June 3, 2011

Day of Atonement- Old Testament #6

This week, along with last week, the principle of sacrifice and repentance really stood out to me. So, I decided that I would do choice 2a for my personal assignment. This choice focuses on the "day of atonement" which is described in Leviticus chapter 16. A quick over view of the day of atonement: It is the day that Aaron ("brother" of Moses) goes into the tabernacle in holy clothing, taking animals, a bullock for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering; he takes these animals to make a sacrifice for the Lord. He sacrifices for him and his house, then offers up a lamb to the Lord and sends another off to be a scapegoat. This scapegoat symbolizes Jesus and the Atonement he made for us.

Aaron also sacrifices for himself and his people. He offers his sins to the Lord so he can be free of them, becoming more humble. He also does this for his people, because he is their leader. This also parallels Christ because Christ leads us through life because of his Atonement and because he is the creator of Earth and the son of God.

The day of atonement is important because it was a time that Aaron could show his dedication to God and to worship him. It's also important to us today, because it is a good example of what we need to do in life, which is to make sacrifices to God in order to follow him and be righteous.

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