Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Leviticus 16
Pastor: Pastor Schlicht
Sermon Date:  April 2, 2021

If you had to sum up the Bible in one word which one would you choose? I suppose you could say “Jesus,” which is almost cheating, but it isn’t wrong. All of Scripture is centered on Jesus. You could say “grace” and that would be a pretty good choice, though we are undeserving God has loved us. There are probably a few others that would do adequately. But if I had to choose just one word to sum up the entire Bible, I’d choose the word “atonement”. Atonement isn’t a word we use much in our everyday conversations, but it isn’t complicated to understand. The meaning is right in the word: at/one/ment. It is the process of bringing two separated things back to one. It is about repairing a relationship. That’s really the story of the Bible, isn’t it?

In the Garden of Eden, God lived with his people. He would walk with them in the garden in perfect harmony. They were united and everything was perfect. That is until Adam and Eve sinned. Because wherever there is sin, there is separation. Because God is holy, Adam and Eve could not survive his presence and as a result, they were banished from the garden. They could no longer eat from the Tree of Life. And God sent angels, cherubim, to stand guard at the entrance to the garden. (Keep the Tree of Life and these Cherubim in mind.) After this separation, really the whole story of the Bible is how God took action to repair this relationship with humanity, his creation so that we could be one with him again. It is a grand narrative of atonement. 

And there’s no clearer picture of Atonement in the Bible than what is aptly called the Day of Atonement, in Leviticus 16. It is hard for me to overstate the importance of this chapter in the Bible. Consider the structure of the first five books of the Bible. These books are the foundation of God’s Word. They are all written by Moses and are often referred to simply as the Torah, or the Pentateuch (the five books). Now in most English literature, the climax of the story comes at the end, but in Hebrew literature, which is what the Old Testament is, the main point often comes in the middle. Now Leviticus is the center book of the Toray, the third out of five. In Hasidic Judaism, this is the first book that is taught to young jewish boys. It’s the integral section of Moses’ writings! And do you know what’s in the center of the Book of Leviticus? You guessed it: chapter 16. Leviticus is divided into 37 sections of discourse and chapter 16 is the 19th section of discourse preceded and followed by 18 section speech. It’s the exact middle. It’s the climax. Or to put it another way, if Moses could have only told us one thing, even before the Creation of the world, before Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, before the Exodus or the 10 commandments, he would have wanted us to know about this chapter, these special rituals on the Day of Atonement.

Now, in Leviticus chapter 16 the Tabernacle design is crucial to understanding everything. The Tabernacle was made of two rooms. The first room was called the Holy Place. Inside was an altar of incense which represented the Israelites prayer to God, a table full of showbread which symbolized God’s provision for the Israelites,  and, get this, a golden lampstand with seven branches, the menorah. What does that look like? The Tree of Life. The symbolism here is amazing! The second room was the Most Holy Place, the specific location of God’s holy presence among the people visualized above the Ark of the Covenant. But you couldn’t just walk into the Most Holy Place. There was a clear boundary, a separating veil or curtain between the rooms. And do you know what was embroidered upon that curtain? Cherubim! The same angels which guarded the entrance to the Garden of Eden. Do you understand the symbolism? Do you see the connections here?  No one could enter the holy of holies, just as Adam and Eve could not enter into God’s presence after they sinned. No one could go into the Most Holy Place, except the high priest of Israel, and only on one special day of the year. You guessed it: the Day of Atonement. That’s what Leviticus chapter 16 is all about. That’s why it is so important! Through the Day of Atonement, God provided a way to remain one with his people.

Now, the rituals of the Day of Atonement are rather complicated,  but to distill it for you, there were sacrifices made for the high priest himself and then there were two goats that were chosen by lot. One would be sacrificed as a sin offering and the other would become what we call a “scapegoat”, and this is actually where that term comes from in English. The goat chosen as the sin offering was slaughtered and its blood would be caught in a bowl and sprinkled on the “Mercy Seat” or the cover of Ark of the Covenant which sat within the Most Holy Place. It symbolically covered the sin of the people from God’s eyes. When we looked at them he would not see their sin, he would see the blood of the sacrifice. Then the high priest would come out, if he survived, and would lay his hand on the head of the scapegoat and confess the sins of all the Israelites. Then that goat was led out into the wilderness to die. This symbolized the sin of the people literally being taken away from them. It was an elaborate ritual and there so much more that could be said. But perhaps the best way to appreciate this on a personal level, would be to put yourself in the shoes of the high priest himself.

