Sauntering into the Sanctuary

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After expressing his displeasure at improperly brought worship ( see Nadab and Abihu – Lev 10 ), God commanded that the following steps be followed in meeting Him on the Day of Atonement.

  1. Locate a young bull
  2. Locate a ram
  3. Bathe thoroughly
  4. Put on the linen tunic
  5. Put on the linen undergarments
  6. Tie the linen sash around waist
  7. Put on the linen turban
  8. Locate two goats without blemish
  9. Locate another ram
  10. Sacrifice the bull for the atonement of the priest and his household
  11. Light a censer get two handfuls of incense
  12. Take these implements behind the curtain
  13. Put the incense in the censer to create fragrant smoke, protecting the priest from direct sight of the Ark and the presence of the Lord
  14. Sprinkle the bull’s blood seven times
  15. Bring the goats to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting
  16. Cast lots to determine which goat will be the scapegoat
  17. Sacrifice the goat whose lot fell to the Lord
  18. Repeat steps 11 to 14 with the goat’s blood
  19. The priest will go to the Altar
  20. Sprinkle blood of both the bull and goat on the Horns of the altar seven times
  21. Bring the scapegoat out
  22. Lay both hands on the goat’s head, assigning all of the sin of the nation to the goat
  23. Another man will take the goat and shoo it away into the desert
  24. The priest will return to the Tent of Meeting
  25. Remove the linen garments
  26. The priest will bathe and dress in his regular clothes
  27. Sacrifice the burnt offering for himself
  28. Sacrifice the burnt offering for the people
  29. Burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar
  30. The man who released the goat will bathe and wash his close before returning to camp
  31. The remains of the bull and goat must be taken outside of the camp and burned
  32. The man who burns the remains must bathe and wash his clothes before returning to camp

The meticulous and precise nature of these worship instructions should cause us to pause and consider the way in which we will enter God’s presence this Sunday. Do we toddle in with no more thought than if we were buying a gallon of milk?

There is great privilege in being the children of God, but also great responsibility.

Grace and peace to you.

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