Chiasm of Cleansing
Ancient Hebrews thought differently than we do. In our modern culture, the best part is saved for last. But Hebrews thought in mountains not in lines. In Hebrew thought the middle is often considered the most important part. In fact, throughout the Bible, we see a Hebrew form of writing called a chiasm, where a book of the Bible or even a Psalm is written from the center outward, with corresponding parts on each side. A chiasm is a mountain formation with the peak being the exclamation point of the author.
One famous example is the structure of the Five Books of Moses, called the Torah or the Pentateuch. Here is one way a chasm could be formed based on each’s book destination:
a. Genesis: Eden to Egypt
b. Exodus: Egypt to Wilderness (Sinai)
c. Leviticus: Sinai
b. Numbers: Sinai to Wilderness (Canaan)
a. Deuteronomy: Entering the Promised Land
Leviticus serves as the peak, the point, the center of Moses’ message.
But there is also a chiasm on the structure of the Book of Leviticus. Consider this layout:
a. Sacrifices (ch. 1-7)
b. Priesthood (ch. 8-10)
c. Clean and Unclean (ch. 11-15)
d. Day of Atonement (ch. 16)
c. Clean and Unclean (ch. 17-20)
b. Priesthood (ch. 21-22)
a. Sacrifice and Feast Days (ch. 23-25)
Conclusion: Blessing and Curses (ch. 26-27)
So, the Day of Atonement, called Yom Kippur, is the center of the Book of Leviticus, the climax and the high point of the Pentateuch. It is the peak of the peak of the mountain. Rather than saving the best for last, the best is in the middle! Leviticus 16 places the spotlight on a central truth of the Scripture: atonement. This ceremony provides the primary picture of forgiveness for the rest of the Scripture.
In Leviticus 16, sacrifices are offered for the cleaning of the priests who enter the tabernacle. Two bulls are then offered for the sins of the people, one which dies in their place and another that is sent into the wilderness symbolically bearing the sins of the people. Sin is fully forgiven because it is punished and sent away. Yom Kippur truly is a beautiful message of forgiveness of sin accomplished through sacrifice. Verse 30 sums up the chapter’s message, “For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the LORD from all your sins.”
The whole structure of Leviticus and the pentalogy of Moses shouts a message of forgiveness and atonement through the shedding of blood. By being the central part of the chiasm, it is the most important truth that we must embrace. This is a thread that runs through the rest of the Bible.
The prophet Isaiah picks up this theme and foretells that it would be fulfilled through the death of a “man of sorrows.” Jesus fulfills this expectation through His sinless life, substitutionary death, and victorious resurrection from the dead. Jesus is the perfect high priest who enters God's presence on our behalf. He is the Lamb of God slain for the sins of the world. He is the Scapegoat, sent outside the camp, that our sins may be sent away as well (see Hebrews 13:12).
Chiasms were a method of emphasizing the most important thing to the ancient reader. They remain the same for us as we read God's inspired Word written through Hebrew prophets. The mountain peak of Leviticus 16 remains central for us because we remain in need of an atonement that only God can give. Yet beyond the mountain of Leviticus is the mountain of Calvary. On that hill Jesus died between two thieves to bring an even greater atonement about. May we look to the One who fulfills Yom Kupor and who gave His sinless life to “cleanse us from all of our sins.”