Leviticus 16:1-2, 11-22 THE SCAPEGOAT ES 21 Sep 14 1714
All of us has a scapegoat. We may not like the thought of it, but someone did become our scapegoat.
• This phrase appears in Leviticus 16 and finds its ultimate fulfilment in the NT, in Jesus Christ.
• That puts Leviticus 16 the most important chapter in this book. It describes the Day of Atonement.
• God has specifically designated ONE day in the year to be the Day of Atonement, when the sin of all Israel can be atone for.
Again this is the plan of God. He takes no delight in the death of a sinner.
• God seeks to redeem and save. He provides a way out for sinners to come home.
The Jewish name for this day is YOM KIPPUR. It’s the most important day for the Jews.
• It’s the 10th day of the 7th month (Tishri) in the Jewish calendar (Sep/Oct). For 2014 it’s Oct 3, beginning in the evening.
• It is the ONLY day of the year that the High Priest steps into the Holy of Holies and makes atonement for sins of all Israel.
Let’s look through the lens of Leviticus 16 and appreciate what God has done.
Read Lev 16:1-2, 11-22.
No one can come into God’s presence without regards to His holiness.
• Aaron’s sons died because they offered unauthorised fire (Lev 10). They stepped into God’s presence in sin.
• Where exactly is God’s presence? Exo 25:22 “There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.” In the Holy of Holies.
On the Day of Atonement, the High Priest steps in and seek atonement for the people. This is the ONLY time of the year he does that.
• So you can understand the significance of this day. Let’s look at it from these THREE angles – see the MAN, the MEANS and the MISSION of this day.
• The MAN of the day – the High Priest, the MEANS for atonement, and the PURPOSE achieved on this day.
The MAN is the HIGH PRIEST of that day. It was Aaron then, the first High Priest.
• He is the one and only person who can do this. The priests assist with all the sacrifices but only the High Priest can step in to plead with God.
• He is the MEDIATOR for the people, the only one. Israel needs him.
• There is no other. The High Priest is the only one appointed by God for this.
The very first thing Aaron did is to offer a sin offering to atone for his own sin.
• He will die like his sons, if sin is not atoned for. That’s why the High Priest’s robe has these bells - Exo 39:26 “The bells and pomegranates alternated around the hem of the robe to be worn for ministering, as the LORD commanded Moses.”
• There is also a rope that is tied around his ankle, so that the other priests will be able to pull him out if he falls dead.
This is the man Israel needs! This is the man we need. Our MEDIATOR. Someone who stands between us and God, to plead our case.
• Look at his breastpiece - Exo 39:14 “There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.”
• He has the people upon his heart; he represents the people and plead with God.
He is our ADVOCATE.
• Lev 16:21 says, “He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites - all their sins - and put them on the goat's head...”
Israel needs this High Priest, their mediator and advocate. Every year he is going to do this, until the final High Priest arrives.
Jesus Christ is our ultimate and final High Priest. He is our Mediator and Advocate.
• Hebrews 9:11 - 11When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation.
• 1 Tim 2:5-6 “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all men - the testimony given in its proper time.”
Jesus stands WITH us and FOR us. He is at the right hand of God interceding for us (Rom 8:34).
• If you have a picture of the Lord always watching over our shoulders, to catch us on a bad day and judge us for our sin, that picture is wrong.
• He is standing BY us and giving us His mercy and grace.
Hebrews 4:15-16 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
• He is able to sympathize with our weaknesses – meaning, He knows. And He tells the Father, “I’ve paid it all.”
• Therefore we won’t find judgement at His throne, only mercy and grace.
• They are free. Someone paid it. Each time we come, we receive more mercy and grace.
Now look at the MEANS of atonement – the two goats
Aaron brings two goats, one to be sacrificed and its blood was sprinkled on the Ark of the Covenant. A life has been paid for our sin.
The other goat was used as a scapegoat.
• Aaron placed his hands on its head, confessed over it all the sins of the Israelites, and sent the goat out into the wilderness.
• The goat dies in the wilderness and never to return. It is out of sight.
• The people understands that sin is removed far away and never to be seen.
Sin is PAID FOR and REMOVED. Jesus Christ achieved BOTH of these on the cross – He PAID for our sin and REMOVED it for good.
• Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
• Heb 8:12 “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
• Heb 10:17-18 “Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more." 18And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.”
I’ve heard people says God will judge us for all our bad deeds on earth. There will be a playback of our sin in heaven (for all to see?).
• This is not biblical. God is not going to judge you for your sin again.
• What we are accountable is our stewardship – how have we been using God gifts – time, talents, money, resources, and opportunities – and putting them to good use in His Kingdom. (The parable of the talents)
God is not going to judge you for your sin again. It is finished, Jesus said.
That’s the MISSION – the PURPOSE for the D-Day of Atonement!
Lev 16:30 “… this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins.”
This is the objective of the Day of Atonement, for the Israelites, repeated every year, but finally by Christ, for good and for all mankind.
• Heb 9:12 “He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
• 2 Cor 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
God is determined to make us whole. We know He is because He provided the Lamb, and that’s is His own Son.
• He is determined to clean you and make you whole, so that we can all be with Him. It’s as simple as that.
Our response: (1) Be quick to repent, and (2) be firm in believing.
• Sin is our main problem, not sickness and poverty. Many pulpits addresses these as if they are man’s greatest problems. They are not. Be quick to repent.
• And believe you are righteous in Christ! Don’t focus on your sin; focus on the sin-bearer. You believe right and you will do right.
It is not easy for us to feel that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
• Many struggle with this because they cannot accept themselves. They know their own weaknesses and they feel lousy about themselves.
• We need to BELIEVE it. Believe that you are and you will live like it. Believe that you are the son of the King and you will live like a Prince.
• It is a faith issue. Start BELIEVING God. Take God’s verdict as final and effective. Believe right and that will cause you to live right.
Let’s show the world what Christ has done for us!
A tourist who had visited a church in Norway said that he was surprised to see the carved figure of a lamb near the top of the church’s tower.
He learned that when the church was being built, a workman fell from a high scaffold. His co-workers rushed down, expecting to find him dead. But to their surprise and joy, he was alive and only slightly injured.
How did he survive? A flock of sheep was passing beneath the tower at the time, and he landed on top of a lamb. The lamb broke his fall and was crushed to death, but the man was saved.
To remember that miraculous escape, someone carved a lamb on the tower at the exact height from which the workman fell.
Are you grateful to the Lamb that was slain? If you are, leave a mark.
• Leave a legacy that will tell the next generation that you have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
• Point them to Christ. That will be the best mark we can leave behind.
