Daily Devotion | Leviticus 16:20–34 | 2026 February 23

Title: Daily Devotion | Leviticus 16:20–34 | 2026 February 23

Scripture: Leviticus 16:20–34 (ESV, reference only)

Date: 2026 February 23

Speaker: Rev. John Chen

Transcribed, translated & edited by: Joseph Wang (Yufan)

Dear brothers and sisters, peace to you. We thank God for His grace in bringing us to a new day to study the Daily Devotion. Today our passage is Leviticus 16:20–34. Let us pray. Lord, we thank You for bringing us to this great Day of Atonement, that we may understand that the Day of Atonement must become the center of our life. On this day, the sin offering and the burnt offering that were presented—Lord, this is the center of our life. We ask that You would lead us, that in such a life we may follow You, understand Your will, and live a holy life. Be with us. In Christ’s name, Amen.

Let us first look at verses 20–28. These are supplementary regulations concerning the sacrifices. Earlier it mentioned two sin offerings, one a bull and one a goat. In fact, from the record you can see that on that day the high priest entered the Most Holy Place twice. The first time was to make atonement for himself, with the blood of the bull. The second time was to make atonement for the people, with the blood of the goat. These were two separate entrances into the Most Holy Place. After that, what was the priest to do? He was to come out, lay his hands on the live goat, and then drive this goat into the wilderness.

So last time we also mentioned the function of these two goats. One goat is sacrificed, representing us. It bears the sins of Israel, because it is the goat, not the bull, that substitutes for the sins of the congregation of Israel. This is the sin offering presented after sin is committed; this is easy for us to understand.

The other one, which is more unique, is the goat that is sent into the wilderness to bear the sins of Israel. Earlier there was a similar analogy: the two birds. You remember that in the cleansing ritual there were two birds—one bird was killed, and the other bird was released. This is recorded in chapter 14, verse 6. As for the living bird, the priest shall take it, together with the cedarwood and the scarlet yarn and hyssop, and dip them in the blood of the bird that was killed over fresh water. He shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease; then he shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird go into the open field. So in cleansing there were two birds.

Likewise, in Israel’s atonement there are two goats. One is sacrificed; the other is brought into the wilderness and sent away there. We have already spoken about how to understand Azazel. Since this is a devotion, we do not need to engage in too much theological debate. Let me simply tell you the conclusion: it refers to two aspects of the Lord Jesus. It is very unlikely that the sin offering is somehow given to a demon. That is impossible, because Scripture never places demons and God on the same level when considering such matters.

One goat must die, representing that our sins must be atoned for. After sinning, we must bear the price and consequence of death. The other living goat, like the living bird, represents another aspect. Because it bears the sins of Israel, it must wander in the wilderness. Of course, its ultimate end may also be death, because it cannot survive long in the wilderness; it cannot simply graze, and wild beasts may devour it. So this goat is also pitiable.

But from the perspective of the Lord Jesus, this goat may symbolize more of Christ’s earthly life. The Lord Jesus became flesh and was born in a manger. He lived thirty-three years on earth. I think this goat more likely symbolizes that period of His life experience. He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him. For thirty years He lived in obscurity, fully obeying the Father’s law; then for three years He came out to preach and was despised and rejected. So this symbolizes His earthly life. If the first goat symbolizes Jesus Christ dying on the cross as our sacrifice, then the wandering goat symbolizes His earthly life—His hardship and suffering.

I once heard my teacher say that in Israelite tradition, when this goat left the camp, it was reluctant to go, because goats are herd animals. It would not willingly leave the camp. So in order to drive it outside, people would pierce it with spears, spit on it, and force it away. It was not led gently by someone holding a rope; it did not want to leave the city. But people used various humiliating methods—piercing it, driving it—until it was forced outside the camp. This is what my teacher said; it is said to be Jewish tradition. I have not personally seen the record, but I trust what my teacher said, and it accords with the biblical narrative.

This symbolizes the life of Jesus Christ—wandering, like a lamb sent into the wilderness, without protection, bearing all humiliation. In this process, as I mentioned last time, it more importantly symbolizes that He still obeyed God’s law. The law of God must be fulfilled in two aspects. First, we sinners must have our sins atoned for. That is accomplished by Jesus Christ dying on the cross, His precious blood covering and cleansing us.

But we must also note something else: it is not enough that our sins are removed. Removing sin brings us to zero—we were at negative one hundred, now we are at zero—but zero still cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. We need a perfect score; we need a hundred before God. That hundred is obtained through the thirty-three years of perfect righteousness that Jesus lived on earth, which is imputed to us. He never did anything that violated the law. He fulfilled all righteousness. This robe of righteousness is put upon us. So we need two things: the removal of sin and the perfect righteousness of Christ.

Therefore, I explain the two goats from this perspective. The first goat represents the Lord Jesus removing our sins; the second goat represents His fulfilling all the law in the wilderness of this world, and that righteousness is clothed upon us. These two goats express the two aspects of the work that Jesus accomplished on earth. We should meditate on these two aspects and give thanks to God all the more.

