Leviticus 16:7-10

7 Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 8 He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. 9 Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering.10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.

Hebrews 9:6-14

6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularlyinto the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But only the high priest enteredthe inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.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 functioning.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.

11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spiritoffered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

Sermon Recap

Let’s face it, Leviticus is where Bible reading plans go to die. It really is tough to read. You can so easily get lost in the weeds of law after law and wonder, “What is this even about?”

Actually, Leviticus is possibly the most underrated book in the Bible. Once you know how to read it, you’ll realize it’s one of the most important books for understanding the grand narrative of the whole Bible.

Leviticus opens with a problem. The opening verse says that God spoke to Moses “from” the tent of meeting. It’s subtle, but this points out a massive problem. Moses is unable to go inside the tent. There is a separation between humanity and the presence of God. But the opening verse of the next book, Numbers, says that problem has been solved! God talks to Moses “in” the tent. So the question is how did the problem of the separation of humans from God get solved? What happened in the middle of the story?

Leviticus is written in a way where the author put the main point in the very center of the book. Leviticus 16-17 is about a yearly ritual known as The Day of Atonement. On The Day of Atonement, the priests would take two goats. One goat would atone for the sins of the people by giving its life. The other goat would have the sins of the people symbolically placed on it and then it was sent out of the camp into the wilderness. This may seem archaic to us, but to them, it symbolized the atonement of their sin. As one author put it: in one goat their sins were forgiven and in the other their sins were forgotten.

So what does this have to do with us? Do we need to slaughter a goat every year for the forgiveness of our sins? No. The writer of Hebrews tells us that this ritual pointed to Jesus, the ultimate, once and for all, atoning sacrifice for our sins. To atone for something most literally means to cover it. On the cross, Jesus covered the debt that we owe for our sins. And if we are in Christ, God no longer sees our sin, but sees Jesus. We are covered in the blood of the lamb. In other words: on the cross, our sins were forgiven and forgotten.

Application Questions