Experiencing Forgiveness and Respecting The Holiness of God

Can you imagine having to follow the requirement? Bring two goats into the Holy of Holies, sacrifice one and place your hands on the head of the other and then drive it into the wilderness? Talk about a strange tradition. But this was the beginning of one of the most sacred and anticipated days in the nation of Israel...the day of atonement.

But it is important that we understand why? Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu, were killed because the Bible says that they brought alien fire into the presence of the Lord. While we don't know exactly what this alien fire was, one thing is certain, they did not respect the holiness of God. God struck them down because of their irreverence. Whether we like it or not, whether we want to do it or not, we must respect the holiness of God. Sin always occurs when we lose our respect for the holiness of God.

The irreverence of Nadab and Abihu led to the creation of this holy day, known on the Jewish calendar as Yom Kippur. Leviticus 16:3-6 says, “When Aaron enters the sanctuary area, he must follow these instructions fully. He must bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He must put on his linen tunic and the linen undergarments worn next to his body. He must tie the linen sash around his waist and put the linen turban on his head. These are sacred garments, so he must bathe himself in water before he puts them on. This is interesting, the high priest always wore the more ritual garments, but not on the Day of Atonement. On the Day of Atonement, he was stripped down to linen garments and it represented humility before God. Aaron must take from the community of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. “Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family..."


Notice first of all that Aaron was to offer the bull as a sin offering for himself.  We must find forgiveness and victory over our own sin issues before we can help anyone else with their sin issues. So many Christians spend their entire lives dealing with their own issues, never getting victory over their sin, that they can never help others. Former Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, Peter Marshall, once wrote about many Christians, “We are too Christian really to enjoy sinning, and too fond of sinning really to enjoy Christianity.” The problem with living that way is that when you want it both ways, you don't get either way. It makes us miserable.

The Gospel of Leviticus teaches us that we can find forgiveness of sin but we are also empowered to be free from sin.