The Day of Atonement
Nick Owens, November 2, 2025
“The Day of Atonement”
Leviticus 16
Intro: The chapter we just read is the central chapter of Leviticus. The book of Leviticus has been arranged and put together in such a way that ch. 16 – The Day of Atonement – lies at the heart. More than that, if you’ve been with us in Sunday school as we’ve dug into the details of Leviticus, as we discussed, the book of Leviticus is really the central book of the first 5 books of the Bible. So here, in Lev. 16, we have the chapter that is the very heart of the Torah.
And in this chapter presents us with the tension that fills the whole book of Leviticus – We must draw near to God – God is the author of life, he is love and pure goodness. We were made to know and love and draw near in relationship to God – We must draw near to God – and yet because of sin – it is dangerous to draw near to God – because in the presence of this God who is holy and pure and good and who doesn’t have any faults – corruption and sin and failure and death can’t co-exist. We must draw near, but how can we? We must be near God – yet how can God dwell with us?
And the answer of Leviticus 16 – the answer of this incredibly important chapter is – Atonement. Again and again throughout this chapter we see this word – Atonement –
And even just breaking down the English word – Atonement – At-one-ment – the idea is reconciliation between God and humanity, the bringing about of unity and oneness where there has been a rupture in relationship.
And as we’ve already considered in earlier parts of Leviticus – part of what is needed for atonement is cleansing. Sin and the effects of sin, namely death – pollutes, it leaves a stain of corruption. And it must be cleansed and purified. The stains of death must be dealt with in the presence of the God of life – the pollution must be cleansed and purified so that God can continue to dwell with his people. But in addition to this – sin also leaves a debt, an ever growing debt. The debt must be paid and the penalty for the wrongs must be carried out.
Atonement – as one scholar defines it, is “that which happens when God in his love makes a way to deal with our wrongs so that we might be right with him.” (Sklar)
Leviticus 16 shows us: our need for atonement and the way of atonement that God provides. And in doing this it also points forward to the better and greater atonement accomplished in Jesus. Let’s consider each of these as we look at the text. If you have the text out in your Bible or bulletin that would be helpful.
First, Our need for Atonement –
Look at how the text begins, v. 1 –
The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the LORD.
This all important Day of Atonement narrative begins by recalling the Nadab and Abihu event. You will remember, two of Aaron’s sons who had been set apart to serve as priest, in ch. 10 of Leviticus they come before the presence of God offering fire that God had not commanded and they die for their error.
After their death in chs. 11-15 we have a whole bunch of laws about ritual cleanliness – we’ve spent the last two weeks looking at some parts of these chapters – but one of the things you realize as you read these chapters is – becoming unclean is inevitable – now Leviticus doesn’t say – hey, since it’s inevitable – it doesn’t really matter. NO! It does matter and God graciously gives all sorts of instruction of how to deal with it.
And yet – the reality is this system of daily symbols and concrete reminders of the reality of corruption would have led people to see – we need cleansing, we need God to deal with the corruption of sin, because the decay and pollution and vandalism sin has created is great.
Nadab and Abihu is just one such clear and concrete reminder – because remember it was not long after the first worship service in the tabernacle – that worship service that went so so well, for things to go terribly bad.
One moment you have access and nearness to God experienced in a deeper and greater way than any moment after the fall of humanity to this time in history ……. It was a moment of profound joy – God was dwelling with his people, and because of God’s gracious instruction given in Leviticus – through the offerings and through the ordained priests his people experienced God’s blessing and God’s glorious presence ………. and then a moment later, a careless action from a few of the priests results in that same nearness to the Holy God manifesting in death and judgement.
But add on to that, because there were now dead bodies in the holy place – there was defilement. What took 9 chapters of Leviticus to build – takes a few verses to vandalize and pollute.
And this is what the uncleanness section that we spent a few weeks looking at would have reinforced – to put it simply – first off – one could not simply remain ritually clean all the time – all sorts of normal everyday things brought about uncleanness. Second, after someone had become unclean through contact with things in Israel’s symbolic world that were connected to death, becoming clean and whole was a lengthy process. And third, while becoming clean took time and various rituals depending on the specifics of the situation – uncleanness spread easily and quickly.
Now, I realize that all of this is very strange to us – this world of symbols and things like ritual cleanliness feels very foreign to us. And because of Jesus and how he fulfilled the law, those of us who are Christians don’t continue to follow these rituals today.
But Leviticus is pointing us to a reality that is very relevant and true, something we experience and I think we feel deep down. And it is this – We can build and strive toward life and love – and yet it is easy to fail and it is easy for death and evil to pollute our lives and relationships –
Leviticus shows us about how quickly things can turn away from life toward death –
And in this, Leviticus reveals to us our need for Atonement, for something to be done to make things right and whole.
Let me give a very minor example first – Those of you who are parents, I imagine many of you have had the experience where you want to love your kids, and you want to be the best parent you can be, but it is easy to feel like you fail.
