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You may turn in your Bibles to 
Leviticus chapter 16 for our meditation this evening before 
we remember the Lord's death in a special way with reference 
to the Lord's Supper. Leviticus 16, if you're like 
me and you have a daily calendar, you will notice somewhere along 
the line this month a day called Yom Kippur. And Yom Kippur means 
Day of Atonement, obviously a rite or a ritual still practiced in 
Judaism. Having rejected the once for 
all sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, modern Jews continue 
to engage in this particular act. Well, Yom Kippur is a very 
significant event in the book of Leviticus, in the Old Testament 
as a whole. And I thought it would be helpful 
for us tonight to engage or to focus our minds and hearts around 
several lessons that we can derive from this particular chapter. 
I'll just pick up reading in chapter 16 at verse 1. Now the 
Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, 
when they offered profane fire before the Lord and died. And 
the Lord said to Moses, Tell Aaron, your brother, not to come 
at just any time into the holy place inside the veil, before 
the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die. For I will 
appear in the cloud above the mercy seat. Thus Aaron shall 
come into the holy place with the blood of a young bull as 
a sin offering and of a ram as a burnt offering. He shall put 
the holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body. He 
shall be girded with a linen sash. And with the linen turban 
he shall be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore 
he shall wash his body in water and put them on. And he shall 
take from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids 
of the goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering. Aaron shall offer the bull as 
a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for 
himself and for his house. He shall take the two goats and 
present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle 
of meeting. Then Aaron shall cast lots for 
the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the 
scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat 
on which the Lord's lot fell and offer it as a sin offering. 
But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall 
be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon 
it and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness. And Aaron 
shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, 
and make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall 
kill the bull as the sin offering, which is for himself. Then he 
shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar 
before the Lord, with his hands full of sweet incense, beaten 
fine, and bring it inside the veil. And he shall put the incense 
on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may 
cover the mercy seat that is on the testimony, lest he die. He shall take some of the blood 
of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat 
on the east side. And before the mercy seat, he 
shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. 
Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for 
the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood 
as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the 
mercy seat and before the mercy seat. So he shall make atonement 
for the holy place because of the uncleanness of the children 
of Israel and because of their transgressions for all their 
sins. And so he shall do for the tabernacle 
of meeting, which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 
There shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he 
goes in to make atonement in the holy place until he comes 
out that he may make atonement for himself, for his household 
and for all the assembly of Israel. And he shall go out to the altar 
that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. and shall take 
some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the 
goat and put it on the horns of the altar all around. Then 
he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his fingers 
seven times, cleanse it, and consecrate it from the uncleanness 
of the children of Israel. And when he has made an end of 
atoning for the holy place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the 
altar, he shall bring the live goat. Aaron shall lay both his 
hands on the head of the live goat. confess over it all the 
iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions 
concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, 
and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable 
man. The goat shall bear on itself 
all their iniquities to an uninhabited land, and he shall release the 
goat in the wilderness. Then Aaron shall come into the 
tabernacle of meeting, shall take off the linen garments which 
he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them 
there. And he shall wash his body with 
water in a holy place, put on his garments, come out and offer 
his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make 
atonement for himself and for the people. The fat of the sin 
offering he shall burn on the altar, and he who released the 
goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body 
in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. the bull 
for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose 
blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, 
shall be carried outside the camp. And they shall burn in 
the fire their skins, their flesh, and their offal. Then he who 
burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, 
and afterward he may come into the camp. This shall be a statute 
forever for you. In the seventh month, on the 
tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls. and do no 
work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger 
who dwells among you. For on that day the priest shall 
make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be cleaned 
from all your sins before the Lord. It is a Sabbath of solemn 
rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. And the priest who is anointed 
and consecrated to minister as priest in his father's place 
shall make atonement and put on the linen clothes and the 
holy garments, then he shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary, 
and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of meeting and 
for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and 
for all the people of the assembly. This shall be an everlasting 
statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for 
all their sins, once a year. And he did as the Lord commanded 
Moses. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, how we 
thank you for this, your word, and how we thank you for what 
it points to concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God 
who takes away the sin of the world. Thank you that we have 
a great high priest. Thank you that we have one who 
atoned completely for the sins of his people. How we bless you 
and praise you that you have dealt so mercifully and so kindly 
and so graciously with us. God, I pray that you'd encourage 
our hearts tonight as we see Christ here in this particular 
ritual. And we ask through His most blessed 
name, Amen. Well, tonight, as I mentioned, 
we'll just draw out of this particular section, this particular chapter, 
four lessons concerning God. And I think as we are concerning 
various things, and I think as we do that, we will do justice 
to expounding this particular section of scripture. It is a 
central portion within the book of Leviticus. Leviticus, as you 
will remember, is part of the Pentateuch, and its particular 
task is to show something of holiness, how the people of God 
are consecrated to God. The various rules, the various 
laws, the various commands that are given separate or mark the 
people of Israel as a distinct or a holy people set apart for 
the Lord's use among the peoples to whom they will ultimately 
go to in Canaan or they will be surrounded by. Well, as we 
come to this day of atonement and the ritual set forth there, 
I want to draw four particular lessons. First, the holiness 
of God. Secondly, the pervasive power 
of sin. Thirdly, the necessity of blood. 
And then fourthly, the blessing of atonement itself. Now first 
of all, with reference to holiness, the presence of God with his 
people is that chief blessing promised in his covenant. Remember 
that the Lord God dwelt with Adam. He dwelt in the Garden 
of Eden with Adam and Eve. And when they breached that covenant 
arrangement, When they sinned against God, God came to them 
in judgment. God cast them out from the garden. And then God makes a promise 
to Abraham that in him, all the nations, all the families will 
be blessed. And one of the high points or one of the defining 
elements of that covenant is, I will be your God and you shall 
be my people. When we get to the book of Exodus, 
we see that flashed out. The book of Exodus, for most 
of us, is the story of God bringing his people out of Egypt. That's 
a great answer. That is what Exodus is about. 
But that's only one portion of it. Others might say the book 
of Exodus is all about the law. We see the giving of the Ten 
Commandments at Sinai in Exodus 20. And then we see the amplification 
or exposition of that law in chapters 21 to 23. We see the 
covenant ratified in chapter 24. So what we have essentially 
is a book about deliverance and we have a book about law. But 
it's not just about deliverance and it's not just about law, 
it's about dwelling. Chapters 25 to 40 in the book 
of Exodus take up the great fact that God wants to be with His 
people. In fact, in Exodus 25, God tells 
them, let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. The largest body of material 
in the book of Exodus takes up that particular theme. God dwelling 
in the midst of his people. He makes that statement in chapter 
25 and as we have seen in our series this summer, it is not 
long before they engage in idolatry. It is not long before they bow 
down to this calf and they're dancing. before this golden calf 
in Exodus chapter 32. And then God threatens Moses. 
God says, I am not going to make a nation out of them. I am going 
to judge them. I am going to close them down. 
And of course, Moses intercedes on behalf of the people. And 
then Moses says, Lord, if you don't go with us, we don't want 
to go. And so God the Lord says, I will 
go with you. And the rest of Exodus takes 
up the construction of the sanctuary. Enter the book of Leviticus. 
It answers the question, how can a holy God dwell with sinful 
men? How can a God who is so pure 
and so perfect and so morally spotless dwell amongst a people 
who traffic in sin as if it's their second nature? Who engage 
in, well, it's not their second, it's their first nature. I mean, 
that's all we do. So Leviticus deals with that 
particular issue. Go back for just a moment to 
Leviticus chapter 10. Leviticus chapter 10, the context 
is intriguing. In chapters 1 to 9, the Lord 
instructs Israel on how they are to approach Him. He gives 
them several sacrifices that they are supposed to engage in. 
Once you do these sacrifices, you can enter into the presence 
of God. Look at the end of chapter 9. It says, then Aaron, verse 
22, lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them, and came 
down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace 
offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting 
and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the 
Lord appeared to all the people. Isn't that beautiful? Can you 
just picture that? God's glory manifests in the 
midst of Israel, they've engaged in the sacrificial ritual, they 
have complied with God's instruction, they have obeyed His mandate, 
they have obeyed His law, they have obeyed His commandment, 
they have offered up the legitimate sacrifice, and the glory of God 
Most High comes down. I remember preaching at a place 
called the Bible Tabernacle. And we used to sing this song, 
when glory came down and heaven filled my soul. Filled my soul. It was beautiful. And that's 
what's going on in this very instance. Moses and Aaron went 
into the tabernacle of meeting and came out and blessed the 
people. The glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. And 
verse 24, And fire came out from before the Lord, and consumed 
the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people 
saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. This was a time 
of worship. This was a time of glorifying 
God. This was a time of meeting heaven 
on earth and responding in exuberant joy. Well, now notice in chapter 
10 verse 1, Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took 
his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered 
profane fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. 
