“And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.”
My Notes
What Does Leviticus 16:14 Mean?
"And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times." The high priest sprinkles blood on the mercy seat — the lid of the ark — using his finger. Once on the mercy seat itself (eastward — the side facing the entrance, the side visible to the priest). Seven times before the mercy seat (on the ground in front of it). The blood touches both the covering and the floor. The atonement covers the mercy seat AND the space before it.
Seven sprinklings represent completeness: the blood is applied a complete number of times. The atonement ritual leaves nothing incomplete. And the finger — the most personal application method — transfers the blood from the sacrifice to the most sacred surface in the universe: the place where God meets humanity.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does blood on the mercy seat (the destination) AND before it (the path) teach about the comprehensiveness of atonement?
- 2.How does seven sprinklings (divine completeness) model the thoroughness of what Christ accomplished once?
- 3.What does the high priest's finger touching the mercy seat teach about the personal nature of atonement?
- 4.How does Christ's once-for-all blood application (Hebrews 9:12) fulfill what the annual ritual pictured?
Devotional
Blood on the mercy seat. Seven times before it. Applied by a finger. The most sacred act in the most sacred space, performed by the one person authorized to be there, on the one day he's allowed in, with blood that was shed minutes earlier outside the veil.
Sprinkle it with his finger. The finger again — the same personal application method used throughout Leviticus. The high priest's finger, stained with the bull's blood, touches the mercy seat. The human digit contacts the divine meeting place. The physical touch connects the sacrifice to the space where God dwells. Nothing intermediary. Finger to mercy seat. Blood to gold.
Upon the mercy seat eastward. The blood goes ON the kapporeth — the covering, the lid. The gold surface that sits above the law (the tablets inside the ark) receives the blood. Mercy receives the evidence of sacrifice. The direction is eastward — toward the entrance, the direction the priest faces as he enters. The blood is applied where the eyes would land first.
Before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle seven times. Seven — the number of divine completeness. The blood is sprinkled on the floor in front of the mercy seat, creating a blood-pattern between the mercy seat and the approaching priest. The ground you walk on to approach God's mercy is covered with blood. The path to the mercy seat is a blood-sprinkled path. You walk through the evidence of sacrifice to reach the place of mercy.
The once-on-the-mercy-seat applies the blood to the destination: the place where God meets humanity. The seven-times-before-the-mercy-seat applies the blood to the journey: the path from the veil to the ark. Both the destination and the path are covered. Both the meeting place and the approach route are blood-marked. The atonement covers where you're going AND how you get there.
Hebrews 9:12: Christ entered the heavenly Holy of Holies with his own blood — once. Not seven times on the floor. Not annually repeated. Once. With blood that doesn't need re-application because it accomplishes permanently what the bull's blood accomplished temporarily. The mercy seat in heaven received the blood of God's Son. Once. And the path to the mercy seat — the approach route to God's presence — is permanently blood-marked. You walk to God on a path Christ's blood has already consecrated.
The finger, the mercy seat, the seven sprinklings — all are shadows of the reality: Christ's blood, applied to the heavenly mercy seat, by the hands that bore the nails, once for all.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And he shall take of the blood of the bullock,.... When the high priest slew the bullock, the blood was received in a…
It is important, in reference to the meaning of the day of atonement, to observe the order of the rites as they are…
The Jewish writers say that for seven days before the day of expiation the high priest was to retire from his own house,…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture