Lev. 16-20 Atonement & Practical Holiness

Intro: Tonight we come to a section that deals w/ the most holy day in the Jewish calendar – Yom Kippur

A) Jews refer to as YOMA= THE DAY – Celebrate / really observe

B) See a someone is Jewish Culture – wouldn’t say – Happy Yom Kippur or Merry Yom Kippur –

1) Day of great Introspection / solemn consideration & Confession of sin

C) YOM KIPPUR = ATONEMENT = AT – ONE –MENT

1) It means that you are now at one w/ God –

D) But here is the thing we need to realize – the Heb. Word for Atonement is Kafar = to COVER –

1) It does not speak of a removing of sin / just a Covering

E) Because Sin could not be completely cleansed until Jesus came to be the final Sacrifice – establish – true Atonement – AT-ONE-MENT

1) So all of the sacrifices in the O.T. were for a covering & pointed to the One who would come to bring – True lasting Atonement

That is why is the book of Hebrews we are told that Jesus offered a better / perfect / complete sacrifice

A)Gave Himself – once & for all – FINAL – not once a year but Once for all / Once & for all – Once for all – Cleansing for everyone

B) So Ch. 16 is about that day – and those sacrifices that pointed to the Sacrifice that Jesus would give – HIMSELF

C) Ch. 16 divides into 3 sections : 1^st v.1-6 The Prep of the Priest – what the priest was to do to prepare for Yom Kippur

1) 2^nd v.7-19 Prep of the PLACE – the Tab – later temple

2) 3^rd v.20-34 Prep of the PEOPLE

1^ST THE PREP OF THE PREIST V.1

Now the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the LORD, and died; ²and the LORD said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.

A)Now here we see this connection to Lev. 10 where Nadab & Abihu broke the worship service / attention to themselves tried to rush in

B) Part of the problem that the Lord explained to Aaron thru Moses was I must be regarded as Holy

1) Meaning – They can’t just rush in here any time they want to / any way

C) There is a Specific time / specific way that I am to be approached

1) Can’t just come at any time - Holy Place – take out place – Holy of Holies

D) Specific time – v.29 ²⁹“This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you.

It was to happen in the 7^th month on the 10^th day

A)These numbers are Significant – 7 is the number of completeness & perfection – 10 is the number of the LAW

B) The day in & of itself speaks of the one who would come that perfectly fulfilled the Law & Became the Complete Sacrifice

1) IT IS FINISHED !!!!!- DONE COMPLETE

C) So this was the appointed day !!!! – Not just any day

Now suppose you were an Amorite – riding up on your camel to the camp of Israel – see this fence of skins – 75 wide / 150 long –

A)Inside you see the smoke from the Brazen Altar – look further see a tent of Skins – You ask – what is that Tent

B) One of the Israelites tells you – that is the Tab. / that is the place where Israel meets w/ God

1) Wow You’re God actually comes and meets w/ You – can I go in there and see Him? - No you need to be an Israelite / Wish I were …..

C) Well actually not only an Israelite but from the tribe of Levi

1) Oh I wish I were an Is./ from the tribe of Levi

D) Well still not that simple– Not only an Israelite from the tribe of Levi but also from the family of Aaron – one of his sons – a Priest / Oh I wish….

E) Well I also forgot to mention – that even Aaron’s sons don’t get to go in but only the High Priest

1) Oh how I wish that I was an Is. Of the tribe of Levi – the High priest I would go in to meet w/ God every day

F) Well actually there was only one day – the whole year – that the High Priest would go in –

1) Had to be properly cleansed – if wasn’t He would DIE – See Ya

See it wasn’t a simple thing to approach God – Why? Because of the Holiness & the Awesomeness of God & the separation of Sin

A)God is light & in Him there is no darkness at all – Those who are tainted by sin – which was everyone couldn’t just come

B) Now all of this should magnify all the more what Jesus did in becoming the perfect sacrifice – The way has been made / the Veil Rent

1) Huge Veil 10 inches thick – took 100 priest to hang it / Wall no entry

NOW – COME BOLDLY ……..