That's why the Reforms subscribe to what is called the regulative 
principle of worship. He doesn't want Nadab and Abihu 
to be creative. He doesn't want them to be innovators. He doesn't want them to be novel. 
He doesn't want them to be poetic. He wants them to comply and obey 
the directive as handed down. If sinful man wants to enter 
into the presence of a holy God, it must be through legitimate 
sacrifice. Nadab and Abihu, perhaps operating 
in the mindset that we've adopted today, anything goes. We can 
approach God however we feel led. They offer up profane fire 
before the Lord. Notice verse 2. So fire went 
out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the 
Lord. And Moses said to Aaron, This 
is what the Lord spoke, saying, By those who come near me I must 
be regarded as holy, and before all the people I must be glorified. You see, you don't dictate. You 
don't call the shots. You don't manipulate. You do 
not orchestrate according to your own plan or desire. You 
obey the Lord. You comply with Jehovah. He underscores 
this very valuable lesson wherein two men died. Notice the juxtaposition. Chapter 9. The fire comes down 
and consumes the sacrifice. In chapter 10, the fire comes 
down, but it consumes the sacrificers who brought the wrong offering. Look at what he says. By those 
who come near me, I must be regarded as holy. And before all the people, 
I must be glorified. You see, the God we serve is 
holy, holy, holy. The God we serve, according to 
both the Old and the New Testaments, is a consuming fire. The God 
we serve must be regarded in this manner. So going back to 
Leviticus chapter 16, this very ritual underscores and highlights 
His holiness. You don't just wander into his 
presence. You don't just strut into his 
midst. You don't just say, hey fella, 
how's it going? No, in fact, this is the context 
back in chapter 16. Notice the first couple of verses. Now, the Lord spoke to Moses 
after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane 
fire before the Lord and died. Because of that breach, because 
of that sin, because of that violation, God ordains for them 
this particular rite, the Day of Atonement, wherein sinful 
man can go into the presence of the Holy God, and it must 
be through proper sacrifice. Before we leave this particular 
lesson, let's just define what Day of Atonement is all about. 
Day means a 24-hour span. A little joke. That's what day 
means there. It means that in Genesis chapter 
1 and 2 as well, but for some reason we struggle there. The 
word atonement is a broad word. The semantic range is quite large 
when we look at the various texts that the word is used for. It 
basically, or its root meaning is to cover. It means to cover. We understand that whole concept. 
The blood of Jesus Christ covers us. The blood of these bulls 
would cover the people of the worshipper. As well, the idea 
of forgiveness is very preeminent in this particular work. Notice 
in verse 29, this shall be a statute forever for you. In the seventh 
month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your 
souls and do no work at all, whether a native of your own 
country or a stranger who dwells among you. For on that day, the 
priest shall make atonement for you to cleanse you, that you 
may be cleaned from all your sins before the Lord. And then 
in chapter 17, verse 11, for the life of the flesh is in the 
blood. And I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement 
for your souls. For it is the blood that makes 
atonement for the soul. The idea being forgiveness. As well, the idea of cleansing 
is prominent there in verse 30 of chapter 16. Also, we see the 
idea of ransom. And when we compare it in its 
context with reference to Nadab and Abihu, there is that meaning 
of the averting of God's wrath. You see, some people have not 
liked this particular concept. There have been those who have 
tried to argue against the doctrine of propitiation. They say, well, 
no, that's pagan. No, it's Bible. There is an angry 
God who is furious with sinners, and his wrath must be averted. 
And it is through this atoning sacrifice, it is at least deflected. We know ultimately it's Christ 
who is set forth as a propitiation through his blood to demonstrate 
the very righteousness of God. So there's a broad semantic range 
with reference to this idea of atonement, but these concepts 
are clear. Covering, forgiveness, cleansing, 
ransom, and propitiation, or the averting of God's wrath. 
