And he shall go out unto the altar which is before Jehovah, and make atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about;
The Day of Atonement does not end at the mercy seat inside the veil. The high priest comes out to an altar and puts blood on its horns. Two questions sit in this verse. Which altar is meant? And why should a piece of furniture need atonement at all?
Commentators differ here. One reading takes the altar's own description as the clue:
"The altar that is before the LORD," verse 18, seems to be the bronze altar, because it is described in this way. Aaron sprinkles the blood on the mercy seat first. Then he makes atonement for the holy place, and next for the tent of meeting. Then "he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it." The bronze altar was "before the LORD." Exodus 29:42 uses the words that way, and verse 43 says, "There I will meet with the people of Israel."
Others read the same "going out" as a move from the holiest into the holy place. That would make it the golden altar of incense:
On further consideration I have no doubt that the altar for which atonement is made in Leviticus 16:18 is the altar of incense. The "go out" that misled me for a moment is from the holiest (v. 16) to the holy place. What decides it for me is that the whole scene is the tabernacle (v. 16) and what is inside it.
Whichever altar it is, it stands where the people met God, and their uncleanness has defiled it. That says something about sin itself:
But more was needed. Acting for the earthly people, the priest had to put the blood on the horns of the golden altar. That is the altar before the LORD in verse 18, the ordinary place where they stood... They knew nothing of such an entrance into the holiest. So the blood was put on their behalf where they stood as a nation before God. It made atonement for the altar, cleansed it, and set it apart from all the uncleanness of the people of Israel. They were also taught that their uncleanness was found in a place they themselves never reached. They never entered the sanctuary on any pretext, yet their uncleanness counted as reaching into it — a reminder that the effects of sin reach far beyond the person who commits it.
The cleansing has a purpose beyond the day itself. It keeps the altar fit for use afterwards:
This picture shows what the letter to the Hebrews calls the "purification of the heavenly things" (Hebrews 9:23). The blood of atonement is what makes it right for the tabernacle — and so for God's presence — to remain among a sinful people. Right after this, the altar too is purified, so that it may remain among them to sanctify their gifts.
The blood goes on the horns of the altar, and the horns carry a meaning of their own:
The horn is a symbol of strength. So when the blood was sprinkled on the horns, the whole strength of the altar was shown in full. That strength had been against the sinner. Now it works on his behalf. The horns of the altar became a place of refuge, a shelter no one could break into, for everyone who had a right to their protection on the ground of the sprinkled blood.
The verse names both bloods — the bull's and the goat's. Commentators see two different groups behind that pairing:
The blood of the bull has to do only with those who enter the holy places, the sanctuary of God. The blood of the goat was brought there too, for God must be glorified in reconciling Israel or anyone else. But the first goat cannot be separated from the second. They belong together and make up the atonement needed for the people who await the coming out of the great High Priest. It is not so with those concerned in the bull. There is no waiting for His appearing for their acceptance.
The high priest's exit is not just procedure. Commentators read it as a picture of what is still ahead:
But He will come out. Has He come out yet? No... "And he shall go out," etc. (Lev. 16:18), just as we know the Lord Jesus Christ is coming from the right hand of God in heaven.
What He does on coming out reaches wider than one nation:
When the Lord does come, He will come to reign over this world. He will take the lower heavens and the earth under His own power and rule, for the glory of God. The letter to the Colossians says that by the blood of His cross He not only made peace, but is to reconcile all things, whether in heaven or on earth. This matches what we have here. The blessing of all creation comes together with the forgiveness of Israel.
- Blood first. Atonement moves outward from the mercy seat. The blood goes to God first, then to the places where the people stand.
- Blood on the place. Sin defiles ground the sinner never stood on. So the blood cleanses even the altar. Sin reaches further than the sinner.
- Blood on the horns. The horns speak of strength. The altar's full power once stood against the sinner. Now it shelters everyone covered by that blood.
- Blood for two companies. Bull and goat together: Aaron's house is accepted now; the people still wait for the High Priest to come out.
- Blood then coming out. Aaron's exit points to Christ coming out from heaven. Then He forgives Israel and reconciles all things.
and he shall sprinkle upon it of the blood with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleannesses of the children of Israel.
The day of atonement did not end inside the veil, where the high priest sprinkled blood on the mercy seat. He then came out and put blood on the altar too, which raises a question: why does an object of wood and metal need cleansing?
This sprinkling is the last stop on a route the blood travelled all day. One writer follows it from end to end:
So the atoning blood was sprinkled everywhere. It went from the throne of God inside the veil out to the altar that stood in the court of the tent of meeting.
Israel's people never entered the sanctuary, yet their uncleanness is named there, and atonement is made for the altar where they did stand. One commentator draws out both halves of that:
Israel had no entrance into the holiest. So the high priest put the blood on their behalf where they stood before God as a nation. It made atonement for the altar, cleansed it, and set it apart from all the uncleanness of the people of Israel (verses 18, 19). They were also taught something more: their uncleanness was found in a place they themselves never reached. They never entered the sanctuary on any pretext, yet their uncleanness still counted as reaching into it. The effects of sin reach far beyond the person who commits it.
Notice what the verse cleanses: the altar, not the people who used it.
What had to be cleansed was what belonged to God: the holy place and the altar of incense, the place where God dwelt. It was not the people. This was not forgiving them, though it was the basis of that. It was "Jehovah's lot" cleansing the place of His presence. It showed the character of Him who dwelt there, who could not bear sin and uncleanness.
Earlier that day the high priest also sprinkled blood seven times before the mercy seat. One writer explains what the number means:
"Seven" is the perfect number. In the sprinkling of the blood seven times before the mercy seat we learn this: whatever the atonement of Christ is applied to, whether things, places, or persons, God values it perfectly in His presence.
Commentators differ about which altar this is. Some place it in the outer court, where ordinary Israelites brought their offerings:
The third great act took place in the court, where Israel could enter and approach God at the altar. Here the worshipper had stood with his offering of pleasing aroma. Here too sin had driven the wrongdoer to bring his sin offering. The court and its altar needed cleansing. The high priest first put the blood of the sacrifices on the horns of the altar. Then he "sprinkled some of the blood on it with his finger seven times." For sin offerings the priest put blood on the horns of the altar. For offerings of pleasing aroma he threw the blood against the altar walls. So this double action — blood on the horns, and blood sprinkled on the altar — stood for every offering in which life was given up to God in sacrifice.
Others follow the movement of the chapter and reach a different answer:
After further thought, I have no doubt that the altar atoned for in Leviticus 16:18 is the altar of incense. The words "go out" misled me for a moment. They mean going out from the holiest (verse 16) into the holy place. What decides it for me is that the whole scene is the tabernacle (verse 16) and what is inside it.
This cleansing of places reaches beyond the tabernacle. One writer states it plainly:
The heavenly things themselves need better sacrifices. Satan and his angels are there, and cleansing is needed. This cleansing is not forgiveness. God must have His house cleansed as well as His people made righteous.
- Reach. Sin spreads further than the sinner. Israel's uncleanness reached a sanctuary no Israelite ever entered.
- Route. The blood follows that reach step by step: throne, tent, altar. It covers every place sin had touched.
- Object. Here the blood cleanses God's place, not the people. It shows the character of the One who dwells there and cannot bear uncleanness.
- Measure. Seven sprinklings mean God values that blood perfectly, whether for things, for places, or for persons.
- Scale. The same principle reaches heaven itself. God will have His house cleansed as well as His people made righteous.