The Jewish writers say that for seven days before the day of expiation
the high priest was to retire from his own house, and to dwell in a
chamber of the temple, that he might prepare himself for the service of
this great day. During those seven days he himself did the work of the
inferior priests about the sacrifices, incense, &c., that he might have
his hand in for this day: he must have the institution read to him
again and again, that he might be fully apprised of the whole method.
1. He was to begin the service of the day very early with the usual
morning sacrifice, after he had first washed his whole body before he
dressed himself, and his hands and feet again afterwards. He then
burned the daily incense, dressed the lamps, and offered the
extraordinary sacrifice appointed for this day (not here, but Num.
xxix. 8), a bullock, a ram, and seven lambs, all for burnt-offerings.
This he is supposed to have done in his high priest's garments. 2. He
must now put off his rich robes, bathe himself, put on the linen
garments, and present unto the Lord his own bullock, which was to be a
sin-offering for himself and his own house, v. 6. The bullock was set
between the temple and the altar, and the offering of him mentioned in
this verse was the making of a solemn confession of his sins and the
sins of his house, earnestly praying for the forgiveness of them, and
this with his hands on the head of the bullock. 3. He must then cast
lots upon the two goats, which were to make (both together) one
sin-offering for the congregation. One of these goats must be slain, in
token of a satisfaction to be made to God's justice for sin, the other
must be sent away, in token of the remission or dismission of sin by
the mercy of God. Both must be presented together to God (v. 7) before
the lot was cast upon them, and afterwards the scape-goat by itself, v.
10. Some think that goats were chosen for the sin-offering because, by
the disagreeableness of their smell, the offensiveness of sin is
represented: others think, because it was said that the demons which
the heathens then worshipped often appeared to their worshippers in the
form of goats, God therefore obliged his people to sacrifice goats,
that they might never be tempted to sacrifice to goats. 4. The next
thing to be done was to kill the bullock for the sin-offering for
himself and his house, v. 11. "Now," say the Jews, "he must again put
his hands on the head of the bullock, and repeat the confession and
supplication he had before made, and kill the bullock with his own
hands, to make atonement for himself first (for how could he make
reconciliation for the sins of the people till he was himself first
reconciled?) and for his house, not only his own family, but all the
priests, who are called the house of Aaron," Ps. cxxxv. 19. This
charity must begin at home, though it must not end there. The bullock
being killed, he left one of the priests to stir the blood, that it
might not thicken, and then, 5. He took a censer of burning coals (that
would not smoke) in one hand, and a dish full of the sweet incense in
the other, and then went into the holy of holies through the veil, and
went up towards the ark, set the coals down upon the floor, and
scattered the incense upon them, so that the room was immediately
filled with smoke. The Jews say that he was to go in side-ways, that he
might not look directly upon the ark where the divine glory was, till
it was covered with smoke; then he must come out backwards, out of
reverence to the divine majesty; and, after a short prayer, he was to
hasten out of the sanctuary, to show himself to the people, that they
might not suspect that he had misbehaved himself and died before the
Lord. 6. He then fetched the blood of the bullock from the priest whom
he had left stirring it, and took that in with him the second time into
the holy of holies, which was now filled with the smoke of the incense,
and sprinkled with his finger of that blood upon, or rather towards,
the mercy-seat, once over against the top of it and then seven times
towards the lower part of it, v. 14. But the drops of blood (as the
Jews expound it) all fell upon the ground, and none touched the
mercy-seat. Having done this, he came out of the most holy place, set
the basin of blood down in the sanctuary, and went out.