Let us read together from the book of Leviticus and chapter 16. The book of Leviticus and chapter 16. Here we have the account given of that special day in the calendar of Israel, which was known as the great day of atonement. And this was the only day of the year that the high priest was able to enter into the Holy of Holies. with the blood, not his own blood, but of the bullock on his own behalf and also the goat on behalf of the people. And it's a long chapter and we've not got so much time, so I'll read it and comment as I go and then focus on one particular aspect as the Lord helps. So Leviticus and chapter 16.

And the Lord spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they offered before the Lord and died. So that was the occasion when Nadab and Abihu offered that strange fire and died before the Lord in the tabernacle. And you could think that Therefore they'd think, well they'd never go in again then. But here it shows that there is a way to go into that Holy of Holies, but it's according to God's way. And so there was, this was the way that they were able to enter, the only way. Leviticus chapter 16. And we're now on verse two.

And the Lord said unto Moses, speak unto Aaron thy brother that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat which is upon the ark and that he die not for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat. Then shall Aaron come into the holy place with a young bullock for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. So these two animals, the bullock was a sin offering for Aaron himself. And that's one of the things that we see in this picture, a difference between this and what happened at Calvary.

The Lord Jesus did not need, first of all, to enter into the holy place and make an offering for himself. because he was sinless. Aaron did. Aaron was a high priest that also needed atoning. But the Lord Jesus is a mediator which has access to God and doesn't need to be represented.

So there was a bullet for the sin offering and a ram for the burnt offering. And he shall put on the holy linen coat. Now here we have in verse four we have the fact that the high priest this day part of this day was not going to wear his garments which are described as for glory and for beauty. The high priest garments were very rich and very royal normally. But for this day, the high priest was going to take off those garments and put on pure white linen garments, a purity, but a humility. And here we see a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ when he was going to come to this earth to work out atonement and a righteousness for his people.

He laid aside his glory. and took upon him the form of a servant. And that's what we have in verse four. He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired. These are holy garments, therefore shall he wash his flesh in the morning, and so put them on. So he had very humble clothing on this day, a picture of what the Lord Jesus Christ did.

He humbled himself, made himself of no reputation because he was going to work out the atonement of his people this day. and then in verse five, and he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.

So these two kids of the goats, they were for a sin offering. Normally it's the only time they had a double animal for a sin offering. Normally it was just one animal and that would be killed by the altar and his the blood taken and sprinkled, and the fat, and a few of the inward parts would be burnt on the altar, the brazen altar, and the rest of the animal would be carried outside the camp and burnt outside the camp as something that was showing God's displeasure on that, being made a curse, really. and how Christ suffered without the camp, and that's a picture of that. So this sin offering. But in this particular case, this sin offering was going to be done over two animals. There was going to be these two goats.

One was going to be a goat for the Lord, it's referred to as, and one was going to be a goat for the people. And this was going to show the double aspect of what happened. And as we come to this time of the year and we think of the coming of that time of suffering of Christ. We can see something of the aspects of what he was what he was accomplishing. Verse six.

And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself and for his house. So this is something that Christ did not need to do. He did not need to do this. Aaron did. If you have a mediator between two parties, that mediator must have access to both parties. Aaron did not have access in his own right to God. He also was a sinner, but our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ had access to the Father. His presence was beautiful to the Father, and he did not need to do this sin offering as in verse 6. So we have differences and similarities, and Hebrews picks this up very beautifully.

Verse 7, and he shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. This is verse 7. And verse 8, and Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats. One lot for the Lord, that's the one that's going to be killed, and the other lot for the scapegoat. That's the goat that's going to be let go into the wilderness, never to be seen again. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to make an atonement before him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

So that's really a summary. And then we have the details coming on again. In verse 11, this is a more detailed account. And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself. So first of all, he has to kill this bullock, which is for himself.

And he shall take a censer of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord with his hands full of sweet incense, beat and small, and bring it within the veil. So this is the first time he enters of the day into the veil. And he first of all enters with this censer, with coals that come off the brazen altar, thinking of the sacrifice. But then he has incense in his hands, and he puts the incense on top of the burning coals. And there's this sweet perfume that comes off, and this cloud that completely fills the Holy of Holies.

Verse 13, he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony that he die not. Again, something that in a sense Christ did not need to do because his own person was beautiful to the Father. error needed to come in the acceptance of another, not himself. But the Lord Jesus was accepted. So he first of all goes into the Holy of Holies with this censer, puts the incense on it, and the whole place is filled with this cloud. and he shall take of the blood of the bullock and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times. So this is, he's again atoning for himself to start with. So he's gone into the holies, he's filled it with smoke, with the incense, and then he's atoned for his own sin. And then verse 15, now he's starting to do it on behalf of the people.

Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with that blood as he did with the other. So now he's going to do, this goat that was called the Lord's goat is going to be killed, and by the brazen altar, and the blood is taken into the Holy of Holies. A picture of what the Lord Jesus would do, figuratively, no, in reality, at Calvary and after that. And then we have this in verse 17, and there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth to make an atonement in the holy place.

And here we see that the work of Christ was a, he trod the winepress alone. He was the only one. He only could unlock the gate. of heaven and let us in. It's only the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. No man was in the tabernacle, just the high priest at this time.

Then if I drop down to verse 20, and when he had made an end of reconciling the holy place and the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. So the first goat has been killed and the blood taken into the most holy place and sprinkled above the mercy seat. that place where the Lord has said, there will I meet with thee from above the mercy seat.

