Let us pray again. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we just asked Thy guidance, Thy blessing be upon us during this time of expounding Thy Word. Lord, guide us, help us, enlighten us, Lord, and bless us, Lord. We ask that in that name, that is above every name, even the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. What I want to deal with this morning is a small, and I mean a small example of the Old Testament law, and then an explanation from the New Testament. For those that are unfamiliar with these passages, I hope to make it a wee bit simpler, because that's what I had to do for myself. The Old Testament law can be very difficult, so we were only dealing with this wee part of it this morning. In the nation of Israel, the priesthood was fested in one single family. It was the family of Aaron, the brother of Moses. And Aaron was of the tribe of Lefi. The only way that you could share the privileges or enter the priesthood was by natural birth into this family. The priestly tribe of Lefi was divided into three families. These were Levi's three sons. Their names were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Each one had their own separate place of encampment around the tabernacle. So each family lived in a different location around the tabernacle. Each family had their own charge or job regarding the care. of the tabernacle. Here was a division of labor. Remember, the tabernacle was pitched, and then after a period of time, it was lifted, put away, moved to a different location, and then it was pitched again for another time. The Marawites pitched to the north, and they watched over, and they carried the framework of the tabernacle. and they were also responsible for erecting it. The Gershonites pitched to the west. They looked after the curtains, the hangings, and the coverings, among other things. The Kohathites were to the south. They were given the charge and the courage of all the holy vessels. Now the tabernacle itself consisted of three parts. There was the outer court. This was 100 cubits long by 50 cubits wide and was surrounded by hangings of fine linen. A cubit, as you know, is roughly 18 inches. They used to say from there to there was a cubit. Then inside the court stood the altar of burnt offerings and then the laver where the priest had to wash himself after the sacrifices. The actual tabernacle itself stood at the western end of this enclosure, and it was divided into two smaller apartments. The first was called the Holy Place, and it was 20 cubits long by 10 cubits wide. Inside was the altar of incense, the table of showbread, and the golden candlestick. A curtain that was hung on four pillars separated the two apartments. This was known as the veil, the same veil that was torn from top to bottom in the temple when Christ died. Inside that field was the second smaller apartment, only 10 cubits by 10 cubits, 15 feet by 15 feet. It was called the Holy of Holies, or the holiest place of all. This was the dwelling place of Jehovah, the God of Israel. It was God's first dwelling place. on the earth. And inside the holy of holies stood the ark of the covenant with its mercy seat and the cherubim where the cloud of glory rested between them. We just sang a hymn there about cherubim and seraphim. You know what a sight that must have been. And yet the only person that would see that was the high priest Back in 2 Chronicles, we read about King Josiah. You all know King Josiah. He entered into the holy place with a censer in his hand to burn incense, and he was immediately smitten with leprosy. You see, the holy place was for the high priest only. I think it's fascinating to know that the God of the universe, the God of all creation, lived in such a place. Many priests came every day before the field to burn incense upon the golden altar, but the only person allowed to enter inside that field was the high priest. And that was only once every year. We read that passage in Ephitticus, and in verse 1, Jehovah speaks to Moses after the death of Aaron's two sons. Aaron was of the tribe of Levi, and his duties was the high priest. His two older sons, Nadab and Abihu, who should have known better, offered strange fire before the Lord, and the Lord destroyed them with his own fire from heaven. These two young men had a bright future ahead of them, should they obey God. They were given a duty to perform, but instead, they did their own thing. The commentator Alfred Edersheim says that, in the very same day of their consecration to the priesthood, did the oldest sons of Aaron perish, because they had not sanctified the Lord in their hearts, but had offered him an offering of worship, of their own devising. Whatever this strange fire was, it was certainly not what the Lord had instructed. And so he consumed them both with his own holy fire. Hebrews 12 and 29 tells us that our God is a consuming fire. That same fire that earlier had consumed The accepted sacrifice now struck these two young men, and they died before Jehovah. If you look at verse two in our passage, God directs Moses to, like as two suns, for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. The only priest who could enter the holy of holies was the high priest, that was Aaron, but now Aaron is being warned by God through Moses to take the utmost care, lest he should die as well. He must approach unto God with holy reference and godly fear. He is also told what to wear. In verse four, he must wear the holy garments. He must wash his flesh before putting them on so that he doesn't defile them. Verse three says, excuse me, thus shall Aaron come into the holy place with a young bullock for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. This is what is known as the great day of atonement. Yom Kippur, the great day of atonement. It's the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. This year, it will begin on the evening of Friday, the 11th of October. and it will end the following evening on Saturday, the 12th of October. That's on our calendar. Verse three says, thus shall Aaron come into the holy place. Only Aaron as the high priest could enter this holy place. I keep stating that fact because that is truth. Anyone else attempting to enter in would die. And Aaron is warned that even if he enters in at any other time, He will die also. We need to remember that we serve a holy God, a holy God that there's no