Feast of Atonement: Act One Begins

Feasts of Israel Series: Part 21

We’ve considered the casting for the Feast of Atonement but, as with any production, the costuming of the main character is as important as the plot.

Normally, the high priest appeared for duty wearing his garments of holiness. An under-robe of blue peeked below the hem of a white linen tunic—itself sparkling with the golden threads. A crown of gold etched with “holy to the Lord” encircled his turban and over his chest hung a jewel-encrusted vest called an ephod. Two dice-like objects called the Urim and Thummim rattled inside the vest’s central pocket, ready for the priest to draw them out when he needed to determine God’s will.

This would have been our hero’s costume as the Day of Atonement dawned. Before the special rituals could begin, he first had to perform the regular duties usually handled by several priests. The daily morning offering of a lamb had to be sacrificed. Then, if the Feast of Atonement fell on a New Moon or a Sabbath, he had to prepare whatever offerings were required for those days, as well.

When it was time for the actual atonement rituals, a costume change was in order. “He shall put the holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore he shall wash his body in water, and put them on” (Leviticus 16:4 NKJV).

Plain as the outfit seemed, it was considered so holy that the wearer had to wash his entire body. The audience was used to seeing priests bustling back and forth to wash hands and feet at the bronze laver. This day, however, a special curtain appeared center stage. Behind this shield, the high priest would lay aside every bit of finery to bathe himself from head to foot.

Coming up from the water, he reached, not for his glorious apparel, but for a plain linen outfit without a stitch of color. No precious jewels covered his chest. No glint of gold set off his turban.

Entitled by birth to his lofty position, commissioned by God to hold great authority and honor, the exalted high priest stepped out from behind the curtain dressed as the least of his brethren.

And . . . Action!

Washed, dressed, and prepared for his duties, our pure and spotless hero stepped forward to greet a bullock on the south side of the altar. He stretched out his hands and lays them on the head of a year-old bull without blemish. The bullock, who came to this moment at the height of his strength and the beginning of his adult life, faced the sanctuary.

Maintaining contact, the high priest cried out. “Ah, JEHOVAH! I have committed iniquity; I have transgressed; I have sinned—I and my house. Oh, then, JEHOVAH, I entreat Thee, cover over . . . the iniquities, the transgressions, and the sins which I have committed, transgressed, and sinned before Thee, I and my house—even as it is written in the law of Moses, Thy servant: ‘For, on that day will He cover over (atone) for you to make you clean; from all your transgressions before JEHOVAH ye shall be cleansed.’”¹

With his family’s sins successfully transferred to the bull, the high priest moved to the north side of the altar where two spotless goats stood facing the sanctuary. Near them stood an urn containing two lots—one labeled “for Jehovah” the other “for Azazel.” Reaching in, the priest grabbed a lot in each hand and laid one on the head of each goat. He took the goat winning the “Azazel” title and turned it to face the audience whose sins it was about to carry.

Leaving the goats for the moment, the high priest returned to the south side of the altar, where he laid his hands once more on the bullock’s head. Again he made confession. This time seeking atonement not only for himself and his family but for the entire priesthood.

Preliminaries done, he lifted the knife and slew the bull, being careful to collect the precious lifeblood of the sacrifice he needed for Act Two.

Behold Your King

As we mentioned before, the high priest in this Atonement Day production was but a stand-in for the protagonist to come—one who would hold a title role in the real-life drama these rituals could only foreshadow.

In John 19:14, a crowd of onlookers not unlike the audience in the temple courtyard wait to see who will appear from the hidden recesses of the Praetorium. Stripped of all earthly glory, His body bathed from head to foot in His own sweat and blood, Jesus stepped out before them.

With a wave of his hand, Pilate indicated the brutalized man beside him. “Behold your king!” he declared.

The only resemblance Jesus seemed to share at that moment with His high priest stand-in was His humanity. He’d laid aside the glorious robes of His birth as Son of God, King, and Priest. The great Messiah stood before His people wearing nothing more than the humble garb of flesh, unashamed to call us His brethren (Hebrews 2:11).

He “did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5–8 NKJV).

The Story Awaits Completion

So, we come to the end of Act One with things only partially completed. The action seems to have shifted away from where it seems it ought to be. Why were the rituals with the goats completed right away? Why not confess for priests and Levites over the bullock all at once? Why have the priests’ sins been transferred onto the sacrifice, while the people still await their opportunity?

I can’t answer any of these questions any more than I can explain why God seems to unexpectedly change direction in our lives. Just when I think all focus is on completing this change in my life, I feel the Lord nudge me to pay attention to something else.

All I can say is, it’s not over until it’s over. Atonement in this little drama won’t be complete until the final ritual is finished. Two-thirds of the necessary steps remain to be fulfilled, but we know the script for them is already written. We, too, can feel like we’re hanging precariously in the middle of our stories at the moment. But we can rest assured the God of the Universe has not only remembered us. He has a slam-bang finish planned.

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1. Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: its Ministry and Services as they were at the time of Jesus Christ (Arcadia Press 2017, 1874) 109.