A Statute Forever
23 “Aaron shall come into the Tent of Meeting, and shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. 24 Then he shall bathe himself in water in a holy place, put on his garments, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar. 26 “He who lets the goat go as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. 27 The bull for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp; and they shall burn their skins, their flesh, and their dung with fire. 28 He who burns them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. 29 “It shall be a statute to you forever: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and shall do no kind of work, whether native-born or a stranger who lives as a foreigner among you; 30 for on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you. You shall be clean from all your sins before Yahweh. 31 It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. 32 The priest, who is anointed and who is consecrated to be priest in his father’s place, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen garments, even the holy garments. 33 Then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary; and he shall make atonement for the Tent of Meeting and for the altar; and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 “This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” It was done as Yahweh commanded Moses.
One day a year the whole nation stops work and is cleansed, and the foreigner living among them is included by name.
The linen garments are taken off and left inside the tent Leviticus 16:23. They are worn once, for one purpose, and not carried out into ordinary use. Aaron bathes again and puts on his usual vestments before coming out to the people.
The two men who handled the removals — the one who led the goat away and the one who burned the carcasses outside the camp — both wash and bathe before returning Leviticus 16:26 Leviticus 16:28. Even the errands of the day of cleansing leave a mark on whoever runs them.
And the bodies of both sin offerings are burned outside the camp, because their blood was brought into the Holy Place Leviticus 16:27 — the rule from chapter 4, applied on the one day it matters most. It is the detail a New Testament writer picks up when he notes that Jesus suffered outside of the gate Hebrews 13:11–12.
Then the statute for the people, and it is the only day in the calendar with this shape.
In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and shall do no kind of work Leviticus 16:29. A fixed date, self-denial, and total rest — and the requirement extends to a stranger who lives as a foreigner among you.
The resident foreigner keeps this day. He is not required to be an Israelite to be included in the nation's cleansing, and no other festival in Leviticus names him in the command itself.
The promise is then stated in the widest terms the book uses: on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you. You shall be clean from all your sins before Yahweh Leviticus 16:30.
All their sins, and the cleansing is before Yahweh — in his estimation, not merely in the people's feeling about themselves.
And the day is called a Sabbath of solemn rest Leviticus 16:31, the only annual date given that title in this chapter. Nothing is produced on the day the accounts are settled; the one thing the nation does about its accumulated sin is stop.
The summary lists what has been atoned for, and the order is the same as the day's: the Holy Sanctuary... the Tent of Meeting and... the altar... the priests and... all the people Leviticus 16:33. The building first, then the staff, then the nation.
“This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” It was done as Yahweh commanded Moses.
The daily offerings dealt with sins one at a time as they were brought; this deals with what the year had left behind, at the place where it had collected.
settled What this mark means