The Day of Atonement

God cares for those who humble themselves and seek his mercy.

God gives grace 賜恩 to the humble; God is opposed 抵擋 to the proud.

Is 66:2 – His eyes are drawn 垂顧 towards such people, those who are humble and contrite謙卑、心靈傷痛, tremble at his word因我的話而戰兢. Trembling at his word means that we recognize this is God's word, and not "idle" 空洞, but is our very life (Deu. 32:47).

When God's work speaks judgment at our sin, we tremble and fear and despair.
When God's word speaks promise of forgiveness / mercy, we sing and rejoice!

This passage, and the Day of Atonement is for people who seek mercy because they tremble at God's word and God's holiness

The particularly encouraging thing about it is how God assures his people of their complete forgiveness / cleansing.

We have learned that God's holiness ought to make us tremble. (In case we forgot, we are reminded of why in the first verse of Lev 16—the death of Nadab and Abihu.) God's holiness combined with our uncleanness and sin means danger for us.

Gunpowder 火藥 by itself is harmless 無害. But when you "mix" it with fire, it explodes.

God's holiness is itself awesome and beautiful. It is God's uniqueness, his glory, his greatness and his goodness. Yet God's holiness reacts against 反對 our sin.

Therefore, we are taught by Leviticus thus far to seek the mercy of God. And the Day of Atonement is a ceremony for people who seek God's mercy.

The people were called to "afflict themselves" 「刻苦己心」 (most likely means to fast), and to not work. (v. 29-31) (This was the only mandated 規定的fast in the OT.)  The whole point of this was that they were to seek God's mercy!

It is a day to mourn over sin, and to seek God's mercy and rejoice in his forgiveness! They were not to treat this day as common! [In fact, everybody who does not observe this day, God promised to "cut off" from the people 從他的族人中被剪除 (Lev. 23:29-30).]

This is good news for me, because I need the mercy of God. This ceremony is here for people who seek God's mercy to find comfort / assurance of God's forgiveness.

This is a glorious passage of Scripture! There are few like it in the OT. It is "one of the mountain peaks 高峰 of the Scriptures."[1]

→   The removal of God's wrath and the removal of our sin by the sacrifice God appoints is the only and yet sure way to have reconciliation with God.
透過神所指定的獻祭，清除神的忿怒和我們的罪過是唯一並且確定的道路能與神和好。

1)       The only way to God is through the sacrifice he appoints.

2)       This is a sure way to God, and brings assurance.

3)       This is for the purpose of reconciliation / relationship with God

The Only Way 唯一的道路 (v. 1-5)

The only way to God is through the sacrifice that God appoints

You must not come without blood 沒有帶著血，不能進來 (v. 2)

Do not just walk in whenever you want 隨時、隨便進來 (v. 2)

This is probably part of what Nadab and Abihu did.

The Holy of Holies was a very special place! There was a veil 幔子 that blocked 遮掩 the entry. Behind the veil was the Ark of the Covenant 約櫃 and God's manifest presence above it 在彩雲中顯現.

The lid 蓋子 of the ark was called the "mercy seat". This word in Hebrew always refers to this one object. It means literally something like "the place of atonement" 贖罪的地方.

But God does not mean he can never come in!

That would be a sad thing! That would ruin the meaning [沒有意義了] of calling it the "mercy seat"! Why call it the place where atonement happens if you can never get to it!

God is going to prescribe how he comes in, and it is always with blood. We cannot come to God without blood. God requires payment for our sin. It will either be ours, or the blood of a substitute.

You must come the way God appoints (v. 3-5)

He comes with a sacrifice for himself and his family and for all the people.

He wears humble clothing

This is not the glorious high-priest clothing he usually wears, but plain old linen. He would not have been distinguished from a regular slave 奴隸 with these clothes.

The high priest, the unique man in all of Israel, the one nearest to God, is nothing but a slave seeking for mercy. He is humbled low in seeking for God's mercy.

Can we not think here of Christ humbling himself? Phil. 2 says that Christ emptied himself by "taking on the form of a slave". Even though he had all glory and authority and he was forever equal with God, he humbled himself to become a slave!

We'll see the sacrifice God appoints here, but let's first notice its fulfillment!

God has appointed a better sacrifice! 神已經指定了更好的獻祭

John 3:16 – God so loved the world that he sent his only Son!

I want to make sure everyone understands from the start all of this is fulfilled in Christ.

God sent his Son because of his love. This was his provision of a better sacrifice, the only one which can actually cleanse us, can actually satisfy God's wrath.

Jesus is the only way to God, because he is the only appointed sacrifice! This is like saying: Clothes are the only way to stay warm outside in the winter! Who would say, "Don't be so narrow minded小心眼!"?

