This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Scapegoat! (WATCH HERE)
Leviticus 16:22 The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert.
The scapegoat would not make it back to the camp. The sins of the people had been transferred and the goat was led out into the desert to die…never to return and thus the sins of the people were never to return.
The picture was very clear, but was the impact?
I can’t speak for the nation of Israel at the time of Moses and the celebration of the Day of Atonement, but I can speak for myself and maybe you can relate.
Sin can be like a boomerang instead of a scapegoat.
There are things from the past that you know in your head that Jesus has taken away and forgiven, but Satan loves to bring them back to your mind and torment you once again with the guilt they carry. We can say, “Jesus takes my sin away” but inside feel like the sin is still very present and Jesus forgot that particular sin and left it with us. We can maybe even visualize our sin being transferred to Jesus as our scapegoat and watch him carry our sin away, only to run after the goat and grab onto the sin and not let go of it.
It’s hard to release sin and the guilt it causes. It becomes all too comfortable or common.
That’s why we need Jesus as our Scapegoat.
The symbolism of the scapegoat was to remind the people that the sin that had been transferred to it was removed forever. The person in charge of leading the scapegoat out to the wilderness was tasked with one thing. Remove the goat from the camp and thus every sin attached to it and MAKE SURE it does not wander back to the camp alive and thus bring the sin and guilt of the people back to them.
Jesus made sure that our sin was removed and would never come back. He left no doubt that sin was paid for when he died on the cross. He made sure the work was complete by the resurrection from the dead.
Because of Jesus, sin is not coming back. Once transferred to Jesus, Satan can trick us to believe that Jesus forgot to take away a sin or two, but the promise could not be clearer. Here’s how the Psalmist stated it in Psalm 103:9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Because of Jesus, our sin does not boomerang back. When it’s placed on him, he removes it forever. It’s not coming back!
Apply: What sin do you keep giving to Jesus, but then like to take back?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for taking my sin and removing it for good. AMEN.