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The Day of Atonement

Leviticus 16

Christians maintain their communion with God on the basis of two dynamics—one settled and one ongoing. The settled reality is the one-time death of Christ that atoned for all sins past, present, and future. The ongoing reality is the daily confession of sins as they occur in order that they not tarnish the fellowship achieved by the once-for-atonement (1 John 1:9).

In a generally parallel way, Old Testament Israel maintained a two-fold approach to fellowship with God. There were ongoing sacrifices and offerings to be made by individual Jews—burnt offerings, grain offerings, fellowship offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings. But once a year, there was a single offering made by the high priest in the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle (and later, the temple in Jerusalem) that atoned for all of Israel's sins committed that year. That atonement occurred on the tenth day of the seventh month of the Jewish year known as Yom Kippur—the day of covering [of sin]: "This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year" (Leviticus 16:34).

Aaron, Moses' brother, was the first high priest in Israel and it was his responsibility to enter the Most Holy Place and pour out the blood of a sacrifice over the lid of the Ark of the Covenant. In the Ark were the tablets of stone on which the Ten Commandments were engraved, and it was those broken laws that were covered (atoned for) by the poured-out blood of an innocent animal (Leviticus 16:14).

The difference between this annual atonement by the Jewish high priest and the final atonement of Christ is the subject of a central portion of the New Testament book of Hebrews (Hebrews 9:1–10:25). What the Jewish high priest had to repeat year after year, Christ put an end to by His perfect, atoning sacrifice. The blood of bulls and goats could cover sins annually, but only Christ's blood could remove them permanently.

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