Lev 16:22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
There is a strange ceremony associated with the Hebrew Holiday of Yom Kippur. This unusual ceremony is only mentioned in one chapter in the Book of Leviticus. During Yom Kippur, the High Priest chose two (2) goats, one goat was chosen by lot to be slain, and its blood was taken into the Holy of Holies, then its blood was sprinkled on the Ark of the Covenant for a sin offering to cover all the sins of the people in Israel for one year.
…now these lots, as Ben Gersom observes, were alike, not one greater than another; and they were of the same matter, for if one had been of stone and the other of wood, they might, have been known by feeling, and so the lots would not have been legal: and the same is observed by Maimonides (b), that though they might be of any matter, of wood, or stone, or metal, yet one might not be great, and the other small, and the one of silver, and the other of gold, but both alike, for the reason before given: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible.
The second goat is also chosen by lot, it is called the “Azazel” or SCAPEGOAT, it was sent away into the wilderness after the High Priest laid both his hands on its head and confessed over him all the sins of the children of Israel.
SCAPEGOAT: H5799, ‛ăzâ'zêl, az-aw-zale'
From H5795 and H235; goat of departure; the scapegoat: - scapegoat.
For the scapegoat - Rather, for Azazel. The word occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament but in this chapter, and is probably derived from a root in use in Arabic, but not in Hebrew, signifying to “remove”, or “to separate”. Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible.
The Jews have come up with some very strange ideas about the “scapegoat”. However, the word “scapegoat” has historically been used as a colloquial expression that refers to a patsy, or a sucker, somebody who is held guilty for an act for which they are actually innocent. I believe this is the correct definition of the word according to the Bible.
It appears that the death of one goat, and the release of another goat alive, is a reenactment of the Exodus from Egypt. We read that on the night of Passover all the first born of Egypt, both animals and people, were slain by the Angel of Death, while all the children of Israel were saved alive and then expelled into the wilderness by the Egyptians.
Exo 12:29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
Exo 12:30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
Exo 12:31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said.
Exo 12:32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.
Exo 12:33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.
I believe that this ceremony with the two (2) goats is an allegory of something far, far more significant. You might think that I see allegories everywhere in the Bible…and you would be correct. However, when I see an allegory, I am not finding one story in the Bible and making up an elaborate doctrine out of whole cloth, I usually see the same allegory repeated over and over again throughout the entire Bible.
In the story of Isaac and Ishmael, Sarah tells Abraham to send Ishmael into the wilderness. Abraham is grieved because of the harshness of his wife’s order, but Abraham is told not to worry because Ishmael will be provided for by God.
Gen 21:12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Gen 21:13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.
Gen 21:14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
Later, God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah.
Gen 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
Gen 22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Through the actions of Abraham via his two sons, we can recognize the ceremony of the two goats. We read that God tells Abraham to send one son into the wilderness, and then God orders Abraham to sacrifice his other son. Looking at both these unusual orders from our human perspective, we could probably say that God was being overly harsh to Abraham and his sons. However, when we look at God’s orders from the big picture of the entire Bible, we begin to see that God is unveiling the story of salvation to Abraham and to us. Jesus said that Abraham had prophetic knowledge about the plan of salvation thousands of years before Jesus was born.
Joh 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
We also see the symbolism of the two “goats” in the story of Jacob and Esau. Jacob steals Esau’s birthright by putting “goat” skin on his arms in order to deceive his Father Isaac. Then later, Isaac must flee into the wilderness to escape the wrath of his brother Esau.
Gen 27:15 And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:
Gen 27:16 And she put the skins of the kids of the GOATS upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:
How about the story of David and Jonathan?
1Sa 18:3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
1Sa 18:4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.
Jonathan is a prince of Israel and would have been the future King of Israel if his father Saul had not lost the kingdom because of rebellion against the word of God. Jonathan makes a covenant with David, God’s anointed king, before David flees into the wilderness. Later, when Jonathan is slain by the Philistines, David describes Jonathan as his brother.
2Sa 1:25 How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.
2Sa 1:26 I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.
Therefore, we see the story of the two goats repeated, one person flees into the wilderness, while another person is slain. Next, we see in all four Gospels, the people are given a choice of clemency between Jesus and a man named BARABBAS.
Mat 27:15 Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.
Mat 27:16 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.
Mat 27:17 Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?
The interpretation of BARABBAS is son (bar) of the (abbas) father.
BARABBAS: G912, Barabbas
Barabbas = “son of a father or master”
- the captive robber whom the Jews begged Pilate to release instead of Christ.
Barabbas's name appears as bar-Abbas in the Greek texts of the gospels. It is derived ultimately from the Aramaic בר-אבא, Bar-abbâ, "son of the father". Some ancient manuscripts of Matthew 27:16–17 have the full name of Barabbas as "Jesus Barabbas" and this was probably the name as originally written in the text. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barabbas
We recognize the story of the two goats yet again, the people are given a choice to release one prisoner and to slay another prisoner. The people choose to slay Jesus, the Son of God, and they choose to release Barabbas, the “son of the father”. Do you recognize the similarity between the story of Jesus and Barabbas, and the strange ceremony performed at Yom Kippur with two goats as outlined in the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus?
I believe this ceremony of the two goats during Yom Kippur is even more significant to the saints living in these last days. The ceremony of the two goats will be enacted on a grand scale during the great tribulation according to the Book of Revelation.
We see the story of the two goats reflected by two groups of saints in the Book of Revelation. One group of saints will flee into the wilderness, and will be protected from the Satan by God.
Rev 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Rev 12:13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
Rev 12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Rev 12:15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
Rev 12:16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
Rev 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Another group of saints will pay the ultimate price for their testimony, and for their refusal to take the mark of the beast, by being martyrs for Jesus Christ.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Thus, God illustrates via the ceremony of the two goats the price that EVERYONE must pay for sin: SEPARATION and DEATH. The penalty for the unrepentant sinner is death and separation from God, while the penalty for the saint of God is death and separation from the world.
Joh 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
Joh 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Joh 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
As the last days saints of God mature, and as we are conformed more and more into the image of Jesus Christ, the difference between the children of God versus the children of this fallen world should become more and more obvious. I suspect that violent persecution by the world will increase exponentially as Jesus Christ is manifested more and more in the sons of God. It may seem a difficult choice whether to be a martyr or to flee into the wilderness, but Jesus died to give us the gift of eternal life. Listen to the admonition of Moses before he died!
Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore CHOOSE LIFE, that both thou and thy seed may live:
Deu 30:20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
If God gives us a choice, sometimes it is much more difficult to live for Christ than to die for Christ…CHOOSE LIFE!
There is one choice which we must all make; and if that choice is once well made, it will very much secure all other choices, for the reason why we so often choose badly is because we have failed in that one great choice of all.
I. "Therefore choose life." Why "therefore"? (1) Because the option rests with yourself. You are free to take which you will. (2) Because the alternative is tremendous, and there is no middle space; it must be life or death. (3) Because life is everything. All that is worth having in this world or the next is in that word "life." "Therefore choose life."
II. What is life? (1) The source of life was originally the breath of God. That life was lost when man fell, but only lost to make way for a better restoration. Sermon Bible Commentary.