Topical Bible: Under the Law Atonement: Offered For: The Congregation

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In the Old Testament, the concept of atonement is central to the relationship between God and His people, Israel. Under the Mosaic Law, atonement was necessary to reconcile the people to God, covering their sins and restoring fellowship with Him. This was achieved through a series of sacrificial rituals and offerings, which were meticulously outlined in the Law given to Moses.

Atonement for the Congregation

The atonement for the congregation of Israel was a significant aspect of the sacrificial system. It was not only individuals who required atonement, but the entire community of Israel, as they were collectively bound in covenant with God. The Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, was the most solemn day of the year for the Israelites, dedicated to the atonement of the entire nation.

Levitical Instructions

The Book of Leviticus provides detailed instructions for the atonement of the congregation. Leviticus 16 outlines the procedures for the Day of Atonement, where the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies to make atonement for himself, his household, and the entire assembly of Israel. The high priest would offer a bull for his own sin offering and a goat for the sin offering of the people. Leviticus 16:15-16 states: "Then he shall slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the veil. He is to do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull: He is to sprinkle it against the mercy seat and in front of it. In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the impurities and rebellious acts of the Israelites, whatever their sins may have been."

The Role of the Scapegoat

In addition to the sacrificial goat, a second goat, known as the scapegoat, played a crucial role in the atonement for the congregation. The high priest would lay his hands on the head of the scapegoat, confessing over it all the iniquities of the Israelites, symbolically transferring their sins onto the goat. The scapegoat was then sent away into the wilderness, carrying the sins of the people with it. Leviticus 16:21-22 describes this ritual: "He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and rebellious acts of the Israelites—all their sins. He shall place them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their iniquities into a solitary place, and the man shall release it into the wilderness."

Significance and Symbolism

The atonement for the congregation was a profound expression of God's mercy and justice. It underscored the seriousness of sin and the need for purification and reconciliation with God. The sacrificial system, with its emphasis on blood atonement, foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who, according to Christian belief, fulfilled the Law and provided a once-for-all atonement for sin. The communal aspect of the atonement rituals highlighted the collective responsibility of the people and their shared identity as God's chosen nation.

New Testament Fulfillment

In the New Testament, the concept of atonement is fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 9:11-12 reflects on this fulfillment: "But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands, that is, not of this creation. He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption." This passage highlights the transition from the temporary and repetitive sacrifices of the Old Covenant to the eternal and complete atonement provided by Christ.

The atonement offered for the congregation under the Law serves as a profound reminder of God's holiness, the gravity of sin, and the necessity of a mediator to restore the broken relationship between God and His people.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Numbers 15:25
And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance: and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire to the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their ignorance:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

2 Chronicles 29:24
And the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood on the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel: for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

On the Atonement.
... How beautifully this was illustrated under the Mosaic system! ... ark which contained
the tables of the law and other ... once a year, on the great day, of atonement. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/finney/sermons on gospel themes/xii on the atonement.htm

Fifth Sunday in Lent
... every year, was but a temporary and imperfect atonement; it did not eternally suffice,
as does the atonement of Christ. ... Under the old law, which provided ...
//christianbookshelf.org/luther/epistle sermons vol ii/fifth sunday in lent.htm

The New Covenant.
... When the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin, inasmuch as it was an
unreal atonement, God prepared a ... For the priests under the Law stand while ...
/.../chapter viii the new covenant.htm

Extent of Atonement.
... even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings ... an adamant stone, lest they
should hear the law, and the ... 2. It is objected that the atonement is unnecessary ...
/.../finney/systematic theology/lecture xxvi extent of atonement.htm

Acts XIII
... is equally true under Christ; but that those under the law of ... based upon this broad
assertion: "The law, having a ... again on the annual day of atonement, and new ...
/.../mcgarvey/a commentary on acts of the apostles/acts xiii.htm

Christ's Priestly Office
... in a worse condition under the gospel than the Jews were under the law? When they
had sinned they had their high priest to make atonement; and shall not we ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/watson/a body of divinity/4 christs priestly office.htm

Introductory Essays
... a man do this, and then God's law ceases to be ... The doctrine of the Atonement, as
asserted at the Reformation ... been driven into a monastery, and under which, like ...
/.../luther/first principles of the reformation/introductory essays.htm

The Church and Her Mission, or the Three Constitutional Synods ...
... all Church property was, directly or indirectly, under the control ... the mysteries
of English and American law; and yet ... (3) The doctrine of the atonement and the ...
/.../hutton/history of the moravian church/chapter i the church and.htm

Questions About the Lord's Supper
... recollection of Christ's death and substitution for us, and His atonement for our ...
mercy and grace of God, and a verifying of promises made under the law. ...
/.../chapter xx questions about the.htm

Priest and victim
... satisfy the demands of the divine law, since Christ ... his spirit to the Father,"not
under constraint, but ... criticize the great central truth of the atonement. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 46 1900/priest and victim.htm