Exodus 30:1-21

Aaron and his sons are to burn incense perpetually at the tent of meeting, make an annual atoning sacrifice for Israel because of the nation’s sin, and wash themselves so that they will be pure before the Lord and will not die. I think some of this is practical. Incense would cover the stench of the sacrificial death. God did not say, here, that the water with which Aaron and his sons washed made them spiritually clean or that He would kill them if they did not wash. When they washed their hands and feet, they would wash either the blood from the sacrifice or the incense off them before entering the tent of meeting. This was sanitary.

The annual sacrifice of atonement, however, meant something profound. It was an annual substitute for the sins of the nation, a reminder that Israel, though chosen by God, still falls short of God’s glory and is in need of God’s righteousness. I find it interesting that people were to bring a financial contribution as atonement was being made, and the same amount was required of each person. As they gave, it was said that they were making atonement for themselves. This money was used to upkeep the tent of meeting. 

It has already been made clear that people were unable to atone for their own sin, for what can they offer from their sin in order to cancel it? There needed to be a substitute. Yet, even in the sacrificial system, which now included the giving of money, was a work of man. They were making atonement for themselves. This atonement was not perfect since it had to be repeated annually. The fact that they were making atonement for themselves revealed a need for a better atonement—an atonement not from self but from God. God must pay the way for us, a truth revealed through the sacrificial system and fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.

There may be much here to be said about equality and economic justice with application to our current economy and taxation. I think it is appropriate to look at Scripture for those principles, but that’s not the point of the text. We need God to rescue us because our attempts to save ourselves are insufficient and ineffective. We need Christ. At the cross, Jesus not only atoned for our sin. He bought us for a price.