What is the meaning of Leviticus 16:28? The one who burns them • The verse steps out of the Holy Place to spotlight a man assigned to dispose of the sin-offering remains taken “outside the camp” (Leviticus 16:27). • Touching what has carried Israel’s sin renders him ceremonially unclean, even though his work is essential. Scripture repeatedly couples holy service with personal accountability (Leviticus 4:11-12; Hebrews 13:11-12). • This detail underlines that sin pollutes everything it contacts; the worker needs cleansing just as surely as the worshiper bringing the sacrifice. • It also hints forward to Christ, “who also suffered outside the city gate to sanctify the people by His own blood” (Hebrews 13:12). Jesus bore our uncleanness so we could stand clean. must wash his clothes • Garments in the Law often mirror the visible life of the believer. To wash them is to remove every trace of contamination (Leviticus 11:25; 14:8). • God teaches that outward conduct matters. Even when the heart is right, sin’s residue can cling to actions, habits, and surroundings. • Today we still “put off the old self” and “clothe ourselves with Christ” (Ephesians 4:22-24; Romans 13:14), aligning daily behavior with the holiness Christ provides. and bathe himself with water • The cleansing moves from garments to the whole person. A full bath conveys total separation from impurity (Exodus 30:20-21; Leviticus 15:5). • Water symbolizes God’s ongoing provision for purity. The New Covenant echoes the same picture: we are washed “by the cleansing of the water through the word” (Ephesians 5:26) and “saved through the washing of rebirth” (Titus 3:5). • Yet the Day of Atonement bath is literal. God was teaching Israel that physical acts can preach spiritual truths—truths later fulfilled and deepened in Christ. and afterward he may reenter the camp • Only after cleansing could the worker return to Israel’s communal life (Numbers 19:7; Deuteronomy 23:14). Holiness was not optional; the entire camp was God’s dwelling place. • The sequence—service, defilement, washing, return—mirrors the believer’s experience. We serve, we brush against a sinful world, and we must keep short accounts with God so fellowship stays unhindered (1 John 1:7-9; Hebrews 10:22). • Reentry anticipates our future: cleansed by Christ, we will one day enter the eternal camp, the “city whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10). summary Leviticus 16:28 teaches that even those engaged in God-ordained ministry must acknowledge sin’s defilement and submit to God’s prescribed cleansing. The required washing of clothes and body before reentering the camp underscores God’s uncompromising holiness, the seriousness of sin, and His gracious provision for restoration. Ultimately the verse points to Jesus, who bore our uncleanness outside the camp and now invites us, washed and clothed in His righteousness, to live in continual fellowship with Him and with His people. |
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