The Heart of God
The Heart of God
Leviticus 16
What is the heart of God? Have you ever wondered what matters most to God? Leviticus 16 reveals that answer. The Torah or Pentateuch or Law, the first five books of the Bible written by Moses, were the 5 most important books of Israel’s life. They governed everything from what they should eat, what they should wear, and where they should. It was their origin story. It outlined the creation of the world, the fall of humanity into sin, and the beginning of redemption in the call of Abraham, the first patriarch. And the center of the Torah is Leviticus, and the center of Leviticus is chapter 16, the Day of Atonement. In the first 15 chapters, you read the phrase, “And the Lord spoke to Moses,” 18 times, and in the last 10 chapters, you see the same phrase, “And the Lord spoke to Moses,” 18 times, and the 19th time, the very center of the book, is Leviticus 16:1, “And the Lord spoke to Moses.” Moses is showing even by how he has structured the book that Leviticus 16 is the heart of Torah and I believe clearly reveals the heart of God.
What is the heart of God? The heart of God is to be with his people. God wants to be with us. The main theme of Leviticus is answering the question of, “How sinful people can be in the presence of a holy God?” So how can you, a sinner, dwell in the midst of a Holy God? First, you need to know you are a sinner. It seems simple enough, but I do not think we give this as much thought today. We are trained by our culture to ignore our sin and to celebrate who we are. We are taught to esteem ourselves, our choices, our desires and our opinions. We don’t like to be around people or ideas that tell us how bad we are and that we are sinners. But friends, it is only when we understand how we are sinners that we can fully understand the heart of God for us. And Leviticus 16:1-2 begins with revealing this problem.
God reveals the problem of humanity (Leviticus 16:1-2)
The last five chapters cover various laws of what makes Israel clean and unclean. They cover everything from dietary laws, to skin diseases, childbirth and bodily discharges. And being unclean means you cannot come in contact with anything holy, lest you die. The last five chapters set the stage for Leviticus 16, but it begins by linking it back to Leviticus 10. Leviticus 16:1–2,
The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD and died, and the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.
In Leviticus 10, Nabab and Abihu tried to approach the Lord in an unworthy manner. The phrase, “when they drew near before the LORD,” implies they tried to enter God’s presence in the Holy of Holies. They were unclean and entered God’s presence and they died. This is the problem of all humanity. We are unclean and because we are unclean we cannot enter God’s presence.
In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve ate the fruit God had commanded them not to eat. Their disobedience led them to be expelled from God’s presence. Genesis 3:22–24,
Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
Man was expelled from God’s presence because they were unclean due to sin. Notice two things of Genesis 3, first, they were driven out at the east of the Garden of Eden and a cherubim, one of God’s holy beings, guarded the way to the tree of life and God’s presence. The problem of humanity is created. We, like Adam and Eve, are unclean and live outside of God’s presence and God's servants protect the way back into his presence.
In Exodus, God instructs Moses to build a tabernacle. And the structure of the tabernacle lays out 6 different spheres of Israel’s life or 6 concentric circles of holiness that governed Israel’s life. The center was the Holy of Holies, then moving east you have the tent of meeting, the courtyard of the Gentiles, the camp, outside the camp and then the wilderness. The problem of humanity is we do not have a way back from the wilderness in the far east to the west into the presence of God. Hear Leviticus 16:1-2 again,
The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD and died, and the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.
The Lord will appear before the mercy seat and if you come inside the veil, inside the holy of holies, at a time and in a way God has not designed you will die. The veil was a curtain from floor to ceiling. Listen how the Lord told the Israelites to make the curtain, Exodus 26:1,
“Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them.
Ten curtains, the number of perfection, woven together with cherubim skillfully worked into them. The thick curtain with the cherubim continued to guard the presence of God.
Leviticus 16 begins with reminding all of Israel what happens when unclean, sinful people try to enter the presence of God. I know it's Easter and we are all looking our best, but before we get to the good news we have to know the bad news. The bad news is what makes the good news so good. We are unclean, sinners who cannot enter God’s presence with our sin. Take a moment and think about one of your sins this past week. Maybe you spoke a careless word, or struggled with an impure thought, or had anger in your heart, or gossiped about a friend. That sin keeps you from entering God’s presence. If you would try to enter God’s presence with that one sin of this past week, you would die. And this is humanity’s problem.
God reiterates the posture of humility (Leviticus 16:3-14)
The two sons of Aaron approached God in an unworthy manner so they died, but God tells Aaron the right way to approach him: with humility. Leviticus 16:3–14
But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
“Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel. And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD and use it as a sin offering, but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.
“Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall kill the bull as a sin offering for himself. And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the veil and put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die. And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side, and in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
In verse 3, God says, “in this way Aaron shall come in the Holy Place.” Notice two things, first, Aaron had to offer a sin offering for himself and his house, we see this in verse 6, and verse 11. Aaron could never forget that he was a sinner and needed atonement before he was even able to enter into the Holy Place. As we have seen throughout Leviticus, Aaron would have understood the cost of his sin, blood would have to be shed to pay for his sin for without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. First, Aaron had to approach the Lord with humility recognizing that he was a sinner.
Second, notice what Aaron was wearing when he was representing the people before the Lord. Leviticus 16:4
He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on.
He was stripped of all his royal vestments and only the most basic linen garments. It is interesting when the High Priest represented God to the people. He wore an elaborate robe with 12 beautiful stones, lush colors of royalty as he was trying to communicate the majesty of God to the people. Now, as he represents the people before God, he is stripped down to the most basic white linen garments. He must approach the Lord with utter humility.
Friends, is this how you approach the Lord? Do you come with nothing? Are you stripped of your accomplishments and good works? Are you laid bare before him relying fully on his mercy? Or do you approach him thinking he should reward you because of your good behavior? That he should honor you with good things because of how you live? James 4:6, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” The two sons of Aaron came to God with pride and they died. Aaron was commanded to come with utter humility acknowledging his sin and his humble state before a holy God. Friend, there is a way to approach God that leads to death and one that leads to life. You must choose wisely.
God reveals the passion of his heart (Leviticus 16:15-28)
Leviticus 16:15-22 is the heart of the chapter and reveals the heart of God. God makes a way for sinful people to dwell in his presence and he makes a way through an atoning sacrifice. Leviticus 16:15–22,
“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel.
“And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.
Back in verse 7-10, God commanded Aaron to bring in two goats. He would cast lots and one would be sacrificed to the Lord for the sins of the people and the other would be sent away to Azazel. The first goat was to make atonement for all the sins of the people. Remember the Day of Atonement would only happen once a year. So all year long the accumulative sins of the people would be increasing. Every sin, all coveting, all envy, all greed, and lust and lies, would be mounting up against the people. In Leviticus 16:16
Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.
The high priest makes atonement for the Holy place for all the uncleannesses, all of their transgressions and all of their sins. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.
But there is another goat. It was to be presented to Azazel. There are several different possibilities of what Azazel could be. Some have said it could be a demon, but in the very next chapter sacrifices to demons are prohibited. Others have said it could mean a rocky precipice indicating the goat would be led to a rocky cliff where it would die. Others simply refer to it as the scapegoat taking his literal Hebrew translation, “Aze, the word for goat, azel, the word for to go, to be led away.” Literally meaning, the goat that was led away or the goat that escapes or scapegoat. Leviticus 16:21,
And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.
This is the first time we see the priest lay both his hands on the animal. Notice he confesses all the iniquities of the people of Israel, all of their transgressions, all their sins. The prayer is not listed but in the Jewish Mishnah, the prayer of Aaron is recorded,
O Lord, your people, the house of Israel, have committed iniquity, transgressed and sinned you. O, by the Lord, grant atonement, I pray, for the the iniquities and transgressions and sins that your people the house of ISrael have committed and transgressed and sinned before you, as it is written in the Torah of your servant Moses, “For on this day shall atonement be made for you to purify you of all your sins; thus you shall become pure before the Lord.”
It is a good prayer summary addressing all the various sins of the people. Kevin DeYoung notes that the prayer may have sounded like this today:
“Oh, Lord, our great and merciful God, we have sinned against you, have done what is wrong in your sight. And among us this day are adulterers, cheats, gossips, liars. We have been lazy in prayer and hardworking in sin. We have spent more time in front of our phones than in the Word of God. We have had our passions kindled hotter for sports than for a savior. We have yelled at little children. We have disrespected our parents. We've been unforgiving toward our spouse. We have grown bitter toward friends and family. We have tried to create our identities out of sex and sensuality. We have been quick to judge the motives and attitudes of others. We have been slow to admit our own faults. We have lived for the approval of others and ignored your commands. We have been proud of our Bible knowledge, arrogant in our righteousness, haughty in parading our virtue and compassion. We have turned grace into license. We have turned blessing into boasting. We have turned privilege into presumption. We have not trusted in your word. We have twisted the hard parts of the Bible to say what we wanted to say. We have ignored the obvious parts so we can live as we want to live. We have disbelieved your promises. We have been angry with your providences. We have doubted your provision. We are not the people we want to be. We are not the people we seem to be. We are not the people we thought we would be. Our iniquities have gone over our heads, and they are a burden too heavy for us to bear”
All your sins, your transgressions, your iniquities, being confessed and symbolically transferred to this goat. And then what happened? The goat would be sent into the wilderness.
