Bible Students have long appreciated the Plan of God as it is illustrated in the Tabernacle arrangement of the ancient Israelites. This Tabernacle or tent had two compartments containing articles of gold. It was placed in a courtyard surrounded by a high white curtain. The Tabernacle’s construction details are recorded in the book of Exodus.

A structure alone benefits no one. There must also be people who know what to do with it. God dedicated the tribe of Levi to be His servants and assigned them the job of physically transporting the Tabernacle from place to place. From this tribe, He selected Aaron as high priest and his sons as assistant priests. Leviticus chapter 8 describes the seven day ceremony that consecrated these individuals for their duties.

From a human viewpoint, this should have been enough. There was a place for worship, a law that said how to worship, and a priesthood capable of organizing that worship. However, one thing was missing. In God’s sight, the Israelites were in an unclean, fallen condition and could not approach Him. Atonement for sins had to be made to give them a standing to bring sacrifices that He could accept. According to Strong’s Concordance the Hebrew word translated “atonement” is also translated cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pardon, purge, reconcile.

Immediately following the consecration of the priesthood in Lev. 8, Aaron was told to “make an atonement for thyself and for the people” (Lev. 9:7) The remainder of that chapter describes what had to be done to make atonement a reality in God’s sight.

The necessity for atonement was so important that in Leviticus 16, God directed that a ceremony similar to Lev. 9 be repeated every year, on the tenth day of the seventh month (Lev. 16:29). The people knew this was a special day because it was the only day of the year when fasting was required.

“Ye shall afflict [fast – see Isa. 58:5] your souls by a statute for ever.” -Lev. 16:31

An annual day of atonement was necessary because “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should [really] take away sins.” (Heb. 10:4) Although the Israelites may not have realized it, their Tabernacle arrangement with its sacrificial rituals was a grand picture of a great high priest to come, of real atonement that would take place during a 2,000-year sacrificial period, and a time when the entire human race would have a relationship with God after those sacrifices were completed.

Students of the Tabernacle might expect that the sacrificial arrangements of Lev. 9 and 16 would be identical. The sacrifices of chapter 9 were needed to give the people a typical standing before God as soon as the priesthood was ready, so the people could bring acceptable sacrifices to Him. Six months later, the annual atonement day sacrifices began, renewing the nation’s typical cleansing.

Although the outcome of both days was the same (atonement), the arrangements were carried out in very different ways. Determining the reason God ordered these differences constitutes one of the beauties of the truth.

THE DIFFERENCES

There are said to be more than 20 significant differences between the atonement ceremony of chapter 9 and the atonement ceremony of chapter 16. Here are just a few:

Who officiated?	Lev. 9 Lev. 16	Moses, Aaron, Aaron’s sons Aaron only
What is offered?	Lev. 9 Lev. 16	Sin, burnt, meal, peace, wave offerings Sin, burnt offerings
Where was the blood sprinkled?	Lev. 9 Lev. 16	Horns and bottom of brazen altar Mercy seat and horns of incense altar
What was the people’s sin offering?	Lev. 9 Lev. 16	One goat Two goats, one of which was killed
How does it end?	Lev. 9 Lev. 16	People are blessed and “glory of the Lord” appears Aaron changes clothes and offers the burnt offerings

 

Note that in Lev. 9, activity in the Holy and Most Holy is not an integral part of the service.  In Lev. 16 it is, particularly in the ceremony of sprinkling the blood on the Mercy Seat. Many people are involved in Lev. 9, including the elders of Israel (evidently as observers). Only Aaron is shown in the picture in Lev. 16.

THE DIFFERENCES EXPLAINED

God provided for differences in the two atonement ceremonies in the inaugural year of the Tabernacle, in order to show the antitypical atonement day (the Gospel Age) from two completely different perspectives. His own perspective of the Gospel Age is shown in chapter 16; the church’s perspective is shown in chapter 9.

In chapter 16, only Aaron is present. So God sees one entity: His son as head and the church as body members. “We are members of his body.” (Eph. 5:30) However, from the church’s perspective as shown in Lev. 9, we see our great high priest, Jesus, officiating and fellow assistant priests helping. We also see the “elders” who obtained a good report (Heb. 11:2).

In chapter 16, the blood of both sin offerings goes into the Most Holy and is sprinkled on the Mercy Seat. The satisfaction of God’s justice illustrated by this ritual is not something the church actually “sees.” Thus it is absent from the account of Lev. 9. It is very real to God, and in fact, the sprinkling of the blood is the most important event of Lev. 16.

Lev. 9 describes meal, peace, and wave offerings, all of which are absent from Lev. 16. These show our consecration from three perspectives. With the meal offering, each person brings an individual “handful” of meal, mingled with oil, and burns it on the altar. No measure is specified, just that it be what one hand can hold. The peace offering illustrates the payment of vows because of the peace enjoyed. The wave offering continued until it was removed, illustrating that our sacrifice continues until God says it is enough. These three perspectives of our consecration can be appreciated by the church. Their absence in Lev. 16 teaches that these perspectives do not pertain to God’s relationship toward the Church.

The interpretation of the scapegoat in Lev. 16 has been debated by Bible Students. Br. Russell suggests that it represents the Great Company. If this is the correct understanding, the distinction between the Lord’s goat and the scape goat is one which only God perceives. Those who are attempting to make their calling and election sure do not determine among themselves who is in one classification and who in another.

At the culmination of this “day” of sacrifice, the church, as shown in Lev. 9, sees that the people are blessed and God’s glory is revealed. No such dramatic ending can be found in Lev. 16. There, the burnt offerings showing God’s acceptance of the other offerings are made, and it is over.

Although no special blessing of the people takes place, they are now able to come to God with their sacrifices and have a relationship to Him. This was, after all, the whole point of the day of atonement.

CONCLUSION

Most people get little out of their reading of Leviticus chapters 9 and 16. They cannot understand why so many animals had to die. They would prefer another way – one with no suffering, no sacrifice, and no death. The picture shows us that the remission of sins – atonement – comes only by the death of a perfect bullock, illustrating the perfect man Jesus. He has passed into the Most Holy and offered his blood, his life, to God’s justice. By his sacrifice he opened up a new and living way for us (Heb. 10:20).

Because of Jesus’ faithfulness, we have the opportunity of laying down our lives sacrificially during this Gospel Age, the antitypical day of atonement.

“For the bodies [plural] of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned without the camp. Let us go forth therefore without the camp bearing his reproach.” – Heb. 13:11, 13

So it remains for us to continue to lay down our lives faithfully in sacrifice that we may have a share in the great work of blessing the entire world of mankind in the coming kingdom.

– Michael Nekora

“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore.” – Revelation 1:18

 

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