Sefer Degel Machaneh Efraim explains this pasuk by quoting the explanation of Rav Nachman of Hordonke zy”a on the verse (Shemos 34:3): “And no man shall up with you on this entire mountain.” He explains that when a person wants to serve Hashem with temimus, he must consider himself as if he is the only one in the world, with no one else here with him. He should not think about what anyone else will think about what he is doing. “No man shall come up with you.” You should consider it as if you are the only person in the world.
With this in mind, he explains the pasuk (Vayikroh 16:17): And no man shall be in the Ohel Moed when we comes to atone in the Kodesh. And he shall atone for himself...and for the entire assemblage of Yisroel. When the pasuk says that no one else shall be in the Ohel Moed when one goes into the Kodesh, it means that when one goes to serve Hashem, he should think that there is no one else in the world and he is the only one serving Hashem. He also uses this concept to explain the Mishnah (Avos 2:5) that says: “In a place where there is no man, try to be a man.” One should try to act like he is the only man and there are no others.
This idea is also hinted at in this verse. The word “hichaltzu” (arm yourself) can also mean “to remove”. Thus, the pasuk is saying to “remove men from among you”, meaning to remove other men from your thoughts and to consider yourself like the only one in the world. Once one does this, he can “wage a war of Hashem in Mindyan”, meaning he can fight for Hashem alone, with no personal agendas.
