Scapegoat

The Sabbath reading this week is titled Acharei Mot, meaning "after the death". This reading is from Leviticus 16, and begins after the deaths of Aaron's two sons, who were killed when they attempted to offer strange fire and incense before the LORD. The LORD begins to tell Moses about the atonement that He has provided for His people to deal with their sins. According to the LORD's instructions, the High Priest, in this case Aaron, could only come before Him behind the veil into the Holiest Place one day in the year to make atonement for the sins of the people with the blood of a special sacrifice (Lev. 16:2-3). The priest was to wear holy linen garments in the tabernacle (v. 4) on the Day of Atonement.This Day of Atonement is called Yom Kippur in Hebrew. The blood of the sarifice was to be sprinkled on the mercy seat above the ark in the Holy of Holies (v. 14). The apostles explained later that this atonement represented Jesus, as He sacrificed Himself to cleanse us of our sins: "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (hilasmos - atonement, an appeasing) for our sins...and not for ours only but also for the whole world." (1 Jn. 4:10, 2:2). Paul also wrote that it is not our own righteousness that cleanses us of our sins, but the propitiation (atonement) that God sent in the form of His Son. God justifies those who believe in His Son, and no man can boast of or earn his own righteousness. This is the perfect justice of God (Rom. 3:21-27). The Book of Hebrews gives us a detailed explanation of how Christ fulfilled the yearly sacrifices of the Day of Atonement with His own blood, superior to the blood of bulls and goats offered on that Day (Lev. 16:3, 9; Heb. 10:1-4, 10, 12, 14). Because of Christ's one-time, forever sacrifice: "Therefore brethren having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." (Heb. 10:19-22, also see Lev. 16:4b). Not only did Christ's atoning sacrifice once and for all atone for our sins, but it allowed us also to enter into the Holy of Holies, where previously only the High Priest could enter, and then, only once a year. The atoning blood of Christ sprinkled on the Mercy Seat of God has given us free and continuous access to the presence and the mercy. The sprinkling of His precious atonement blood is not the whole story however. There is another part of the LORD's commands for the Day of Atonement that is mentioned in our Sabbath reading this week. Along with the bull to be sacrificed for the Day of Atonement, two goat kids were also to be selected. Chosen by lot, one kid would be sacrificed to the LORD, but the other would have a different fate. That goat kid is called in English the "scapegoat", or azazel in Hebrew. When we use the term "scapegoat" today, we use it to describe an innocent person taking the blame for something he didn't do. We will read about this also concerning Christ. Goats belong to the same family, Bovidae, as sheep and their lambs. In fact for Passover, scripture allowed a goat to be used in place of a lamb (see Ex. 12:4-5). For the Atonement, the "scapegoat" is brought before the High Priest: "Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness." (Lev. 16:21-22). The scapegoat bears not only the burdens of the sins of the people, but it also serves the purpose of physically taking those sins away from the camp. It was later thought that the goat was pushed off a cliff in the wilderness, but as we can see, that was not part of God's original command to Moses regarding the scapegoat. There are some facts about goats that will help us to understand what is happening to the scapegoat here. Goats are not only heard animals for their defense, but they are extremely sociable animals. Buyers are warned never to buy just one goat, because the goat will not do well alone, and may pine away. Not only would this goat kid, or the scapegoat, be left alone in the wilderness, but the predators would surely begin to circle this distressed animal. In considering the connection of the scapegoat to Jesus, some believe that, at an event before His crucifixion, Jesus became the atonement goat, and Barabbas became the scapegoat, the one let loose (Mt. 27:15-21). However, the scapegoat is not let loose to freedom, but to certain death in the mouths of devourers in the wilderness. Isaiah prophesied of the suffering Messiah in this way: "All we like sheep (tso'n - sheep, cattle, goats, flocks) have gone astray; we have turned, every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isa. 53:6). And, "...He was numbered (mana - alloted, appointed, assigned, ordained) with the transgressors, and He bore (nasa - to carry away, take away, bear continuously, endure) the sins of many..." (Isa. 53:12, Lk. 22:37). Isaiah wrote that the Messiah would not suffer because of His own sins, but for the sins of others: "...For the transgressions of my people, He was stricken..." (v. 5, 8). At what point were all of our sins laid upon Jesus? Could it have been in the Garden of Gethsemane (meaning the olive press), when He asked His disciples to watch and pray? While there, scripture said that Jesus felt sorrowful and deeply distressed. He told His disciples that He was "exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death". The burden upon Him was so heavy and grievous that He sweated great drops of blood (Lk. 22:44-45, Mt. 26: 36-39). It was a terrible moment for Him to bear. Paul described the transfer of our sins to Christ this way: "For He (God) made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Cor. 5:21). As we know, Jesus was taken to a place outside the city gate, or outside the camp to suffer (Heb. 13:12-13). He was crucified at a place that is called Golgotha in Hebrew (Mt. 27:33). Scripture tells us that Golgotha means "skull". However, there is more to know. The root words for Golgotha are gulgolet, which means "head", and "to be numbered", and galal. Galal means "to transfer what is rolled away from oneself to another". Jesus became sin, as Paul wrote above, and as sin, He was placed on "the head", as was done with the scapegoat. In the prophetic Psalm 22, which describes in detail, the crucifixion of Christ long before it occurred, the Person being crucified compares His suffering to being attacked by wild animals (v. 12-13, 16, 20-21), as would happen to the lone scapegoat in the wilderness. Some of the root meanings of the animals described as attacking in the Psalm reflect demonic power, such as "mighty, angels, chiefest, fly with wings". The Hebrew word for the scapegoat is azazel. Azazel, according to Enoch in the Apocrypha, is one of the chief rebellious angels that defiled mankind in Gen. 6:2-4, subsequently consigned by God to the desert region and covered in darkness. This fallen angel is considered in rabbinical teaching to be the source of all impurity, and the personification of wickedness. How horrible for the scapegoat sent out on its own into this demonic territory! This seemingly defenseless goat kid alone in the wilderness, Who is our Messiah and Savior, drew in the devourers from all around Him. Paul wrote of this spiritual warfare with the darkest powers: "...having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it (the cross)." (Col. 2:14-15). Paul also wrote of this hidden wisdom and mystery: "...which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (1 Cor. 2:6-8). We see again as we read Psalm 22, and the gospels, the terrible isolation of our Scapegoat as He cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (see also Mt. 27:45-46), as the darkness rolled in upon Him. It is impossible to learn about the scapegoat without also considering the torturous, but victorious work of Christ on the cross as my sins were rolled over onto Him, and He became sin so I could have the righteousness of God. If you would like to learn more about Jesus as our Scapegoat, you can pray with me: "Lord Jesus, You, who had no sin, became sin for me. You faced the isolation and rejection, as You were sent out from our midst to carry our sins away. Forgive me, Lord, when I forget what You did for me in Your obedience to our Father. I thank You for being my Scapegoat, and I ask that Your work on the cross continue always in my life. Fill me with the Holy Spirit so I can continue in Your salvation. I ask these things in Your Name. AMEN."