The Scapegoat

By

Jeff L. Mills

The annual Sabbaths, or Holy Days, as observed by Israel before Christ’s appearance, were considerably different from the way we observe them today.

Each day had its own specific rites that were to be carried out in accordance with the instructions given to Moses by God. The rituals, as they were performed, were rich in symbology and pointed to events yet in the future that would someday come to pass.

After the coming of Christ and his atoning sacrifice for our sins, the observance of these days was changed by the establishment of the new covenant.

By examining the way these days were observed in the past, we can continue to learn and expand our knowledge of the profound significance of these days.

The Two Goats

Leviticus 16:5 And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.

6 And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.

7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

There are two important points that need to be noted here:

1) The goats that were to be used for sin offerings had to be perfect and without blemish Leviticus 4:28. We cannot know for sure that both of these goats were acceptable for the sacrifice, because scripture just does not go into that detail. We do know that one of them had to be perfect and without blemish because it was to represent Christ in the ceremony.

2) Jesus Christ led a perfect sinless life; we know that beyond all doubt. He made Atonement for us. Satan was perfect until iniquity was found in him Ezekiel 28:15. By the time this service was put into practice, God had already judged Satan and found fault with him. So, it is very probable, that one of these goats had some sort of flaw that was not apparent to the priest.

The Casting of Lots

Leviticus 16: 8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.

No man, not even the priest was qualified to make the selection between the two goats. Without God’s help, man could not make the distinction between the body of Christ and the things that are of Satan the devil.

And so it is with us, it is the indwelling of God’s spirit that allows us the discernment that is so vital to our Christian lives.

The ability to truly separate the things that are evil from those that are good is not always so easy; remember Satan can transform himself into an angel of light as we are told in 2 Corinthians.

It is very interesting that one of the terms, from the bible, that has endured in our society is this word scapegoat. In the form in which it is used in our society, one who is a scapegoat is actually relieved from guilt.

Webster’s New World Dictionary defines scapegoat as: a person, group, or thing that bears the blame for the mistakes or crimes of others, or for some misfortune due to another agency.

Once again, Satan fools man into believing that he does not exist, or is not responsible for the evil in this world. The word used here is Azazel; there is no correct translation for this word into English.

The word scapegoat is merely an interpretation. Some commentaries say it is another name for Satan and some say it is the name of a demon.

The point is that this Azazel is not a harmless, blameless entity that has falsely had blame placed upon it.

The Moffatt version renders the same verse as follows: Leviticus 16:8 Aaron shall cast lots over the goats, one lot for the Eternal and the other for Azazel the demon;

The Priest was a Type of Christ

Leviticus 16:9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.

15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:

16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

There is a situation here that occurred at no other time of the year. The priest entered the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the congregation of Israel.

The priest here was clearly serving as a type of Christ in this role, the blood of the sin offering representing Christ’s blood that he shed, to atone for our sins.

When the priest re-appeared, after cleansing the Holy of Holies, he now represented the risen Christ.

Leviticus 16:10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

20 And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:

21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

Here we see the priest, in serving as a type of Christ, placing sin back on the one who is responsible for it. Notice the priest confesses all the sins of Israel on the head of the goat. Showing that Satan is indeed responsible for all sin and God knows where sin comes from and who is responsible for it. Satan will not be held blameless; he will answer for what he has done.

In one commentary, I found an interesting comment about the confession of sins on the goat’s head; In later years as the Jewish church began to degenerate there was a set group of sins that were to be confessed over the goat by the priest. In the beginning, the priest had such an intimate relationship with the people (Israel) that he knew all their sins.

The Goat is Driven Out

Leviticus 16:21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

Notice the goat was to be sent away by the hand of a fit man. A righteous, or capable man, and the goat was to be driven into the uninhabited wilderness.

We can contrast this with Revelation 20:1-3:

1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

This fit man then must represent the angel who comes down and locks Satan away and the uninhabited wilderness the bottomless pit.

Conclusion

By examining the symbolic way in which these days were observed in the past, we can gain new insight into future events that are yet before us.

God laid out his plan of salvation for mankind and ordained annual days of observance to keep us constantly in remembrance of his plan.

What a wonderful loving Father we have!

Let us look forward to the fulfillment of The Day of Atonement when we will finally be at one with Christ and Satan will bear the full brunt of all the pain, sorrow, agony and suffering that he has caused upon all mankind.

 

All scriptures Authorized King James Version, unless otherwise noted.