The sacrifice that God appoints is the only way to God.

The Sure Way 確定的道路 (v. 6-28)

God provides atonement through the removal of wrath and the removal of sin.

The unique features 特色 here are: (1) the blood of the sin offerings is taken into the Holy of Holies, and (2) there is a second goat that is not killed but is driven away 趕走.

The priest's offering goes first

There's nothing special to say here that we won't repeat later with the sacrifice for the people, so we'll just jump straight there.

The sin offering for the people: two goats

Note verse 5: the two goats are one sin offering. This detail is important. It helps us understand the second goat.  

These two goats are the central feature 主要的特色 of the Day of Atonement. One is killed, and the other is driven away. These are two aspects of one reality. God is showing us what atonement means through these two features: removal of wrath, removal of sin.

Removal of Wrath 清除忿怒 (16:11-19)

Goat #1 represents propitiation 挽回祭: removal of God's wrath

Like we've said: God is angry at us for our sin

True, it does not say "wrath", but the idea is definitely here.  This is the key problem.

Killing the animal alone symbolizes judgment on sin. The mention of God's judgment on Nadab and Abihu (v. 1) directly reminds us of God's anger at our sin.

The emphasis on cleansing also reveals this fact (v. 16, 19).  This means that our sin is an offense to God. He cannot stand it. A holy God cannot live together with unclean / sinful people. Their sin and his holiness do not mix (except like gunpowder and fire)!

That's why it is called "atoning for 為 the Holy Place" (v. 22). Our sin has defiled the place where his holy presence dwelt. The point is that if this "atonement" didn't take place, then God would judge. The focus here is on the anger of God against our sin.

Main element要素: taking the blood into the Holy of Holies (v. 12-14)

The animal has first died, or rather, been slaughtered. This is because the sins of the people were put upon it. It died as the substitute. The blood is the proof of this death.

Now, the blood is taken into the Holy of Holies and put onto the very "mercy seat". (Remember, this means: the place of atonement.)

This is the holiest place. This is the very presence of God. This is a plea for mercy. He presents 擺上 the blood is a proof of death. The priest pleads that the blood may be accepted as a substitute for the people.

The reason the blood is presented here is as propitiation for our sins, to satisfy wrath.

Propitiation is a crucial concept to the gospel

The gospel is that Christ is our propitiation! Rom 3:25.

The blood of bulls and goats has no inherent value. Christ's blood is infinitely valuable and God's wrath is eternally satisfied. Justice has been done伸張, on Christ, not on us.

Your understanding here likely dictates your understanding of the gospel.

Three options: relativist相對主義, moralist 道德主義, or the gospel; religion, irreligion無宗教, or the gospel.

Relativists believe that God does not need to be propitiated 沒有忿怒、不用平息

Many people would just roll their eyes 翻白眼、輕蔑 at my statement that God is angry.

"That's not helping anybody! That's just making them feel bad! Stop trying to scare恐嚇people into obedience! We all know that God is a God of love and doesn't get angry!"

"Everybody's good, God loves everyone, God accepts everyone, God is not angry." False!

Moralists believe that God has not yet been propitiated 忿怒還沒平息

Other people believe that God has not yet been propitiated, his justice is not yet satisfied, he is still angry at us. Therefore, we need to work harder, they say.

This is the person who then tries to work and do good so that God will accept him. He doesn't think that the sacrifice of Christ was sufficient, so he adds in his own good works.

The gospel says that Christ's death was propitiation

There is a real problem of God's wrath. It is a problem outside of us that we cannot change. Even if we could change ourselves; we have to worry about God's wrath!  If you don't get that, you don't yet get the gospel.

God's righteous anger toward us because of our sin has been forever satisfied. We are accepted by trusting in Christ for what he has already done.  If you don't get that, you'll don't yet get the gospel.

The gospel says that we are justified by faith.  We are accepted by God not based on anything good in us, whether done by God or us; we are accepted by God purely on the basis of Christ's propitiation!

Here inside the Holy of Holies, God's anger is propitiated: one aspect of atonement.

Removal of Sin 清除罪過 (16:20-22)

Goat #2 represents expiation 除罪祭: removal of our sin

"Propitiation" speaks of the effect of the sacrifice upon God: it removes his wrath.

"Expiation" speaks of the effect of the sacrifice upon us: it removes our guilt and sin.

Remember: the two goats are one sin offering

This is an important observation to make, because otherwise it is hard to understand this second goat. It is one act 一次行動 of atonement, with two aspects.

How is this second part different? Atonement is not only propitiation of God's wrath, but it is also removal of our sins, both our guilt and our filth. And the removal of our guilt is based on the removal of God's wrath. Goat #1 is first killed, then is goat #2 is sent away.

