Going where others have died, 2

The Bible states clearly -- no one can see God and live.  Our God, the true God, is of such a glory and majesty of being that in his presence all else is undone.  Perhaps the radiance of the sun is a close metaphor -- we cannot stare at the sun for any length of time without being blinded.  We certainly cannot fly close to the Sun without being disintegrated.  That is not because the Sun is mean or cruel -- it is because of its glory.  Daily we enjoy the life-giving effects of the Sun.  Its glory is our life. Its glory could also be our destruction.

So, In Israel, God began to teach his people that his glory was great.  When he appeared at the top of Sinai -- it was with clear instructions to keep distant.  And when the tabernacle was constructed, it was with clear instructions as to how he was to be approached.  When those instructions were violated in Leviticus 10, the sons of Aaron were struck dead.  God is not approached on our terms, but on His.  This is not a democratic process anymore than we can have a vote on diminishing the nature of the Sun.

The specific instructions are given in Leviticus 16.  How unusual are the opening verses.  God says he wants to teach them how to come near him so that they do not die!  The elaborate preparations of Aaron, the sacrifice for his sins, then the two goats offered for the sins of the nation -- all of these speak of God opening a way, but a way that is very limited.  They tell us that God is glorious but that glory is both our life and a threat to our very being should we come in the wrong way.

I can only imagine Aaron's first day of atonement -- the trembling hands as he prepared himself, offered the sacrifice, and pulled back the curtain to sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat.  His sons has died -- would he?

But for most moderns this all seems extreme.  We would say we do not get it -- how can God bring death to those who come to him in the wrong way.  Let me draw an analogy and then an application.

I think even the most secular understand the reality of certain things bringing death.  Imagine being in your cubicle at work, watching a U-Tube video during a slow afternoon.  You see a shadow cross your desk and look behind you to find the boss watching you waste company time.  Later you tell your friends, "I could not believe it.  I turned around and there he was.  I could have died on the spot." The old word for this was, "I was mortified."  That means, in short, "I died."

Why do we say that?  because we have been found out.  In the presence of another, who has authority to evaluate and bring consequences in our lives, we have been seen for what we are.  A secret sin was revealed.  Our reputation was shot.  Our hypocrisy exposed.  How much more so is this true when the One who sees us is the God of glory. 

When sinners enter the presence of God, he is a threat to us.  He reveals our sin, unmasks the deceits of our hearts, brings his eye to bear upon the motives of our actions, and we are undone.  With God it is not "I could have died" -- it is "I died."

But note -- the nearness of God is our good.  In his presence is fullness of joy. I want to be in his presence.  And the emphasis of the Bible is on this fact -- God has made a way for man to come to him.  The focus on Leviticus 16 is on how we can come to God without dying.  And the key word for that is propitiation. Propitiation means the God of glory has made a way for sinners to come to him without fear and in peace.  The words related to propitiation are all over Leviticus 16 when it was translated into Greek. 

God made a way for man to come without God's holy wrath breaking out against us in our sin.  God made a way for finite and created man to come to him without his uncreated majesty consuming us. 

But in Leviticus it was limited -- one man, once a year, with sacrifices for his son and the sins of the people. Until Christ came . . .