Commentary - Leviticus 16:23-28

Bird's-eye view

This passage details the concluding ceremonies of the Day of Atonement, the most solemn day in Israel's liturgical calendar. Having completed the central atoning work within the Holy of Holies, the high priest, Aaron, now transitions out of his unique, consecrated role and back into his more regular duties. The text meticulously outlines a series of disrobing, bathing, and re-robing ceremonies, not only for the high priest but also for the men who handled the sacrificial animals. The central theme is the careful management of holiness and contamination. The holiness of the inner sanctuary is so potent that it must be quarantined, and the sinfulness of the people, borne away on the sacrificial animals, is so polluting that it must be thoroughly cleansed from those who come into contact with it. These rituals are not arbitrary; they are a physical sermon, demonstrating the absolute separation between a holy God and sinful man, and the radical measures required to bridge that gap. Ultimately, this entire chapter is a glorious, if shadowy, portrait of the final and complete atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ, who did not need to cleanse Himself, for He was without sin, and who has made us clean, once for all.

The actions described here are the "clean up" after the main event. The atonement has been made, the blood has been presented, and the scapegoat has been sent away. Now, the aftermath must be dealt with. Aaron puts off the special linen garments worn only on this day, washes, and offers further burnt offerings. The men who handled the sin-laden animals must also wash before they can re-enter the community. The carcasses of the animals whose blood was brought into the sanctuary are not eaten, but are utterly destroyed outside the camp. Each step is a lesson in the nature of sin, the necessity of substitution, and the profound cost of reconciliation with God.

Outline

Context In Leviticus

Leviticus 16 is the theological center of the entire book. The first fifteen chapters have painstakingly established the deep chasm between God's holiness and man's uncleanness. Laws regarding sacrifices, priestly ordination, clean and unclean foods, leprosy, and bodily discharges have all served to hammer home one point: sinful man cannot approach a holy God on his own terms. Chapter 16 is God's answer to this dilemma. It provides the one, annual ceremony where atonement is made for the entire nation, for all their sins. This chapter is the pinnacle of the Old Covenant's sacrificial system. The verses that follow this passage, beginning in chapter 17, pivot to what is often called the "Holiness Code," which outlines how the atoned-for people are to live their daily lives in a way that reflects the holiness of their God. Therefore, our passage (16:23-28) serves as the crucial bridge. It concludes the great act of atonement and prepares the priest and the people to re-engage with the world, having been ritually cleansed and reconciled to God for another year.

Key Issues

From Shadow to Substance

It is impossible to read a passage like this without our minds immediately going to the book of Hebrews. The entire Levitical system is described there as a "shadow of the good things to come" (Heb 10:1). These rituals, with their blood and washings and special clothes, were glorious in their time. They taught Israel profound truths. But they were, by their very nature, temporary and incomplete. They were a picture, a type, a foreshadowing of the real thing.

The real thing is Jesus Christ. Aaron had to take off his special garments and wash because his work was done for the day, and he was still a sinful man who had to re-enter a sinful world. Christ, our great High Priest, entered the true Holy of Holies, heaven itself, and He never has to leave. He sat down at the right hand of the Father because His work was finished, once for all. The carcasses of the animals were burned outside the camp, a place of uncleanness. Hebrews tells us that this is precisely why Jesus "suffered outside the gate, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood" (Heb 13:12). Every detail in this Levitical clean-up points us forward to the glorious, simple, and permanent cleansing we have in the gospel.

Verse by Verse Commentary

23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place and shall leave them there.

The work inside the veil is done. The atonement has been secured for another year. Now Aaron must transition from that unique, once-a-year role back to his normal function. The simple linen garments were his uniform for entering the immediate presence of God. They signified humility and purity, in contrast to his more ornate regular vestments. These garments are now so charged with the holiness of that place that they cannot be brought back out into the camp. They are to be left in the tent of meeting, quarantined in the holy zone. This is a powerful lesson in the otherness of God. His holiness is not something to be trifled with or treated casually. These garments were for a specific, solemn task, and when the task was done, they were put away. There is a time for the holy and a time for the common, and wisdom knows the difference.

24 And he shall bathe his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes and come forth, and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people.

