Question 1

What is happening in this passage about the Day of Atonement?

Accepted Answer

This passage describes how God set up a yearly Day of Atonement for Israel. On that day, the high priest could enter the inner room of the tabernacle, behind the curtain, where the ark and mercy seat were. He had to bring the blood of a bull for his own sins and the blood of a goat for the people’s sins, along with burning coals and incense. The blood was sprinkled on and before the mercy seat. Another goat, the scapegoat, carried the people’s sins away into the wilderness. All this showed the seriousness of sin and God’s way of providing forgiveness.

Question 2

Why could Aaron not enter the holy place at all times?

Accepted Answer

Aaron was warned not to go into the inner room whenever he wished, or he would die. God’s presence rested above the mercy seat in a cloud, and this showed that God is holy and cannot be approached carelessly. The high priest could come only once a year, in the way God commanded, with blood and incense. This guarded the people from treating God lightly and taught them that sin built a barrier that needed atonement. It also pointed ahead to a better way into God’s presence through a perfect high priest.

Question 3

What was the purpose of the two goats in this passage?

Accepted Answer

The two goats show two sides of atonement. Lots were cast, and one goat was killed as a sin offering for the people. Its blood was taken into the inner room and sprinkled before the mercy seat, showing that sin deserves death and needs a sacrifice. The other goat, kept alive, had the people’s sins confessed over its head. Then it was led away into the wilderness, carrying those sins away from the camp. Together, the goats picture both the price of sin being paid and sin being removed from the people’s sight.

Question 4

What does the scapegoat teach about sin and forgiveness?

Accepted Answer

The scapegoat gives a vivid picture of sin being taken away. Aaron laid both hands on the live goat and confessed over it all the sins and wrongdoings of Israel, putting them symbolically on the goat’s head. Then a man led the goat into a lonely place, far from the camp. This showed that God not only deals with the guilt of sin through sacrifice, but also removes sin from His people. It reminds readers that real forgiveness means both cleansing and separation from the sins that once weighed them down.

Question 5

Why did the high priest have to offer a sacrifice for himself first?

Accepted Answer

The high priest had to bring a bull as a sin offering for himself and his household before he could offer for the rest of the people. This showed that he was a sinner too and needed cleansing just like everyone else. He could not stand before God or act for the people until his own sin was covered. This underlines the limits of human priests and points ahead to a high priest who would not need to offer for himself, but could fully stand in God’s presence and bring others near without any sin of his own.

Question 6

What is the meaning of the incense and the cloud over the mercy seat?

Accepted Answer

When the high priest entered the inner room, he had to take coals from the altar and handfuls of sweet incense. He put the incense on the fire before the LORD so that a cloud would cover the mercy seat. This protected him, so that he did not die in God’s holy presence. The rising cloud showed that people needed a covering between themselves and a holy God. It pictured prayer, reverence, and the need for mercy, teaching that no one can stand bare and exposed before God without a gracious covering.

Question 7

Why did the tabernacle and altar need atonement and cleansing?

Accepted Answer

The passage says the high priest had to make atonement for the holy place, the tent, and the altar because of the uncleanness and sins of Israel. The building and furniture themselves were not sinful, but the people who worshiped there were. Their sins affected their worship and brought pollution into God’s house. The blood sprinkled on the furniture showed that even sacred things connected with sinners needed cleansing. This teaches how deep human sin runs and how fully God provides cleansing so that worship can be pleasing to Him.

Question 8

Why did the people have to ‘afflict their souls’ and rest on this day?

Accepted Answer

On this day the people were told to “afflict” their souls and do no work at all. Afflicting their souls meant humbling themselves, likely through fasting, sorrow over sin, and serious self‑examination. Resting from work turned the whole day into a solemn time focused on God’s mercy rather than on daily tasks. While the high priest worked in the tabernacle, the people waited, repentant and still, trusting that God would accept the atonement made for them and cleanse them from all their sins before Him.

Question 9

How does this passage point ahead to the work of Christ?

Accepted Answer

This passage shows patterns that later point to Christ. The high priest going alone behind the curtain with blood and incense hints at a greater priest who would enter God’s true dwelling with his own blood. The repeated yearly sacrifices show that the old way was not complete, but prepared people for a final, once‑for‑all sacrifice. The slain goat and the scapegoat together picture a Savior who both pays the cost of sin and carries it away. In Christ, access to God is opened, and no further yearly atonement is needed.

Leviticus 16:1

And the Lord spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the Lord, and died;

The Day of Atonement

Law of Atonement

An Annual Atonement

The Day of Atonement

Law of Atonement

Cross References

Leviticus 16:1

And the Lord spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the Lord, and died;

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