What is Atonement? Hebraically

Leviticus 16

We are walking in today:  What is Atonement? Hebraically

Teaching from the book:  Teaching and Preaching from the Old Testament:  A guide to the church.
by Walter C. Kaiser Jr.

Witness redeemed throughout the Bible:  H1350: ga'al avenge, revenge or to do an act as a kinsmen.
Exodus 15:13; Psalm 74:2, 77:16; Galatians 3:13

Leviticus 16:29-31 CJB It is to be a permanent regulation for you that on the tenth day of the seventh month you are to deny yourselves and not do any kind of work, both the citizen and the foreigner living with you. For on this day, atonement will be made for you to purify you; you will be clean before Adonai from all your sins. It is a Shabbat of complete rest for you, and you are to deny yourselves.“This is a permanent regulation. 

Atonement H3725 to ransom or deliver, removal of guilt, or memory of sins

Leviticus 16 specifically talks about the role of the High Priest, his ceremonial atonement for sins on the High Feastday-Yom Kippur  the Day of Atonement.  Which was commanded to observe permanently by every Hebrew believer a day in September/October or on the Jewish calendar Tishrei 10.

Leviticus 16:29 CJB It is to be a permanent regulation for you that on the tenth day of the seventh month you are to deny yourselves and not do any kind of work, both the citizen and the foreigner living with you.

But what does this mean today, with the death of Yeshua--He paid for all my sins once and for all right? There are 3 distinctive things we can look at in these passages:

1. Provisions of a mediator (High Priest) enters the Holy of Holies only at a set time. Any other time would mean sudden death. Set apart is the distinction of the sovereignty of Yahweh. Setting in our minds boundaries to our approach and awe towards Yahweh. Even the very fact that the high priest must be distinctive in his approach to Yahweh for the atonement. First the cleansing process for himself and then for the community. The holiness of Yahweh is shown in the approach and preparation of the Cohen Gadol or High Priest.  Aaron's preparation before and during sacrifice. This clearly tells us that you can't just come to Yahweh based on how you feel. You know you serve Him in any way you want, call Him anything you want and worship Him on any day you want.  What does His word say? The high priest was specifically told not to go into the Holy of Holies until the appointed time. The same goes for the cleansing or purification of the priest. They had to bathe quite a few times in the preparation and handling of Israel sins. Praying over offerings and sacrificing specific animals. One could only imagine taking on the sins of a whole nation. Let alone the sins of the whole world past, present and future. The high priest has to even cleanse oneself before atoning for the nation. The high priest had to ensure first he was clean and ready to atone for Israel. Sounds familiar? It should.
Leviticus 16:1-6, 11-4
2. Yahweh's provision of our payment by His substitutionary life. The atonement for sins was serious business. Every example laid out in Leviticus provided a type or example. Alluding to the death of Yeshua for His children's rebellion. The two goats mention in verses 7 through 8 represents two parts of sin.
3. Substitution for those who had sinned, here the goat sacrifice ended in its death.  Those who have sinned. Yet the sin and guilt is removed away from the camp and forgotten. This goat was to be let outside of the community into the wilderness and to never return. Symbolic of Yahweh's forgiveness of our sins. Never to be brought up again. Cast into the sea of forgetfulness! We can actually learn a thing or two--about how to conduct ourselves in the patterns of Yahweh we serve. What do you think?

He will again have compassion on us, he will subdue our iniquities.You will throw all their sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:19 CJB.

So to sum up Leviticus 16, we see that Yahweh has set up a pattern of worship and ceremonial laws that He said is permanent. How permanent is that? We find in the New Testament from a Greek mindset that the laws of Yahweh has been done away with, or has it? We will soon find out as we continue the study of Leviticus Hebraiclly. Bottom line is that, we learn in Leviticus that Yahweh is specific and distinctive, mentioned in the very first part of the chapter. The two sons of Aaron brought strange fire to the altar and were killed. The warning to Moses to give to Aaron was to come specifically before Yahweh as He requested. Patterns laid out, specific animals and specific times more precisely given to follow. Yeshua as the perfect example of the high priest and sacrifices for the atonement of our sins. He who is and remains perfect in all His ways clean from sin. Yet He bore our sins on Himself. To help out a redeemed people to live a redemptive lifestyle. You can't just live any kind of way! Why would Yahweh give all of these specific and precise directions and instructions if we are totally able to choose how and when??  If the pattern is laid out for you in the very book of His word, that you read?? As the two goats, a bull ect.. that is prescribed for entering the tabernacle to make atonement, the clothes that were to be donned and even what they were to be made of and how.  With all of those details as we see in our return to the first 5 books of the Bible, the Torah we find the details that can seem overwhelming to a society and mindset of anything goes.  But does it?  Clearly we show in the His text this is not the case, at all!  With a very careful study to the Tabernacle and everything inside and out of it points to Yeshua.  All this is done to show who He is and how He has already made provision for us as only the Creator of all can!  To hear this again click here!