Historical Context and Events at Moses’ Time.
The historical context of this chapter starts in Leviticus 16 “And the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron. (They drew near, before the Lord, and they died.) One of the themes of atonement, is this idea of coming “Face to Face” with the Lord.
Moses had ascended the mountain of Sinai to receive the commands of God written on tablets of stone. While he was gone for 40 days, Aaron had led the people in constructing a golden calf. The children of Israel had violated the terms of their covenant, and were engaged in a drunken orgy around an Idol.
Exodus 32 V 30 – 33 On the morrow, that Moses said to the people. You have sinned a great sin, and now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make an atonement for your sin. So Moses returned to the Lord and said, alas. This people have sinned a great sin, they have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin— and if not, blot me, I pray you, out of the book which you have written. The Lord said to Moses, whoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
Exodus 33 v 7 – Moses interceded for all the people and offered himself in their place. Now Moses used to pitch the tent of meeting outside of the camp. Whenever Moses went up to the tent all the people rose up, and every man stood by his tent door, and looked after Moses until he had gone into the tent. , when Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the door of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses.
The Lord used to speak to Moses “face to face,” as a man speaks to his friend.
Moses said to the Lord, now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, that I may know you, and find favor in the thy sight. Take this people as Your inheritance.
So Moses intercedes for the people, and God repents of his anger and agrees to accompany them. Moses desires to see God’s face, but he is told, no man can see God’s face and live.
On this first occasion of Yom Kippur – Moses and God meet Face to Face. Ex 34 v 1-9 God reveals his Glory to Moses and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and fourth generation.”
Ex 34 v 9 Moses said if I have found favor in your sight, I pray thee, go in the midst of us, although this is a stiff-necked people. Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.
It is with these promises of God’s forgiveness that Moses returns with the new rewritten tables of stone.
Ex 34 v 30 and when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. Moses called to them, and talked with all the leaders of the congregation, and afterward all the children of Israel, and when he had finished, he put a veil on his face.
Moses now reveals the plans for the Tabernacle of God, where God himself would dwell, in the midst of these people. This would be celebrated in five days, the Feast of Tabernacles on the 15th of Tishri. Their sin had been atoned, the covenant with the merciful God, had been reinstated as Moses revealed the plans for the Tabernacle in the desert. This Tabernacle would model all the functions of Yeshua, the only access to God.
This process of Atonement, modeled the later ceremonies conducted by Aaron as high priest. The Day of Atonement was a gracious day when all Israelites could experience a new beginning. This day foreshadows God’s plan for a final disposition of sin and the creation of a new Earth. This day ushers in the Feast of Tabernacles, where God begin will dwell on the earth, among His people.
For the slaves set free with their debts forgiven, was also a new beginning for all the people. In this year of Jubilee, you will return to every man his property.
These are the historical events surrounding that first Atonement. Let us look at the ceremony that Aaron performed, once the tabernacle was completed.
Understanding the Priestly Service for Yom Kippur
Leviticus chapter 16, specifies the tenth of Tishrei as the date on which the high priest shall conduct a special ceremony to purge defilement from the shrine and from the people. The heart of the ritual is that the high priest shall bring a bull and two goats as a special offering.
First, the bull is sacrificed to purge the altar from any defilements caused by misdeeds of the priest himself and of his household (Leviticus 16:6).
Secondly, one of the goats is chosen by lot to be sacrificed to purge the altar of the misdeeds of the whole Israelite people (Leviticus 16:7-8).
Finally, the second goat is sent away, not sacrificed, to cleanse the people themselves. The goat is marked for Azazel and is sent away to wander in the wilderness (Leviticus 16:10).
Before the goat is sent out, the High Priest lays both his hands upon its head and confesses over it all the iniquities, transgressions and sins of the Israelites, so putting them on the head of the goat. Thus “The goat shall carry on it all their iniquities to an inaccessible region” (Leviticus 16:20-22).
Azazel: The Scapegoat
The Hebrew word for scapegoat is Azazel. The sins of the people and thus the punishment of the people were laid upon Azazel the scapegoat. He would bear the sins of the people and the punishment of the people would be upon him.
This ceremony found in Leviticus 16:7-10. In Leviticus 16:8, the first lot said, “La Adonai” (To the Lord). The second lot said, “La Azazel” (To the scapegoat). The high priest took the two golden lots, one marked La Adonai and the other marked La Azazel, and placed one upon the head of each animal, sealing their fate.
It was considered a good omen if the lot marked La Adonai was drawn by the priest in the right hand, but for 40 years prior to the destruction of the temple in 70 C.E. the lot La Adonai was drawn by the priest on the left hand (Talmud- Yoma 39a).
In any event, the sins of the people were laid upon the scapegoat (Leviticus 16:21-22). Except for the 40 years prior to the destruction of the second temple , the lot La Adonai came out on the right hand of the priest and the lot La Azazel came out on the left hand of the priest.
Messianic Understanding is that God gave this ceremony of the casting of lots during Yom Kippur to teach us that only He decides the sacrifice and the method, and can determine which is satisfactory.
Yeshua during His first coming was a type of the goat marked La Adonai. Yeshua was also the sin offering for us as God laid upon Him the sins of the whole world (Isaiah 53:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Galatians 1:3-4; John 1:29).
In the ceremony of the two goats, the two goats were considered as one offering. A crimson sash was tied around the horns of the goat marked Azazel. At the appropriate time, the goat was led to a steep cliff in the wilderness and shoved off the cliff so he could not return to the camp bearing the sins of the people.
In connection with this ceremony, an interesting tradition arose that is mentioned in the Mishnah. A portion of the crimson sash was attached to the door of the temple before the goat was sent into the wilderness. The sash would turn from red to white as the goat met its end, signaling to the people that God had accepted their sacrifices and their sins were forgiven.
This was based upon Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. As stated earlier, the Mishnah tells us that 40 years before the destruction of the temple, the sash stopped turning white. This, of course, was when Yeshua was crucified.
Aspects to the High Priest Ceremony In order to enter the Holy of Holies, the high priest was first to bathe his entire body, going beyond the mere washing of hands and feet as required by other occasions. The washing was of his clothes and his flesh (Numbers 8:5-7; 19:7-9). This was done in conjunction with taking the blood of an animal with the finger and sprinkling the blood upon the altar (Number 19:1-4; Leviticus 8:13-15). This ritual is once again seen in Numbers 31:22-24. The spiritual understanding of this is given in Hebrews 10v 19-22. The sprinkling of blood upon the altar is also mentioned in Exodus 29:1-4,10-12, 16,20-21; and Leviticus 1:3-5,11; 3:1-2,8; 4:1-6; The spiritual understanding is found in Hebrews 9:11-14.
