O’ how valuable is the beloved Christ, the High Priest who does not die! The High Priest who offers one sacrifice! The High Priest who is in every way holy! Yes this priest would be so valuable to the priests who ran on their sacerdotal treadmill until they died and were replaced by another.

(Lev 16.31-32) It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; it is a statute forever. 32 And the priest who is anointed and be consecrated as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments.

This is the famous Day of Atonement passage. In Leviticus 16 God communicates to the Nation of Israel how they would have their sin dealt with. This annual event was to deal with their uncleanness due to their sin. Embedded in the pronouncement of cleansing (Lev.16.30) is this reminder of repetition.

The feast will be repeated because they are sinners and because God is holy.

In verse 29 the people were reminded that this day is to be circled in permanent ink on their calendars. “…it shall be a statute forever…” And here again, “forever…”

Furthermore, there is a plan for priestly succession. This is going to be an ongoing statute.

Every year on the 10th day of the 7th month they are going to need another priest to offer sacrifices for himself, take multiple baths, change his clothes, offer 2 more goats, get a runner to take the goat in the wilderness, throw blood on the curtain, throw blood on the mercy seat, burn up incense, burn up everything extra, and on and on it goes. Do it again, every year.

And, remember, there are not any cleaning crews that would have come into the Tabernacle. There is not a late night team to come in after the festivities die down to clean the blood up off of the floor or the stains from the mercy seat. No, year after year these priests would track in more blood from more goats to offer for the sins of more people.

Every year this blood would serve as a testimony of God’s unflinching holiness and man’s unfading sinfulness.

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