“And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil.”
Leviticus 16 describes the regulations for the Day of Atonement, also known as Yom Kippur, which was a sacred day for the Israelites. It was the one day in the year when the high priest entered the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle or later the Temple to make atonement for the sins of the people.
In Leviticus 16:12, the verse describes a specific action the high priest had to perform on this day. The high priest was to take a censer, a type of container used for burning incense, and fill it with burning coals from the altar. The coals were taken from the bronze altar located in the outer courtyard of the Tabernacle or Temple where sacrifices were offered.
In addition to the burning coals, the high priest was also instructed to take his hands full of sweet incense beaten small. This sweet incense was made up of various aromatic spices and was specifically prepared for use in the Tabernacle or Temple worship. The incense was to be finely ground or beaten small to release its fragrance when it was burned.
Once the high priest had the censer with the burning coals and his hands full of sweet incense, he was to bring it within the veil. The veil, also known as the curtain, separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies. The high priest would enter the Most Holy Place, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, and he would perform the necessary rituals to make atonement for the sins of the people.
This act of bringing the burning coals and incense within the veil was a symbolic action. The smoke from the burning incense would fill the Most Holy Place, creating a cloud that obscured the presence of God’s glory above the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant. The cloud served as a barrier between God’s holiness and the high priest, protecting him from immediate death due to the presence of God’s glory.
The burning coals and the sweet incense represented the prayers and intercessions of the people, ascending to God as a fragrant offering. It symbolized the purification and atonement for sins, and the high priest acted as a mediator between the people and God on this solemn occasion.
This passage in Leviticus 16:12 highlights the importance of the Day of Atonement and the specific actions the high priest had to undertake to seek God’s forgiveness and atonement for the people. As Christians, we can see in these rituals a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who became our High Priest and offered Himself as the perfect atonement for our sins once and for all (Hebrews 9:11-14). Jesus’ sacrifice replaced the need for the annual Day of Atonement, as He is the ultimate mediator between God and humanity.
