Accessing God – The Old And New Way

This was the day in which he on behalf of the whole nation offered a sacrifice and sought forgiveness from God for their failings and sin. It was an incredibly important day for all of Israel and a holy day because this was the only day that God could be accessed face to face.

On this day, the High Priest would put away his ornate robes and wear a simple white robe. He’d offer a bull as a sin offering for the priests and himself. He’d take some of the blood and then he’d go into the tabernacle. Taking a censer, he’d stop at the altar of the incense and fill it with burning coals and then step through the curtain into the Holy of Holies. The smoke from the incense would fill the room and then he’d approach the only object in the room – the Ark of the Covenant.

This was a box about 1.1 x 0.7 x 0.7m. It’s lid was a slab of pure gold and had 2 Cheribim on it with their wings raised and looking to the centre. The lid was called the mercy seat and on this lid, he would sprinkle the blood of the bull he’d just killed. He’d sprinkle more on the floor in front of the ark and then go back outside. He would then cast lots over 2 live goats brought by the people. One he would kill as a sin offering and take it’s blood back into the Holiest of Holies to sprinkle it on the mercy seat too. The bulls blood was an offering for his own sins and those of the priests. The goat’s blood was an offering for the nations Sins. He would return outside again and lay hands on the live goat, confess the nations sins and then send this goat out into the wilderness. It was called the scapegoat and symbolized that the sins of the nations were being carried away. He then got dressed in his robes again, offered a burnt offing for himself and then took the goat and bull he had killed earlier outside the camp and burnt them.

Why am I telling you all this? Because I want you to understand that approaching. God is a special thing. Only the High Priest could dare approach God and come into his presence under the old covenant and then – only after particular ceremonies.

It’s not even that hard to approach the President – but God is far more important than the president.

The writer to the Hebrews in Chapter 9 reminds his readers of this. Let’s read some more from the passage …

6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. [the burning of incense, lighting candles, replacing the bread] 7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself [That was the bull’s blood] and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance [The goat’s blood]. 8 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. 9 This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. 10 They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.