give and take with, a holy God who states in his word that black is black. We can't turn it gray. We must believe what God says, and we must be obedient to that word. If you turn back a few pages to Leviticus chapter 10, Ephidicus chapter 10. First one, this is what happened to Nadab and Abihu. And this is why Aaron was given this warning. First one, Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer and put fire therein. and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and he fired them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me. And before all the people I will be glorified. And then, just look at this for a man who has just lost his two sons. And Aaron held his peace. Aaron held his peace. Again, Edersheim says that so deeply was Aaron solemnized. that in the language of Scripture, he held his peace. He shut his mouth before the holy judgment of God. Not a single word of complaint escaped his lips. There was no token of mourning on his part or on that of his other sons. Only their brethren, the whole house of Israel, were permitted to bewail this burning of his anger, which Jehovah had kindled. Friends, on the day of judgment, every mouth will be shut. I remember before I became a Christian, I foolishly thought that if I appeared before God at the judgment, I could make my case before him for why I shouldn't be there. Every mouth will be shut on the day of judgment. When you look at the severity of God's instructions, the seriousness and the solemnity and the holiness that is required by God, and then look at the laxity the carelessness, and the lack of respect in many churches. You see it online all the time. You see ministers with their entertainment. Thank God there's nothing like that in this church. The mode of dress, so-called worship, the disrespect for God's house. I often wonder why God would not send fire and defy each one of us now. Friends, we owe everything to mercy. Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place. Aaron would come in with a measure of fear and trembling, for he knew that God was there. How do we come into this building every Sabbath day? Do we really believe that Christ is here among us? I believe he is, because he said he was. You know, even when we're praying in the back room, there was only three there this morning, but Christ has promised where two or three are gathered in his name, that he is in the midst of us. Matthew Henry says that all the work on the day of atonement was committed on to Aaron. This was his task, his calling, the calling of the high priest. He was to do it all himself. He was to enter in alone and God would appear in the cloud before the mercy seat. Seven days before this, Aaron would leave his own house and he would live in a private chamber that he might prepare himself for the service of that great day. He would even do the work of the inferior priest, as Matthew Henry says, to keep his hand in for that day. Since COVID arrived on this earth, there has been much deep cleaning in hospitals and schools and nursing homes and churches and such like. Well, the Day of Atonement was Israel's deep cleaning. Every year on the 10th day of the seventh month, which in our calendar is October, the high priest would enter the holiest site on this earth. Mike Moore says that this was the place where heaven and earth met. And where the king of the universe sat enthroned between the cherubim The only vessel inside the holy place was the Ark, the Ark of the Covenant, with its mercy seat and a cherubim. If you've ever watched a film about the Ark of the Covenant, I would tell you to stop watching it and read here about what really goes on with the Ark of the Covenant. Aaron would be dressed in a simple white robe He would make atonement for himself, his family, for the other priest, for the people of Israel, and for the tabernacle itself. You see, the sanctuary itself required purging from the ritual pollution that had accumulated from both the priest and the people. And the cleansing agent was the sacrificial blood. The sacrificial blood. And look at verse five. We're in chapter 16 again. Look at verse five. And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself and for his house. And he shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. Verse nine, and Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell and offer him for a sin offering. 10, verse 10, but the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented live before the Lord to make an atonement with him and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. Here are two goats. If you have a margin in your Bible, you will see that the scapegoat has the name Azazel. Aaron, in verse seven, is to present both goats before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. Then he will cast lots on them, one goat for the Lord, and the other to be, or as a sale, the scapegoat. Matthew Henry says that the two goats together constituted one sin offering for the congregation. One must be killed or slain in token of a satisfaction to be made to God's justice for sin. The other one must be sent away in token of the remission or dismission of sins by the mercy of God. Again, we're told that Aaron must enter into the holy place inside the field with the greatest care. Why? Because God would be there. I will appear in the cloud. The smoke from the incense that the high priest burnt on his yearly entrance into the holy place was the smoke that covered the altar. It was said by the Jews that the high priest entered in sideways. I don't know if this is true or not. but it was said by the Jews that he entered in sideways so that he could not look upon the mercy seat until the smoke had covered it. And once it was safe, Aaron presented the young bullock and the ram alive. But they would not be sacrificed until Aaron had gone through all the ceremonies described between verses four and verses 11. He would not wear the splendid robes as they usually did on other occasions. If you remember one year at our Christmas dinner in the back hall here, the Reverend Ron Johnson come down and he brought that big mannequin, that model of Arran, with all his splendid robes, the breastplate, all the regalia. And he described what it all meant. There's photographs going about with Micah and Hannah A few honour the children with this big model of Aaron. But now Aaron wouldn't wear those robes anymore. He