Leviticus 16: Day of Atonement

Leviticus 16: Day of Atonement

The Day of Atonement was the most important Holy Day. It was the heart and at the center of the whole Mosaic law. All of the law pointed to Christ, but this day was symbolic of the most important thing Christ did for every individual to ever live in the world. It symbolically represented Christ stepping in for us to take upon himself our sins and allow justice to be fulfilled bringing us back to a state of perfect cleanliness from all the sins and impurities of this mortal world.

“The Day of Atonement, which took place in the fall of the year, was the most sacred and solemn of all the Israelite festivals. In it we most clearly see the typology or symbolism of Christ’s work for Israel. It was a day of national fasting and one that signified that the sins of Israel had been atoned for and that the nation and its people were restored to a state of fellowship with God.” (OT Manuel) 

2 And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the ^aholy place within the ^bveil before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will ^cappear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.

 3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.

 4 He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen ^amitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.

 5 And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

 6 And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.

 7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

 8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat.

 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord’s lot fell, and offer him for a sin ^aoffering.

 10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

 11 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering whichis for himself:

 12 And he shall take a ^acenser full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil:

 13 And he shall put the ^aincense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is ^bupon the testimony, that he die not:

 14 And he shall take of the ^ablood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.

 15 ¶Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:

 16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their ^atransgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

 17 And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.

 18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the^ahorns of the altar round about.

 19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

 20 ¶And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:

 21 And Aaron shall lay both his ^ahands upon the head of the live goat, and ^bconfess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a ^cfit man into the wilderness:

 22 And the goat shall ^abear upon him all their ^biniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

 23 And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy ^aplace, and shall leave them there:

 24 And he shall wash his flesh with water ^ain the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.

 25 And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar.

 26 And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.

 27 And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.

 28 And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

 29 ¶And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall ^aafflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own ^bcountry, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:

 30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.

 31 It shall be a ^asabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.

 32 And the ^apriest, whom he shall ^banoint, and whom he shall ^cconsecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:

 33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the ^acongregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.

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

 

·         Why do you think Aaron needed to make atonement for himself before making atonement for the people?

Aaron as the high priest needed to make an atonement for himself first before he made an atonement for the people, because he was a representation of Christ and so had to symbolically be perfect in every way.

·         Why did Aaron need two goats?

Two goats were needed- One took on the name of the Lord and would sacrifice his life to fulfill the laws of justice. The other was the scapegoat and had all the sins placed upon his head and was cast out into the wilderness.

·         How could both goats represent Jesus Christ and His Atonement?

Both goats represented Christ, one as being perfect and sacrificing his life, the other took upon himself all the sins as Christ did for us.

·         What do Aaron’s responsibilities and the responsibilities of the man who led the scapegoat into the wilderness symbolize?

In performing the rituals Aaron took off his regular ceremonial clothing and put on simple white linen garments which represent the righteousness of the saint. So in a since he was also representing each one of us participating in this ritual with Chirst. The man who took the scapegoat to the wilderness is also symbolic of each of us getting rid of our sins by giving them to Christ and casting them out of our lives to never return again.

·         Read the Institute Student Manual commentary by Elder James E. Talmage (1862-1933), a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (pg. 177). Define the word vicarious as it applied to the ancient Day of Atonement. Include in your statement the personal factor necessary for an individual’s sins to be forgiven. Explain in writing how the Savior’s work of the Atonement was a vicarious work.

Elder James E. Talmage said:

“The sacred writings of ancient times, the inspired utterances of latter-day prophets, the traditions of mankind, the rites of sacrifice, and even the sacrileges of heathen idolatries, all involve the idea of vicarious atonement. God has never refused to accept an offering made by one who is authorized on behalf of those who are in any way incapable of doing the required service themselves. The scapegoat and the altar victim of ancient Israel, if offered with repentance and contrition, were accepted by the Lord in mitigation of the sins of the people.” (Articles of Faith, p. 77; emphasis added.)

Vicarious is the taking on of an obligation for someone else, who for whatever reason is not able to fulfill it themselves. In the rituals on the Day of Atonement there were many vicarious acts to symbolically fulfill what would later be fulfilled by Christ. The priest was acting vicariously for both us and Christ. The animals were also acting vicariously for Christ and for Satan. The ritual represented the vicarious act that the Savior would perform for us when he took the responsibility for our sins and fulfilled the law of justice.

“Of all the religious days in the Hebrew calendar, the day of Atonement was the most solemn and sacred. All manual labor stopped, and there was no feasting or frolicking. It was, instead, a time to “afflict” one’s soul by fasting, a day to cleanse oneself from sin, a day for prayer, meditation, and deep contrition of soul (Leviticus 16:29).”

Each person had a part in the ritual. They showed their willingness to repent by their contrition. The reverent heartfelt manner they approached this day of fasting, prayer and meditation was the price they paid to have their sins forgiven.

We have this same opportunity today to be cleansed from the sins/mistakes that we commit by partaking of the sacrament on a weekly basis. Our same reverence is required to show where our heart is. 

“Knowing, as we do, that sins are remitted in the waters of baptism; that baptisms were the order of the day in Israel; and that provision must be made for repentant persons to free themselves from sins committed after baptism—we see in the annual performances of the Day of Atonement one of the Lord’s provisions for renewing the covenant made in the waters of baptism and receiving anew the blessed purity that comes from full obedience to the law involved. In our day we gain a similar state of purity by partaking worthily of the sacrament of the Lord’s supper.” (OT Manuel)