The Day of Atonement

Leviticus 16 gives the order for what is to take place during the most holy day of the year. During this day the High Priest offers atonement or payment for the sin of the whole community. During the ceremony he gives a bull and ram up for offering for the sin of himself and his family. The High Priest also offers 2 goats up in atonement for the people. Each of these 2 goats has a different job to play. Each goat gives us a different action of the atonement process and each goat gives us a different picture of what Jesus did on the cross. Let me explain and go a little deeper.

Goat #1- This is the goat of propitiation. This goat spills all his blood bearing the wrath of the holy God. This goat is the substitute for the people and pays for it with his life. This goat takes care of the penalty for the sin of the people. This goat is slaughtered, burned on the alter, and its blood is sprinkled before God on the Ark of the Covenant. This goat give us a picture of Jesus Christ and His penal substitution for us on the cross. This means that Jesus bore the penalty for us in our place and spilled all His blood for us. This is also called the vicarious atonement. Jesus Christ is our vicar in that He stood in our place and bore the full complete holy wrath of God for our sin. Jesus did not have to stand in for us but He did and bore the full propitiation for our sins.

Goat #2- This is the goat of expiation. This goat had all the sins of the people placed on him by the high priest and then it was sent out away into the wilderness. The expiation of sin is similar to the Psalms that says God does not remember our sins as far as the east is from the west. This means that the God will no longer remember the sins of the people because they have been removed from His sight. This expiation work is also done by Jesus on the cross. Jesus paid for our sin and then removed it from the sight of God for those who believe in Him. Jesus takes our sin by His payment and removes it from the sight of God, so when God the Father sees us, He does not see our sin but the perfect holiness of His Son. Then God can adopt us into His family and call us His child. Jesus through the cross expiates or removes our sin.

The whole Bible is the story of Jesus. The day of atonement is a day that gives us a great picture and foreshadows the cross. I hope and pray it gives us more thanksgiving as we see in the bloodiness of these goats that Jesus did an amazing work for us in our place so we could stand before the Father, if we just believe and obey.