And Jehovah spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they came near before Jehovah and died;
God dates a new set of instructions from a funeral. Two of Aaron's sons had drawn near to Him and died. Why does the chapter of the day of atonement open with that disaster?
Verse 1 points back to the death of Nadab and Abihu, Aaron's sons. One writer explains why that reminder stands here.
This is a chapter of central importance in the book of Leviticus. It forms a basis for, and is explained in, the letter to the Hebrews. Aaron's two sons had died for offering "strange fire to the Lord" (Lev. 10:1-2). We are reminded of this in verse 1 of chapter 16 so that we may be impressed with the seriousness of any approach into the holy presence of God.
Older English Bibles say the two sons "offered" before the Lord. One writer corrects the wording. The point is not what they offered, but that they approached the LORD.
Leviticus 16:1 — It is not when they "offered," but "came near before," or approached, the LORD.
That death led to a rule of distance. Aaron could not enter the holiest, the place behind the veil, whenever he chose. One writer weighs that distance against the joy God's people are meant to have.
Our joy is meant to have the glory of God as its element. We have a right to rejoice in the hope of that glory, just as we have a right to rejoice in God Himself. But such joy assumes nearness to Him. To keep the soul out of the presence of God cannot go together with real enjoyment of Him. Still, it was the failure of Nadab and Abihu that made this distance necessary on man's part. Under the law, and until the cross, no other provision was possible.
The two deaths did not end the matter. Yet the wording of the restriction leaves a door open, and one writer shows how much hangs on a short phrase.
The consequences of their sin did not cease with their death, as the opening verses of this chapter show… How gracious of the Lord to speak this way! "That he come not" would destroy all hope, but "at all times" at once revives it. Without question He has the right to say who should approach Him, and when.
One writer asks what this closed door meant. The high priest did go in, but not for fellowship.
The way into the holiest is closed; Aaron is forbidden to enter there at all times. He never went in wearing his garments of glory and beauty. When he did go in, it was not for communion. He went to cleanse the sanctuary, which the sins of a people among whom God dwelt had defiled. The day of atonement is introduced only with a ban on entering the holy place at all times. It also stands out as taking place after the death of the sons of Aaron. He does it with a cloud of incense, so that he will not die. It was truly a gracious provision, so that the people would not perish because of their defilements. But the Holy Spirit was showing that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made known.
That rule made the holiest a place of death for everyone but Aaron. It is the background for what happened when Jesus died.
It would therefore have been certain death, by the judgment of God, had anyone besides the high priest ventured inside that fearful veil (Lev. 16:1-2; Num. 15, 16). But the moment the sacrifice of Christ was finished, the veil was torn from top to bottom (Matt. 27:51). By His death He glorified God in every attribute of His character on the question of sin. By that one offering He perfected forever those who are sanctified. The veil was therefore torn to show that the way was now open into the holiest of all. "The same thing that tore the veil to let us in has also put away the sin that shut us out."
- Death — God dates the chapter from a funeral. Two priests drew near in their own way and died, and that event frames all that follows.
- Drawing near — the issue is not what they offered but that they approached God, which is never a casual thing.
- Distance — the answer was a limit on access. Under the law no other provision was possible; only the cross could bring us near.
- Grace — the words "at all times" limit the entry without closing it. God keeps the right to say who may approach Him, and when.
- Opening — the shut way was a sign that the true way was not yet open. At the cross the veil tore, and the sin that shut us out was put away.
and Jehovah said to Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the sanctuary inside the veil before the mercy-seat which is upon the ark, that he die not; for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat.
Verse 2 draws a line inside the tabernacle: Aaron, the high priest, may not enter the innermost room whenever he pleases, on pain of death. Why did God shut His own priest out of His own dwelling, and what does the cloud over the mercy seat mean?
The wording is not a flat refusal. God restricts the timing rather than closing the door forever, and one writer hears mercy in that small phrase.
How gracious of the Lord to speak like this! "That he come not," would destroy all hope, but "at all times" immediately revives it. Without question He has the right to say who should approach Him, and when.
Stuart quotes an older translation here and below. Where it reads "that he come not at all times," the ESV has "not to come at any time."
The same writer notes whom the ban names — and whom it leaves out.
Aaron only was permitted to visit it once a year, though probably Moses, as mediator, had access to it at all times (Ex. 25:22; 34:34-35); for the prohibition in Lev. 16:2 ran in this form, "Speak to Aaron, your brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil." Not a word was said here about restricting Moses.
A gold slab gave the whole room its name. Its Hebrew name carries its own meaning.
The mercy seat was a slab of pure gold, two and a half cubits long by one and a half cubits wide, resting on the ark. It had its own meaning and its own name. It was not part of the ark, though always joined to it. Scripture calls the holy of holies "the place of the mercy seat" (see Lev. 16:2 and 1 Chr. 28:11). The Hebrew word for mercy seat is Kapporeth = to cover up, to reconcile, to atone.
