Sermon Central
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The Day Of Atonement Series
Contributed by Roshelle Brenneise on May 24, 2025 (message contributor)
Summary: The Day of Atonement was something like an Annual Spiritual Spring Cleaning and its sole purpose was to deal with the sins that had been transferred to the Sanctuary throughout the year.
May 17, 2025
Leviticus is the Chiastic Center of the Pentateuch. A Chiastic Structure, simply put, is a literary technique where themes or ideas are presented in a mirror-image pattern – emphasizing parallel ideas and highlighting the significance of the central point.
The Chiastic Center of Joshua 1:5-9
A - I will never leave you nor forsake you
B - Be strong and courageous … be strong and very courageous
C - Be careful to obey all the law … that you may be successful
D - Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth – meditate on it day and night
C' - Be careful to do everything written in it … you may be prosperous and successful
B' - Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged
A' - For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
The Chiastic Center of Leviticus is chapter 16.
A - Prohibition about entering into the sanctuary
B - Entering the sanctuary; clothing; offerings
C - The goat determined by lot for Azazel he shall make atonement by sending it off to Azazel in the desert
D - Purification of the altar
E - Atonement for the sanctuary and the people
D' - Purification of the altar
C' - The goat is to carry off their iniquities to an isolated region, it must be sent away into the desert
B' - Exiting the sanctuary; clothing; offerings
A' - This shall be an everlasting ordinance for you
The word, “Atonement” means “to cover / to ransom and remove at a price” and appears 20 times in Leviticus 16.
So, to ransom at a price is the central thought in the center chapter of the center book of the first 5 books of the Bible.
Throughout the year, the daily sacrifices brought forgiveness when the confessed sins of Israel were transferred from the guilty party to the sacrifice by the laying on of hands and then to the Sanctuary through the blood of the sacrifice.
By sprinkling the blood of the sacrifice on the curtain separating the Holy and Most Holy places, God was assuming temporary responsibility for the people sins.
2 Corinthians 5:21 - God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Essentially the sins were now held in storage – forgiven but not yet blotted out. A special work became necessary for their complete removal = the Day of Atonement.
The Day of Atonement was something like an Annual Spiritual Spring Cleaning and its sole purpose was to deal with the sins that had been transferred to the Sanctuary throughout the year.
The goal of the Day of Atonement was to restore the Sanctuary and the Camp of Israel to wholeness – free from impurity and sin – it had to do with cleansing not forgiveness.
The Day of Atonement occurred on a specific day – the 10th Day of the 7th Month (Yom Kippur – Sept-Oct on our calendar). It was to be carried out with great introspection and solemnity.
The Most Holy Place was a restricted area. It was only on the Day of Atonement that Aaron was allowed to enter behind the curtain and there were specific procedures he was to follow – He was to:
• Take a Bull – as a Sin Offering – and a Ram – as a Burnt Offering for himself and his family.
• Bathe and dress in simple white linen garments.
• Take 2 goats and cast lots for them.
o The 1st goat was for the Lord
o The 2nd goat was for Azazel (goat of departure)
• Slaughter the bull and take some of the blood into the Most Holy Place along with a firepan full of hot coals from the altar and finely ground incense (the cloud of incense would cover the mercy seat protecting Aaron). The blood was to be sprinkled 7 times on and before the Mercy Seat.
• Slaughter the 1st goat, take some of its blood and sprinkle it also on and before the Mercy Seat to make Atonement for the sins of the people.
When Aaron came out of the Tabernacle he placed some of the blood from the bull and goat #1 (sin offering) on the horns of the altar and sprinkled blood 7 times on all its sides.
Then he took the goat for Azazel and laid both hands on its head transferring all the stored sins onto the goat. The goat was then led into the wilderness, never to return. The sins of the people had now been completely removed from the camp and the sanctuary was clean.
After changing his clothes and bathing again, Aaron slaughtered the Burnt Offering (Ram) and burned the fat portions of the Sin Offerings. The remains were taken outside the camp and burned completely.