would wear a plain white linen robe, just the same as the common Lefites. You see, when we all appear before God, there will be no distinction of persons, for there is none righteous. No, not one. Verse four tells us that you must wash in water before putting them on. Verse 5 says he has to take the two kids of the goats for a sin offering, one ram for a burnt offering. Now, if you picture this whole tabernacle scene, you'll know what it looks like. At the far end of the building, or is the building, or tent, with its coverings of ram skins and badger skins, and inside is the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the two tablets of stone, with the Ten Commandments, and also Aaron's rod that budded. On top of the ark was the mercy seat, and the two cherubims facing each other with wings stretched out towards each other. And so God says, I will appear in the crowd, and so Aaron enters in with the coals and the incense. When this part of the ceremony has been done, verses six and verse 11 says that Aaron then sacrifices the young bullock as a sin offering, which is for himself and for his family. He takes fire from off the altar and sweet incense and goes back inside the field. He puts the incense before the Lord, creating the cloud to cover the mercy seat so that he will not die. And then he sprinkles the blood of the sacrificed animal with his finger. Verse 14, and he shall take 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 of his finger seven times. This was only for Aaron and for his house to make atonement for them. And then in verse 15, he will kill the goat of the sin offering. That is for the people. And he will enter inside the field and do the same as he did for the bullock. Verse 16, he shall then make an atonement for the holy place. Not that it needed it of itself, but because of the uncleanness and pollution of the people. This was a complicated but very sincere ceremony. It's very hard to follow in places. Then we come to the two goats. One for us a sale, the scapegoat, and one for the Lord. Verse nine, Aaron brings the goat in which the Lord's lot fell and offers him for a sin offering. The goat is slain, The blood is sprinkled upon the mercy seat, that's the lid, on top of the Ark of the Covenant. The other goat, which is the scapegoat, was presented alive before the Lord to make an atonement for him and then to let him go, or scapegoat, into the wilderness. The high priest would put his hands on the head of the goat. This symbolized the transfer or the imputation of the sins of the people to the goat. Think about that. He put his hands on the head of the goat, transferring or symbolizing the transferring of the sins of the people to this goat. This goat was a substitute for the people. You're starting to get the picture here. You're starting to see the similarities between this goat, the Lord Jesus Christ. Then the goat is driven into the wilderness, carrying the sins of the people, far removed from the presence of God, into the outer wilderness. At the end of verse 21, it says that this had to be done by the hand of a fit man. The idea is that a fit man was needed to take the goat so far away into the wilderness that it wouldn't be able to find its way back again. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. And then verse 26 says that when the man returns, He must wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and afterwards he would come into the camp. Friends, this is only scratching the surface, and I mean scratching the surface. To think that a subject could be dealt with in one sermon would be foolishness. Hundreds of sermons could be preached on this chapter alone, but time forbids. If you wanted to put it all that I have said into one sentence, it would be this. God was saying to the people of Israel, you have committed capital offenses against me. And the law, the law requires your death. But, but I will accept in the place of your death, the death of a substitute, symbolized by the death of animals. This is just a vague outline of the Old Testament sacrificial system. Now, turn your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 10, please. Hebrews chapter 10. I'm sure one or two of you that were following this knew what was coming next. Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10, and we'll read from verse one. For the law, having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never, with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually, make the commerce thereunto perfect. Now, I'm going to leave out 28 words in that verse. I'm not doing injustice to the scriptures. I'm just going to use nine words to see if you can follow this. For the law can never make the commerce perfect. The law can never make the commerce perfect. That's the short version of it. The subject of this verse is the law. We've just been reading about that in Leviticus. And now we're told in this book that the law is but a shadow, or was but a shadow, of good things to come. The law was necessary for the people of that time. But, says the writer to Hebrews, the law could never, the law could never, with all those bloody sacrifices, make the people who offered them perfect. they would have to keep coming back again and again and again while they lived. Verse two, for otherwise they would have ceased to be offered. You see, if these animal sacrifices were able to cleanse the people from all their sins forever, they would not have been needed anymore. They would have ceased. The second part of verse two says, because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscience of sin, but this was not possible. Romans 8 and verse 3 tells us, for what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. The law, with all those sacrifices, was not good enough. Verse 3, but in those sacrifices, There is a remembrance, again, made of sins every year. A remembrance made of sins every year. Why? Why is this so? Well, here's the answer. Verse four, and what a wonderful verse it is. For it is not possible, it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin. By this statement in verse four, the writer means all the sacrifices of the law, all those sacrifices that could never take their sins away. But, asked John Owen, if it is impossible for them to take away sins, what was the purpose of them? And for what end were they appointed? Well, Paul answers our question in