“And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.

Leviticus 16

“And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness. Leviticus 16:20-22

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing chapter fourteen - God Forgives and Removes Sin - covering Leviticus 16:1-34, looking specifically at the fourth theme for the chapter - God Offers Removal of Sin.  Here, the commentary zeroes in on v20-22 and the offering of the live goat, which is described as a sacrifice unique to the Day of Atonement as "[i]t appears only here in Leviticus 16."  The commentary starts with a brief examination of "azazel" (which appears four times in Leviticus 16), and while we cannot walk away with anything definitive regarding the definition of azazel, we are encouraged to see how the live goat sacrifice served as a scapegoat - a term first used by 16th century Bible translator William Tyndale.  The goat, according to the commentary in its discussion of v20-22, "would bear the sins of others....all of [the Israelites sin] was placed on the scapegoat when the priest laid his hands on his head."  Of course, for believers Jesus is the perfect sacrifice for our sins. The commentary wraps today by referring us to Psalm 103:12 as one of many scriptural examples of how Christ removes sin:

...[A]s far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who was a perfect sacrifice - taking all of my sin from me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such amazing grace.  My sin continues...worry, etc. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.  

Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses....Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around....And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat.

Leviticus 16

 Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses....Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around....And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. Leviticus 16:16, 18, and 20

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - starting chapter fourteen - God Forgives and Removes Sin - covering Leviticus 16:1-34, looking specifically at the first theme for the chapter - Sin Defiles Us and Our Environment.  Here, in this chapter of Leviticus, which the commentary refers to as perhaps "the central chapter of [Leviticus]," we see a description of Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement for the Jewish religion. The commentary describes how "[o]n that day, the most sacred person entered the most sacred space and performed the most sacred worship ceremonies."  Looking at the theme specifically for today, the commentary focuses on v16, 18, and 20 and God's commands to Moses and Aaron to make atonement for the holy place itself. The commentary responds to the question we might have on our minds: if the holy place - an inanimate object - did not sin, then why is atonement required for the holy place.  The commentary writes that sometimes when we sin in a place, "we associate wrong with that place...and every time we go back to back to the place where we committed that wrong or every time we even think of that place, we feel the guilt all over again....The tabernacle had done nothing wrong.  Nevertheless, the people came there all year with their sins and offered sacrifices in that space to atone for them.  They associated that place with their sin.  It was supposed to be a holy place, but their sin made it dirty....Sin defiles us and our environment."

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God, worthy of full surrender, submission, and white-hot worship.  You died on the cross for me so that I could have not just atonement, but life to the full now and eternal life!  Thank You Jesus!  Yet I am completely undeserving of this and the grace You pour out for me daily. I worry and I have other sins.  Please forgive me.  Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.