Immerse: Beginnings Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 190
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IMMERSE
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BEGINNINGS
16:13-27
of fragrant powdered incense and will carry the burner and the incense
behind the inner curtain. There in the Lord’s presence he will put the incense on the burning coals so that a cloud of incense will rise over the Ark’s
cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. If
he follows these instructions, he will not die. Then he must take some of
the blood of the bull, dip his finger in it, and sprinkle it on the east side of
the atonement cover. He must sprinkle blood seven times with his finger
in front of the atonement cover.
“Then Aaron must slaughter the first goat as a sin offering for the people
and carry its blood behind the inner curtain. There he will sprinkle the
goat’s blood over the atonement cover and in front of it, just as he did with
the bull’s blood. Through this process, he will purify the Most Holy Place,
and he will do the same for the entire Tabernacle, because of the defiling
sin and rebellion of the Israelites. No one else is allowed inside the Tabernacle when Aaron enters it for the purification ceremony in the Most
Holy Place. No one may enter until he comes out again after purifying
himself, his family, and all the congregation of Israel, making them right
with the Lord.
“Then Aaron will come out to purify the altar that stands before the
Lord. He will do this by taking some of the blood from the bull and the
goat and putting it on each of the horns of the altar. Then he must sprinkle
the blood with his finger seven times over the altar. In this way, he will
cleanse it from Israel’s defilement and make it holy.
“When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place and the Tabernacle and the altar, he must present the live goat. He will lay both of his
hands on the goat’s head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion,
and sins of the people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people’s sins
to the head of the goat. Then a man specially chosen for the task will drive
the goat into the wilderness. As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will
carry all the people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land.
“When Aaron goes back into the Tabernacle, he must take off the linen
garments he was wearing when he entered the Most Holy Place, and he
must leave the garments there. Then he must bathe himself with water in
a sacred place, put on his regular garments, and go out to sacrifice a burnt
offering for himself and a burnt offering for the people. Through this process, he will purify himself and the people, making them right with the
Lord. He must then burn all the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
“The man chosen to drive the scapegoat into the wilderness of Azazel
must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water. Then he may return to
the camp.
“The bull and the goat presented as sin offerings, whose blood Aaron
takes into the Most Holy Place for the purification ceremony, will be
