Atonement Begins in Leviticus

Why Hebrews Makes Sense When We Read it Through the Torah

2026. Elizabeth Shulam

Primary Scriptures: Leviticus 16; Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:11–14; Hebrews 10:19–23

Atonement is one of those Bible words people use often and explain poorly. We talk about forgiveness, sacrifice, the cross, cleansing, and mercy, yet still miss where Scripture first teaches us how to understand these things.

The language of atonement does not begin in Hebrews. It begins in Leviticus.

Christian Readers especially need this course correction. Hebrews speaks with the vocabulary, images, priesthood, sacrifices, and sacred pattern God gave to Israel. If we skip Leviticus, we lose the entire context of the book of Hebrews.

Leviticus teaches us that sin creates a real problem before a holy God. Sin defiles. It damages. It separates. It touches the life of the individual and the life of the community. That is why the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16 is so serious. Israel is not told to manage guilt with positive thoughts. Israel is given a holy day, a priestly service, sacrifice, confession, cleansing, and mercy from God.

Leviticus 16 shows the high priest entering the holy place with blood. The sacrifices are offered. The sanctuary is cleansed. The sins of the people are confessed. The people humble themselves before the Lord. Every part of the day teaches that access to God is a gift. No one strolls into the presence of the Holy One casually, like we are in his hotel lobby and we're all holding VIP passes.

Leviticus 17:11 says,

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you for making atonement for your lives on the altar.”

That sentence gives us the foundation. Blood is central to atonement. Life belongs to God. Atonement is given by God. Mercy comes through the provision God Himself appoints.

When Hebrews speaks about Yeshua, the book is speaking into that world.

Hebrews teaches that Messiah enters the heavenly sanctuary and secures redemption. Hebrews teaches that His offering reaches deeper than the repeated sacrifices of the earthly service. Hebrews teaches that through Him we may draw near with hearts sprinkled clean and bodies washed with pure water. But Hebrews expects us to know the story already. It expects us to hear Leviticus in the background.

That is why Christians must be careful with how we speak about the Torah, the priesthood, and Israel’s worship. The sacrificial system was not a failed human attempt to reach God. It was given by God to Israel. It taught holiness. It taught mercy. It taught the costliness of sin. It gave the language that the apostles later used to proclaim Yeshua.

When Christian teaching treats Leviticus as primitive or irrelevant, we train people to look down on the very Scriptures Yeshua and the apostles honored. That is not harmless. It is one of the ways Christian language makes Judaism sound spiritually inferior. We should reject that. We should teach with gratitude. We should speak about the Jewish people and the Jewish Scriptures with humility and honor.

Yom Kippur gives Christians an opportunity to slow down and remember where our words come from. Atonement. Cleansing. Confession. Mercy. Access to God. These words do not originate in "CHURCh". They come to us through Israel’s story, through the Torah, and through the faithfulness of the God who made covenant.

For believers in Yeshua, the fullness of atonement is seen in Him. But seeing Him clearly means honoring the Scriptures that prepared us to understand Him. Leviticus gives us the vocabulary. Hebrews gives us the Messiah’s priestly fulfillment. Together, they call us to humility, confession, cleansing, and renewed nearness to God.

The invitation is to come before the Lord honestly.

We confess.

We receive mercy.

We are cleansed.

We draw near.

And then, being human, we will probably need to learn it again next week. God is surely merciful that way.