So the Priest could come only on that specific day – and only after special Preparation v. 3,4

A)Normally the High Priest would wear glorious garments very colorful – we studied in depth in Exodus Ch. 28

B) But on the day of Atonement he would take off the pretty colorful robes and would strip down to only the Linen trousers / like the other Priest

1) It was a symbol of HUMILITY

C) Jesus our H.P did the same thing – Phil 2 talks about how He left the throne of glory & put aside his glory – took on Human flesh / servant

1) Allowed his glory to be concealed or Hidden in His Humanity / became just like us – walking in Flesh

D) Always blows my mind at this time of year – God became a Baby

V.5,6 –

Now 2^nd Aaron was to offer a Sacrifice – for his own sins –

A)Unlike Jesus our High priest Aaron was a Sinner – he had to offer sacrifice for his own sins – a bull sin offering

B) Jesus on the other hand our H.P. had no sin but took our sin upon Himself

1) He was both our High priest & our Sacrifice

C) So that was the Prep. The Priest had to go thru

2^nd Lets consider the Prep of the place v. 7-13 – v.13 Rope concept

A)Comes in w/ Incense – which is a Type in scripture of Prayer

B) So you could say in once sense the room was to be filled w/ Prayer

1) Linkage here to Prayer and experiencing the glory of God / the Presence of God -

v.14

Then he takes the Blood from the bull that was his sin offering sprinkled 7 times on the mercy seat

A)This was the Price of entrance – Blood – 7 times – completion perfection - students – Christ BLED FROM 7 AREAS

B) Back beaten – Head crown of thorns – Hands & feet = 6 / finally His side = 7 again the number of completion

1) The sprinkling of the Blood seven times pictured or pointed to the Completeness of the offering of Christ

v.15 ,16

A)Now the H.P would go back & take one of the goats / go back in and sprinkle blood – seven times for the People

B) It is well to note here that the two goats constituted one sin offering. Each presented a distinct aspect of the remission of sin.

1) One was offered as a sin offering. The other was taken into the wilderness. V. 17-19

C) Note v. 17 - The High Priest did this ALONE –

1) Jesus did His work ALONE - no help from me or you / only Jesus alone could purge our sins

D) Christ was alone with the sins of the world. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? ONLY TIME NOT FATHER

That Brings us to the 3^rd aspect the Prep of the people v. 20

²⁰“And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. ²¹Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. ²²The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

Now Aaron would take the live goat – place hands on it – signifying sins being transferred / identification – this goat bearing our sins / confession

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins ……..

A)Then the goat called the scapegoat would be led out into the wilderness – far away

B) Several priests would leave with the goat, and at each mountain peak a priest would wait.

1) One Priest would lead the goat out in the wilderness by himself he’d untie it, turn it loose, chase it off,

C) Now when it went over the hill, he would turn and wave to the priest on the hill behind him. It’s gone.

1) He would in turn, wave to the priest on the next hill, who would wave to the priest on the next hill, ….. so on until word came to H.P. who standing at the door of the tented meeting.

D)He then would go out and announce to the people, “You’re sins are gone!” They’re gone! And the people naturally would rejoice.

1)“Our sins are gone! The goat is disappeared and the sins are gone!”

Great cause for celebration.

The two goats picture beautifully the work of redemption in Christ

A)One was killed = The work done / wages of sin is death – w/out the shedding of blood there is no remission

B) The One led out = Result / Sins are forgiven & forgotten

1) Is. 43:25 I will remember your sins no more

C) Puts it out of His remembrance – We need to ! Know it here but we don’t live it here – We go around beating ourselves up sins 10yrs ago

1) 10 days ago / Yesterday - Sorry Lord – YESTERDAY?

D)Woman & priest Philippines – I forgot

Psa.103:12 So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;

¹² As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Isa.38:17 You have cast all my sins behind Your back.

Isa 44:22 I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions,

And like a cloud, your sins.

Job 14:17 Sown up in a bag / Micah 7:19 Thrown into the depths of the sea

God Puts up a sign that says – No fishing

A)So we see here that the Lord instituted this Procedure for approaching Him on this one day – blood / scapegoat

B) All a picture of the perfect Atonement that would come thru Jesus

1) The rest of Ch.16 reiterates what we have already studied

³⁴This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year.” And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.

C) So Ch. 16 deals w/ the Acceptable way & the Acceptable day that God was to be approached

1) Ch. 17 v.1-10 Deals w/ the PLACE read v.1-4

The heathen nations sacrificed to their gods anywhere

A)The Lord didn’t want His people to sacrifice just any where – bring them to the DOOR !!!!

