When he finishes atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat into the wilderness.
Leviticus 16:20-22
This was a section of scripture discussed this morning in church. The pastor asked us to imagine ourselves as one of the Israelites, watching Aaron describe all the people's sins as his hands are on the scapegoat. I can imagine feeling painfully ashamed. Aaron knows everyone of my sins, and he says them out loud for the whole community to hear. But by placing them on the goat, the goat takes the sins into the wilderness, never to be seen again. God gave the Israelites a vivid picture of how God forgave them. Though they are full of shame and sin, God removes that sin from us forever, never to be thought of by Him again.
Pastor said that the sacrifice that accompanies this scapegoat is for broken people. I was comforted by that idea, because I know today more than ever that I am so broken. I need that sacrifice to bring me back to God. In fact, this sacrifice is called the atonement sacrifice-- making us at-one with God once again.
I wrote the following satirical nursery rhyme earlier this week, but Blogger would publish for some reason. It relates to this message, in a way:
A student named Ruthie sat on a wall.
This student named Ruthie had a great fall.
And none of her teachers and none of her friends
could put broken Ruthie together again.
Although I feel broken beyond repair, God forgives my sins so that I can come back to Him. |
Name: Ruthie