What is the meaning of Leviticus 16:30? Because on this day “Because on this day” points to a specific, God-appointed moment—the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29; 23:27). It was not left to personal preference or human timing. • God Himself set the calendar, showing that forgiveness is His initiative (Romans 5:8). • A once-a-year event foreshadowed a once-for-all sacrifice in Christ (Hebrews 9:7, 12). • By gathering the nation on this day, the Lord underscored the seriousness of sin and the unity of His people in seeking mercy (Numbers 29:7-11). atonement will be made for you Here the high priest entered the Most Holy Place with sacrificial blood on behalf of the people (Leviticus 16:15-16). • “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). • The substitute died so the guilty could live (Leviticus 17:11; Romans 3:25). • Ultimately, Jesus, our great High Priest, “appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26). • The verse stresses that atonement is done “for you”—a gracious act toward sinners who cannot atone for themselves (1 John 2:2). to cleanse you Atonement was not only judicial; it was purifying. The same blood that satisfied God’s justice also washed the worshiper (Hebrews 9:13-14). • David cried, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity” (Psalm 51:2). • God promised, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean” (Ezekiel 36:25). • Cleansing points ahead to Christ, who “loved the church and gave Himself up for her to sanctify her… by the washing of water with the word” (Ephesians 5:25-26). and you will be clean The result is not partial or tentative; it is real and complete. • “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). • Believers can “draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean” (Hebrews 10:22). • This promise removes lingering guilt and invites joyful fellowship (Acts 3:19; 1 John 1:7). from all your sins Nothing is left uncovered. • “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). • God “will again have compassion… You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19). • At the cross, Christ “forgave us all our trespasses, having nailed the record of debt to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14). • Complete forgiveness frees us to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). before the LORD Cleansing brings restored access to God’s presence. • The high priest emerged and blessed the people, signaling acceptance (Leviticus 9:23-24; Hebrews 9:24). • Through Jesus “we have boldness to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19-20). • “For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit” (Ephesians 2:18). • Eternally, the redeemed “stand before the throne and before the Lamb… they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14-15). summary Leviticus 16:30 proclaims a divinely appointed day when substitutionary blood brings comprehensive cleansing, leaving God’s people completely forgiven and welcomed into His presence. The Old Testament ritual looked ahead to Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice, by which every believer is fully atoned for, thoroughly cleansed, and confidently able to stand “before the LORD.” |
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