I think we feel what Leviticus is getting at when we have a week when we really have tried to pour life and love into our kids and family – we made the meals, tucked them in a night and prayed for them, helped with the homework, changed the diapers, lived our evenings as unpaid Uber drivers – all the stuff – but then there’s a moment where we’re tired, and they are pushing our buttons and we lose it, we get angry, we are impatient, perhaps we yell, or we are unkind and afterward we feel terrible….. and it feels like in that moment – how quickly what we had been seeking to build and strive for has been tainted and stained.
Let me give a second example – I want you to think about a local school – the number of people working hard, the teachers and administrators and janitors. The families and parents all participating and helping, working to build something wonderful – and it only takes 1 person set on doing evil to enter that school and seemingly forever mark it as a place of sorrow and tragedy.
You see – it’s like our world and our lives have this gravitational pull toward sin and selfishness toward corruption and death.
Leviticus 16 – tells us that we have a great need to be reconciled to God, that we and the world we live in is a place where failure and sin come easy and quickly, where death and corruption invade………. and it all has to be dealt with.
The need for atonement is great because when you think about it – throughout the course of a year, how many times can you imagine sin or ritual uncleanness not being properly addressed. I mean, there are a few million people at this point – Are they all offering the right sacrifices? All the time? What happens when sacrifices are offered wrongly or not at all? What happens when the priests get it wrong? What happens when people become unclean, but they didn’t realize it? What happens and where does all the uncleanness and sin go?
Actually the text tells us – look at v. 16 – in this verse God speaks of the atoning work the high priest will do, but notice the connection the verse makes between the sins of the people and the tabernacle…
v.16 In this way he (the priest) will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the tent of meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
If we go back to that question – what happens to sins and impurities not properly dealt with? V. 16 tells us – they invade the space where God meets with his people. The tabernacle is like a magnet that draws to itself all the uncleannesses and rebellion of the Israelites.
– the impurities can’t continue to build up but must be dealt with if God is going to continue to dwell with his people. The house has to be cleaned, the debts dealt with – Israel needs a spring cleaning…
And so God in his grace and love – in his people’s great need – provides a way of Atonement.
2nd let’s consider this Way of Atonement –
If we were to sum it up in one word – we could say – Reboot – the day of Atonement is like a yearly reboot.
My mother for most of her working life was a private music teacher. But for a few years she worked at a public middle school and high school as a choir director. One of the years she was there, she had a free period right where the school needed someone to teach a computer typing class. Now that’s hilarious, because anyone who knows my mother, knows she is probably one of the least tech savoy people – even more so in the late 90’s when this all happened. So she’s teaching this 6th grade computer typing class and probably at least once a day, if not more, a student would raise their hand – “something’s going on with my computer.” My mom’s standard answer was – “I don’t know. Why don’t you turn it off and turn it back on. Give it a reboot.” Actually not bad advice. Just last Sunday I was trying to print something on the church copier and all sorts of error messages were coming up – I turned it off, and back on – and it worked.
The day of Atonement is like a reboot for everyone – for the priest, for the people, for the tabernacle. God in his grace makes this way of atonement where things can be wiped clean, where the build up of sins and impurities can be dealt with, where his people can have a fresh start.
Let’s look at some of the details – The whole ritual begins with Aaron bathing himself with water v. 4 before he puts on the special linen garments he wears on the day of atonement. You will notice that while it is primarily Aaron as the high priest who is doing all of the activity of this ritual in the chapter, anyone who is involved,
- like the man in v. 26 who releases the scapegoat into the wilderness,
- or the man whose job it is to take remaining parts of the animal for the sin offerings and bring them outside of the camp to burn them v. 28
- – everyone participating must wash and bathe. Aaron washes and bathes again v. 24 after the sin offering and the scapegoat is released. This is a reboot – a fresh and clean start. Sin and impurities are to be dealt with and atoned for and then those who had any contact or participation in those offerings – wash, cleanse themselves.
Starting in v. 11 we read some of the specific details of the Day of Atonement ritual –
- Aaron must bring a bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household.
- Aaron must kill the bull and gather its blood, which he will bring into the most holy place. Remember this is the most inner part of the tabernacle, it is where God’s presence is most intense. This is the part of the tabernacle that no one else is allowed to enter and into which the High Priest can only go once a year, on this day, the Day of Atonement.
- But even on this day, Aaron dare not go into the most holy place where he might come face to face with God’s glorious presence and so before he takes the blood into the Most holy place. V. 12 he gets a firepan and coals from the altar that is before the LORD, the altar of incense that is in the holy place and v. 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, so that the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover ….. the incense smoke creates a cloud, a barrier, to keep Aaron from coming into direct contact with God’s holy presence, lest he should die.
- With the cloud from the smoke of the incense shielding Aaron – he can then take the blood for the sin offering for himself and sprinkle it on the atonement cover – he sprinkles 7 times – symbolically representing this is a complete and thorough cleansing.
