Last week you envisioned taking an innocent lamb to the sanctuary as a sin offering. The priest collected the blood of the lamb which, symbolically, was bearing your sin. While your part of bringing the sin offering was completed there in the court, there was more involved in the handling of your sin.
In keeping with God-given directions, the priest did one of two things to transfer your sin into the Holy Place in order to "make an atonement" for your sin (Leviticus 4:35). He either entered with blood from your sacrifice and sprinkled it before the veil separating the Holy from the Most Holy Place, or he ate some of the cooked sacrifice and thereby carried it into the Holy Place when he entered to burn incense. (See Leviticus 4:6,7; 7:1-7; 10:16-18) In either case, he would be bringing the sin to the vail which hid the Ark of the Covenant located just behind the veil in the Most Holy Place. Inside the ark was the law that was broken by your sin and covering the ark was the mercy seat. While sin separates us from God, Christ's merciful, atoning sacrifice provides forgiveness reuniting us to Him. Think of the word "atonement" as "at-one-ment" – basically bringing together or reuniting.
In Psalm 32:1 we read "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." The sin has been covered by the blood administered before the veil. "The blood of it is for the life thereof" Leviticus 17:14. The blood of Jesus represents His life poured out for us, the only means by which our sins could be covered. "But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us" Hebrews 9:11, 12.
The earthly sanctuary required both the sacrificial animal and the priest to illustrate the work of our Savior who fills the roles of both. The earthly priests served "unto the example and shadow of heavenly things" Hebrews 8:5. Now "We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man" Hebrews 8:1, 2. Praise God for the ongoing ministry of our High Priest, Jesus, in the heavenly sanctuary!