Where God said He would appear became the seat of His rule over the nation, and the point from which mercy was measured out.
The mercy seat was His throne, the throne on which He sat, from where He governed His people, and from where He dispensed mercy according to the efficacy of the incense and the blood of the sacrifices presented before Him on the great day of atonement.
The threat of death applied even to the high priest himself.
There was not a man to be found in all the earth fit to come into the presence of the holy God, without the blood of a slain victim. No, not one; not even the high priest of Israel. Once a year God's people stood as one nation out of all the nations of the earth, and out of that nation stood one man. Yet even that one man must not come into the presence of God without blood... And the man who dares approach the mercy seat of God without the blood of the sin offering, that man must die.
The closed door matched the state of the people, and the one yearly entry had a narrow purpose.
The way into the holiest is closed; Aaron is forbidden to enter there at all times. He never went in wearing his garments of glory and beauty. When he went in, it was not for communion, but to cleanse the sanctuary defiled by the sins of a people among whom God dwelt... It was truly a gracious provision, so that the people should not perish because of their defilements. But the Holy Spirit was showing that the way into the holiest of all was not yet open.
The curtain that closed the sanctuary did not stay shut forever. One writer sets the old arrangement beside the new.
Here we see a picture of a way into the holiest for sinners, and a standing before God that no one can challenge. But the sacrifices offered then did not open that way or secure that standing. Aaron repeated them each year, and the veil, never torn, kept the inner sanctuary of God closed. Then, one man entered, the high priest; now, all enter who are priests. Then, he went behind the veil; now, we enter through it... "since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus" (Heb. 10:19). That inner sanctuary was empty when Aaron entered it, and empty when he left it. Is the holiest empty now?
- Barrier. God shut His own high priest out of the innermost room; the way into the holiest was not yet open.
- Boundary with hope. God limited when Aaron could come, not whether he could ever come; the door was shut, but not sealed forever.
- Blood. Not one man on earth was fit to stand before God without the blood of a slain victim; approach the mercy seat without it and that man must die.
- Basis. The mercy seat's name means to cover, to reconcile, to atone — God's throne, from which He governed and dispensed mercy on the ground of blood.
- Boldness. Then one man went behind the veil once a year; now all who are priests enter through it, by the blood of Jesus.
In this manner shall Aaron come into the sanctuary with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering.
After the death of Aaron's two sons, God fixed one way of approach into His presence. This verse states it: a sin offering and a burnt offering. The words "in this way" rule out every other route. The two animals named carry the two great sides of atonement.
The verse follows a warning that Aaron could not enter whenever he pleased. One writer traces these offerings back to what Aaron himself was:
The death of Aaron's irreverent sons was the occasion for declaring that man is not fit to draw near before Jehovah. Even Aaron must not approach inside the veil at all times, on pain of death (vv. 1, 2). Aaron must come with a young bullock or calf for a sin offering. He had to bring a ram also for a burnt offering (v. 3)... All this spoke of imperfection and uncleanness in his very nature. He was as he stood in no way fit for access to God; and when he did get there, it was through incense and blood.
The day has no grain offering and no peace offering. Only these two appear, and one writer sees the pair facing in two directions at once:
Here we have the two grand aspects of Christ's atoning work. It perfectly maintains the divine glory, and it perfectly meets man's deepest need. There is no mention, throughout all the services of this unique and solemn day, of a grain offering, or a peace offering. The perfect human life of our blessed Lord is not pictured here. Nor does this day unfold the soul's communion with God that follows His finished work. In a word, the one grand subject is "atonement," and that in a double way. First, it meets every claim of God — the claims of His nature, His character, and His throne. Second, it perfectly meets all man's guilt and all his need.
The two offerings do not do the same work. Each secures something the other does not:
The burnt offering and the sin offering made atonement; the grain and peace offerings did not... Atonement in the sin offering was to secure forgiveness for the sinner. Atonement in the burnt offering is for our acceptance.
He could have stopped at a sin offering. He named a second animal, and one writer sees in that how far His purpose reaches:
"But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering" — that is the first thought — "and a ram for a burnt offering." There is no coming short of blessing, no incompleteness in the thoughts of God. He would not be content with only meeting sin. In this picture He also gives the sign and the means of acceptance. He would not merely blot out the consequences of evil; He would bring us into conscious favour as we draw near to Himself. How full of grace He is! How bent on the blessing of His people!
The bull here is not for the nation. The goats cover Israel, and Aaron's own household has its own offering:
Aaron appears with a bullock for himself and for his house, and then with an offering for the people. The goats, strictly speaking, represented Israel... He was to have a bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. The ram was always for consecration, or where there had been desecration, which was the opposite of consecration.
Another writer names who stands in the place of Aaron's household today:
Aaron and his sons represent the saints who now form the church as a company of priests. So in the picture they stood apart from the people (Israel), the earthly company who formed the camp.
