The way to draw near
For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. ~ Leviticus 16:30
Have you ever felt like there was something standing between you and God? Maybe a mistake you made, a moment you wish you could take back, or a struggle that keeps showing up in your life. Sometimes it feels as though there is a distance you cannot cross, even when your heart longs to be close to Him. In today’s world, people are surrounded by noise, pressure, and constant demands, and it becomes easy to feel disconnected from the One who brings peace.
Leviticus 16 describes the Day of Atonement, a sacred day when the high priest entered the most holy place on behalf of the people. It was the moment when God provided a way for His people to be cleansed, restored, and reconnected with Him. Even though the rituals in this chapter were specific to Israel’s worship, the heart behind them still speaks powerfully today. God still makes a way for His people to draw near, to be restored, and to live with a clean heart before Him.
Here are three truths from this chapter that continue to guide believers today:
1. God Provides a Way to Come Close
The people could not enter God’s presence on their own, the high priest made atonement for them.
When you feel unworthy or distant, pause and pray. Say, “Lord, I come because You made the way.” Bring your guilt, your confusion, or your struggles to Him and trust that your salvation in Jesus has opened the path for you to draw near to your heavenly Father.
2. God Removes What Stands Between You and Him
The scapegoat carried the sins of the people far away. It was a picture of complete removal, not partial forgiveness.
When you feel weighed down by past failures, write them out in prayer and then say out loud, “Lord, You have carried this away from me when Jesus paid the debt I owed when He died on the cross.” Choose to believe that what God has forgiven no longer defines your present or your future. Jesus blood and the price He paid is greater than anything you are carrying in your life that holds you back.
3. God Invites You to Start Fresh
The Day of Atonement offered a reset for the entire community, a moment to begin again with a clean heart.
When life feels cluttered or overwhelming, take a moment and ask, “Lord, what do You want me to release so I can start fresh today?” Then take one small step, such as setting aside five minutes for prayer, offering forgiveness to someone, or choosing a calmer response when you feel pressured.
There have been many moments in my life when I tried to carry everything on my own. I wanted to fix what was broken and handle the weight of my worries without involving God. Those were the moments when I felt the most distant from Him. But each time I chose to open my heart and invite Him to carry my burdens away, He removed the heaviness I was holding. He gave me renewed strength and reminded me that He truly does make a way to come close.
Today I want to encourage you to come boldly before the God who made a way for you. You do not have to carry guilt, fear, or pressure by yourself. Just as God cleansed and restored His people in Leviticus, He is doing the same in your life today. Trust Him with every burden, welcome His cleansing work in your heart, and step into the fresh start He offers you each day.
Today’s scripture reading: Leviticus 16
1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the Lord, and died;
2 and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
3 “Thus Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with the blood of a young bull as a sin offering, and of a ram as a burnt offering.
4 He shall put the holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore he shall wash his body in water, and put them on.
5 And he shall take from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering.
6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house.
7 He shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.
8 Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat.
9 And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord’s lot fell and offer it as a sin offering.
10 But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.
11 “And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull as the sin offering which is for himself.
12 Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil.
13 And he shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he die.
14 He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
15 “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat.
16 So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
17 There shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.
18 And he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord, and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat and put it on the horns of the altar all around.
19 Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, cleanse it, and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat.
21 Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man.
22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.
23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of meeting, shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there.
24 And he shall wash his body with water in a holy place, put on his garments, come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people.
25 The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar.
26 And he who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.
27 The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. And they shall burn in the fire their skins, their flesh, and their offal.
28 Then he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.
29 “This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you.
30 For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.
31 It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.
32 And the priest, who is anointed and consecrated to minister as priest in his father’s place, shall make atonement, and put on the linen clothes, the holy garments;
33 then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.
34 This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year.” And he did as the Lord commanded Moses.
Journal:
- What is one area of your life where you want to draw closer to God?
- What burden do you sense Him asking you to release today?
- How can you take one small step to respond to His invitation to start fresh?
The Daily Dose 