Now let us look at verses 23–28. When Aaron brings the goat outside the tent of meeting, he is wearing the garments from the Holy Place. Remember, after he has sent the goat away and someone else drives it off into the wilderness, he returns and removes those garments. He washes himself in the Holy Place, then puts on other garments to offer the burnt offering. So there are two sets of garments—one for the sin offering and one for the burnt offering.

The regulation for the burnt offering is that the fat of the sin offering must be burned. The burnt offering is entirely burned up. The bull and the goat are wholly burned. The one who led the goat into the wilderness must also wash his clothes, because going into the wilderness signifies uncleanness.

Since the blood of the sin offering was brought into the Holy Place, the flesh of the bull and the goat must not be eaten; they must be burned outside the camp. After burning them, the one who burned them must wash and then reenter the camp. This is the whole regulation of the Day of Atonement.

When we consider the Day of Atonement, we notice several interesting features. First, Aaron offers a bull for his own sin offering, while the people offer a goat. Although Scripture does not explicitly say so, we may reasonably infer that Aaron’s responsibility is greater. A bull is larger and more valuable than a goat. This reflects the principle of representation. As the representative of the people, Aaron must offer a heavier sacrifice. It is not that his personal sins are necessarily greater than those of the people, but as their representative, he bears greater responsibility.

Next is the observance of the Day of Atonement itself. We have said it is the great day for Israel. “You shall afflict yourselves” means that on this day you must be sorrowful and repentant. It is a peak in Israel’s religious life. This festival reminds Israel what the center of their life is—atonement. It is a wise design of God. Through this festival, God tells Israel that the center of their national life is the removal of sin.

When I share the Daily Devotion, I often ask: what is the center of your life? For example, as Chinese people, we celebrate the Spring Festival. It is a time of reunion and celebration. It expresses hope for the future, for prosperity, for togetherness. Every nation has a central festival, often at the New Year in spring, symbolizing renewal and hope.

In the West, under the influence of Christianity, the center was Christmas—the celebration of the birth of the Son. That was a cultural expression of placing Christ’s birth at the center. But now the West has fallen; Christmas has become a shopping festival. That is regrettable. It was meant to remind society that the center is the birth of Jesus Christ, to ask why He was born and how He was born.

For Israel, the Day of Atonement was central. They also had the New Year and the Feast of Booths, but the Day of Atonement reminded them that the center of their national life was the removal of sin. All the detailed sacrificial rituals and cleansing laws symbolically taught them to ask: how do I cleanse myself? How do I obey the law? How do I remove sin?

As Christians, if we also make the removal of sin and the pursuit of holiness the center of our daily life, we are on the right path. Israel went wrong in thinking the center was the rituals themselves, the temple, the priesthood. In truth, the center is Jesus Christ. We are not to keep the external rituals, but to live daily in the reality to which they point—to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Leviticus teaches us how to live a holy life. Many people find Leviticus boring and irrelevant. But Leviticus is the center of the Pentateuch. It shows that the exodus story, the moral law, and the making of the tabernacle all culminate in the call to holiness—ritual and moral purity. If there were no sacrifices, Exodus could have ended at chapter 24. But instead there is the construction of the tabernacle, repeated twice, and then Leviticus. This shows that the center is atonement and holiness.

Yet as Christians we often treat faith as a tool to solve our problems. We bring our difficulties to Jesus and ask Him to fix them. But Scripture calls us not to a self-centered faith, but a God-centered faith. Our greatest problem is sin. Once our sin is removed, we are to devote ourselves to living holy lives.

Someone may ask, “What about food? What about work? Isn’t this too idealistic?” Yesterday we read Matthew 6: do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or drink or wear. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. This is the logic of Scripture. Whether you find it easy or difficult, this is what the Bible teaches.

Our life centers on the Day of Atonement. We cling to the cross. Jesus has fulfilled all the cleansing rituals. We now follow Him and live a life centered on God’s law. God will give us work, houses, marriage—not as our ultimate aim, but for His glory. Then our life is set right, centered on God rather than on solving our own problems.

Finally, at the end of chapter 16 it says simply, “Thus Aaron did as the LORD commanded Moses.” Only one sentence. Earlier, in the making of the tabernacle, it was repeated twice that they did as the LORD commanded. Here it is said only once. Why? Because the focus is not on Aaron, but on the objects—the tabernacle, the furnishings, the ritual system pointing beyond themselves. The true focus is not the priesthood itself, but what it signifies—Jesus Christ.

In Christ all this is fulfilled. Do not fix your eyes on human leaders or external rituals. Look to the Messiah to whom they point. In the New Testament we see clearly that all of this directs us to Christ’s redemption. The Day of Atonement and Leviticus should lead us to love Christ more deeply. He has accomplished all that these burdensome rituals and cleansing laws pointed toward.

What is the purpose? That we might live holy lives. May God help us to return to the center revealed in Leviticus—to remove sin and live holy lives in Christ, glorifying God. And what about food and drink? Jesus has already said: if you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all that you need will be added to you. That is all for today. Thank you, everyone.