What is the meaning of Leviticus 16:15? Aaron shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people The moment Aaron lays his hands on the second goat and kills it, he stands as the mediator for the entire nation (Leviticus 16:9; Hebrews 5:1). God’s law required life-blood to cover sin (Hebrews 9:22). • Unlike the earlier bull, which covered Aaron’s own sin (Leviticus 16:6), this goat speaks of substitution for Israel—one life for many lives (Isaiah 53:5-6). • The single act underscores that sin is personal yet the atonement is corporate; everyone’s guilt is addressed in one sacrifice, just as Christ “offered Himself once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). This opening clause reminds us that forgiveness is costly, but God Himself provides the way (John 1:29). and bring its blood behind the veil Aaron now carries the evidence of death into the holiest place (Leviticus 16:2). • Only on the Day of Atonement could anyone enter behind the veil (Hebrews 9:7). • The veil marked separation between God’s glory and human sin (Exodus 26:33). When Jesus died, “the veil of the temple was torn in two” (Matthew 27:51), showing that His own blood forever opened what Aaron entered only briefly and in fear. and with its blood he must do as he did with the bull’s blood God’s instructions do not change between sacrifices (Leviticus 16:14). • Exact repetition teaches that God’s holiness demands consistent procedures; nobody improvises in His presence (1 Samuel 6:19-20). • It also links the cleansing of priest and people: one pattern, one standard, fulfilled later in Christ, who “entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood” (Hebrews 9:12). In other words, the same holy requirements apply to leaders and laity alike. He is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat The mercy seat—golden cover of the ark (Exodus 25:17-22)—is where God promised to meet His people. • Sevenfold sprinkling (implied from verse 14) visually covers the throne of judgment with blood, turning it into a throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). • Paul points to this imagery when he says God presented Christ as “a propitiation” (Romans 3:25), the place where wrath is satisfied and mercy flows. The act proclaims that righteousness and peace can embrace (Psalm 85:10). and in front of it Aaron also sprinkles blood on the ground before the mercy seat (Leviticus 16:15b). • The ark’s cover is cleansed, and the approach to it is cleansed—nothing is left uncovered (Leviticus 4:6-7). • This double action foreshadows the way Jesus consecrates both heaven and earth: we now “have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus… through the curtain” (Hebrews 10:19-20). Even our path to God is sprinkled with covenant blood, making fellowship possible every step of the way. summary Leviticus 16:15 pictures substitutionary death, access through shed blood, unchanging holiness, propitiating mercy, and a fully cleansed approach. Aaron’s every move anticipates the once-for-all work of Christ, whose sacrifice satisfies God’s justice and opens the veil so that redeemed people can draw near with confidence. |
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