Specific instructions and procedures were outlined to Moses regarding the disposal of all sins that had been removed from the people and transferred to the wilderness Sanctuary throughout each year.
“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.” Leviticus 16: 1-4 (NKJV)
The Tabernacle of Meeting was subdivided into two apartments. The first apartment, called The Holy Place, was where all the priests could enter daily to eat the Shew Bread, drink the wine, and attend to the lamps, Altar of Incense, and other furnishings. The Most Holy Place, however, was separated by a veil, and no one was permitted to enter that space except the High Priest. Nevertheless, he was only permitted to do so once yearly on The Great Day of Atonement. Furthermore, not only was he required to bathe and dress in his High Priestly attire. He was also required to make specific sacrifices for his own sins and those of his household and bring the blood of the animals offered with him when he came into the divine Presence.
“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.” Leviticus 16:5-10 (NKJV).
While attempting to remove his own sins and those of his family from the Tabernacle of Meeting (The Sanctuary), Aaron was required to place live coals within a censer and carry frankincense in his hand when he entered The Holy Place. The Horns of The Altar of Incense were smeared with the bull’s blood. Signifying the penitent sinner’s power before God’s throne of judgment by trusting in the blood and merits of Christ. The sweet-smelling incense represented the incomparable righteousness of Christ our Saviour. The incense was sprinkled by The Aaronic High Priest over the live coals within the censer, and the fragrance thereof rose as a cloud to cover the Presence of The Holy One. The bull’s blood was sprinkled once upon The Mercy Seat, which covered God’s sacred Law (The Ten Commandments), and seven times before the Mercy Seat, upon which two cherubim were postured. The blood was sprinkled once upon the Mercy Seat because Christ would die only once to satisfy the claims of God’s sacred law. That law demanded the death of every sinner. But it was sprinkled seven times before the Mercy Seat because the blood of The Saviour would provide perfect cleansing from all repented and forsaken sins.
“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.” Leviticus 16:11-14 (NKJV)
The fact that Aaron, as High Priest, had to meticulously pursue all the measures outlined to Moses by the Lord to deal with all the sins of himself and his household clearly demonstrates that the priesthood over which he presided was imperfect. Aaron and his progeny, who officiated in the wilderness, Solomonic, and Herodian Sanctuaries, were vile sinners. Accordingly, everything they did was only symbolic and representative of a superior order that would later supersede everything done on earth. Two goat kids were brought to the High Priest for the people on The Day of Atonement and separated by a lot. The goat chosen to be The Lord’s and the one selected to be the Scapegoat were done by divine appointment. The world’s Redeemer has Himself asserted,
“Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” John 10:18 (NKJV)
“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.” Leviticus 16:15-18 (NKJV)
The fact that the earthly Sanctuary was cleansed twice on The Day Of Atonement immortalizes the cleansing process and makes it a vital and indispensable reality. It illustrates to the people of Israel and all of God’s people throughout all ages that sin is a terrible scourge that must be cleansed from every nook and cranny of God’s universe. Daily, sin was separated from God’s people and deposited inside God’s Sanctuary, within the divine presence, because only The Omnipotent God could dispose of it. Such a disposition could not be accomplished without the shedding of blood.
“And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” Hebrews 9:22 (NKJV)
No one except the High Priest was permitted to enter The Holy Place on The Great Day of Atonement. This reality represented the seriousness and solemnity associated with the disposition of all sins. There was a time for personal confession and separation from sin, and a special time was also reserved for removing all sins confessed and forsaken from the camp.
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