And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat. So the two goats really split up the two aspects of what the sin offering was doing. One is satisfying God's justice, and the other is bringing God's people into forgiving their sins and enabling them to be free. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat. So this is symbolic. Aaron as the high priest was symbolically putting his hands on this live goat and transferring, as it were, all the sins of the whole Israel of God. And you think of that, the whole election of grace transferred to that. to, as it were, entice the goat.

But something of what we have in Isaiah 53, when it says, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. So how God the Father was laying, as it were, the iniquity of his whole church upon the Lord Jesus Christ. But then we have that confession, and this is a picture of what we as God's people we confess our sins, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And you see, as this, there was a confession of those iniquities, and then the result was that they were, this scapegoat was taken into the wilderness by a fit man, a suitable man, appointed man and was going to a land of separation where they'd never be seen again and this is the effect of that if we confess our sins and how but the but you see there's a two parts the reason that when we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins is because God the Father has laid on God the Son the sin of his people and because they are laid on the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, the effect is for us that when we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Although it's absolutely vital that we confess our sins, it's not, as it were, the confession of our sins that actually atones for us.

It's the fact that God the Father has laid that sin on God the Son. When you see this, and Interestingly, this confession took place after the lamb that the other goat had already been killed. And we think of that in the Bible, we read of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and in a sense the whole Church of God look back to that time, even the Old Testament saints did, when they confessed their sins, the offering had not yet been made, but in another sense, in the mind of God it was made from eternity past, in the certainty that it would time, but there was a certain time, and this was the time that we think of, of the death of the Lord Jesus, when this would actually take place. And so, as we come together and think upon these things, to confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgression and all their sin. And that is what God the Father has laid upon his beloved son.

And because of that, you see, then the effect is that our sins are taken away. And as we confess our sins, it's not the confession of them that, in a sense, takes it away. The satisfaction is in the other goat that has already died. But from the manward perspective, from our perspective, it's when we confess our sins, we then realize that what the sins that we've confessed have been laid upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, the effect is that we are set free.

And so, he shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. And verse 22, and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities into a land not inhabited. It's a land of separation. Separate. And as our sins are separated from us, as it were, they're taken away. or because of this atonement, this great day of atonement, and what Christ was picturing, what the Lord Jesus would do.

And this was the day, the only day that the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies. But then in verse 23, an Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation and shall put off the linen garments. Now he's done this work. Now he's presented that blood. He's gone into the Holy of Holies. Now he changes back into his garments for glory and for beauty. And how we see that picture of Christ when he had finished the work. It is finished.

Then you see, He was given a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. He was exalted. after his humiliation, after his atonement was achieved, after it was all settled, then you see an Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation and shall put off the linen garments and he shall put on when he went into the holy place and shall leave them there. And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place and put on the garments and come forth This is verse 24. And you might think, well, the great day of atonement is all about these two goats. the one picturing the different aspect, one, the death of the goat, the fact that God's justice is satisfied, and yet the living goat pictures the fact that the sins are carried away to a land not inhabited, never to be seen again.

The two aspects, the Godward aspect and the manward aspect, what we have here. But that's not the end of the day. At the end, after all this was done, the high priest then put on his priestly garments again. And then we have another two offerings. And these are, this is the ram for himself and a ram for the people, a burnt offering. And this, the picture of this is acceptance. It's very precious.

You see, sin is taken away. But if you have somebody and they've wronged you greatly, you may forgive them. You might say, I forgive them. I'm never going to recompense that against them again. You may strongly feel that. But you may also say, I don't really ever want to see them again. I've forgiven them, but I'd rather not meet them again. Well, if our sins were forgiven and we were just neutral, then the Lord might say that of us.

But here we see, you see, the burnt offerings were an offering of acceptance. So these ones that had sinned, now they're accepted. You see in Ephesians we have accepted in the beloved. And you see now they're accepted in Christ. They're not just sinners that are subject to God's wrath. They're now being forgiven, their sins have been taken away, but now there's acceptance, there's fellowship, there's communion.

And that is what is symbolised by the burnt offering, a whole burnt offering you see, that was wholly burnt to show really the fact that it was a sweet savour to God. There was something beautiful about it and you see when we're clothed with Christ's righteousness, we are beautiful to God. Though we're sinners, though we have been great sinners, yet as that sin is taken away, and there's that beautiful aspect of it, this all pictured in this precious day of atonement. But then, coming on, we read in verse 25, in the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar, and he shall let go the goat let and he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water and after just come into the camp then verse 27 and the bullock for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering whose blood was brought in to make an atonement in the holy place shall one carry forth without the camp and they shall burn in the fire their skins and their flesh and their dung and here you see the the cursed nature The curse of God. And how the Lord Jesus Christ was made a curse for us.

He didn't die in Jerusalem, did he? He was outside Jerusalem. He was outside the camp. He was in a cursed place. Cursed is everyone that hangeth upon a tree. The aspect of the sin offering. He was made a curse for us. But you see, so that we could be brought nigh to God. And so this ended the day. And you see, this was done, the Israelites were to look on. This was a solemn day. It was like a Sabbath day to them. They were to look on, but this was work that was done for them.

And yet there is that aspect of when we confess our sin, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. It's not the confession that pays for it, but that's the work of the Holy Spirit as we come to realize and come to confess them and come to recognize that those sins have been put upon Christ and borne away.

Well, may these few thoughts, as we come to this Easter period, to consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself. Consider in these Old Testament types something of what Christ came to do, something of what He fulfilled in something what he didn't need to do, because we have a mediator that didn't need to get himself right with God through an offering first. He was the eternal Son of God, and therefore he is precious. He is the only one that can be such a mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.

And verse 30, it says, for on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you to cleanse you that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. And that was the effect of Calvary, to make us clean and also to bring us into acceptance and union with God. May the Lord bless those thoughts.