At the very centre of Leviticus lies one of the Bible's most powerful pictures of grace. Why does blood make atonement, and what does the Day of Atonement reveal about God's plan to deal with sin?
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How do these chapters feel different to what we've read so far in Leviticus?
What has particularly struck you as you think about God's provision for removing sin?
List all the different ways these chapters point us to Jesus, giving thanks for each one.
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The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.
Sarah: This is Two Sisters and a Cup of Tea, the Bible Study podcast designed for everyday life. Join us each week for 20 minutes of thoughtful conversation over tea and biscuits as we explore a book of the Bible together. Thanks to your generous donations from our listeners, this season we're unpacking Leviticus, discovering what it meant then and what it means for us now. Thank you so much for listening. We are delighted you're here.
Felicity: Welcome to Two Sisters and a Cup of Tea. My name is Felicity and I'm in the States. I'm here with my sister Sarah. She's in the UK. We are very much enjoying this walk through Leviticus and we hit some big chapters this week as we hit Leviticus 16 and 17. But Sarah, I don't know, in your house, what's going on at moment, but in the moment that we're recording this, the World Cup is in full flow and there is ongoing discussion in our house as to who is the goat and how can you think about who is the goat without thinking, well, what is the goat of tea and biscuits? I know all our listeners, you I'm sure you've spent many hours thinking about such things, but...
Sarah: Let's just clarify goat though as in greatest of all time that's what you're saying. The segue being we've got chapters about actual goats here that's that's your link. Good.
Felicity: True. Greatest, greatest of all time. Not an actual goat. Like... It's true. It's true. Yes. Excellent. Good clarification of the link. Tell us then, do you have a goat of your tea and biscuits?
Sarah: I think the goat of biscuits is the chocolate hobnob I've been thinking about this and thinking what where else can you go other than the chocolate hobnob. Would you go anywhere else?
Felicity: No, I mean, and also, also the hobnob. I know for our American friends, this will probably feel very unusual that you would consider dipping a biscuit in a cup of tea, but that is quite a normal thing to do. And with a hobnob, you can dip it in and bring it out again and it's not crumbled everywhere, which I think just adds to its goat levels, to be honest. Yeah. Yes, yes.
Sarah: I would say off the chart compared to some other ones really isn't it? Yeah Yeah, well goats and all and Felicity as you said we're into actually these chapters form the kind of hinge point in the book of Leviticus and they actually the central part not only of Leviticus but actually the whole Pentateuch they are significant chapters in the Bible. Felicity tell us how we know that and what difference it makes as we approach these couple of chapters.
Felicity: That's a great question because this, if you've been around kind of Bible teaching much at all, I would probably think that someone has mentioned this chapter or mentioned goats and scapegoats and that kind of thing previously. And if we were just to be reading Leviticus on its own, we might skim over this and think, well, that's nice. That's just a bit of goat action there and move on. But actually, as we put Leviticus back into the whole Bible story and that's not just, I'm not just talking about you know the order of the books in the Bible as it comes but actually the kind of the big arc of what God is doing, what's the story of God's purposes in the world, the salvation story if you like. As we take a step back and we begin to have that in view so you see it at the very beginning with creation and you see the fall of sin and you see actually what is gonna happen. How is God gonna enable this sinful people to dwell with him? And as we walk through the scriptural story, we see again and again, God pursuing his people, the people mucking up and ultimately, Jesus, ultimately then, the new creation. And that's what I've just done there, it's just a brief sweep of salvation story and what we call this is then Biblical theology, like the kind of the theology that comes out of seeing that big story and as we have that big story in view and we then read Leviticus 16 what happens is that it's like kind of little signposts are just flying off everywhere and you read Leviticus 16 you can't help but think oh there's like sacrifice that happens through Jesus and you can't help but think, I know why we need to sacrifice because actually there's big problems that happened back in Genesis 3, which is still blighting humanity now. And so that's a kind of like a bit of a deep dive, but also just a flavor of how we begin to understand the significance of what's being said here.
Sarah: Really, really helpful. Really, really helpful. And I think the way that Leviticus is put together, so we really encourage you just to read through Leviticus as a whole book, but you'll notice as you read through it or as you listen to it, this chapter feels different. These two chapters, they feel sober, they feel significant. There's a difference here. There's this distinction made around these chapters. And so that's really, really helpful for us to keep it in the big picture. OK, I'm going to read Leviticus chapter 16 for us. Let's go.
