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This week's Torah portion, Acharei Mot, includes instructions given to the priests of Israel to perform an elaborate sacrificial ritual that vividly illustrates the nature of "atonement" (i.e., forgiveness and cleansing from sin) and which, by extension, provides insight into the priestly work of Yeshua as the "Mediator of the New Covenant." In order to see this, I will first briefly review Leviticus chapter 16 and the ordinance of "Yom Kippur" (or what is often called the "Day of Atonement"), and then I will go on to indicate some connections all this has with the sacrificial ministry of Yeshua.
So let us begin with the first verse of chapter 16, where we read that the LORD spoke to Moses some time after Aaron's two sons died when they offered "strange fire" (אֵשׁ זָרָה) in the Holy of Holies (as recorded earlier in parashat Shemini: see Lev. 10:1-11). You may recall that immediately following their death, no explanation was given for God's fiery judgment other than Moses' statement that those who serve as priests must be "sanctified," and with that Aaron kept silent (Lev. 10:3). After the dedication of the Tabernacle, however, we are given reason for God's judgment when the LORD spoke to Aaron saying that it was forbidden to consume alcohol when serving at the Tabernacle upon pain of death (Lev. 10:8-11). Alcohol impairs thinking and muddles the difference between what is holy and unholy, the clean and the unclean, and consequently obscures the intent of Torah. The LORD requires that those who draw near to him be sober-minded, earnest and reverent in their service (Eph. 5:15-19). So chapter 16 begins with God instructing Moses regarding the basic etiquette of the priests, particularly warning that they were not to casually intrude into the Holy of Holies, since this represents the Throne of God, the place where the Divine Presence is manifest in the cloud upon the cover of the Ark of the Covenant (Lev. 16:1-2).
The LORD then said that Aaron was permitted to come before the Throne of God, the Holy of Holies (קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים), only in the role of the High Priest (הַכֹּהֵן הַגָּדוֹל), and only by means of the sacrificial blood of a bullock (young bull) offered for sin and a ram (male sheep) offered for a whole burnt offering. Only by the merit of these sacrifices would the High Priest be able to enter before the Holy One (Lev. 16:3). Note that these sacrifices were for Aaron to be regarded as sinless in his service before the LORD.
After Aaron washed himself by immersing himself in a mikvah, he would put on four special garments sanctified for the momentous occasion (Lev. 16:4). Instead of the "golden vestments" of distinction (בִּגדֵי הזּהב), however, he wore "white vestments" made of linen (בִּגדֵי לבן). These included a plain linen tunic, breeches, belt, and turban. The pure white linen represents both the humility of the servant as well as his purity.
During the course of the Yom Kippur service, the High Priest would change his vestments no less than five different times! When he performed his "outer service" in the courtyard, he would wear the golden vestments, but when he performed "inner service" of the Mishkan, he would wear the linen vestments. Before every change of vestment he would wash his hands and feet at the kiyor (water basin in the courtyard) and then immerse himself in a mikvah.
Aaron next would take from the congregation two kids of the goats (שְׁנֵי־שְׂעִירֵי עִזִּים) for a sin offering, and one ram (וְאַיִל אֶחָד) for a burnt offering (to be used later). First, however, he would was required to offer his bullock to atone for his sins according to the laws of sacrifice (i.e., by laying both hands on the head of the animal, confessing his sins, and then slaughtering it and catching its blood in a basin, and so on). When he was finished with his sin offering, he would take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance of the tent, and then draw lots (גּוֹרָלוֹת) - one lot "for the LORD," and one lot "for "Azazel" (i.e., עֲזָאזֵל, from עֵז, "kid" and אוּזָּל, to be sent away"). Note that the two goats had to be the identical in appearance, size and weight. Two tablets of gold, one inscribed with God's name (יהוה), and the other the name Azazel (עזאזל) were placed inside a wooden box and Aaron would draw one tablet (or goral) out and put it on the head of the goat to his right, and the other on the head of the goat to his left. Aaron then took the goat designated "for the Lord" to be prepared as a sin offering, and the goat designated to be sent away was set aside to be presented to the LORD before being released into the desert (Lev. 16:7-10).
After the selection of the two goats, Aaron would sacrifice his bullock as a sin offering. Then he would take a fire pan full of burning coals from the outer altar (i.e., the brazen altar) and a double handful of finely ground incense (i.e., ketoret: קטרת) that would be brought beyond the veil (i.e., parochet: פרכת) into the Holy of Holies, where he would place the incense on the burning coals in the fire pan so the smoke would cover the top of the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD (ארון ברית־יהוה) containing the Tablets. Then he would take some of the bullock's blood and, with his forefinger, sprinkle it once above the east side of the cover of the Ark (i.e., kapporet: כַּפֹּרֶת), and then seven more times toward (or upon) the cover itself. If he did this correctly, he would not die (Lev. 16:11-14).
