The sin offering which was most holy and the blood of which was not brought into the Holy of Holies was eaten by the priests in the holy place that they might bear away the iniquity of the congregation to make propitiation for them before Jehovah (vv. 17b-18). This signifies that we, the New Testament priests, partake of Christ as the believers’ sin offering. This partaking is in the sense of participating in Christ’s life, the life that bears others’ sins, as our life supply, that we may be able to bear the problems of God’s people. We partake of this offering in the church life in order to minister Christ’s sin-dealing life to the believers that they may deal with their sins. The goal of such a dealing is to appease the situation of the believers with God and to restore their broken fellowship with God.
Verse 17 speaks of making propitiation for the people. The word propitiation in the Old Testament does not refer to the redemption accomplished and completed by Christ. Rather, propitiation in the Old Testament is a type pointing to the redemption of Christ.
The Hebrew word translated “make propitiation” is kaphar, which means “to cover.” The noun form of this word is rendered “propitiatory cover” in 16:2, 13-15, and refers to the lid of the ark of the testimony. When someone came to contact God, immediately the Ten Commandments within the ark in the Holy of Holies exposed his sinful condition, indicating that there was a problem between this sinful person and the righteous God. Thus, there was no peace between these two parties. However, the blood of the sin offering was sprinkled upon the lid that covered the ark, signifying that the sin of the one coming to contact God had been covered.
In the Old Testament time Christ had not yet come, but there was a type pointing to Christ. That type was the animal sacrifice which was offered to God as a sin offering. On the day of propitiation the animal was slain, and its shed blood was brought into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled on the lid of the ark. In this way the problem between God and man was covered but not settled. This covering temporarily satisfied God’s requirement. This is to propitiate, to appease, to do something for the owing party to satisfy the requiring party, producing peace between the two parties.
Hebrews 9:12 clearly speaks of Christ’s redemption, telling us that “through His own blood” Christ has “entered once for all into the Holy of Holies, having found an eternal redemption.” The accomplished and completed redemption of Christ was obtained when He brought His blood to the heavens and sprinkled it there. In this way Christ found, obtained, procured, redemption. Redemption was accomplished by Christ on the cross, and it was obtained by Christ the Redeemer from the hand of the redeeming God. What we receive today is not merely propitiation or some kind of appeasing but the accomplished and completed redemption. Now we are enjoying such a redemption.
Leviticus 10:17 and 18 indicate that we, the New Testament priests, partake of Christ as the believers’ sin offering in the sense of participating in Christ’s life, the life that bears others’ sins, as our life supply, that we may be able to bear the problems of God’s people. If we would take Christ as the sin offering, we need to realize that after eating such a Christ we should bear the problems of God’s people.
Eating is not only for satisfaction; it is also for working (2 Thes. 3:10). If we eat Christ as our sin offering, the offering that has accomplished redemption for us and has solved our problems with God, we must bear the responsibility to solve the problems of God’s people.
If you become aware that a certain brother has a problem with sin, you should first bear the burden to pray for him. Then according to the Spirit’s leading, you may go to visit him, not to condemn him or to point out his failure but to fellowship with him to bring him into the presence of the Lord and into the sense of the Lord’s mercy and grace. If you can bring him into the light of God, the light will shine upon him and within him, and he will see his sinfulness, mistakes, and shortcomings.
Do not try to help a sinful one by exposing him or by directly pointing out his shortcomings. If you do this, you will insult him. Every sinner holds to his prestige. If you point out a brother’s sin, he will not confess it but will hold to his prestige. Furthermore, instead of bringing the brother into the light, you will provoke him and cause problems.
The best way to help a sinful brother is to be a person who lives in the fellowship of the Lord. Then when you visit such a one, you will bear with you an atmosphere of fellowship, and you will bring that one into fellowship with the enlightening God. In this fellowship he will be enlightened and will touch God’s mercy and grace. The mercy and grace of the divine life will soften his hard heart and warm his cold heart. (Because sinning causes one’s heart to become hard and cold, the heart of a sinful brother needs to be softened and warmed.) In the softening and warming light of God, the brother will see his sinfulness and confess it. There will be no need for you to mention it. This way of helping a sinful brother is the way of love in wisdom.
If we would bear the problems of God’s people, we need to have a rich enjoyment of Christ as our sin offering. Then with much prayer and consideration we should contact others in love and with wisdom, ministering Christ’s sin-dealing life to them that they may deal with their sins. If we contact others in this way, we will not damage them or the church but rather will do something to bear the problems of God’s people.
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