Galatians chapter three. He says the law was added because of our transgressions. And then he says that the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. And again, John Owen says, not in the spirit of a tender father, but of a schoolmaster, as a schoolmaster. And what does a schoolmaster do? He teaches us. He teaches us and very strictly. to make sure that we get it. What did the law do? It taught them of something perfect that was yet to come. Friends, they were looking forward to Calvary. We're looking back to it. The Old Testament church was taught and directed to look continually onto that sacrifice, which alone could really purge and take away all iniquity. This whole sacrificial system was pointing the people to Christ. And John Owen states that after much deliberation that it's evident that those good things to come were namely, Jesus Christ himself with all the grace, the mercy, and the privileges which the church receives by a sexual exhibition and coming in the flesh upon the discharge of his office. Verse five says, wherefore when he, wherefore when he, that's Christ, When he cometh into the world, he said, Sacrifice an offering thou wouldst not, but a body thou hast prepared me. Verse six, in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. All those hundreds upon hundreds of years people sacrificed to God through those animal sacrifices. And yet God says here that he had no pleasure in them whatsoever. These are the words mentioned by David in Psalm 40, that David was not speaking of himself, but David was speaking of the one who was yet to come. Friends, God has no more pleasure in these sacrifices and offerings any more than he has pleasure in the death of the wicked. but they were necessary for the people of that time. Verse nine, lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. The old sacrifices were taken away. See, God is going to remove the animal sacrifices. He's going to remove the law. As we read in verse one, the law was not perfect. John Owen says, God now rejects them. That's the sacrifices. He now rejects them as unto the expiation of sin and the salvation of the church. They will no longer be needed or be acceptable to God. Expiation was only the act of making amends for guilt and wrongdoing as an atonement. It was only short term. Verse 11 tells us that every priest, all those priests that we read about in Leviticus, They stood there every day ministering and offering sacrifices that could never take away sins. They had to keep repeating the same over and over and over again. It was only ever going to be a temporary measure until the fullness of time. In this wonderful verse 12, that this man, we're talking about Jesus, But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, he sat down at the right hand of God. Those Old Testament priests couldn't sit down. They couldn't rest. They still had work to do, for their work wasn't finished, and it never could be. But the work of Christ was done. It was finished forever. Verse fourteen, for by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Remember the words of Jesus on the cross, it is finished. No one's going to cast up to you again if you're in Christ, what you've done or what you haven't done. The hymn writer says, I hear the accuser roar of elves that I have done. I know them well, and thousands more. Jehovah findeth none. That wonderful to know this morning. I recall the words of Dr. Paisley that are still written in the back of my Bible, and they've been there for almost 40 years. He was being interviewed on television by a man called Peter France. I'm sure some of you's older, I don't mean older in age, you know what I mean? Some of you's people will maybe remember that on TV. Here's how he answered a question about Rome and their so-called unbloody sacrifice of the mass. He said of the church if Rome was right, Then at the Mass, Calvary is repeated, and a sacrifice is made for the living and for the dead. If the New Testament is right, then this man, having made one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. Now the two cannot be right, and leaving aside all the extraneous matters in which I think Rome was wrong, at the very heart of the gospel is the finished work of God's Son for sinners, a once for all, never to be repeated sacrifice, as stated in the 39 articles of the Church of England. You see, the sacrificial system of the Old Testament is now null and void. The Roman Catholic sacrifice of the Mass was always null and void. The perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ superseded the sacrifices and the offerings of the old economy. It also enables us to do what the high priest could do, And what would that be? Verse 19. Verse 19. Having therefore, brethren, boldness. Boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. We don't have to worry like Aaron about being struck down. When Christ died, the field was torn from the top to the bottom, leaving the way open. to meet with God. And we do that in this church all the time when we meet in the back room in the prayer meeting. Again, I'll say it, where two or three are gathered in his name, he is in the midst of us. Again, with that in mind, we should be very careful of our speech while we're in God's house because God is in this place. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. In 2 Peter 2 and 5, Peter's speaking to the New Testament church. He says, ye also, as lively or living stones, are built of a spiritual house. Each one of us here this day who is a Christian is part of that spiritual house. a holy priesthood. That's each one of us who are believers. We're all priests unto God and we're to offer up spiritual sacrifices, not bloody sacrifices, but spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. All God's children, all his elect people, we are all priests unto God, and we offer to him sacrifices that are spiritual. No longer is the sharing of blood necessary, for the sharing of Christ's blood is that which atones for each one of us. You know, after Christ died, the Jews continued with their animal sacrifices. But God stopped that in A.D. 70, when the temple was destroyed. And for the past 2,000 years, they have not been able to hold their holy days in the way that they would like to. Why should they, when that which is perfect has come? Amen. We're going to sing our last hymn this morning. Bill number 286.