Acharei Mot/Kedoshim (Leviticus 16:1 – 20:27)
“Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. Aaron will then cast lots for the two goats – one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat. Aaron is to present the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell and make it a sin offering. But the goat upon which the lot for the scapegoat fell is to be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, by sending it away as the scapegoat into the wilderness” (Leviticus 16:7-10).
This double portion contains the heart of the holiness code. The Lord, through Moses, provides not only spiritual direction as regards faithful conduct among his people, but he also informs as to the proper manner by which his people will “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Lev. 19:18). The essence, and therefore the heart, of these chapters concerns how a forgiven people are to live in forgiveness before the Lord and with each other.
Forgiveness is the antithesis of revenge; as it excuses conduct, and the consequences thereof, which has caused harm. The message of the New Covenant is focused on forgiveness. Messiah Jesus exposes the difficulty of forgiveness by the human heart and mind when he explains, “For if you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions (Matt. 6:14-15; cf. Matt. 6:12; 18:15-35). Genuine, from the heart, forgiveness is undoubtedly a struggle, as evidenced by these conditional statements of Messiah Jesus.
Yet, the Lord did not direct us to an impossibility of forgiveness in and from our heart. He expects forgiveness to be an action of faithing toward him as we extend his grace and mercy toward others. What we extend, in actuality, is what we have received from him on our own behalf – forgiveness.
The Torah portion of Acharei Mot (after the death) reveals an ancient picture of forgiveness, in language that humanity can understand – the service of the Day of Atonement (the Day of Coverings). While the intricacies of that day are beyond the scope of this devotional, the picture of the two goats show in type what Messiah would reveal in fullness.
The two goats used on the Day of Atonement, as much as possible, were to be the same in size, age and coloring. The Lord is revealing in these two the reality that would later come in the One substitutionary sacrifice. By lot the goats would be identified: one for the Lord, the other for the scapegoat. The one for the Lord would be brought before the Tent of Meeting and offered as a sin offering on behalf of the children of Israel (Lev. 16:15). The guilt of the children of Israel would have been symbolically placed upon the head of the goat as a sin offering, and with its death, the sin it carried would die with it, thereby covering these sins before the Lord. The innocent dying on behalf of the guilty. The death of the substitutionary sacrifice was only half of the picture presented.
The goat for the wilderness also had the sins of Israel placed upon it (Lev. 16:21). This goat, before the eyes of all present, would carry the sins of Israel deep into the wilderness, far from the camp (Lev. 16:22). While the atonement happened in the solitude of the Holy of Holies, in the presence of the Living God alone, the scapegoat would be led away into the great unknown, with its ultimate welfare lost to history, a mystery noted widely among Rabbinic and Christian scholars. The sins of the people were removed from them, sent to an unknown place, lost and to be forgotten, as David writes, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His mercy for those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:11-12).
In the fullness of time, the Father in Heaven would send his Son (Jn. 3:16) to be the substitutionary sacrifice for sin, justifying those trusting on him, imputing his righteousness to the account of those being delivered – salvation by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9). What could only be imagined in the picture of the two goats was fully realized in Messiah. As the author of Hebrews explains, “The Law has a shadow of the good things to come – not the form itself of the realities. For this reason it can never, by means of the same sacrifices they offer constantly year after year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers – cleansed one and for all – would no longer have consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices is a reminder of sins year after year – for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 10:1-4). This cleansing takes place through the offering of Messiah (10:10), which cleanses the conscience of the renewed man, “So let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and body washed with pure water” (10:22).
Forgiveness in the life of faith is possible because, before the offense was committed, Messiah died for it – as he died once for all sin. As we, by the power of the Holy Spirit walk in forgiveness by faith, we walk out the picture portrayed by the Day of Atonement, pointing to the One in whom it was realized, to demonstrate that it is not we who now live, but Messiah in us, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). And if it is not we who live, it was not we who suffered the offense. This reality is a deep mystery. Forgiveness, and the circumstance from which it arises, is an opportunity for us to trust his grace and mercy more. Can we walk out the picture of the scapegoat, carrying that trespass away, knowing that the Lord had already suffered the loss for which we mourn, thus allowing forgiveness to be realized?
To walk in forgiveness we must: 1) have received the mercy of forgiveness through Christ, 2) recognize the fallen condition of man, 3) recognize the continuing influence of sin in and around our lives (the schemes of the devil), 4) recognize that Christ died for the sinner, 5) leave justice in the hands of the Lord, 6) choose the Kingdom of God above our own kingdom and its justice, and 7) rely on the joy of the Lord in every circumstance.
By walking in forgiveness, we fulfill the action of love demanded in Leviticus 19:18 and by Messiah Jesus to his glory.
“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” CS Lewis
Be well, shalom;
Dr. J.D. Elwell