Day of Atonement Ritual

The most solemn ritual in ancient Israel’s worship calendar, performed annually by the high priest on Yom Kippur to atone for the sins of the entire nation. Prescribed in Leviticus 16, this elaborate ceremony was the only day when the high priest entered the Most Holy Place containing the Ark of the Covenant.

The ritual involved two goats selected by lot: one sacrificed as a sin offering to God, the other designated as the scapegoat. After confessing the nation’s sins over the live goat’s head, the high priest sent it into the wilderness, symbolically carrying away Israel’s iniquities. The high priest also sacrificed a bull for his own sins before making atonement for the people.

The ceremony required meticulous preparation and multiple washings, changes of garments, and blood applications to the mercy seat atop the Ark. Incense filled the Holy of Holies to shield the priest from God’s consuming holiness. The people observed the day with fasting, cessation of work, and self-denial—“afflicting their souls”—as they awaited news that the high priest had successfully emerged alive.

This ritual prefigures Christian theology of Christ as both high priest and sacrifice, entering “once for all” into the heavenly sanctuary with his own blood to secure eternal redemption (Hebrews 9).