Tuesday, February 1, 2011

leviticus 15-17

The day of atonement and the use of a scapegoat are central parts of this reading.  The concept of the scapegoat has long intrigued me and I have watched as we have culturally used this concept for centuries. Read the papers today and we are looking for a scapegoat.  If the economy is bad, we want to blame the government, big banks or the stock market.  One of the popular comedians (Flip Wilson) of a couple of decades ago used to blame his bad behavior on other forces by saying, "the devil made me do it!"  Scapegoats allow us to place the blame for our own sins and faults on the head of another and avoid personal responsibility.  God made a way for Israel to do exactly that by instituting the Day of Atonement and the imposition of sin on the head of the scapegoat.  Interesting that of the two goats used on the day in that ceremony, it was the scapegoat that lived (although banished to the wilderness) and the other sacrificed on the altar to atone for the sins of the people and to make them again at one with God.

Who is your scapegoat?  How do you expect to be made one with God?  From the time of the fall (Adam & Eve), we have been separated from our Creator by the vast expanse of sin that keeps us from being at one with him.  In the Levitical system of sacrifice God made a way through the use of sacrifice for the sins of the people to be forgiven.  In Christ, God gives us the perfect sacrifice, a lamb without blemish.  His sacrifice upon the cross eliminates the need for the sacrificial system.  God has made a way for all who will receive Jesus as their savior.....he has become both our scapegoat and the sacrifice upon the altar.  His blood covers our sins and he has carried them to the sea of forgetfulness, cast them in, never to be remembered again (wilderness).  We are freed from the wages of death, freed from guilt and freed to live in the fullness of God's love and blessing.  Christ has provided a better way!!  Hallelujah......amen!!

Hope you are staying in, staying safe, staying warm.  We hope to board a plane tomorrow afternoon and return to KC, Grain Valley and home tomorrow night.  Hoping that the snow and wind have subsided, the highway department has done their best work and our driveway is not drifted so much that we can't get in.  Love to you all.....see you on Sunday.

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