The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord. The Lord said to Moses, tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the most holy place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover of the ark or else he'll die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover. This is how Aaron is to enter the most holy place. He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He is put on the sacred limnic tunic with linen undergarments next to his body. He's to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments, so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on. From the Israelite community is to take two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. Then he's to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. He's to cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. 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. Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the tablets of the covenant law so that he will not die. He is to take some of the bull's blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover and he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover. He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull's blood. He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it. In this way he'll 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. No one is to be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the most holy place until he comes out having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel. Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull's blood and some of the goat's blood and put it on all the horns of the altar. He shall sprinkle some of blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consequent it from the uncleanness of the Israelites. When Aaron has finished making atonement for the most holy place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites, all their sins, and put them on the goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place and the man shall release it into the wilderness. Then Aaron is to go into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments he put on before he entered the most holy place and is to leave them there. He shall bathe himself with water in the sanctuary area and put on his regular garments. Then he shall come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people to make atonement for himself and for the people. He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar. The man who releases the goat as the scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. Afterward he may come into the camp. The bull and the goat for the sin offering whose blood was brought into the most holy place to make atonement must be taken outside the camp. Their hides, flesh and intestines are to be burned up. The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. Afterward he may come into the camp. This is to be a lasting ordinance for you. On the tenth day of the seventh month, you must deny yourselves and not do any work, whether native born or a foreigner residing among you, because on this day atonement will be made for you to cleanse you. Then before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins. It is a day of Sabbath rest and you must deny yourselves it is a lasting ordinance. The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments and make atonement for the Holy Place, for the Tent of Meeting and for the altar, and for the priests and for all the members of the community. This is to be a lasting ordinance for you. Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites. And it was done as the Lord commanded Moses.
Felicity: Wow. There is so much of significance in here. even as you're reading, was like, well, no, how are we gonna even just do it justice? But it's maybe worth just noting at the very start, we Aaron's sons died, if you remember back in, we had that in chapter 10, didn't we? Was it chapter 10? Yeah. And so there's real, to enter into the tent of meeting and to approach the Lord is really dangerous. And so when he then says to Aaron, he is not to come, this is verse two, whenever he chooses into the most holy place behind that, or else he will die for I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover. This is we have the presence of the Lord here and we have very clear instruction and command. Again God making provision by which atonement like this cleansing sacrifice, that word atonement is repeated so much in Leviticus isn't it and what it is is really the taking on of the sin in that moment, in that sacrifice enabling it to be dealt with.
Sarah: Yeah, and it's just sobering isn't it, that reality that like there's a right way to do this and if you don't approach the Lord in the right way there's deathly consequences as we've seen already. And chapter 17 actually kind of goes on to kind of explore that a little bit more in terms of the significance of the way blood is shared in sacrifices. It must be in the right place with the right kind of worship to the Lord and I think it's just helpful to kind of see that because actually at the heart of this what's going on is life. Life is being taken in place of another life, isn't it? And the life blood at the heart of it is, yeah, the blood of the goats is representing our blood, their life for our life. And that just, it's, as you read this through, felt like holy ground stepping on this and reading it through again because you're just so significant. It just feels so significant in that, in the substitution that's taking place and the completeness of it, the repetition of seven again and the fact that the kind of repetition of all that's in whatever that's in, all the wickedness and rebellion. Like this is a big day that's happening here.
Felicity: It's a big day and it's a day that happens once a year. So it is a regular thing, but it feels like it's a kind of all encompassing thing. We've had all of these instructions as to how atonement might be made and offerings been given and cleanness achieved. And this is almost like the overarching, like this is it. This is the means by which all of that will be dealt with, yeah, allowed. Any sin, any uncleanness would be dealt with in order that we would be able to approach the Lord. But let's get into, we have the two goats. We've got two goats, not just one goat, is it? We've got two goats and we're looking here, verses six, kind of that chunk just there. We have a goat who is kept alive and we have a goat who is definitely not alive by the end of this. So the scapegoat, that's if we're looking at the first chunk there, we have cast lots for two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. So you have a scapegoat who literally is gonna be lent on with the sins of the community. So it's as if this goat is carrying the sins of the community and he is then, I'm describing him as a he, I mean, it might be a girl, sent off.
Sarah: No, it says two male goats, you're alright, it's okay. So the scapegoat bears actually the consequence of sin, it bears the banishment for the sin, it? So he heads out into the wilderness, that's where the people should be because of their sin. They should be banished from the Lord's presence. The goat kind of substitute is that's what he's doing as he's kind of sent off and the goat that's killed on the altar he is the one who's literally taking their sin away, dying for their sin.
Felicity: Yeah, yes, exactly. Dying for their sin and that sacrifice means that the people can approach. So the blood of the goat enables the approach. That's a really good distinction, Sarah. I love that what you said there, the banishment, the consequence. And actually this is then the means by which it encompassed within that is the death that is deserved because of the sin.
Sarah: Yes, but all in all what you're seeing is a picture of it's completely dealt with. So once a year, there's this kind of profound statement of grace, isn't it, that the Lord does not treat them as their sins deserve. Once a year, everything is covered in a way that is so visible, is so all encompassing the whole community to stop what they're doing. This is a Sabbath day, they're to rest, they're to fast, to deny themselves is to kind of fast, is to kind of really kind of just slow, slow to a stop and consider how the Lord is taking your sin for you and is dealing with it for you. It's beautiful and it also just kind of messy. Like, it's a messy thing going on with all the blood again, isn't it?
