Leviticus 16:1-34

The Day of Atonement was the most important day in the Jewish calendar because it was the day in which the sins of Israel were dealt with in their most complete manner.  It was the only day of the entire year that the high priest could enter the holy of holies and present the sacrifices for himself and for the people before God.   It is important to note that this chapter begins with a reminder of Aaron’s sons who were killed for treating the sacrifices of God in a flippant manner.  Entering the holy of holies in this manner would certainly result in death.  The priest could only go in on this one day of the year and he could only go in with the correct procedure or he, like Aaron’s sons, would be struck down by God.  We too must recognize that we will only be admitted into the presence of God for all of eternity if we enter through the purification of sin that is offered to us by faith in the cross of Christ.  Attempts to enter God’s presence by any other means will result in death and eternal separation from God.

WE MUST APPROACH GOD IN REVERENCE: Prior to Aaron going into the holy of holies, proper preparation had to be made.  Aaron had to wash himself and put on the special and clean clothing that had been specially prepared for this day.  Entering God’s presence is never to be taken lightly.  It was very clear to Aaron and all of the subsequent high priests that coming into the presence of God was a very dangerous thing.  If they were to do so without the proper procedures and attitude; they would most certainly be killed.  I think one of the qualities that is most lacking in the lives of many of today’s believers is reverence.  We treat God’s presence and our worship of Him in such a flippant manner.  We must constantly remind ourselves that it is only by the grace of God and the incredible sacrifice of Christ on the cross that we have any access to God whatsoever.  Every time we pray, worship, study God’s Word or consider coming into the presence of God in any manner; we must recognize that this is only possible in Christ and remember the sacrifice He made on our behalf.  When we remember the cross of Christ correctly, our hearts will be filled with reverence.

WE MUST APPROACH GOD THROUGH REDEMPTION: Aaron had to make two kinds of sacrifices for himself and for the people.  Before he could bring the sacrifices of the people before God, he had to come before God with sacrifices for his own sin.  Death is the price of sin and in order to be free from that penalty we must be redeemed with the price of shed blood.  The sacrifices made by Israel throughout the entire Old Testament are simply a foreshadowing of our redemption in Christ.  Sin requires the payment of death as is represented by the shedding of blood.  Aaron would never consider going into the holy of holies without having offered the sacrifices and without taking the blood from these sacrifices in with Him.  We are all sold into the slavery of sin.  The only means we have of being accepted into God’s presence is by the blood of Jesus which was shed to purchase our redemption from sin.  We can never hope to be accepted into God’s presence apart from our redemption in Christ.

WE MUST APPROACH GOD WITH REPENTANCE: Besides the sacrifices that were made on the Day of Atonement, there was also a goat that was lead out into the wilderness and taken away from the camp.  Prior to being released, Aaron would place his hands on the goat which was a symbol of the sins of the people and his own sins being placed on the goat.  This goat was then to be taken away from the camp.  Christ died in order to take our sins away.  He calls us to repent of our sin by being separated from the world and the sin of our lives.  Many people claim to have been redeemed from sin yet the refuse to repent of their sin.  We need to be very aware of the fact that repentance and redemption always go hand in hand.  Our goal and the desire of our heart should always be that our sins be forever removed from our lives.