Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

THE SLAIN GOAT

Leviticus 16: 5-19

On the day of atonement the offering was chosen and ordained by God (Leviticus 16: 7-10.)  The casting of lots was to show that the LORD was the one who chose the offering he would accept (Proverbs 16:33.) So it is that Christ was chosen of God and all that transpired was ordained by God (Acts 2:23; Acts 4:26-28.)  It comforts our hearts to see how absolutely God reigned in providence, even using the wrath of men, so that his children are fully redeemed by Christ. Every believer can be assured that God will do right for us in the rest of providence (Romans 8: 32.)

Substitution (Leviticus 16: 15)

The goat which was slain died in the place of the guilty children of Israel. The people sinned.  They deserved to die (Romans 6:23.)  Instead of the people dying, the slain goat died as a sin offering in the place of the people.  That is substitution (Galatians 3:13, 14.)  There is no "sense" in which this offering was offered for Cain, or Amalek, or all the heathen people outside of the camp of Israel.  This offering was provided by God to make ceremonial atonement for that one nation chosen of God and named Israel.  So it is that there is no "sense" in which Christ died for all men without exception. Christ Jesus is the sin-atoning offering provided by God the Father, who has made full atonement for those chosen of God, his spiritual Israel. 

The Blood Within the Veil (Leviticus 16: 14, 15)

The blood was brought within the veil into the holiest of holies.  The holiest of holies represented the presence of God in heaven itself.  The blood of this slain goat was sprinkled eastward, perhaps signifying the reconciliation of God's people to himself who in Adam were cast out of God's presence east of Eden (Genesis 3: 24; 2 Corinthians 5: 19.) The blood was sprinkled upon the mercy seat seven times signifying the perfection by which Christ satisfied divine justice through his one offering (John 19: 30.) The just God can not, and will not, punish those for whom Christ died because his justice is satisfied for them.  Christ "hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us"; Christ has "obtained eternal redemption" for each sinner for whom he died (Galatians 3: 13; Hebrews 9:12-26.)

The Blood Within the Tabernacle (Leviticus 16: 16.)

The blood was not only sprinkled in the holiest of holies but also in the tabernacle.  It was in the tabernacle of the congregation that God's priests served God.  Every sinner called of God is a priest unto God (I Peter 2: 9.)  These bodies are the tabernacle in which we serve him (I Corinthians 6: 19; 2 Corinthians 6: 16.)  God shows how much our hearts need to be purified, when even the tabernacle, only by standing in the midst of such an impure and sinful people, needed this expiation.  The blood of Christ made effectual atonement in God's presence in the holiest of holies, and also, the blood of Christ purges the sinner's conscious from dead works to serve the living God through the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 9: 12-14.)

The Blood Upon the Altar (Leviticus 16: 18.)

The altar was the place where the priests offered various offerings in worship to God.  The blood upon the altar teaches us that Christ's blood cleanses even the worship and prayers and thanksgiving of the believer.  It is through the blood of Christ upon Christ our Altar that each believer which makes up the body of Christ presents our bodies as one living sacrificial body, holy and acceptable unto God (Romans 12: 1; Hebrews 2: 11; 1 Peter 2: 5.)

RECEIVING

. . . Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:9)

If you buy something, you purchased it. If you earn something, you worked for it. If you deserve something, then you merited it. But when you receive something, it was a free gift. Our free gift is grace and faith in Christ, even the salvation of our souls---David Eddmenson is pastor of Sovereign Grace Church in New Caney, Texas.

ALL ERROR

All error in theology comes from two sources.  An attempt to make God less than He is or an attempt to make man more that he is.        Pastor Henry T. Mahan

SERMONS
After clicking on the following links you will go to sermon notes where you will find an option at the top of the page for the audio.

The Slain Goat

The Certainty of God's Salvation

God's Must Not and Must Be's

ARTICLES

The Gift of Grace

The Offense of Respecting Persons

Oppression and Judgment From the Rich

That Worthy Name

Judgment Without Mercy