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Sacrifice and Atonement
The writer of the Book of Hebrews summarised the OT sacrificial system as follows: "Under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." (Heb 9:22). Throughout Leviticus, the blood shed by a sacrificial animal is for cleansing and sanctification. Sacrifice reverses the effects of sin and human infirmity, which profane the holy, and pollute the clean. Sacrifice cleanses the unclean, and sanctifies the clean to make it holy. The priests are anointed with the blood of a sacrificial ram (8:23-30). A cured leper was anointed with blood to cleanse him from ritual uncleanness (14:6). The sin and guilt offerings were designed to cleanse the person from sin (ch 4-5). During the ceremonies of the day of Atonement, each part of the tabernacle was sprinkled with blood, "to cleanse it and to hallow it from the uncleannesses of the people" (16:19)
Contact between the holy and the unclean results in death. Sacrifices cleanses the unclean, making this contact possible. Sinful mankind can then come into the presence of the holy God.
The covenant between God and Israel on Mt. Sinai was sealed when blood was sprinkled over the altar and over the people (Ex 19). This covenant made Israel into a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Ex 19:6). In some ways when a person became unclean through sin or infirmity they had to repeat the process of sanctification through sacrifice and be brought back into fellowship with God as part of his holy people.
To be made clean, they had to be declared clean, or forgiven, by God. Merely repeating the ritual was not enough. At the end of each ritual for the sin offering, it says this: "The priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven" (eg: 4:20).
Uncleanness not atoned for by sacrifice was in danger of causing death. Sometimes death immediately, before it was possible to offer any sacrifice (eg. ch 10). Following the death of the guilty people, no animal sacrifice was required. The sacrifice for the uncleanness had been done.
Atonement
This is the basic understanding of the word 'Atonement'. Sin deserved death, but the death of an animal substituted for the death of the guilty person. The English word, 'atonement' is a translation of the Hebrew word 'kipper'. This is a difficult word to determine its exact meaning. It could refer to the wiping clean or cleansing, when the blood is sprinkled or wiped on the horns of the altar or the lid of the ark of the covenant to purify it (4:25, 16:14). Otherwise it could mean to ransom, or to cover, but this is less likely. It is most probably derived from the Hebrew word 'Koper', meaning 'ransom price'. A 'koper' was the money a condemned man could pay as a ransom to escape the death penalty (Ex 21:30). An animal sacrifice would then make atonement for someone because the death of the animal would act as a ransom from the death penalty the person deserved for their sin or uncleanness. We see this in Leviticus, “I have given the blood to make atonement (ransom) for your lives, for the blood makes atonement (ransoms) at the price of a life” (17:11)
As an important part of each sacrifice, the worshipper had to lay (lit. 'press') his hand on the sacrificial animal (eg. 1:4). "You shall lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be acceptable in your behalf as atonement for you". The laying on of hands shows that the person bringing the offering is identifying with the sacrifice, and that the animal is taking their place. On the Day of Atonement Aaron had to lay his hands on the 'scapegoat' and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel. The goat was then sent away into the wilderness bearing the sins of the people (17:21-22).
Jesus was the once and for all sacrifice which atoned for sin, which ransomed us from the death that we deserved for our sin. "He has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Heb 9:26)
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