Pastor Muri's message from Sunday (part 2)

[track 2, 3:30] And I want to look at it in terms of the atonement this morning. I believe that when Jesus cried on the cross, “It is finished,” He was saying that the work of atonement was completely brought to culmination and fruition and completion. Everything involved in the atonement is fully done.

Now atonement is a very, very important word in the Old Testament. And it includes within it a lot of theological components that we’re not going to be able to look at and unpack this morning. It may take more than one of these long speeches to get it done. But bear with me. We want to talk about the atonement. We want to get inside the atonement and look at things like propitiation and reconciliation and redemption and all these great thoughts, these truths that are included in what we refer to as the atonement.

But for this morning, let’s look at the big picture. Let’s look at atonement from the Old Testament saint’s perspective and understand that those who were standing at the foot of the cross, those who were in earshot of Jesus when He said in a victory shout, “Tetelestai! It is finished!” They were Old Testament saints. And suddenly there is a fulfilling of all that has been going on for generation upon generation upon generation in the ritual of the Mosaic Law.

The word atonement simply means to cover. [end of track 2, 5:00] It’s to effect an expiation of sin somehow by means of covering. It was God’s provision in the Old Testament for saints to have their sins expiated through faith, a faith manifest in their obedience, but a faith in the justice and mercy of God. Understand, before we go any farther, that salvation in the Scripture -- there’s one salvation in the Scriptures. There’s one salvation in the Old Testament and there’s one salvation in the New Testament. Salvation in the Old Testament was not accomplished by bringing animal sacrifices, slitting the throat, pouring out blood and putting it on an altar. Salvation in the Old Testament was not accomplished by keeping all the minutiae of the Law, all of the codes of the Law. Salvation in the Old Testament was accomplished by faith in God. “The just shall live by his faith.” That’s Old Testament. That’s New Testament. Abraham was justified by faith, not by keeping the Law. He lived before the Law. Okay? So salvation in the Old Testament is a matter of faith. Salvation in the New Testament is a matter of faith. But there was this grand illustration of how God was going to bring about a full reconciliation, a full restoration of fellowship to Himself of those whose relationship had been violently severed through sin. Those who had been thrust out of fellowship with God were going to be brought back into fellowship with God. Those who were under the bondage of their own sin were going to be delivered from their slavery and brought back into a full restoration and relationship with God, having the redemption price fully paid for and God’s outraged holiness within a moment of time going to be fully and completely satisfied. It was not satisfied in the blood of bulls and goats offered in the Old Testament on the day of atonement or at any other time. God’s rage against sin was never placated by any sacrifice that was brought to Him. It couldn’t happen. The writer of Hebrews makes that very clear.

But now, let’s go back. I want you to switch on your imaginations, engage them well this morning. And I want you to picture the camp of Israel out in the wilderness before the Temple was built. Let’s just imagine the tent there, the tabernacle in the wilderness, after it’s been completed. And imagine the configuration of the entire encampment with their tents set up all around the middle tent, which is God’s tent, God’s house, the Tabernacle. And picture in your mind this fence erected around the tabernacle, which basically said to the Israelites, “You can come this far, but you can’t come all the way in.” And then remember on the east side there was this gate. And it was an opening where the people would bring their and they would stand inside the gate there by the brazen altar, which was the first article of furniture that you came to as you entered the gate of the outer court of the tabernacle precinct. And you came in and there was this grand brazen altar with an unextinguishable fire and that’s where they made their sacrifices.

And then beyond that, the priests only went. And there was a laver there. And then there was the 45 by 15 tent that was set up there. Fifteen feet high and fifteen feet wide and forty-five feet long. And there was two sections to it. There was an outer court called the Holy Place. And this 30 by 15 foot section had in it the golden candelabra that gave light to those who were functioning within the Tabernacle. And there was the table of shewbread, the bread of fellowship. And then there was the altar of incense that was associated with the Holy of Holies by the way because it was by means of that standing before the Lord’s presence that the prayers of the saints were offered and a sweet savor was sent up to God.