A type is a picture of Christ drawn in advance, and a picture can only go so far. Aaron's bull was in part for his own sin, and there the shadow cannot be pressed onto Christ:
A shadowy form was all that could be in those days, for Aaron was sinful just as the people were. But the One whom Aaron represented needed no sin offering; instead, He Himself was to be made sin for us... We must not fail to read the type in the light of Christ, instead of reducing Christ to the measure of the type.
Another writer puts the contrast in one sentence:
There is all the difference in the world between Aaron offering FOR himself and Christ offering HIMSELF.
- One way. God names the one way in. The death of Aaron's sons was the occasion, and the lesson was that man is not fit to come near uninvited.
- Two offerings. A sin offering and a burnt offering — no grain offering, no peace offering. Atonement alone is the subject of the day.
- Forgiveness. The sin offering secures forgiveness for the sinner and meets man's deepest need.
- Acceptance. The burnt offering guards God's glory. It brings the worshipper into conscious favour, for God would not stop at blotting out evil.
- Fulfilment. Aaron offered for himself; Christ offered Himself. Read the type by Christ, never Christ by the type.
A holy linen vest shall he put on, and linen trousers shall be upon his flesh, and he shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired these are holy garments; and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and put them on.
Once a year the high priest could pass through the curtain into the innermost room of the tabernacle, Israel's tent of worship. God's presence rested there. Before he took a step toward it, God told him what to wear and how to prepare his body. The clothes God named were plain white linen, not the rich robes Aaron wore the rest of the year.
Aaron hears about the sacrifice before he hears about his clothing. Neither was his to choose.
God prescribed everything. Aaron had no choice in the services of that day, and God left nothing to his own judgment. He could suggest nothing, and he could alter nothing. Who but God knew the reality these things pictured, or what it took to picture Him and His work in advance? To keep Aaron in mind of the only ground of approach, he hears of his sacrifice before he hears of his dress. God had to describe his dress, for he could not have entered the holiest place in any other garments. Yet his garments did not win him acceptance. The blood of the sin offering did.
Aaron's usual high-priestly dress blazed with gold, jewels and colour. On this one day it was set aside.
The high priest appears, not in his official robe, but in the clothing that spoke of spotless righteousness — the holy garments. These were not his regular or proper clothes. A rich dress with gold and jewels in it marked out the high priest. But the atoning work of this day called for the holy "linen garments."
What the day pictured explains why the splendour had to go.
On the day of atonement he must lay aside the garments of glory and wear fine linen only. His duties on that day spoke of the Cross in all its greatness of meaning for God and for creation... All the glory of God rests upon our Lord in that aspect. Even so, that day was not a time for a blaze of glory but a time of woe.
The white linen said one thing to a watching nation.
On the great day of atonement, the High Priest laid aside his ordinary garments of glory and beauty, and wore only spotless white. He was going into the presence of God as the bearer of the blood of atonement. One thought had to stand out in the minds of the people: the absolute need of spotless purity in that holy Presence.
The same linen sets the standard for those who serve God now.
Bible students know linen as a symbol of practical purity and righteousness (see Revelation 19:8). These features belonged to our true High Priest in perfection (Hebrews 1:9 and 7:26). They are also an essential requirement for anyone today who longs for priestly service and is involved in it — and this should be every Christian.
The command to bathe before dressing was not about hygiene. It pointed to what Aaron was inside.
Aaron had to put on the holy linen coat, with the linen undergarment on his flesh. He had to tie the linen sash around his waist and wear the linen turban. He must also bathe his flesh in water before putting them on (verse 4). All this spoke of inward imperfection and uncleanness. As he stood, he was in no way fit to come to God. When he did get there, it was through incense and blood.
Aaron had to be made fit. Christ never did.
It is especially precious to be called to gaze on the Person of our divine Priest, in all His essential holiness... He did not need to do or to wear anything to be pure and spotless. He needed no pure water, no fine linen. He was, in Himself and in practice, "the Holy One of God." What Aaron did, and what he wore — the washing and the robing — are only faint shadows of what Christ is.
The order in the verse — wash first, then put on — still shapes how a believer comes to God.
Before Aaron could put on the holy linen coat, he must wash his flesh in water (Leviticus 16:4). It is the same now — "our bodies washed with pure water." We cannot put on our white robe unless we know what fellowship with the death of Jesus really is. The old man must be put off before the new man can be put on. And this has been done for us, once for all, in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
- Prescribed — God fixed the sacrifice, the dress and the order. Aaron could change nothing, and the blood, not his garments, made him acceptable.
- Stripped — the gold and jewels came off, because the day pictured the cross, which was a time of woe, not a blaze of glory.
- Clothed — plain white linen put one idea before the nation — God's presence demands spotless purity.
- Washed — the bath before the robing exposed Aaron's own uncleanness. The true Priest needed no water and no linen. He was holy in Himself.
- Followed — the same order still holds for us — washed first, then clothed, resting on a death already accomplished.