Main element 要素: Sin is placed upon the goat, and the goat is sent 送到far away

The sins are confessed over the head of the goat. (This is actually the only time this act of placing hands on the animal's head is ever explained.)

This figuratively places 歸在 the sins onto the animal (v. 21b). The animal now bears 擔當 the iniquity of all the people. Where does the take these sins? Far away never to return!

The goat is taken far away into the wilderness (some say 12 mi/19 km). He is taken to a "remote area" 完全隔離的地. The root of this word means "cut off" 剪除, and some think this refers to being "cut off" from God's people as judgment.

Psalm 103:10-12 – He removes our transgression from us! We are forever free!

"Azazel" (v. 10)

"Send it into the wilderness as a scapegoat" / "to Azazel" 「歸阿撒瀉勒」

Scholars are not sure what the Hebrew word means. It only appears here in Lev 16.

1) It is traditionally translated as "scapegoat" 替罪羊, the goat that escapes / is run away.

2) Most modern scholars understand it to refer to the name of a demon (ESV). Very strange. Not sure why so many think this. Totally inconceivable in the OT.

3) Another option is to translate it as "complete removal" 「全部清除」.[2] This refers not to the goat itself, but to what the goat does. It is a picture of complete removal of sin.

It is hard to choose between #1 and #3. Either way, the meaning of the ritual is clear.

The sure way!

This is the only and sure way to God!

Christ is the only one whose blood was shed for the removal of wrath, so that out guilt could be carried away 移去! It will never return.

If you trust in Jesus Christ, you are justified! God calls you righteous. He accepts you forever, on the basis of Christ's once finished sacrifice!

This ought to produce humility. We ought to be slow to anger and quick to forgive other people, since we know that's how God treated us.

This ought to produce hope. We ought to know that God has forever accepted us. (The goat is gone!) So whatever kind of suffering / difficulty, we know that God is with us, we have hope for the future, we at least have the hope of eternal life!

Jesus is not just the only way—he is also the sure way to God. The blood sprinkled in the very presence of God and the scapegoat 替罪羊 teach us these glorious facts.

One more point to close:

We keep talking about "the only way" and "the sure way", but were does it go?

The Way Is to God 這道路是往神那裡去的 (16:29-34)

Atonement / forgiveness are not ultimate, but that we might be reconciled to God!

It is not just "forgiveness so you can all go home and have peace and happiness"

It is forgiveness for the purpose of reconciliation, so that God may continue to dwell among them.

Notice the focus on cleansing (v. 16, 30, 33). It is about maintaining their relationship with God. God's presence among them, in the temple, was made possible by atonement.

God is the gift of the gospel

In other words, atonement is God-centered. The ultimate blessing of the gospel is not forgiveness itself, but it is God himself! We get to know God!

Piper: the good thing about forgiveness from my wife is that I get my wife back! I don't say thanks and walk out the room—I say thanks and hug her!

In the gospel, through atonement, we get God 我們所得到的是神! We get to know him now, and in the future, we will be with him forever!

Our cleansing is permanent and God's presence is permanent

The blood of Christ didn't have an expiration date 有效日期 but was infinite in value and brought about complete satisfaction and eternal cleansing. We are now forever fit 適合 to be in God's holy presence! Amazing grace! Not because of us, but because of Christ!

When Christ died on the cross, the veil of the temple that separated the Holy of Holies was ripped, from top to bottom! We now have eternal access into the Holy of Holies!

We now have the amazing privilege / joy of forever knowing and worshiping God!

Do you think of Christianity / the gospel that way? Is it just for you to avoid bad things, or is it so that you might have the greatest thing: a relationship with God! It is just a one-time transaction交易, but also entrance into relationship with God!

Conclusion

Do you see God's desire to comfort his people and give them assurance?

That's why he designed this ceremony. That's why there are two goats. One represents God's holiness, the other cleanses our conscience!

He doesn't want you to wonder 懷疑 if you're forgiven. He wants you to know for sure.

Yes, sacrifice is the only way to God. Yet don't miss that it is the sure way to God. Christ is not only the only way to God, but the sure way. His blood was shed in our place.

That is good news for me, since I know I need mercy. If you seek mercy in Christ, you are completely forgiven, God's wrath completely removed, your guilt completely removed, forever. Hallelujah!

Heb. 10:19-24 – Four conclusions of Jesus' fulfilling the Day of Atonement

Draw near to God knowing in our hearts that we are cleansed by faith

Hold fast our hope, do not waver. Christ has not only died but also risen!

Stir up one another to love and good deeds.

Don't stop going to church!