Leviticus 16.1-34

The Day of Atonement: Leviticus 16.1-34

We now learn the proper way to offer incense - the one that does not get people killed.

Remember back in Leviticus 10 when Nadab and Abihu died for performing the incense offering incorrectly? Here the Lord tells Moses:

Tell your brother Aaron not to come just at any time into the sanctuary inside the curtain before the mercy seat that is upon the ark, or he will die; for I appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.
(Lev. 16.2)

God's appearance within a cloud suits God's character. God is approachable yet somehow distant, obscure. The Lord's ineffable God-ness is personified in the cloud. The Israelites know God is there because there is a cloud, but at the same time the face of God is obscured and one must perform proper rituals in order to approach God's throne. God-in-cloud serves as the embodiment of the less tangible idea that proper action brings you closer to this God whose existence you profess.

The Lord further gives instructions on how to approach the Lord so that Aaron may avoid dying: bathe, dress in holy vestments, bring a for himself a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, and bring for the congregation two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

The Scapegoat

Ever wonder where the phrase "scapegoat" came from? Now you don't have to! It comes from Leviticus 16. Having the two male goats for the congregation's sin offering, Aaron is to cast lots to determine the goats' fates. One goat will go to the Lord, the other to Azazel. The Lord's goat will be sacrificed, the other is presented to the Lord alive to be atoned for before being released into the wilderness to Azazel. What is Azalel? We don't know. Perhaps a demon. What we do know, however, is that Azazel is traditionally rendered in Christian scripture as "scapegoat." One goat goes to the Lord, but the scapegoat escapes into the wilderness, carrying with it the sins of Israel.

First Aaron must sacrifice the bull. Then he must enter the holy place. The Lord instructs Aaron on proper burning of incense, so that he may not be killed like his sons. Remember, Aaron is not allowed to look at God, so the purpose of the censer and incense is to obscure the ark of the covenant with smoke. After lighting the incense inside the tent of meeting, he is to sprinkle some of the blood of the bull seven times before the mercy seat.

The goat offering for the people is next sacrificed, and its blood sprinkled in the same fashion as the bull. This atones for the collective uncleanness of Israel. Aaron should then sprinkle some blood on the altar.

Aaron then should present the live goat. He should lay his hands on the goat's head, confess over it the iniquities and transgressions and sins over the goat, and have someone send it into the wilderness. The goat leaves carrying the collective sins of Israel into the wilderness, where they will no longer afflict the camp. The person who sets the goat free should wash his clothes and bathe before re-entering the camp, having touched the unholy goat.

Aaron should then bathe (for he has been defiled by the sins laid on the goat), leaving his clothes in a holy place (as they are filled with holiness). He should offer the burnt offerings to make atonement for himself and the congregation. The one who takes the bodies outside the camp for burning shall wash his clothes and body.

This is an annual occurrence. It is to happen on the tenth day of the seventh month. Everyone is to fast and do no work, citizen and alien alike. Everything on this day is atoned for and once again made holy.