Leviticus chapter 16

After reading chapter 16:

*After the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, Yahweh told Moses to tell Aaron that he couldn't come into the most holy place, were the ark was behind a curtain inside the tabernacle, whenever he wanted. He had to follow a special procedure first. He must wash and put on special clothes and underwear. He was to sacrifice a bull to atone for his sins. Then he takes a censer with fire and incense into the part of the tabernacle tent where the ark is. The smoke from the fire will keep him from seeing the lid of the ark, called the atonement cover, or he would die. Even though he can't see it because of the smoke, he is to sprinkle some of the bull's blood on it. No one but Aaron is allowed in the tabernacle during this ritual. (Why couldn't Yahweh give these instructions to Aaron himself? Who is really in charge here? )

*Then Aaron is to take  two goats to front of the tabernacle. One goat is to be sacrificed as a sin offering for the sins of Israel. Again, he takes its blood behind the curtain where the ark is and sprinkles the goat's blood on the lid. This is to atone for the sins of the Israelites for the most holy place.Then he repeats the blood sprinkling procedure for the tabernacle itself, and again for the altar, to cleanse it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.

*The second goat is the "scapegoat." Aaron puts his hands on its head and confesses all the sins of the Israelites over it. This transfers the sins to the goat. Then it will be sent out into the desert. After that, Aaron goes back into the tabernacle, takes a bath and changes to his regular clothes. Then he sacrifices a ram as a burnt offering and  burns the fat of the sin offering. The people who help with the scapegoat and the disposal of the remnants of the sacrifices must wash themselves and their clothes afterward.

*All this is to be done on the 10th day of the seventh month every year. It is the day of atonement, a lasting ordinance. It will also be considered a sabbath day, an enforced day of rest.  Whoever is current high priest is the official  who performs the duties described. It will clean the Israelites' sin slate for the year, in a manner of speaking.

*I find the whole thing depressing. Why would an eternal, omnipotent, benevolent, purely spiritual, God make a tribe of desert nomads perform such elaborate bloody rituals for him, or else? Sin and uncleanness are abstract concepts not concrete things. People don't walk around with actual piles of sins on their shoulders, that disappear when some animals are killed. Sins can't be transferred from people to goats. Notice that first the Israelites had to be told how unclean they were, then they were given a way to get rid of the uncleanness. God is giving them the medicine for the sickness he invented. He still does this for christians today.

*One way religious people get around the obvious wierdness of all these laws and rituals is to claim that they have metaphorical significance that trumps the literal meaning. If that is so, the text certainly gives no indication of it. Also, the death threats for non compliance appear to be quite literal.