Scapegoat
This is not something we hear a lot about in our culture, but I think it is present, nonetheless. In the past I have been one who shift the blame from myself instead of owning my mistakes and my faults and putting the blame on someone else or even my circumstances. I have also been the recipient of another person doing this same practice to me.
In the Old Testament law, the scapegoat was a sign that the sins of the people were put upon this goat and it was driven a long way from the community to symbolize the removal of their sins. The people of Israel were still at Mt. Sinai where they received the 10 Commandments along with the other laws that were to govern them as a nation. They were no longer just one big family, they were now a nation. Through some of these laws, it’s easy to see why the plan was for the Son of God, Jesus to come and rescue humanity. Check this out….
20 “When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place and the Tabernacle and the altar, he must present the live goat. 21 He will lay both of his hands on the goat’s head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people’s sins to the head of the goat. Then a man specially chosen for the task will drive the goat into the wilderness. 22 As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will carry all the people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land. (Leviticus 16:20-22 NLT)
When I read about the sacrifices for sin, it is disturbing to me the amount of death to the animals that were directed under the old law. I feel a bit sorry for the scapegoat who was minding his own business when he was chosen to be removed from the herd and the community. At least he wasn’t the goat chosen to be sacrificed for the purification of the tabernacle.
Jesus became my scapegoat. He took on the sins of all humanity so that we can stand before the Lord clean and pure. Jesus took our sins to the cross. I have never deserved that kind of love and that depth of forgiveness. I’m like the Apostle Paul – I don’t understand why I do what I do sometimes. It’s like I’m crucifying Jesus all over again when I act according to my “flesh” instead of the Holy Spirit. I’m thankful for my Scapegoat – Jesus. I’m thankful that He forgives me completely and in fact, He uses someone like me to invite others to this freedom He brings. His grace is truly amazing and hard to imagine or understand – but it is His gift to me and the rest of the world.
Pressing On!
Dwayne