Coming to my annual foray into Leviticus (reading through the Bible each year), I thought I would try to summarize in my own words what is written, to help me make sense of it, and maybe it will be beneficial to you, too.
Chapter 16
God now regulates how and when the priest is to enter the Holy of Holies.
The high priest washes himself with water, puts on the holy garments, and sacrifices a bull as a sin offering for himself. Then one goat is designated by lot as a sin offering and another as a scapegoat to be released into the desert. The priest then enters behind the veil with a censer of incense in one hand and a bowl of blood in the other. He put the incense on the altar first, which produced a cloud of smoke between priest and ark, "lest he die" (vs 13). He then sprinkles the bull's blood 7 times on the east side of the ark (the side closest to him), on and before the ark.
Then the priest goes out, kills the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and brings its blood into the holy of holies, and does the same type of sprinkling.
He then cleanses the altar of offering in the outer tabernacle by smearing bull and goat blood on the horns and sprinkling it at the base.
Next, Aaron places the sins of Israel on the live goat and sends it away in the desert.
Then, the standard worship cycle is reinstated: Aaron takes off the holy clothes, washes with water, puts the clothes back on, and offers a burnt offering. The bull and goat taken into the Holy of Holies was taken outside the camp and burned.
This was to be a once-a-year day of repentance and humility for all Israel. But Jesus Christ has put an end to such sacrifice:
Hebrews 9:24-28, 12: "Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— 26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.... 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption."
Chapter 17
At this point in Israel's history, they are encamped around the tabernacle, and always very close to it. So the law here makes sense, that any animal killed for eating must be offered at the tabernalce as a peace offering to God. Later, in Deuteronomy 12:15, God relaxes this rule. When they enter Canaan and spread out further from the temple, they may eat meat without bringing it all the way to the temple. But any tithe or peace offering had to go there, yet.
Eating blood is forbidden, as it is the life of the animal, and it atones for souls. This passage ought to be balanced with other Scripture: "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins" (Hebrews 10:4). The OT sacrifices rather reminded Israel of their sins (Heb 10:3), but also did give real and genuine assurance that God would forgive. They pointed forward to the actual atonement in Christ.
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