A covering you did not earn

 Read: Leviticus 16:1-34 (NLT)

"On that day offerings of purification will be made for you, and you will be purified in the Lord's presence from all your sins." Leviticus 16:30

One day a year. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest went into the Most Holy Place. He sprinkled blood on the cover of the Ark. That cover is sometimes called the mercy seat.

Two goats. One goat died for the people's sin. The priest laid the people's sins on the other goat. Then it was sent far away into the desert. God wanted them to see it: your sin is paid for, and it is gone.

The people did nothing. They did not work that day. They rested and waited. The priest did it all. The covering was a gift.

What we learn:

• God: He covers what we cannot fix.
• People: We want to clean ourselves. We can't.
• Circumstances: The priest went in. The people waited outside. Jesus is our High Priest who goes in for us.

Heart questions:

1. What do you still try to fix or hide on your own?
2. Why is it hard to rest when someone else does the work for you?
3. Picture your sin carried far away. What do you feel?

Pray: Jesus, you are my High Priest. You carried my sin away. Help me stop trying to clean myself and rest in what you have done. Amen.

Go deeper: God instructs on defilement of food, bodies and annual atonement (Leviticus 11-16)