Leviticus 16:20

Leviticus 16:20 says, And 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:  After the holy place, the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar were reconciled, Aaron was to bring in a live goat.  Verse twenty-one adds. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:  Aaron was to place his hands on the head of the goat and confess all the sins of the people, symbolically transferring their sins to the goat.  The goat was to then be sent into the wilderness.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we transfer our sins to Him, and He has already made atonement for them, not just figuratively but literally.  Verse twenty-two continues, And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.  When the goat was let go in the wilderness, it was seen to be carrying all the sins of the people with it.  This was not just a onetime thing, but when we put our faith in Christ as our Savior, it is but a onetime thing, though we may have to come back and ask for forgiveness for sin that we commit after that to keep Him as Lord of our life.  Verse twenty-three declares, And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:  Verse twenty-four adds, And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.  After the scapegoat was let go, Aaron was to wash himself and dress in the priestly garments and offer a burnt offering first for himself then for the people.  When we come together as Christians, we should first make sure that we have confessed our sins to God so that we might be washed clean by the blood of Christ.  Verse twenty-five continues, And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar.  The fat of the sin offering was to be burned on the altar.  Verse twenty-six states, And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.  The man who had carried the scape goat into the wilderness was to bathe and wash his clothes, which would at least symbolize removing any trace of sin that might have gotten on him.  Verse twenty-seven adds, And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.  The remains of the bull and goat sacrificed for the sin offering were to be taken outside the camp and burned up completely.  Verse twenty-eight continues, And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.  The one who burned the bull and goat was also to wash his clothes and bathe.  Verse twenty-nine declares, And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:  God set aside a day in which no work was to be done, either by the people of Israel or the stranger in the land.  We are told this was to be a statute forever, but Christ fulfilled all the law concerning the sacrificial system at His death and resurrection, so we don't observe this day today as His followers.  Still, we do gather together in His name and we should always remember what God has done for us by sending His only begotten Son to die for us.  Verse thirty adds, For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.  On that day, the priest was to make an atonement for them, and as followers of Christ, He has already made atonement for us once and for all time through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  Verse thirty-one continues, It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.  This was to be a sabbath day to them, and they were to examine their soul, or life, to make sure that they confessed all their sins.  Verse thirty-two says, And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:  The priest appointed to serve that day in Aaron's place was to make atonement for them.  Jesus Christ, appointed by the Heavenly Father, makes atonement for all who will put their faith in Him today.  Verse thirty-three adds, And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.  Verse thirty-four concludes, And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.  The priest appointed was to make the sacrifices for the tabernacle, the altar and the congregation and this was an everlasting statute.  As stated, these laws were fulfilled by Jesus Christ and He made the sacrifice that fulfills the law forever.  We only have to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord to be God's people forevermore.