“the filling of the censer (machtah, a coal-pan, Exo 25:38) with fire-coals,” i.e., as many burning coals as the censer would hold, from the altar of burnt-offering, and “the filling of his hands,” i.e., two hands full of “fragrant incense” (Exo 30:34), and go with this within the vail, i.e., into the most holy place, and there place the incense upon the fire before Jehovah, “that the cloud of (burning) incense might cover the capporeth above the testimony, and he might not die.” The design of these instructions was not that the holiest place, the place of Jehovah's presence, might be hidden by the cloud of incense from the gaze of the unholy eye of man, and so he might separate himself reverentially from it, that the person approaching might not be seized with destruction. But as burning incense was a symbol of prayer, this covering of the capporeth with the cloud of incense was a symbolical covering of the glory of the Most Holy One with prayer to God, in order that He might not see the sin, nor suffer His holy wrath to break forth upon the sinner, but might graciously accept, in the blood of the sin-offering, the souls for which it was presented. Being thus protected by the incense from the wrath of the holy God, he was to sprinkle (once) some of the blood of the ox with his finger, first upon the capporeth in front, i.e., not upon the top of the capporeth, but merely upon or against the front of it, and then seven times before the capporeth, i.e., upon the ground in front of it. It is here assumed as a matter of course, that when the offering of incense was finished, he would necessarily come out of the most holy place again, and go to the altar of burnt-offering to fetch some of the blood of the ox which had been slaughtered there.
verses 15-16
After this he was to slay the he-goat as a sin-offering for the nation, for which purpose, of course, he must necessarily come back to the court again, and then take the blood of the goat into the most holy place, and do just the same with it as he had already done with that of the ox. A double sprinkling took place in both cases, first upon or against the capporeth, and then seven times in front of the capporeth. The first sprinkling, which was performed once only, was for the expiation of the sins, first of the high priest and his house, and then of the congregation of Israel (Lev 4:7, and Lev 4:18); the second, which was repeated seven times, was for the expiation of the sanctuary from the sins of the people. This is implied in the words of Lev 16:16, “and so
