Week #8 The Day of Atonement Lev. 16:1-34

The Day of Atonement, also known as Yom Kippur, was the most solemn holy day of all the Israelite feasts and festivals. It occurred once a year on the tenth day of Tishri, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar (Sept.-Oct.). On this day, the high priest was to perform elaborate rituals to atone for the sins of the whole nation. The ceremony was a constant reminder of the holiness of God, the sinfulness of man, and man’s ultimate need of a Savior.

I. The Priest (v. 1-7)
A. Who is to come into God’s presence. (v.1-2)
a. High Priest

B. How one is to come into God’s presence. (v.3-7)
a. Morally and ceremonially pure

II. The Prescription (v. 15-21)
A. The Sacrifice
a. The remedy for sin (blood sacrifice)

B. The Scapegoat (v. 20-21)
a. The removal of sin

III. The Promise (v. 29-34)
A. The Atonement promised cleansing (v. 29-30)
B. The Atonement prefigured Christ
a. As our High Priest (Heb. 9:11-12)
b. As our Sacrifice (Mk. 10:45; Is. 53:5; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; Rom 5:8-10)
c. The Cross offers two redemptive components:
1. Propitiation- This means the turning away of wrath by an offering. In relation to salvation, propitiation means satisfying the wrath of God by the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Christ is the offering by which his blood is the acceptable sacrifice for sin. Thus, God is satisfied by Christ’s payment for all of the believer’s sins, past, present, and future. (1 John 4:10, 2:2)

2. Expiation- The prefix [Ex- away or out from] has to do with removing something or taking something away. In biblical terms, it has to do with taking away guilt through the payment of a penalty or the offering of an atonement. (Rom. 3:25-26, 4:25)

Point to Ponder:
Christ is our atonement fulfilling all of the Old Testament symbolism regarding Yom Kipper. However, one must still appropriate the benefit of Christ’s atonement by repentance and faith.



Allen C. Myers, The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), 487.
F. Duane Lindsey, “Leviticus,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 198.
Mark F. Rooker, vol. 3A, Leviticus, electronic ed., Logos Library System; The New American Commentary, 59 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001).
J. I. Packer, Concise Theology : A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1995).
John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue, eds., Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth (Wheaton: Crossway, 2017), 531.