Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Azazel: Endings
(From Forerunner Commentary)
|
Leviticus 4:3-12
Leviticus 4 gives four slightly different sets of instructions for a sin offering, depending on who had committed the unintentional sin. Beginning in verse 3 are instructions for a sin offering for a priest. Verse 13 speaks of a sin offering for the whole congregation. Verse 22 covers a sin offering for a leader of the people, and then a sin offering for an individual is found in verse 27. A significant point here is that there are instructions (in verse 13) for a sin offering for the whole congregation involving a young bull. However, what happened on the Day of Atonement, with its two goats as a sin offering, does not match those instructions. If a typical sin offering for the congregation would have sufficed, the instructions in verses 13-21 would have been used. But what happened on the Day of Atonement was not typical. God is showing a unique scenario altogether. Regardless of who sinned, though, the same basic process was followed in a typical sin offering. First (verse 4), the guilty party—the priest, in this case—laid his hand on the head of the sacrificial animal. This symbolized the animal taking the place of the sinner. The substitute was identified through the laying on of a hand, and the sin was figuratively transferred to the animal. Second, the animal was killed. Third (verses 5-6), some of its blood was sprinkled in front of the veil of the Tabernacle. The blood did not go into the Holy of Holies, which further separates the typical sin offering from the compound sin offering on the Day of Atonement. Fourth (verse 7), some of the blood was put on the horns of the golden altar (or incense altar). The rest of the blood was poured at the base of the other, larger altar, the brazen altar. Fifth (verses 8-10), select parts of the animal were burned on the brazen altar. Finally (verses 11-12), the rest of the animal was burned outside the camp. The details vary slightly, but the same basic procedure is carried out in each of the four scenarios.
David C. Grabbe
Azazel: Endings
|
|
Leviticus 16:5
An intriguing picture emerges when we compare the regular sin offering to what happened with the two goats for the Day of Atonement sin offering. The procedure for each goat individually lacked a critical element found in the regular sin offering. The first goat was killed but had no sins symbolically transferred to it. The second goat had hands and sins laid on it, but it was not killed by the priest. Each was missing something found in the regular sin offering, but together, they comprised a sin offering by which something far greater was accomplished. While the regular sin offering kept adding records of sins to the altar throughout the year, on the Day of Atonement, the record of sins was first cleansed with pure blood, and then all the sins were removed from the nation. One goat had to die for cleansing; the other goat had to remain alive for bearing the sins away, removing them from God's presence.
David C. Grabbe
Azazel: Endings
|
|
Leviticus 16:9
Notice there is no mention of the high priest laying hands on this first goat. Likewise, in verses 11-14, there is no mention of the priest laying his hand on the bull for himself, which was a requirement of the typical sin offering for the priest (Leviticus 4:4). All the other steps for a sin offering are shown, though, so the differences stand out. If we take this as it is written and not infer any steps, the bull for the high priest and the first goat share two elements: First, there is no mention of hands being laid on either. Second, their blood was taken inside the Holy of Holies. Both are significant differences from a typical sin offering. Everything else for the bull for the high priest is the same—part is burned on the altar, and its carcass is burned outside the camp. But no transference is shown, and the blood is allowed inside the veil, into God's very presence. These differences indicate the blood of these animals was pure, which is why it could be used to purge the horns of the altar. Only blood that did not represent sin was brought inside the veil. The blood from every other sin offering stopped at the veil. So, the priest used the bull's and the first goat's blood to purify the various holy objects, beginning with God's throne—the Mercy Seat—and working outward. Notice, though, in the explanation about what the first goat's blood makes atonement for: to make atonement for the Holy Place, the Tabernacle of Meeting, and the altar. On account of the people—meaning because of their sinfulness—these things needed annual purging, but the stated purpose was for cleansing the things of the LORD. Atonement was made for the objects closest to the LORD since the people were sinful.
David C. Grabbe
Azazel: Endings
|
|
Hebrews 9:7
Verse 7 says the priest offered (or brought) blood for himself and the people's sins, and verse 23 underscores that the part of the ceremony involving bringing blood into the Most Holy Place was for purification or cleansing of the objects. This idea is also found in verse 22: "according to the law almost all things are purified with blood.” The Levitical priest used animal blood, but our High Priest entered the Holy of Holies in heaven with His own blood. His blood provides an entrance into the presence of the Supreme God. Verse 23 says the heavenly things had to be purified, as though simply being in the same universe as humanity meant they had to be cleansed. But Christ's blood provides a cleansing so complete that we now can “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16) His blood appeases the Father, so we can “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience” (Hebrews 10:22).
David C. Grabbe
Azazel: Endings
|
Start Your Day with Scripture
Begin each morning with God's Word — the Berean delivers a daily verse and insightful commentary to spark reflection and growth.
Join 140,000+ fellow believers on this journey.
|
|