And then there was this massive curtain. And that massive curtain separated the Holy Place, where the priests were allowed to go, from the Holy of Holies where no one was allowed to enter because that’s where God’s presence was above the Ark of the Covenant, over the mercy seat, protected over, watched over by the golden cherubim, the angels who guarded the presence of God and who celebrated, who looked down on the mercy seat and looked for those appropriate offerings to be brought at the appropriate time. One individual, one day during the year, was allowed through an intricate process to enter into that room and put blood on that mercy seat for the sake of the nation. [end of track 3, 4:57]

What did that all say to the Israelites? Fence. Gate. Nobody but priests allowed past the altar. Priests allowed to do their functions within the Holy Place. But no priest ever allowed under punishment of death to go beyond that curtain into the Holy of Holies except the High Priest one day a year and that on the tenth day of the seventh day during the celebration of the Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, was a high and holy day for the nation of Israel. It was the most significant day in the religious calendar. It was a day that the full meaning of every sacrifice that was ever brought to the altar was explained. It was portrayed, it was put out there so that everybody could get an understanding of what was meant in approaching God, what was required in approaching God. And as you read Leviticus chapter 16 particularly and see the events of that day chronicled it all began with the High Priest setting aside his very colorful, beautiful priestly robes and donning white linen garments, expressing his humility as he would come into the presence of God. He would first wash himself at the laver. And then he would put on these white linen garments. And then he would take the bull that had been set aside for his personal sin offering and he would kill that bullock and he would drain the blood and put it in a basin. And then he would take some of that blood from the bull and he would walk into the Holy Place and he would bring with him a censor with coals from the altar, probably the Altar of Incense. So he would pluck some coals from the Altar of Incense. Then he had two fistfuls of incense in his hand and as he would pull back the curtain and with a bit of fear and trepidation, step into the Holy of Holies. He would put that incense on those live coals in the censor and he would set that down in the Holy of Holies so that the smoke of the incense burning on the live coals would obliterate his view of the glory of God which dwelt in the Holy of Holies, because no man could look on that and survive the experience.

And so with that preparation, with the humiliation of the white linen garments and having washed himself thoroughly, he then came and approached the Ark of the Covenant and the mercy seat with the blood of the sacrifice for his own sin and the sin of his tribe. And he would sprinkle the altar seven times with the blood of that sacrifice. And then he would turn around and walk back outside the curtain. And he would go back to where there were two goats that had been secured for the purposes of that day’s celebration. And he would cast lots over those goats to see which one would fulfill which role. There was to be one that would be offered to the Lord. And there would be one that would be offered to Azazel or one that would become the scapegoat that would be led out into the wilderness to be lost.

And so he would cast lots because the understanding of the Old Testament saint was that as the writer of Proverbs says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole outcome there is determined by the Lord.”

And so what was happening when the High Priest cast lots to decide which of these goats was going to be the sin offering and which of these goats was going to be the scapegoat, basically what they were saying was, “God, you choose. You choose which is going to be which.” Because God is the one who chooses the lamb, the sacrifice, that is going to be effective in His sight. And so he would cast lots over the two goats. And one would be selected. And the priest would take that, the High Priest would take that goat. And he would lead it over to the brazen altar. And he would slit the throat of that goat. And he would watch as the blood drained out. And he would catch the blood in another basin until that animal had bled to death. And he would take that blood with him. And he would walk back into the Holy Place. And he would pull back the curtain of the Holy of Holies, again, with a bit of fear and trepidation, because this was the place where God dwells in the encampment of Israel. And as the smoke of the incense was still clouding the Shechinah glory, he would step into the Holy of Holies. And there he would do what he did with the blood of the bullock. He would sprinkle it seven times before the altar. And he would turn around. And he would walk back out. And then he would take that other goat, the one that had been designated as the scapegoat. [end of track 4, 4:58]