, God’s wrath is diverted from the sinner to the sacrifice made on their behalf. Atoning sacrifices were not made to appease an angry God, but a means provided by a Holy God through which the broken relationship between him and his people, caused solely by their sin, is restored.
Question: What is the greatest sacrifice you have made for another person? What is the greatest sacrifice (apart from Christ’s) that has been made for you?
Read: A Bible Encyclopedia article on the Day of Atonement:
http://www.biblestudytools.com/encyclopedias/isbe/atonement-day-of.html
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