Whatever efficacy there is in Christ’s offering, we have: and what is true of the Jew is true of the Christian. Yet as to the letter, the bullock for Aaron and his house is for us, the scape-goat is for the Jew. Aaron and his house were atoned for by themselves by the bullock, as directed indeed in Leviticus 6. The sacrifice was of greater value, of weightier import than that for Israel.
But this is not all. It was complete before there was any purifying of things and places. Aaron and his house are purified for by themselves: and in the case of the goat the blood was sprinkled on the mercy-seat, and atonement made for Israel also before the cleansing began. Then in Jehovah's lot begins the putting the blood on places before Hazazel. The high priest makes atonement and purifies the holy place and altar defiled by the uncleanness of Israel. It was Godward, the notion of sin as uncleanness in His sight. With this the places were all cleansed (the heavenly places with better sacrifices). But the only thing mentioned is the first goat, no doubt in respect of the uncleannesses of the children of Israel as affecting God and His presence.
Thus death had come in and a sin-offering; but it met God; and after the reconciliation of the heavenly saints the places were reconciled. And then, last of all, when the high priest had confessed Israel's sins, Hamel was taken to the land not inhabited. And this confirms the order of power; first, the church received; then the heavenly places cleansed, and lastly Israel reconciled. There is the reconciliation of the church, of the heavenly things, and of Israel. There are other precious differences elsewhere noticed, but this as to the proper order of application.
The sprinkling on and before the mercy-seat had its own efficacy before the Lord; but the cleansing then began with the holy places, &c. It may be they were sprinkled with blood, certainly if Heb. 9:2121Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. (Hebrews 9:21) applies to this, but this may be doubted. Otherwise it is said only of the mercy-seat and altar before the Lord; that is, incense. Atonement was made for the places; but specific mention of blood could perhaps only be on the mercy-seat and altar. In the first the question arose of meeting God as He is in His own intrinsic righteousness; and we come to be in His own presence, according to what He is; and the blessed Lord has in His atoning sacrifice glorified Him in what He is—glorified God, being a man, and that about sin and as made sin. The altar of incense too was to be sprinkled. (Ex. 30:1010And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the Lord. (Exodus 30:10).) But when the tabernacle was set up, it would seem it was not sprinkled with blood. (Chap. xl. 9, xxx. 26, &c.) The brazen altar seems to have been cleansed in the blood. (Ex. 29:3636And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. (Exodus 29:36).) The sprinkling with blood and cleansing leads to the judgment that it was so done with all (the altar of incense certainly) on the day of atonement. Moses' doing it would not mean more than its being done under the law. But the connection with Sinai (Heb. 9:1919For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, (Hebrews 9:19)) tends to show that it was then and not revealed in the Old Testament. Still, Heb. 9:2121Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. (Hebrews 9:21) gives no clear judgment that it was at the Betting up. Verse 22 clearly generalizes it, so that we may suppose he was already gone beyond Sinai. The tabernacle is said positively (Lev. 16:2020And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: (Leviticus 16:20)) to be reconciled. The question then arises, what is the altar of verse 18. The altar cleansed was the altar of incense, the altar before Jehovah (See Lev. 4:6, 186And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the Lord, before the vail of the sanctuary. (Leviticus 4:6)
18And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the Lord, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. (Leviticus 4:18).) This changes the character. The reconciliation here was of the places where they went to God (only by priests). It was the holy place or sanctuary, the tabernacle and the altar. Aaron was to sprinkle the blood on the mercy-seat and before it. He makes atonement for himself and for all Israel. He makes atonement for the altar before the Lord, that is, reconciles it. But it is not said of the mercy-seat. He makes atonement for himself and house, and for all Israel in verse 17. He makes atonement in it for the holy place, he does (ver. 16) not for the mercy-seat, but specifically for the altar. It was the idea of the people approaching. The altar without was not the place of approach save as under sin. The atonement was made there, the sacrifice whose blood was to work thus efficaciously was offered there. But it was distinctly the place of approach that was cleansed, and offered incense. The mercy-seat was what they approached, blood put upon it and before it for them. The altar without was the place where offering was made; the thing, as far as man was concerned with there, was sin. Hence we have blood put on the mercy-seat, atonement for Aaron and Israel, cleansing of holy places, tabernacle and altar; then putting of Israel's sins on Hazazel.
This gives an absolute character to our reconciliation, which Israel's has not, though in substance both are just the same. Christ was made sin for us; the old thing done away before God. It is not a question of dealing with sins. This of course would have been if that work had not been done. But Christ intercepts it, and God's righteousness is now declared, in which we stand to start with by faith and are always in. No doubt we are made to feel our sins as a means of discovering our state; but this is only the way of getting at it. We are all under sin—in this condition before God. I learn it by my sins, or much more deeply by my sinfulness. In Israel there will be a dealing with particular transgressions. No doubt if Christ had not atoned for all our sins we could not have been made the righteousness of God in Him; He did, and all scripture says it abundantly, thank God. But He was made sin, and glorified God thus about it. And it is done, and we stand in righteousness by the efficacy of His work. But Israel has to meet God about the transgressions they have been guilty of, feel (Reuben-like) guilty about their brother, and God dealing with them as His people about their transgressions. Surely it is true of us practically, yet not as His people who transgressed as such, but merely and wholly sinners, and nothing else. Hence Israel has to feel in a special way that their sins had been laid on the head of the scape goat. Our whole place is changed, to be viewed as righteous in Christ before God, Christ our righteousness. Of course if He had not done the work on the cross, this could not be. Still we came in from a place of utter sin, distance and alienation into divine righteousness in Him. The truth is that the manner and circumstances are different, we having the bullock, they the goat, yet Christ for both, and Christ ever perfect in His work.