Ezekiel 16:1-34

Ritual of the Day of Atonement

(See also Leviticus 23:26; Numbers 29:7; Exodus 30:10.)

This solemn ceremonial took place once a year on the tenth day of the seventh month (Tishri = September). It was enacted by the high priest alone, but the whole nation indicated its interest and participation in it, by resting from all manner of work, by keeping a very strict fast, and by assembling for an 'holy convocation.' The ritual of the Day of Atonement marked the culminating point of the Levitical system, and was calculated to impress the minds of the worshippers in a peculiar degree. Most of the other sacrifices and purifications were occasional and personal, but this was the yearly atonement for the nation as a whole, including the priesthood itself, and the yearly purification of the sanctuary and its parts from the defilement of the sins of the people in whose midst it stood. It gathered up and included all the separate and individual sacrifices of the year, and restored to the nation the holiness it had lost. It was but natural that Christians should see, in its peculiarly striking and solemn ritual, a foreshadowing and illustration of the atonement wrought by Christ, through the one sacrifice of Himself, and His entering into the Holy Place, there to appear in the presence of God for His people. This is pointed out by the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews: see Hebrews 4:14; Hebrews 6:20; Hebrews 9:11, which should be read in this connexion.

A great deal has been made of the fact that there is no mention of the actual observance of the Day of Atonement till after the exile, from which it has been inferred that its institution is of post-exilic date. But the argument is not convincing. The connexion with the death of Nadab and Abihu (see Leviticus 16:1), and the mention of Azazel (see Leviticus 16:8 and note), indicate that the ritual of this chapter rests on a very ancient basis. And not only are the preexilic books silent on the Day of Atonement, but the post-exilic contain no reference to it either, which shows the precarious nature of the argument from silence.

The Day of Atonement is still the great day of the Jewish sacred year, and is observed with much solemnity as a day of humiliation and repentance: see on Exodus 32:32.

3-5. The first act of the high priest is to choose the sacrificial victims, to bathe himself, and exchange his distinctive vestments for a garment of white linen, the garment of the ordinary priest.

6-11. He then presents the sin offering for himself and for his house, and casts lots between the two goats of the sin offering for the people, one of which is to be slain and the other let loose. He then sacrifices his own sin offering.