SCAPEGOAT

Today's reading: Leviticus 16-18

"He is to lay both of his hands on the goat's head and confess over it all the sins and rebellion of the Israelites. In this way, he will lay the people's sins on the head of the goat then he will send it out into the wilderness, led by a man chosen for this task." Leviticus 16:21 NLT 

There's a good chance our ears would burn and turn red in shame to hear all that was spoken over the scapegoat used in Tabernacle times.

The sins of individuals, the sins of families, the sins of a nation bent upon desiring all God had to offer them and gathering up little gods along their travels.

There would be confessions of pride, anger, jealousy and lying.  There would be admissions of adultery, murder and stealing. There would be acknowledgements of regret over sins committed and practices disregarded.

Spoken out loud these sins would be called what they were, the ugliness of them would be exposed and the truth would be revealed.

And then the goat, being led by a selected individual, would be led out of the community and into the wilderness carrying all those sins upon him.

Verbal confession.

Visual association.

Audible acknowledgement.

Spiritual release.

God knew the value of it all and loved us enough to provide this opportunity to us through His Son, Jesus.