21/09/2026
𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐙𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐘 📖
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is one of the most significant days in the Jewish calendar.
At our Gospel Service last night, Pastor Cruise drew our attention to a lovely little gem of sanctuary geography tucked away in a single word in 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝟏𝟔.
𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝟏𝟔:𝟏𝟒 says:
“And he shall take of 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 with his finger seven times.”
That word 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 is worth noticing.
The Tabernacle was arranged from east to west. Its entrance was on the eastern side (𝐄𝐱𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐬 𝟐𝟕:𝟏𝟑–𝟏𝟔), and from there the worshipper moved westward: past the altar and laver, into the Holy Place, through the veil, and finally into the Most Holy Place, where the Ark of the Covenant and the mercy seat stood.
So picture Aaron on the Day of Atonement.
He enters from the east and moves westward. He passes through the veil and stands before the ark. The eastern side of the mercy seat is therefore the side facing him — the side of approach.
And where does God command the blood to be sprinkled?
Upon the mercy seat 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥.
The blood was on the side from which Aaron approached God. In other words, the blood was placed on the side from which sinful man approached the presence of a holy God.
It’s a tiny geographical detail, easily passed over in our reading, but what a beautiful picture it provides.
There could be no approach without blood.
And what was pictured in the Tabernacle finds its fulfilment in the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not approach God through the blood of bulls and goats, but through the precious blood of Christ, shed once for all at Calvary.
𝐇𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝟏𝟎:𝟏𝟗–𝟐𝟐 puts it beautifully:
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”
The blood was on the side of approach.
And still today, there is only one way for sinful men and women to draw near to a holy God: 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀.