That's the holiness of God. This whole situation was established 
because sinners don't just wander in to the presence of the God 
of heaven and earth. There must be blood. That'll be one of our lessons 
later. Second lesson, the pervasive power of sin. The pervasive power 
of sin. You see, you think they would 
have got it out of their bones or out of their blood after having 
danced in front of that calf or that idol in chapter 32. But 
you see, you don't just get rid of sin that easy. Obviously, 
God gets rid of it through the blood of Jesus Christ, but the 
pervasive power of sin is latent in this particular chapter. Notice, 
Aaron must make atonement for himself. He must atone for his 
particular sin. Notice, just verses 3, 6, and 
11. It is conspicuous that he comes 
to make atonement for himself. The high priest of Israel stands 
in need of atonement. The high priest of Israel stands 
in need of forgiveness, of covering, of cleansing, of ransom, and 
the averting of God's wrath. The most holy man in Israel is 
a sinful man. Interestingly enough, in the 
book of Hebrews, this is a contrast that is set up. Aaron offers 
up sacrifice for his own sin. Christ doesn't because he is 
sinless. Aaron brought the blood of bulls 
and goats, Christ offered up his own blood. Aaron was to engage 
in this particular ritual once a year. Christ's sacrifice was 
once for all satisfied. But what we see here is that 
the holiest man in the nation of Israel stood in need of atonement. Secondly, the pervasive power 
of sin is seen in the need for atonement for Israel. Verse 5. 
Notice, and he shall take from the congregation of the children 
of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering and one ram 
as a burnt offering. And intriguingly, he is not making 
offering, he is not bringing sacrifice for the Hivites. He 
is not making sacrifice for the Hittites. He is not making sacrifice 
for the Canaanites, for the Perizzites, for any of those ites that surrounded 
Israel. It is particular. It is specific. The extent of this atonement 
applies to Israel alone. I don't know why we have such 
difficulty in the New Covenant to see the extent of the atonement 
applied to Israel alone. So much so. That's what's going 
on. But notice as well, makes atonement 
for himself, for his household. He makes atonement for Israel. He also has to make atonement 
for the Holy of Holies. That's incredible, isn't it? 
He has to go behind the veil and make sacrifice of atonement 
to cleanse the holy place itself. to cleanse the tabernacle itself. The pervasive power of sin is 
seen in this reality, that when sinful man comes to a holy place, 
he contaminates it. So it's a big issue in the prophet 
Haggai. People had a question about contagion. If a righteous man touches something 
unclean, is he affected? Yes. If an unclean man touches 
a righteous thing, is he made clean? No, not necessarily. It 
doesn't go both ways. I want you to see this. In this 
particular passage, the tabernacle itself, the altar itself, must 
be cleansed. Notice in verse 18. And he shall 
go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for 
it. and shall take some of the blood 
of the bull and some of the blood of the goat and put it on the 
horns of the altar all around." What does it say about the problem 
of sin when the very place that serves God's atoning purposes 
needs to be cleansed from sin? This isn't a small matter. This 
isn't a little thing. This was a major problem that 
had to be overcome, and the Levitical system answered to that, typically 
pointing forward to the One who would ultimately remove that 
sin and iniquity through His own sacrifice. Bonar says this, 
strange that the altar should need to be purified, and yet 
what spot had more connection with sin? He says, was not every 
sin confessed there? Was not every sin laid down there? Was not that the spot where wrath 
was ever falling? Here is a strange combination. Sin and the atonement for sin. It may have been typical of the 
fact that the foulest sin and the fullest atonement were found 
at the cross itself. God made Him who knew no sin 
to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God 
in Him. So as you read Leviticus chapter 
6 in your daily Bible reading, as I'm sure that you all do, 
think about these lessons. God is holy. Sin is bad. Sounds just like New Covenant 
religion, doesn't it? There is nothing new. Under the 
sun. This is typical. We live during 
the anti-time. This is promised. We live in 
the fulfillment. But it's the same problem with 
the same holy God and the same prescription in terms of access 
to Him. And that brings us to consider 
our third lesson. The necessity of blood. It was 
through blood that this whole transaction was affected. Specifically, 
Aaron brought a bull as a sin offering for himself. He brought 
a ram for a burnt offering for himself. He brings two kids of 
the goat for Israel and a ram for the burnt offering. Now, 
he doesn't kill both of those particular rams, those particular 
goats. We'll look at that in a bit more 
detail in just a moment. But one of them had to die. You 
see, that's what I think we oftentimes miss. Hebrews 9.22 summarizes 
it beautifully. Without the shedding of blood, 
there is no remission. You see, man isn't going to get 
to heaven because he stops smoking. Man isn't going to get to heaven 
because he stops being a drunkard. Man isn't going to get to heaven 
because he stops looking at internet pornography. Man isn't going 
to go to heaven because he stops doing the bad things and starts 
doing the right things. Paul says it this way in Galatians 
2.21, if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ 
died in vain. Brethren, without the shedding 
of blood, there is no remission. That is why, in a pluralistic 
age, when people are messing with and distorting the truth 
of the gospel, we preach Christ crucified. The Jews are seeking 
after signs, the Greeks are seeking after wisdom, but we preach the 
cross because we understand that the only way to a holy God is 
through a bloody Savior. And so we proclaim that blood. 
