The annual Day of Atonement was the most significant of Israel’s special days because on it their sins were atoned for. It was the only time the high priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies. Nadab and Abihu tried to do it their own way and were judged (Leviticus 10), so this ceremony was a matter of life and death.

You can see the Lord Jesus illustrated in the high priest. He did the work alone. He laid aside His garments of glory (Philippians 2:5–8), and He sanctified Himself for us (John 17:19). The difference is that Jesus did not offer any sacrifices for Himself because He is sinless. He Himself is the perfect and final sacrifice for the sins of the world (Hebrews 7:23–28).

The high priest entered the Holy of Holies three times: (1) with the incense (Leviticus 16:12–14), (2) with blood for his sins, and (3) with blood for the sins of the people. The cloud of incense speaks of the glory of God, which is the whole purpose of redemption (John 17:1; Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14).

Scapegoat may come from an Aramaic word that means “to remove.” The setting free of the live goat pictured God’s forgiveness of their sins (Psalm 103:10–13), but this required the death of the other goat. Salvation is free, but it is not cheap.

The only price for sin that God will accept is blood, for the blood is the life of the creature. The sacrifice of blood means one life given for another. We should respect all life and not treat the blood as something common. The Jews were not to bring sacrifices of game (Leviticus 17:13), because those cost them nothing. (See 2 Samuel 24:24) The animals shed their blood involuntarily, but Jesus gave His life willingly for the sins of the world.

One place. While in the wilderness, the Jews had to do all their slaughtering at the brazen altar and make each animal a peace offering to the Lord. (This law was modified when they entered the land – Deuteronomy 12:20–28) No other place was acceptable to God. The blood of Jesus Christ, shed at Calvary, is the only acceptable sacrifice for sin in God’s sight.

Do you look upon each meal as an offering to the Lord, and do you eat and drink to His glory (1 Corinthians 10:31)?