At-one-ment: the state of being set right in the eyes of a holy God. In the Old Testament, the way God established for that to happen was through the series of procedures and sacrifices on the Day of Atonement—the sin offering, the burnt offering, the releasing of the scapegoat, the offering of incense, etc. In the New Testament, atonement finds its culmination in Jesus, of whom John the Baptist proclaimed, “Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

The Journey // Focus: Leviticus 16:29-31

On the tenth day of the appointed month in early autumn, you must deny yourselves. Neither native-born Israelites nor foreigners living among you may do any kind of work. This is a permanent law for you. On that day offerings of purification will be made for you, and you will be purified in the Lord’s presence from all your sins. It will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. This is a permanent law for you.

Leviticus 16 describes the multifaceted offerings that were to be made for the Day of Atonement, a sacred observance on the yearly calendar of the Israelites in perpetuity. So just what was atonement, and why was it so important that it required so many sacrifices and such a precise process? The answer to the what and the why is simply this: atonement is literally at-one-ment; being made one with God. Obviously that is why it was such an important and solemn day.

At-one-ment—the state of being set right in the eyes of a holy God. In the Old Testament, the way God established for that to happen was through the series of procedures and sacrifices described in this chapter: ceremonial cleansing for the priest and his assistants, the sin offering, the burnt offering, the releasing of the scapegoat, literally, the “go-away goat”, the offering of incense, etc. So holy and important was this day that God made it very clear to Aaron, the high priest:

Aaron is not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—is there, and I myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover. (Leviticus 16:2)

Now while there was a serious and elaborate process that the Israelites—both the clergy and the people—were to observe in a physical way to be cleansed once a year on this day for their sins, God was looking for something more from them. He wanted their hearts. It was always the case that he longed for them to express a repentant heart before him through all of the various sacrifices, laws and procedures he provided.

In this particular case of atonement, this was to be a day when God said, “you must deny yourselves.” (Leviticus 16:29) Most likely, this was a day for fasting—an outward sign and a spiritual discipline that God wanted to lead those who worshiped him to an inner response of loving and grateful humility. Later on in Israel’s history, we are clearly told in Isaiah 58 that God wanted much more than the mere outward act of self-denial; it was an inner orientation toward God that led to outward application toward other people that would produce true atonement before God.

In the New Testament, this critical provision for atonement is transferred to the sacrifice of Jesus, who became our sin offering, our scapegoat, our cleansing and our fragrant incense before God. Amazingly and stunningly, we are the recipients of such marvelous grace:

Now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made atonement for us. (Romans 5:11)

Moreover, as we consider the provision for atonement—again, at-one-ment with God—both in the Old Testament law and in its New Testament fulfillment in Christ’s atoning sacrifice, there is yet another critical dimension we must consider. Here is how theologian Lehman Strauss puts it:

Our Lord had a wider outlook than Judaism. It is true that He was sent especially to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, nevertheless He most certainly taught His disciples that they were to be witnesses unto Him “both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8), and He was not sending them on a fool’s errand. The Atonement is sufficient for all men, but it is efficient only for those who believe!

What is the point? We who have benefited from being made right with God at Christ’s expense have been called to take this message of atonement to the whole world. God’s longing to bring reconciliation to the world was partially modeled for the Jew through the Day of Atonement and completely fulfilled through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, and now it is through the proclamation of the Gospel, in the preaching of our words and in the practice of our lives, that the lost will see God’s gracious offer to be set right with him—at-one-ment.

The Day of Atonement finds its culmination in Jesus, of whom John the Baptist proclaimed, “Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) That should be our proclamation, too!