The Bible emphasizes that blood. It highlights the necessity that 
Christ died to atone for the sins of his people. That is underscored 
in this particular lesson, or in this particular chapter. It 
was to be duplicated or replicated once a year, every year. For 
the life of the flesh, Leviticus 19.11, is in the blood, and I 
have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your 
souls. For it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul." 
Hebrews 9, 7. But into the second part, the 
high priest went alone once a year. Not without blood, which he offered 
for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance. 
It's another interesting facet of this whole ritual. The high 
priest alone engages in this. What's Israel being taught there? 
Though maybe partially, though maybe by bits and pieces, One 
man makes atonement. Not every man. There is one priest 
that affects this transaction between a holy God and sinful 
men. As the Old Testament continues 
on, they're taught to look for a priest. They're taught to look 
for one who came according to the order of Melchizedek. They're 
taught to look for the servant. They're taught to look to the 
branch. They're taught to look to that king priest who would 
usher in peace for his people. Israel understood under the tutelage 
of God in this old covenant system the need for the Lord Jesus Christ. Without the shedding of blood, 
there is no remission. You know, quite frankly, brethren, 
that is what the church has to offer, the blood. And I don't mean some little 
vial of special potion over there. Blood, new covenantly used, means 
the death of Christ, the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Bengel started this particular tradition and this idea, and 
some have seen that it was the blood itself, and I don't want 
to get into all of that, but I mean the death of Christ, the 
sacrifice and atonement at Calvary. You know, we don't have things 
to offer to the world other than this. You know, the state is 
supposed to execute justice on criminal offenders. Church is 
supposed to preach the gospel to sinners. The church is to 
set forth Christ in all of His beauty, in all of His glory, 
in all of His bloody gore, as the one alone in whom there is 
forgiveness, remission through His blood. We can never cave 
in to that tendency where the church gets offered more. I was 
sitting at lunch today with a couple of the brethren, and one of them 
said, Think, some of these churches ever preach the gospel. Now, 
I don't think this brother could say that unilaterally, he's not 
there every week. There is a deficiency in terms 
of gospel preaching. I shudder to think about asking 
the professing Christian that we come into contact, what's 
the gospel? You know what people say the 
gospel is? Well, love God and love man. 
That's the law. The law condemns. The law seals 
our doom. We need the gospel because we 
don't love God and we don't love man. We need blood, we need atonement, 
we need covering, we need ransom, we need propitiation, we need 
expiation, we need the removal of guilt, we need God to cleanse 
us. The church must recover this 
primary task. You shouldn't just go to church 
to learn how to be a better husband. You ought not to go to church 
simply to learn how to be a better boy. You ought to go to church 
to hear of the crucified and risen Savior. And when you appreciate 
that fact in its biblical context, then you will be better husbands 
and you will be better people. It is only as we appreciate the 
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and blood atonement that it puts 
us in our place. That's why Paul does not cater 
to the Jews who seek signs. He does not cater to the Greeks 
who seek wisdom. I mean, we say, oh, but we live 
in such a different age. This is social media. We've got 
Facebook. We've got Twitter. People then 
wanted the same sort of garbage that they want today. They may 
have not been able to tweet it on their smartphone. They may 
not have been able to download it on their apps or whatever. 
But the same desires had been there from the very beginning. 
You think Paul was preaching in a culture and in a context 
where they welcomed the news of a bloody Savior? Oh yes, tell 
us more about this, Jesus. Greeks heard this and said, you're 
nuts, Paul. Jews heard this and they were 
scandalized by it. It was a stumbling block to them 
that their Messiah, their glorious one, would come and die as a 
common criminal on a Roman cross. But Paul didn't tailor his message. Paul didn't cut off the rough 
edges. Paul didn't say, well, you know, 
I'm going to appeal to you on your level. No, we preach Christ 
and Him crucified. That's the mission and task of 
the church. That we have lost that tells 
us something bad is going on in professing Zion. Sound the 
alarm, as the prophet Joel was told. We've got big problems 
when the church is more caught up with everything else other 
than a bloody, crucified, and resurrected Savior. That's what 
we have. Don't you love that bit in Acts 
when Peter and John went to pray? They meet a lame man on the way. He held out his palms, he asked 
for alms, and this is what Peter did say. What does he say? I 
don't have any silver and gold. I don't have money to give to 
you to ameliorate your suffering. I can't enter into the social 
consciousness of your problems and your trials and the victimization 
that you've undergone as a handicapped person in the first century. 