Before he can put on his regular, glorious high priestly garments, Aaron must wash. He has been in the presence of God, but he is still a man. This bathing is not about hygiene; it is a ritual act of purification, a transition from one state to another. Having done this, he puts on his "clothes," meaning his customary, ornate vestments, and comes back out to the people at the bronze altar. His work is not quite done. He now offers burnt offerings, one for himself and one for the people. The sin offering dealt with guilt and defilement; the burnt offering, or ascension offering, was an act of total consecration and dedication. With sin dealt with, the people can now rededicate themselves wholly to God. Notice that even after the great atonement, further atonement is mentioned. This system was one of layers and repetition, constantly reminding the people of their ongoing need for grace.

25 Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

This is a detail that connects back to the sin offerings whose blood was just used in the Most Holy Place. While the carcasses of the animals will be destroyed, the fat belongs to the Lord. In the logic of the sacrificial system, the fat was considered the richest, best part, and it was always offered to God on the altar as His portion. This act signifies that God has accepted the offering. The smoke ascending is a "pleasing aroma" to the Lord, not because God enjoys the smell of burning fat, but because He delights in the obedience and faith that the sacrifice represents. It is a sign that fellowship has been restored.

26 And the one who sent the goat out as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp.

Now we turn to the other participants. The man who led the scapegoat into the wilderness has performed a vital task. He has been the instrument for the removal of Israel's sin. But in doing so, he has become contaminated. He has been in contact with a creature ritually laden with the iniquities of the entire nation. That sinfulness has, in a ceremonial sense, rubbed off on him. Therefore, before he can rejoin the community, he must undergo the standard purification ritual: washing his clothes and bathing his body. Sin is a pollutant. It defiles everything it touches. This man's temporary exile and required cleansing is a vivid illustration of that fact. Only after being cleansed can he be readmitted to the fellowship of God's people.

27 But the bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire.

This is a crucial detail. Normally, the meat of certain sacrifices was eaten by the priests. But not these. The bull for Aaron's sin and the goat for the people's sin were so identified with the sin they atoned for that they were considered utterly unclean. They could not be used for food; they could not even be disposed of within the camp. The camp was the realm of God's holy presence, and these sin-saturated carcasses had to be removed from it. They are taken "outside the camp," to a place of refuse and death, and are not just burned, but utterly consumed by fire. This is a picture of final judgment and complete removal. The sin is not just forgiven; it is annihilated. As the author to the Hebrews points out, this is a direct type of Christ, who was crucified outside the city walls of Jerusalem, bearing our reproach.

28 Then the one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.

Just like the man who handled the scapegoat, the man or men who handle and burn these carcasses are also rendered ceremonially unclean. They have dealt with the physical manifestation of sin, and they cannot simply walk back into the camp as though nothing has happened. The same procedure is required: a full washing of clothes and body. Only then are they fit to be in the presence of God's people again. The lesson is driven home with repetition. Contact with sin, even in the context of its disposal, requires cleansing. God is meticulous about holiness. He is teaching His people to hate sin, to see it as a defiling power that must be dealt with thoroughly and according to His instructions.

Application

The first and most glorious application is to rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. We do not have a high priest who has to repeatedly offer sacrifices, first for his own sin and then for ours. We do not live in fear of ritual contamination. Christ our High Priest was sinless. Christ our sacrifice was perfect. Christ our scapegoat has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west. Christ was burned outside the camp for us. The entire, cumbersome, bloody, and repetitive system of Leviticus has been fulfilled and rendered obsolete by the one, perfect, and final sacrifice of the Son of God. We are not cleansed for a year; we are cleansed for eternity. The constant washing in the Old Covenant points to the one great washing of regeneration in the New. We should read this and be overwhelmed with gratitude for the simplicity and power of the gospel.

Secondly, we must take the lesson about the defilement of sin to heart. While we are no longer under a system of ceremonial uncleanness, we must understand that sin is still a spiritual pollutant. It corrupts our hearts, defiles our consciences, and disrupts our fellowship with God and with one another. These rituals taught Israel to be meticulous about holiness. Are we as meticulous? Do we treat sin casually? Do we allow it to remain in our lives, unconfessed and undealt with? When we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1). We are to confess our sins, and He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). The cleansing is available, but we must avail ourselves of it. Let us learn from the seriousness of these ancient rites to take our own pursuit of holiness seriously, not as a means of earning our salvation, but as the necessary response to the great salvation we have been given.