Leviticus 16:31-34

This is a lesson for all of the ages. It is God's judgment that all must be reconciled to God through the blood. That is why I began all the way back there in verse 27 so that we would bring in the mention of blood. Anciently, through this ritual, the whole community was symbolically reconciled to God once a year.

Now what happened, (I cannot think of what the word might be, at least symbolically) is that all through the year the sins of the people were transferred to the Temple and to the altar. And then once a year the Temple, and then the altar on the Day of Atonement, was purged of those sins, and the people were free once again. All of this is done because it is God's judgment that we need to understand, that atonement comes only through blood through death.

Leviticus 16:30-34

This is the day that God designates for the cleansing from all sins. For Israel, it included a cleansing of the tabernacle furniture, as well as an atonement for the priesthood. But, as it says in verse 34, the purpose is to make atonement for sins, once a year. For us, the application is different, because we have faith in Christ’s single, perfect sacrifice. It is still, though, a solemn memorial of the propitiation and expiation of our sins, performed by our Savior. He was completely innocent, and yet He both paid the penalty and also removes the sins completely from view, so even our conscience is cleansed.