I don't have that ability, but what I do have, I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of 
Nazareth, rise and walk. You see, that's what we have. 
We may not have the ability to tell people to rise and walk, 
but we certainly have the ability to tell people believe and be 
saved. Silver and gold, we don't have. 
Now, don't take that and say, I'm never going to give a bum 
money. Give people money. Be generous. Be charitable. Be 
kind. Be loving. Be all of those sorts of things. 
But what's the primary emphasis? You see, the church, in their 
attempt to do good things, unfortunately veers from the best thing. We 
forget the gospel. We forget the cross. We forget 
God's wrath. We forget man's sin. We forget 
desperate need. Man doesn't just need a bit of 
economic help. He doesn't just need a little 
bit of societal pressure relief. He needs to be reconciled to 
a thrice holy God who is going to pour out His wrath and fury 
and judgment upon him unless, by God's grace, he believed the 
gospel. The blood is absolutely crucial. And this Yom Kippur teaches us 
that. Without the shedding of blood, 
there is no remission. Fourth lesson, the blessing of 
atonement. The blessing of atonement. The goodness of this day. I'm 
sure for the unfaithful Israelite, Yom Kippur rolled around, they 
said, oh, we got to go do this stuff. They had to fast on this 
particular day. They had to chasten their souls 
on this particular day. I'm sure for the unfaithful it 
was a drag, it was a burden, much like church attendance can 
be for new covenant people or people living on this side of 
the cross that aren't believers. They kind of roll their eyes 
or they come to church and they kind of groan or grieve or they've 
got some issues. I don't doubt that it will covenant 
Israel with the unfaithful. This was just another ritual. 
But for the faithful, for the believer, for the one who believed 
Genesis 3.15, for the one who saw this promise opened up in 
Genesis 22, for the one who began to understand the idea of propitiation, 
and of substitution, and of curse bearing. This day was probably 
a great joy for them. They delighted in this reality. 
Now remember the particulars of this day. Two goats are set 
apart for the sin of Israel. The first goat is disposed of 
pretty rapidly, pretty quickly. It is the one dedicated to the 
Lord. So they would undergo the typical sacrifice with reference 
to that goat. They would kill it, and they 
would burn it, and they would offer it up unto the Lord God 
Most High. Now, when the high priest did 
this particular activity, the rest of the children of Israel 
didn't see it. They did not witness this particular 
activity. Enter in the scapegoat, or the 
second goat. In this instance, the high priest, 
standing in the midst of the people, takes both of his hands, 
lays them on this particular goat, and therein he confesses 
the sin of Israel. You say, what's the significance 
of all of this? Again, we have a holy God. We 
have sinful man. We've got to get rid of this 
particular sin. The blood of goat number one 
is absolutely crucial. But the lesson of goat number 
two is absolutely crucial as well. You see, when the high 
priest confesses sin, and no doubt he rehearses the Decalogue, 
no doubt he spends time on those pet sins that are common to man. He probably deals at length with 
the seven. deals at length with the second, deals at length with 
the first, deals with length of all those sins. Imagine standing 
in that particular crowd and hearing your sin confessed and 
seeing that transfer of sin upon the head of this particular goat. 
And then they find a man who is able or is up to the task 
and he drives that goat out into the wilderness. What's the picture? What's the image? What's the 
representation? Tonight when we look at bread 
and we look at wine, I hope we're not thinking bread and wine. 
We're thinking broken body and shed blood. We're thinking of 
the removal of our iniquity through the cross work of our Lord Jesus. After they witnessed the high 
priest lay their sins upon that goat and he sends that goat out 
into the wilderness where no doubt it dies, what have they 
been taught God has taken away our sin. God has removed our 
sin. Again, not finally, not ultimately. Hebrews tells us in this sacrifice 
there was a reminder of sins, a remembrance of sins every year. But for the faithful Israelite, 
this was a time of joy. This was a time of happiness. 
This was a time when he understood that his sins, by the grace of 
God, had been taken away. Bonar again says this in his 
very helpful commentary on Leviticus. He says, follow the scapegoat 
and see its doom. Is there not here a criminal 
led along? There is something that speaks 
of the man of sorrows made sin for us. Is there not here a criminal 
led away to unknown woe? There is something that speaks 
of one made a curse for us. Why is he left alone, defenseless, 
trembling amid a wilderness? There is here enough to remind 
us of Jesus left to suffer without sympathy. He looked on his right 
hand, and there was none. Refuge failed him. No man cared 
for his soul. The scapegoat's solitary cry 
is re-echoed by the barren rocks, and the howling of beasts of 
prey terrifies it on all sides. The gloom of night settles down 
upon it and shrouds it in deeper terror. It's a vivid image of 
this removal of sin from the children of Israel. And it should 
strike a chord with us who have read the gospel accounts and 
have seen the scapegoat on the cross bearing away the sins of 
his people and crying out, why hast thou forsaken me? God removes sin. That's what the faithful Israelite 
was learning there in the wilderness. That is what the faithful Israelite 
wanted there in the wilderness. A commentator named Arlard Harris 
says that the two goats thus symbolized both propitiation 
for sins by death and the complete removal of the sins for which 
atonement was made. So those are several lessons, 
one final passage, and then we'll close and transition to the supper. In Hebrews, already mentioned 
in Hebrews chapter 10. I just want you to see something 
that Philip Hughes brought to my attention. Hebrews chapter 10 at verse one, 
for the law having a shadow of the good things to come, And 
not the very image of the things can never, with these same sacrifices, 
which they offer continually year by year, make those who 
approach perfect. Let me just say something really 
quickly about these old covenant rituals. I understand the blood 
of bulls and goats cannot atone for sin. I understand that this 
was not final in Israel's history. It was typical. It did point 
forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus, who would atone for 
sin, definitively, once for all, forever, for the elect. But it 
doesn't mean it was meaningless. It doesn't mean there was nothing 
significant about it. If anything, this structure, 
this tabernacle and temple structure in Old Covenant Israel taught 
us this reality that God does dwell with man, that God does 
allow man into his presence through the sacrificial system. So it 
wasn't an empty rite, even though it cannot do what Christ did. Notice verse 2, for then would 
they not have ceased to be offered. For the worshippers, once purified, 
would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices, 
there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible 
that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. There's 
a reminder of sin. Yes, the scapegoat teaches them 
God's taking it away. But it does keep always before 
their eyes this reality that I'm a sinful man and I serve 
a holy God. It's interesting. The same word 
that is used here in terms of reminder is a word applied in 
1 Corinthians 11 with reference to the supper. You see, as this 
ordinance or this ritual or this rite on the Day of Atonement 
in Israel's history reminded them of sin, what does the table 
remind us of? Grace, forgiveness, the lack 
or the removal of sin. Hughes says the gospel transforms, 
anamnesis, that's the Greek word, from a remembrance of guilt to 
a remembrance of grace. We ought to praise and thank 
the Lord God Almighty that this typical system pointed forward 
to the one who does atone for sin, who does take away sin, 
who does remove it from us, such that we can praise God with the 
prophet Micah and say that he takes our sin and he casts it 
into the depths of the sea. Or we can say with the psalmist, 
God removes our iniquity as far as the East is from the West, 
so He removes our transgression. We have a God who is holy. We have a God who does deal with 
sinners, but He has provided His own Son as the Lamb of God 
by which their sins are taken away. So learn from the ritual 
of the Day of Atonement something of the holiness of God, the pervasive 
power of sin, the necessity of blood, and the blessing of atonement. Praise God for His Son. Praise 
God for the removal of our iniquity. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for Your Word, and we thank You that we live in 
this new covenant era. We thank You that the fullness 
of Christ has been manifested, and we thank You that You've 
given us this ordinance tonight to remember in a special way 
His death on our behalf. God, as the apostle says, he 
was delivered up because of our offenses, and he was raised for 
our justification. And in this, we greatly rejoice. 
We thank you that we get to boast, we get to exclaim that you remove 
our sins, that you cast them into the depths of the sea. And 
our Father, as we eat this bread, as we drink this cup, help us 
to proclaim the Lord's death, help us to find great benefit 
for our soul. And we ask through Jesus Christ 
our Lord, amen.