For a week before the Day of Atonement you have lived in seclusion so that you would not become impure. Special food is brought to you and you have been preparing yourself and going over the procedures of the ritual in meticulous detail. The night before, as is tradition, you stayed up all night praying to God. And now the big moment has come. You’re dressed down in white linen garments, humble and plain clothes rather than your usual priestly outfit. You’ve taken off your sandals in the knowledge that you will be walking on holy ground. Around your waist is tied a long rope and there are small bells attached to the bottom of your robe, just in case you are struck dead in God’s presence. If the bells stop ringing and the other priests will have a way to pull out your corpse without endangering themselves. You’ve made the sacrifices, you’ve cleansed with water multiple times; you’ve entered the Holy Place and set the incense upon the coals of the altar. The bowl of blood weighs heavy in your hand as a cloud of smoke begins to build up in front of the curtain decorated with cherubim. This is it. Everything has led to this next crucial step and yet everything has also reminded you that you aren’t worthy to take it. This separation is much more than a curtain; it is the boundary between a sinful, human speck of dust and the Holy, Immortal, God. Can you imagine what it would have been like? To walk past the curtain into the Most Holy Place and to sprinkle blood onto the Ark of the Covenant, to come into the closest possible proximity with the Glory of God?

I’ve been reading a book on the terrible labor camps, the gulags, of Soviet Russia in the early 1900s. After I get done with a chapter, which is usually all I can stomach in one sitting, I’m struck by how many things I take for granted. Like having enough space to stretch out my legs when I sleep, or taking showers, or getting to leave the house without worrying if it’s the last time I’ll see my family. The same thing happens when I consider the fear and reverence with which the High Priest approached God on the Day of Atonement. It is a vivid rebuke of my inadequate appreciation of God’s presence as a New Testament Christian. How often we fail to cherish the privilege of God’s presence when we gather here in worship, when he draws near to us in the Sacrament, or anytime we read his Word. We don’t need a Most Holy Place, because God promises that his Holy Spirit lives in our hearts! Should we not tremble at this reality? How incredible is it, that we feel comfort and protection in God’s presence, not fear or dread? After all, we know the cost, we know the sacrifice which accomplished our greater Day of Atonement.

You don’t have to look too closely to see the footprints of Jesus all through Leviticus chapter 16. Read through the events of Passion Week and you’ll see that Jesus is staging his own Day of Atonement. Just like the high priest, Jesus began his formal preparation for sacrifice a week before. And like the high priest, the night before the sacrifice, he stayed awake praying. He was stripped down too, he was humbled. Jesus served as both the sin offering and the scapegoat as he shed his blood to cover our sins and as he took the blame for all wrongdoing and was abandoned and forsaken by his Father. But perhaps the most striking fulfillment of the Day of Atonement on that first Good Friday was the very moment Jesus died, the temple itself responded. The thick curtain that had stood between the Most Holy Place—the symbol of God’s separation from humanity—was torn in two, Matthew tells us, “from top to bottom,” as if God himself were reaching down from heaven and tearing it apart. This means that there is no longer a physical barrier to God. The cherubim are disarmed. And, for the first time since the fall into sin, God and his people are united as one again through the cross of Jesus Christ. That’s what we celebrate tonight: the final Day of Atonement, our Good Friday.

It reminds me of Dorothy Sayers. She was a British author in the late 1800s. She was one of the first women to receive an awarded degree from Oxford University and became famous for her detective fiction. In her books, the main detective she wrote about was Lord Peter Wimsey, and people who knew her said that as she wrote about Peter Wimsey she fell in love with him. In her later novels, there was a new character who showed up by the name of Harriet Vane. And this Harriet Vane gets a degree from Oxford University and also writes detective fiction. When Peter Wimsey sees her in the story he falls in love with her and they get married. You see what happened? Dorothy Sayers wrote herself into the story and married the man of her dreams. She created someone and she loved him so much that she wrote herself into the story to be with him. God is the great Author of our lives and he loves sinners so much that he became one of us. He wrote himself into the story, all the way back in Leviticus 16, he had this in mind. He would be the high priest, he would be the sacrifice, he would make atonement so that we could be together. What wondrous love is this? 

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus…let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings.” (Hebrews 10:19,22)

Amen.