Leviticus 16:1-4 - Homilies By J.a. Macdonald

The high priest on the Day of Atonement.

The Jewish high priest was an eminent type of Christ. He was this on ordinary occasions of his ministry, in respect to which Jesus is called "the High Priest of our profession" ( Hebrews 3:1 ). But he was especially so upon this great occasion of his entrance into the most holy place,

I. THE MOST HOLY PLACE OF THE TEMPLE WAS A TYPE OF HEAVEN .

1 . The tabernacle was a figure of the universe.

2 . The holy places signified the heavens.

3 . The most holy place figured the supreme heaven. (l) This must be obvious from the fact that the Shechinah was there. God appeared then in regal state upon his throne of glory. The cherubim around him represented the powers of creation, physical and intellectual, which all wait upon him to fulfill his will everywhere in the great universe. Their faces were so placed that, while they all looked inward upon the propitiatory, they also looked outward in all directions, upon the house.

IX. THE ENTRANCE OF THE HIGH PRIEST INTO THE MOST HOLY PLACE ADUMBRATED THAT OF JESUS INTO HEAVEN . (See Hebrews 8:1 , Hebrews 8:2 ; Hebrews 9:11 , Hebrews 9:12 , Hebrews 9:23 , Hebrews 9:24 .)

1 . He entered in his white garments.

2 . Note now the allusion to Nadab and Abihu.