B) There was One Place – to meet w/ God

1) Same is true today – One place – Person of Jesus He is the Door

C) A lot of people suggest many ways to worship / find God anywhere

1) Although there are many styles of Worship there is only ONE WAY

D) Jesus said I am the way ………..

1) Only One place to find God – thru Jesus

E) Others might be sincere – but they are sincerely wrong

Jn. 4 Worship here or in Jerusalem God is spirit those who worship him must worship him in spirit & in truth

A)Spirit is sincerity – truth = the Prescribed way – Jesus is that way !!!

B) The Rest of Ch. 17 deals w/ the Significance of Blood – not eating foods w/ Blood because of the High Priority God puts on blood v.11 Key verse

the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’

Now Ch.18-20 are Pretty self explanatory & give further insight into the separation that God desired for His people from the other nations

A)Ch.16 dealt w/ their positionally Holiness – declared Holy as a nation by the atoning sacrifice – sins covered

B) Ch.18-20 deal w/ Practical Holiness – that they were to live their lives different from the world around them

1) read on your own make a few observations

CH.18 Personal Sanctity & Morality – Read v.1-3

A)In v.6-30 list practices that were prevalent in Egypt that God clearly forbade His people to be involved in

⁶‘None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness:

B) V.6-19 deal w/ INCEST – near of kin / at every level – practiced in Egypt and in Pagan cultures but not in Israel

1) V. 20 Adultery w/ Neighbor / V.21 Abortion Molech – crops

v.22 Homosexuality / v.23 Beastiality / Great Detail of the Lord

C) The Lord clearly warns that if you engage in that type of activity you will suffer the consequences –

A)The Land vomit you out v.24-30 is a way of saying you will be destroyed

B)The Canaanites were involved in all sorts of abominable acts

Homosexuality was RAMPANT

1) There is MUCH historical evidence that indicates that their culture was inflicted with venereal disease

C) The land spewed them out- They became a decrepit and destroyed people because of these abominations

1) The Lord says: "IF you do, the same will happen to you"

The APPLICATION is DIRECT and SIMPLE concerning our country

A)The land ALWAYS spews out a culture that has tolerated homosexuality and moral perversion

B) Babylon... Egypt.... Greece.... Rome.... were all destroyed when they reached the point of accepting homosexuality & moral perversion

C) In each place When homosexuality was tolerated as an acceptable life style it was the FINAL stage before they fell

1) We are quickly moving in that direction

D) God wanted His people different –

1) The Church – couples watch porn – making love – that is the world

Bachelor parties – different – gags

Ch.19 theme is HOLINESS - Holiness always leads to wholeness. Wholeness leads to true happiness

A)Your heavenly Father wants you to be WHOLE and HAPPY and HOLINESS is the way to that place

B)He wants your marriages BLESSED, He wants your children BLESSED, He wants your relationships BLESSED v.1-3

C) Holiness STARTS at home -FIRST with ATTITUDE

Your attitude at home is to BEGIN with fearing your mother and father

D)FEAR does NOT mean to be afraid of

1) It means to be afraid of doing anything that would hurt them

E)SECOND with ACTIVITIES- Keep My Sabbath

1) The way to holiness is linked to keeping the Sabbath

Application for us NOT keeping Saturday as the Sabbath

A)BUT - The practice of setting aside ONE DAY as a time of RENEWAL and REVITALIZATION

B)Having our spirits refreshed and our hearts tuned up in seeking the Lord

v.4-8 Warning against Idolatry

V.9,10 God’s welfare plan – simple – One shot

v.11-14 – Not stealing

v.15-37 – Righteous actions required – goes thru them

Finally ch.20 deals w/ capital punishment –

A)God instituted it – makes a partial list here of things that qualify

B) V.1-8 the Worship of Molech / v.9 Cursing parents / v.10 Adultery

v.11-12 Incest / v.13 Homosexuality /

1) v.14 Polygamy marries a woman & her mother

2) v.15-16 Beastiality / v.27 Occultism

C) All these things are an ABOMINATION – The Lord says stay away – punishment of stoning

Rap up v.22-26 Read

A)Key is separation – Made you HOLY – WALK IN HOLINESS

B) When You stumble & fall – Confess & move on