Dr. Bingham’s Lesson for February 12, 2012

Guest speaker: Kevin Dodge

“The Necessity of Atonement” – Leviticus 16:1-22

Atonement means reconciling two parties that are estranged.

Leviticus 16
The Day of Atonement

It was inaugurated right after Aarons’s two sons were killed while making an unauthorized offering a short time after Aaron was consecrated as High Priest and they were consecrated as priests. They approached God without the proper preparation of sacrifice.

It was given as an act of grace to the Israelites. For the first time, a man would be allowed to come into the presence of God on a regular basis.
Before Aaron is to go into the presence of God, he has to change out of the exalted clothing of the High Priest and put on the clothing of a bond servant.
Aaron makes atonement for himself before entering the Most Holy Place.
Two goats are set aside and one is chosen for a sin offering for the people by casting lots and the other becomes the scapegoat. (“Scapegoat” is a word coined by William Tyndale to describe the goat that would be taken away into the wilderness and set free, bearing the sins of the people.)
The goat offered for sin is a substitutionary sacrifice in our place.

Aaron’s entrance into the Most Holy Place shows our need for a representative before God.
We also need a way for the people to identify with the work of the sacrifice and with the representation. This is done by the High Priest laying hands on the scapegoat and confessing all the sins of the people before it is taken out into the wilderness and turned loose. Early Christian writings describe the scapegoat as having a scarlet cord tied around its neck and the people spitting on it and kicking it as it was taken away, evoking for us the imagery of Christ being taken to be crucified.

Hebrews 9:22-28
Jesus’ sacrifice was superior to the one offered on the Day of Atonement and He did not enter into a copy of the heavenly places but into heaven itself.
Jesus’ sacrifice was only needed once to last for all time.
Jesus was our substitute in sacrifice, who bore the sins of us all, and our representative before God.