What is the significance of the altar in Leviticus 16:18 for atonement rituals? Text and Immediate Context “Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar.” (Leviticus 16:18) Leviticus 16 records the once-a-year Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) rites. Verses 15–19 form a single ritual unit: blood is taken from both the sin-offering bull and the goat, sprinkled within the veil, and then applied to the altar outside the veil “that is before the LORD” (i.e., the golden altar of incense; cf. Exodus 30:6). Verse 18 centers on that altar. Purpose of the Blood Application 1. Purification of the sanctuary furniture • Sin is pictured as contaminating sacred space (Leviticus 16:16). The altar, standing daily in the cloud of incense before the Holy of Holies, must itself be cleansed so that ongoing worship can continue without defilement (Leviticus 4:7, 18). • Blood serves as the divinely appointed detergent (Hebrews 9:21–22). 2. Expiation for the people • The altar represents Israel’s access to God. Cleansing the altar guarantees that subsequent intercession will be accepted (Leviticus 17:11). • By uniting the blood of the priest’s bull and the people’s goat (Leviticus 16:11, 15), the community and its mediator are symbolically reconciled together before approaching God. 3. Sanctification of the altar’s ministry • Exodus 29:36–37 prescribes a one-time consecration of the bronze altar at ordination; Leviticus 16:18 provides its annual renewal. • The Hebrew verb כִּפֶּר (kipper) in piel here means both “to wipe” and “to atone,” merging cleansing with forgiveness (Leviticus 16:18–19). Symbolic Layers • Spatial: movement from innermost sanctum (mercy seat) outward to the altar demonstrates that atonement flows from God’s throne into Israel’s public worship life. • Temporal: only on this single day is mixed blood applied, highlighting the uniqueness of comprehensive atonement (Numbers 29:7). • Covenant renewal: the horns signify power and security (Psalm 118:27). Covering them with blood stamps a fresh covenant seal. Typological Fulfillment in Christ • Hebrews 9:23–28 interprets the Levitical pattern as a “copy” of the heavenly reality; Christ enters “not into a sanctuary made with hands” but into heaven itself. • The altar’s mixed blood anticipates the uniting of priest and people in one sacrifice: Jesus, simultaneously priest and victim (Hebrews 10:10–14). • The horns foreshadow the cross as the locus of atoning power (Colossians 2:14–15). Archaeological and Historical Corroboration • Incense altars uncovered at Tel Arad and Beersheba match biblical dimensions (c. YHWH-only cultic reforms; cf. 2 Kings 23:8–9), attesting to Levitical altar use in Iron Age Israel. • The Temple Scroll (11Q19) from Qumran expands Leviticus 16, confirming a Second-Temple understanding of annual altar purification. • Papyrus Yadin 14 cites a Yom Kippur liturgy mentioning “blood on the horns,” paralleling the biblical directive. Practical Implications • Assurance of access: because Christ has definitively “cleansed the true altar” (Hebrews 13:10–12), believers may “draw near with a true heart” (Hebrews 10:22). • Ongoing confession: while the once-for-all sacrifice is finished, 1 John 1:7 applies Leviticus 16 imagery to daily cleansing—“the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” • Corporate worship: the church gathers at a purified altar—the cross—and proclaims reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18–21). Summary Leviticus 16:18 elevates the altar from a sacrificial platform to a liturgical nexus where purity, forgiveness, and covenant converge. By transferring the same blood that satisfied God’s justice inside the veil to the horns outside, the ritual ensures that divine mercy radiates outward to the whole community. This annual act prophetically foreshadowed the once-for-all atonement accomplished by Christ, validating the harmony of Scripture and providing an unshakeable foundation for faith, worship, and life. |
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