Next Aaron would sacrifice the people's sin offering, the goat selected as "for the LORD" (ליהוה) and bring its blood into the Holy of Holies beyond the veil where he would sprinkle the blood in the exact same manner as the bullock's blood was sprinkled. The blood upon the cover of the ark (i.e, the kapporet) represented the people's atonement for breaking the laws of God. Aaron would then return to the Holy Place (i.e., the partition of the Tabernacle where the Menorah, the Showbread Table, the Menorah, and the Altar of Incense were situated) and sprinkle the blood over these objects as well, with special attention given to the golden Altar of Incense (מזבח הזהב), where its corners were daubed with the sacrificial blood (Lev. 16:15-19).
After atoning for the Holy Place of the Tabernacle (i.e., hakodesh: הַקֹּדֶשׁ), Aaron would call for the live goat -- the one selected "for Azazel" -- to be brought to him. Aaron would then lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over him all the iniquities, transgressions, and sins of people, "transferring" them to the head of the goat. Once this confession (i.e., viduy: וִדוּי) was accomplished, the goat would be "sent away" (azal) by the hand of a designated man into the desert. "The goat shall bear upon him all the people's iniquities into a desolate land (i.e., eretz gezerah: אֶרֶץ גְּזֵרָה), where the designated man would release him" (Lev. 16:20-22). Note that the "designated man" refers to one selected to do this holy task even on this special Sabbath. In Hebrew this anonymous person is called "ish itti" (אִישׁ עִתִּי), or a "timeless man," because his service transcends the restrictions of the Sabbath. Also note that the term "desolate land," or eretz gezerah, can be understood as a land of "decree," indicating that the "goat for Azazel" is a divine decree that surpasses our understanding (like the decree of the Red Heifer). Upon the release of the live goat, Aaron would return to the Holy Place, remove the white linen vestments, and then immerse himself in a mikvah at a sanctified place. He would then put on his regular High Priest vestments and go outside to offer his own burnt offering and the people's burnt offering at the altar of the outer court, being careful to burn the fat of the sacrifices upon the altar (Lev. 16:21-25).
The atonement service was finished when the bodies of both the bullock given for Aaron's sin offering and the goat given for the people's sin offering were taken outside of the camp to be completely burned in the fire. Both the one who sent the goat away into the desert and the one who burned the bodies of the sin offerings were required to wash their clothes and immerse themselves in a mikvah before they could reenter the camp (Lev. 16:26-28).
The LORD then told Moses that that this series of rituals was to be performed every year as the "Day of Atonements" (plural, i.e., yom ha'kippurim: יוֹם כִּפֻּרִים), an ordinance to be performed on the tenth day of the seventh month on the calendar (i.e., Tishri 10). The people were required to "afflict their souls" (i.e., fast) and the appointed High Priest would perform the same rites - in the same prescribed order - that were given to Aaron. "And this shall be a statute forever (לְחֻקַּת עוֹלָם) for you, that atonement (i.e., kaphar: כָּפַר) may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins" (Lev. 16:29-34). No work was to be done on this special sabbath of fasting, "because it is a Day of Atonements to make atonement for yourselves before the LORD your God" (see Lev. 23:27-28).
Note that Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is called an eternal decree, "chukkat olam," though we might better understand the word "olam" (עוֹלָם), translated as "eternal," to refer to the heavenly realm, that is, as a "decree of eternity," which suggests something deeper than the symbolic rituals performed at the Tabernacle (and later at the Temple). Indeed, Yom Kippur foreshadowed the great work of Yeshua, the Mediator of the New Covenant, wherein everlasting atonement was secured by means of his sacrifice given at the cross.
The author of the Book of Hebrews writes, "When the Messiah appeared as Kohen Gadol (high priest) of the good things to come, then, through the greater and more perfect Tabernacle which is not made with human hands (that is, not of this creation), he entered into the Kodesh ha'Kodashim (Holy of Holies) once and for all - not by means of the blood of goats and bullocks but by means of his own blood, thus securing for us eternal redemption" (Heb. 9:11-12). The Levitical system of worship was a "shadow" of a greater reality to come, since "it is impossible (ἀδύνατος) for the blood of bullocks and goats to take away (i.e., ἀφαιρέω, used to translate the Hebrew כָּרַת, to "cut off") sins" (Heb. 10:4; Psalm 40:6-8).
In light of the ministry of Yeshua as our great High Priest of the New Covenant, we understand the blood of the sin offering "to the LORD" to represent the blood of atonement that was shed upon the cross for our purification from sin, whereas the offering made "to Azazel" represents the additional aspect of removing of our sins far "outside the camp."