- Then v. 15 Aaron does the same thing with one of the goats for the people of Israel. The blood is sprinkled in the Most holy place, as well as the Holy Place resulting in what we read in v. 16
16 In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been.
- 18 Aaron then applies the blood – both the blood for himself from the bull and the blood for the people from the goat – and makes atonement for the altar where the burnt offerings are made in the courtyard of the tabernacle.
- 20 – After all 3 parts of the tabernacle have been purified and wiped clean, Aaron brings forward the live goat.
- He puts his hands on the goat’s head and confesses over it all the sins of the people – all the wrongs, all the wickedness.
- The ever growing burden of debt. The weight of sin. All of it is symbolically transferred to this goat.
And then the goat is sent far into the wilderness. God is showing his people – Sin leads to death and exile – being separated from the God of life. Sin merits being “cut off.” Literally v. 22 read, “The goat will bear on itself all their iniquities to a cut off land.”
God is showing his people – though your sins and rebellion against me deserves death, exile, being cut off – this debt, this weight – what your sins are due – can be transferred to a substitute who carries your sins far away, so that you can draw near to me.
Whatever your sins have been……. On this day – they are dealt with.
Once this is all done – Aaron takes off the Day of Atonement clothes, washes, and puts back on his normal Priestly garb. The High Priest has been rebooted – along with the rest of the priestly household. The tabernacle has been rebooted, as well as the people. And so the ritual ends in v. 24 with Aaron, now the rebooted high priest, making the whole burnt offering of Ascension for himself and the people – dedicating them to God.
But what about the people? All this activity is done by Aaron the High Priest. What are the people supposed to do? What is their role on this day of Atonement?
- 29 – The people are told – “you must deny yourselves and not do any work.” Then in v. 31 it’s repeated saying – “it is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves;”
In the OId Testament, celebrating the Sabbath was a reminder and pointed God’s people to the reality that it is God who sanctifies them, God who makes them his holy people. Sabbath, practically speaking, is an opportunity to trust God.
In the law, the land is to be given a sabbath rest every seven years – the people were not to work the land, but rather trust that God would provide. If you don’t trust God, you can’t rest, you can’t stop working, you can’t stop trying to make yourself right.
And so on this most holy day – the Day of Atonement – God wants his people to rest from work, because v. 30 on this day Atonement will be made for you.
The people are to not do any work, they are to deny themselves – humble themselves through fasting and prayer, coming to God in weakness with repentant hearts looking to God and trusting him to do what they cannot do.
And God in his great love and mercy – makes a way. He gives all the instructions because he knows our needs. He makes a way for atonement so that people, whose lives are caught in the gravitational pull toward death and corruption and sin, can be wiped clean, begin anew, start afresh. God makes a way so that he can continue to dwell with his people. This is the message at the heart of Leviticus, at the heart of the opening books of the Bible. God in his love, makes a way for us to be made right.
And yet – if we go back to the idea of a reboot – if you have a device (a computer, phone, printer) that continually needs to be rebooted, you might wonder – maybe there’s a better version that wouldn’t need this regular reboot.
I mean….If there is a day, once a year, where something can be done, where God provides the way to atone and bring the cleansing and payment for sin that’s needed. Could it be that God might one day bring about atonement that would be so definitive, so complete that this atonement that could never be undone – that this atonement that couldn’t be soiled again?
And the answer of the New Testament and gospel is – YES – This is the Greater Atonement in Jesus –
The author of the letter to the Hebrews in the NT puts it like this – Jesus’ Atonement is so much greater because Jesus entered not the earthly tabernacle, but the very heavenly dwelling of God and he ministers there on our behalf. He didn’t make atonement by the blood of goats or calves, but with his own blood. He did this once and for all, offering up himself to purify us who trust in him and secure our eternal redemption.
In Jesus, we are cleansed.
And in Jesus our debt is paid – the record of wrongs that stood against us was nailed to the cross.
As Isaiah had prophesied hundreds of years before the coming of Christ – he wrote in ch. 53 about one who would like the scapegoat be cut off, he would bear the people’s sins, he would be crushed for our iniquities, he would take the death we deserved to die. This Jesus did for you. This is why God sent his Son into the world.
And because of this – It is finished. If you trust in him, if you seek him and turn to him and receive what God has done for you through Jesus – you are forgiven, you are cleansed – your sins – past, present, and future are all dealt with…
And because of the greater atonement in Jesus – God calls you to draw near to him with confidence. You need not be afraid. The high priest could only go into the earthly tabernacle once a year and even then he needed the cloud of incense to shield himself from God’s glorious presence.
But if you belong to Jesus, through his atoning sacrifice and with him as your high priest, you are called and welcomed to come before God in every time of need. Each and every day you can come. Come boldly. Come and enjoy the reality that you are reconciled to God and belong to God. Come and receive help and grace.
Let me invite us all now to do this very thing – God calls us to come to him, being honest about the ways we have not loved him and not loved others as he has called us – being honest about our sins and struggles – through his Son, he calls us to seek him and his help and grace. And he gives abundant and lavish grace to all who will – so let’s spend a few moments in silent confession and prayer and then I’ll close our time in a prayer.