Felicity: Yeah. So true that. So true that this is not a kind of, and it's not done and dusted within two sentences. It's quite a process.
Sarah: No, it's a process for Aaron and yeah the fact that he's doing this for his own sin and his household's sin and then for the whole community and again so as we just draw this to Jesus and we see that he is not only the High Priest but he is also the sacrifice, the atoning sacrifice for our sins and all of it, all of it is fulfilled in Jesus. There's nothing outside of Jesus here, he's it.
Felicity: Yes, yes, that's exactly it, isn't it? So if we're thinking of like, know, signposts is a big thing as you're in a of the Old Testament, you think, how does this signpost us towards Jesus? mean, every arrow in this chapter is just landing on, yeah, it's like just Jesus.
Sarah: Yeah, like neon flashing arrows, like not even like a wooden signpost here. I think we're talking like big neon kind of like blaring.
Felicity: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And the sufficiency of that, because one of the striking things I think from this chapter is how often it is all the sin is dealt with. This is comprehensive for everyone. All sin is dealt with. This is the annual moment when all of it is done. And that in itself gives a flavour of kind of sufficiency and absoluteness. But how much more? This still had to happen year upon year. Jesus once and for all, as Hebrews tells us again and again, once and for all, that was it, sufficient. as I've been dwelling on that and thinking on that, like, do I really believe that? Do I really trust that Jesus's death on the cross is all that I need? Like, it's not Jesus's death plus me doing all that I can to brush myself up and sort myself out. Jesus' death is sufficient for my really necessary, I really need a rescuing death, I really need his blood. And I think for the people back in Leviticus' time, this would have been very evident, this is what they need. They would have like, praise the Lord for the day of atonement. And do we have that same sense of like, praise the Lord for the cross? Like, whoa, whoa. What a relief, do I kind of exhale, lean in, lean on Jesus in that sense.
Sarah: Yeah. And that, and the kind of experiential nature of this, that it as a community, they're doing this corporately, they're pausing corporately, they're fasting corporately, they're just kind of dwelling on the significance. And we have that around Good Friday, don't we? But I wonder whether we miss some of, we miss some of it. We, we're sometimes so quick to get to the resurrection. It's right to get there, isn't it? But also just this. This forces us to slow down, doesn't it? This forces us just to dwell once again on the significance that every, every sin is covered. And also that God's heart is one of love in doing this, isn't it? Like what motivates the Lord to do this other than his love? Well, it's that verse in 1 John 4, isn't it? This is love, not that we loved God, but that God loved us and gave his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sin. And just his motivation, his heart here is one of love that he was not going to treat the people as their sins deserve. And this sits at the heart of Leviticus, it's the heart of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, and just shows us God's heart. I've just been thrilled and surprised at how much we've been seeing his heart through Leviticus, I think.
Felicity: I love, and I love even just in this moment, Leviticus 16, how frequently it is said, this is a lasting ordinance. Like this, this is the thing. This is the thing that lasts. And we know that to be true, the permanence of the gospel, the eternal nature of what has been achieved there.
Sarah: And I love, yeah, and I loved like when we're at that conversation with Jay was just so helpful, wasn't it? And he took us to chapter 17. And I think he almost had tears in his eyes, didn't he? As he was talking about approaching communion, approaching the Lord's Supper, remembering all that it's taken. Chapter 17 verse 11, for the life of a creature is in the blood and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar. It is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. I just loved seeing his heart of worship towards the Lord in that conversation and actually how much more profound it is to approach the lasting ordinance of the Lord's Supper having been in these chapters. Will you pray for us, Felicity?
Felicity: Yeah, yeah. Wow, absolutely. Father, we praise you and thank you for the gift of this chapter, these two chapters in Leviticus that help us to see Jesus more clearly. Thank you that as we sit in these verses, as we see what's going on here, as we understand this, even just a small bit of the goats and the blood and the lasting ordinance and the sufficiency here, how much more Lord, as we look to Jesus. Father, would you draw our eyes again and again to Jesus, help us to sit rightly in his sacrifice and to delight in that, to praise you for that, to rest in that. Father, please, would you expand our view of Jesus today, that we would rest in what you out of your extravagant and outrageous love have done for us. We praise you Lord for your kindness to us, for salvation, for safety, for security, for life through Jesus. Amen.
Sarah: Amen. We will be carrying on into the next chunk of Leviticus, chapters 18 to 20 next time. But before then, why not head to our website www.twosistersandacupoftea.com and there you can find recommended resources to go alongside our study in Leviticus. We've benefited hugely from the wisdom of others. And so you can find all our recommendations there that will just help you to get more into this precious book of the Bible. And we look forward to seeing you next Friday. Goodbye.
Felicity: See you then.
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