ATONEMENT
The centrality of Old Testament worship focused on sacrifice. When the Lord God instituted the office of priest (Exodus 29; Leviticus 8:1-36), He gave many specific instructions to the priests to atone for the sins of His people. The Lord God also gave detailed instructions as to which animals were presented for sacrifice, and how. To understand the Day of Atonement is to understand the Old Testament sacrificial system. What Is the Day of Atonement? Atonement, in its purest sense means to be “at one,” or, right with God, with no enmity or division. After the Lord God established the Levitical priesthood stemming from Aaron, Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu offered unauthorized fire before the Lord. While the Bible does not give us details about their intentions, which may have seemed honorable (to themselves), they forsook God’s holiness by disobeying His detailed instructions, “And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD” (Leviticus 10:...