Just as both of the goats of the Yom Kippur ritual constituted a single offering made to God (i.e., Lev. 16:5 states "he [Aaron] shall take ... two male goats for a (singular) sin offering"), so the sacrifice of Yeshua represents two aspects of a single offering before God. The blood of the first goat was given "to the LORD" for atonement, but the exile of the second goat was given to banish sins from the Divine Presence. Likewise Yeshua served as both our atoning sacrifice before the Father and as our "scapegoat" who "carries away our sins" (Isa. 53:4, 5; Matt. 8:17; 1 Pet. 2:24). The "sent away goat" represents the separation from God that Yeshua experienced on our behalf as He bore the wrath of God in our place... Because of the Messiah's sacrifice, our sins are now put away "as far as the east is from the west" and are forever buried in the bottom of the sea, never to be remembered again (Psalm 103:12; Mic. 7:19; Isa. 38:17; Jer 31:34). Yeshua is both our Sin Offering whose blood cleanses us from sin as well as our "Scapegoat" who forever banishes our sins from God's holy Presence. Amen. יְהִי שֵׁם יְהוָה מְברָךְ - "Blessed be the Name of the Lord."
Let me close with a few additional remarks about the significance of Yom Kippur. First, God gives his directions, though we are responsible to heed his voice, as it says: "You shall guard my decrees and keep my ordinances, to walk in them, which, if a man does, he shall live by them" (Lev. 18:4-5). The atonement is (in a sense) a "divine-human" cooperative, since 1) the people were asked to acknowledge their iniquities, transgressions, and sins, that is, to confess their need for atonement, 2) to "afflict" themselves by demonstrating sorrow for their various wrongdoings; and 3) to provide the means by which the atonement rituals could take place (i.e., the physical sacrifices, the garments for the High Priest, the upkeep of the Tabernacle, and so on). On the other hand, everything comes from the hand of heaven, and therefore it may rightly be said that God alone makes atonement for us. "No man" was to be in Holy of Holies when the blood was offered upon the cover of the Ark of the Covenant (Lev. 16:17), which suggests that Aaron represented a divine Mediator before the LORD. The blood of the sacrifice therefore was offered by God and by means of God's own gift.
Within the inmost section of the "three-in-one" Tabernacle was the "three-in-one" Ark of the Covenant that held the two tablets of the Law of God, the covenant that defined the boundaries for rightly relating to Him, and it was upon its cover that the blood was offered to illustrate that only divinely ordained sacrificial blood would cleanse the people from their sins. As the blood was sprinkled upon the kapporet, the dark cloud surrounded the Ark, and the Divine Presence accepted the appointed sacrifice. This is a picture of the atonement secured by Yeshua upon the cross, as he offered up his life in intercession for us, surrounded by the dark cloud, and therein the blood of our Savior was given to cleanse us from sin.
It is important to note that the word in the ancient Greek translation of the Torah (called the Septuagint) that was selected to translate the Hebrew word kapporet (i.e., the cover of the Ark, sometimes called the "mercy seat") is hilasterion (ἱλαστήριον), often translated "propitiation." The New Testament picks up this usage where it says: "God put forward Yeshua as a propitiation (ἱλαστήριον) through faith in His blood" (Rom. 3:25). In other words, the sprinkling of Yeshua's blood - represented by His Passion upon the cross - was "presented" upon the Heavenly Kapporet, before the very Throne of God Himself. Yeshua here functions as the great High Priest after the order of Malki-Tzedek (i.e., Melchizedek) who provides everlasting forgiveness for our sins (Heb. 9:7-10:10). Because of His sacrifice, the parochet - the wall-like covering separating the Holy of Holies - was rent asunder and God's love was let loose upon the world! All those who are trusting in Yeshua as their atoning sacrifice before God (i.e., kapparah: כַּפָּרָה) are able to draw near to God full of confidence in his acceptance and love (Heb. 4:16; Rom. 5:2; Eph. 3:12).
The requirement that the High Priest would be sinless in his service, donned in humble attire that would be "left behind" after the sacrifice was complete, raised up from the waters in newness of life to provide an ascending offering on our behalf, all picture the high priestly work of Yeshua our Lord. That the body of sacrifice was taken outside of the camp and completely consumed as a whole burnt offering (עֹלָה) alludes to Yeshua's death "outside the camp" as well (Heb. 13:11-12). The ongoing "decree of heaven" to recall the Yom Kippur service speaks to our ongoing need to savor our atonement by trusting in God's provision for us. Yom Kippur both recalls our need for forgiveness and reveals God's compassion and grace as he provides the means by which we are eternally restored to him. Amen.
Well chaverim, thank you for taking the time to read this entry, and I sincerely hope that this overview of the Yom Kippur service - and its connection with the ministry of Yeshua - will bless you in your understanding of the greatness of our God. Shalom shalom!
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 103:12 reading (click):
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Jewish tradition states that Yom Kippur is the date when Moses received the second set of Ten Commandments, after the first set were shattered when Moses descended Mount Sinai. This second set of tablets foreshadowed the surpassing glory that would be later revealed in the New Covenant of Yeshua. For more on this subject, see parashat Ki Tisa and the various other articles on this site, including "The Eight Aliyot of Moses," and "The Surpassing Glory - Paul's Midrash of the Veil of Moses," and so on.
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