Don’t miss the symbolism. Remember those concentric circles of holiness. The sins of the people are brought into the Most Holy Place and they are taken beyond even outside the camp to the wilderness where they would be utterly forgotten. Psalm 103:10–12
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
The people of Israel would have watched that goat leave their sight never to return. This is the heart of God. God forgives the sins of his people. He removes our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. Astounding. What a God! He knows everyone of your sins and through the atoning sacrifice he removes them from you.
God reports the payment for our hearts (Leviticus 16:29-34)
And after the ritual is complete, listen to the closing paragraph and hear how much atonement is offered. Remember, Israel was an auditory culture so they would have heard this word, Leviticus 16:29–34
“And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you. For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the LORD from all your sins. It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; it is a statute forever. And the priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments. He shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” And Aaron did as the LORD commanded Moses. (ESV)
The sanctuary: Atoned. The tent of meeting: Atoned. The alter: Atoned. The priests: Atoned. All the people of the assembly: Atoned. For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the LORD from all your sins.
God redeems the people of his heart to his holy place
The Day of Atonement for Israel was merely a placeholder until the final Day of Atonement when the Passover Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, would come and offer himself for the sins of the people. Matthew 27:45–54,
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
Jesus Christ, God incarnate, yielded his spirit and became the ransom, the atoning sacrifice, the Passover Lamb for his people. And because of his sacrifice, we read,
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Because of the death of Christ as our perfect substitute, the curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom meaning the way of salvation has been open for all people. And the very next thing we see is resurrection power. Spurgeon notes what this means for us,
I want you to notice that this veil, when it was rent, was rent by God, not by man. It was not the act of an irreverent mob; it was not the midnight outrage of a set of profane priests: it was the act of God alone. Nobody stood within the veil; and on the outer side of it stood the priests only fulfilling their ordinary vocation of offering sacrifice. It must have astounded them when they saw that holy place laid bare in a moment. How they fled, as they saw that massive veil divided without human hand in a second of time! Who rent it? Who but God himself? If another had done it, there might have been a mistake about it, and the mistake might need to be remedied by replacing the curtain; but if the Lord has done it, it is done rightly, it is done finally, it is done irreversibly. It is God himself who has laid sin on Christ, and in Christ has put that sin away. God himself has opened the gate of heaven to believers, and cast up a highway along which the souls of men may travel to himself. God himself has set the ladder between earth and heaven. Come to him now, ye humble ones. Behold, he sets before you an open door!
God opens the door for the people. God swings the gate wide open on earth as it is in heaven for God’s heart is for his people. Hebrews 9:24–28,
For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
Jesus Christ died in our place and because he was perfect God vindicated him through his resurrection from the dead. His resurrection is the worldwide announcement that God has made a way for sinful people to enter his presence. For now, for all time, Jesus has entered the presence of God on our behalf. He forever lives to make intercession for his people so that we can be in his holy place.
He has put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. He took our sins to the wilderness so they would be forgotten and remembered no more. The resurrection has opened a way to God. This is his heart. He wants to be with us so he made a way. He made a way through Christ. So now, anyone, Jew or Gentile, the self-righteous, the liar, the angry, the homosexual, the sexually confused and immoral, the proud, the fearful, the hypocrites and God-haters can now come to the Father, but can only come through Christ. You must strip yourselves of all vain hopes that your righteous works can save you. You must strip yourselves of any hope other than the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for salvation. Hebrew 9:27-28,
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
God will save those who eagerly wait for him meaning he will save those who believe. He will save his people who confess their sins and need for a Savior. The heart of God is to save. The heart of God is to save through his Son and only through his Son’s death and resurrection.
Leviticus 16 reveals the heart of God because it is all about God making a way for sinners to enter his holy presence by humbling themselves before God. As the high priest entered the holy place wearing nothing but fine linen so to all saints will be arrayed in fine linen, Revelation 19:7–8,
Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
It has been granted to the church to clothe ourselves in fine linen. Linen garments are heavenly attire showing we belong to God. And linen garments show we are not trusting in ourselves but have humbled ourselves before the Holy God trusting in resurrection power to bring us to God. Beloved, let us now clothe ourselves with good works showing the world we belong to God.
Friend, if you have never come to God, the door is open for you, but you must walk through in humble faith. God loves to save sinners. He loves to forgive sins. He loves to forget your sins. His heart is for you. And all he asks is for your heart in return.. He has given you his very self, through his death on the cross and offers you hope through his resurrection, will you give yourself to him in return? The heart of God is for you, will your heart be for him?