RPG Adults
THE GOAT INTO THE WILDERNESS!
FRIDAY, MAY 24
Leviticus 16
Romans 5:6-12
“It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you,
and ye shall afflict your souls,
by a statute for ever.”
THE GOAT INTO THE WILDERNESS!
Two goats were prepared for the Day of Atonement. Aaron was to cast lots to decide which of the two goats would be the LORD’s lot and which would be the scapegoat. The goat that was the LORD’s lot would be offered as a sin offering unto the LORD. The scapegoat would be presented alive before the LORD to make an atonement with him, and to let him go as a scapegoat into the wilderness (cf. Lev 16:8-10).
The sin offering was for the people of Israel. It was for the purification of their sins. The blood of this goat would be sprinkled before the mercy seat within the Holy of Holies. This signified the mercies of the LORD upon Israel as she witnessed for the LORD in the Land. The people were holy and they had to repent and remove every known sin in their lives, within and without.
After the completion of the sacrifices (i.e. they had made an end of reconciling the holy place and the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar), the scapegoat would be brought before the LORD. The scapegoat would be sent away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. Before the sending away of the scapegoat, Aaron would lay both his hands upon the head of the goat and confess all the iniquities, transgressions and sins of the children of Israel. The symbolic significance was that all the sins of Israel were now laid on the scapegoat. As the fit man led the scapegoat into the wilderness, Israel saw all her sins removed from the midst of Israel because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as all the animal sacrifices represented.
This was God’s way of letting His people know that all their sins had been forgiven and He would remember them no more. They would be holy in His eyes. The picture of the doctrines of salvation and sanctification was represented by this removal of the scapegoat after the Levitical sacrifices were completed on the Day of Atonement. Every day of the believer’s life is a Day of Atonement.
MEMORISATION: Leviticus 16:21
PRAYER: Forgive me, Father, for my sins, in Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.