“Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:”
My Notes
What Does Leviticus 16:15 Mean?
"Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat." After atoning for himself (the bull), the high priest kills the people's sin offering (a goat) and brings its blood into the Most Holy Place — performing the same ritual as with the bull's blood. The same mercy seat receives two blood applications: one for the priest's sin and one for the people's sin. Both require the same treatment. Both enter through the same veil. Both are sprinkled on the same surface.
The goat "for the people" (v. 15) is distinct from the scapegoat (v. 20-22), which is sent alive into the wilderness. Two goats, two functions: one dies (blood applied to the mercy seat). One lives (carries sins away). Death and removal. Both are necessary for complete atonement.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does the same ritual being used for priest and people teach about the equality of need before God?
- 2.How do two goats (one dying, one departing) picture two dimensions of atonement that Christ fulfills in one act?
- 3.What does the mercy seat receiving blood from both priest and people teach about the convergence point of all forgiveness?
- 4.How does Christ fulfilling both goats (death for payment, resurrection for removal) complete the Day of Atonement's picture?
Devotional
Kill the goat. For the people. Bring the blood inside. Same ritual. Same mercy seat. Same sprinklings. The people's atonement follows the priest's atonement — same method, same destination, same blood-on-gold application.
The goat of the sin offering, that is for the people. This is the community's sacrifice. The bull was for Aaron and his house (v. 6, 11). The goat is for all Israel. The entire nation's sin — accumulated over the year, compounding through seasons, the collective guilt of an entire people — is addressed by one goat's blood on one mercy seat on one day.
Bring his blood within the vail. The goat's blood enters the Most Holy Place — the same journey the bull's blood just made. Through the veil. Into the smoke. To the mercy seat. The blood of the people's sacrifice travels the same route as the blood of the priest's sacrifice. The destination doesn't distinguish between the priest's sin and the people's sin. The mercy seat receives both with the same sprinklings.
Do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock. The ritual is identical: finger application, on the mercy seat eastward, seven times before the mercy seat. The same precision. The same completeness. The same blood-on-gold, blood-on-ground pattern. The treatment is the same because the need is the same: priest and people both carry sin that must be addressed at the mercy seat.
Two bloods. One mercy seat. The surface that received the priest's bull-blood now receives the people's goat-blood. The same square feet of gold hold the evidence of two atonements: one individual (priest) and one communal (people). The mercy seat is the convergence point: every sin, from every person, addressed in one location, through one ritual, on one day.
The goat that dies is one of two: the other goat (v. 20-22) is the scapegoat — the one that receives the sins through Aaron's hand-laying and is sent alive into the wilderness to carry them away. Two goats, two dimensions of atonement: the first goat's DEATH covers the sin (blood on the mercy seat). The second goat's DEPARTURE removes the sin (carried into the wilderness). Death and removal. The sin is both paid for and taken away.
Christ fulfills both goats: his death provides the blood that covers (the first goat). His resurrection provides the removal that carries away (the second goat). The sin is both paid for at the cross and removed from your account at the empty tomb. Death and departure. Payment and removal. One person accomplishing what two goats pictured.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people,.... That upon which the lot came for the Lord,…
It is important, in reference to the meaning of the day of atonement, to observe the order of the rites as they are…
When the priest had come out from the sprinkling the blood of the bullock before the mercy-seat, 1. He must next kill…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture