READING: Leviticus 14:33-16:34
I don’t remember for certain the first time I ever heard the word “scapegoat,” but I think it was a vocabulary word in middle school English class. The definition? “Somebody blamed for somebody else’s wrong.” As I recall (it’s been a long time since my middle school days. . .), it could be someone wrongly accused or someone who willingly took the blame to protect someone else. What I know for sure is that I learned this word before I had ever heard the good news of Jesus.
Imagine my surprise the first time I read Leviticus 16, and I read the word “scapegoat”—in the King James Version, the first version of the Bible I ever read. I had not been a Christian long (though I had been a believer long enough to be in the book of Leviticus in my Bible reading), and the teachings of the Bible were fresh, alive, and exciting. Every day it seemed I learned something new that was really cool to know. . . . like, this image of God’s carrying away my sin as He forgives me through the shed blood of His Son, the Lamb of God.
I was 13 at the time of my conversion, but I had already been involved in enough sin that this simple picture meant a lot to me. It would be years later that this image would come to life even more when I learned of more biblical images of God’s removing my sin:
- “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” (Psa 103:12)
- “You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!” (Mic 7:19)
Today, I am a forgiven man. A grateful man. God has paid the price for my sin and removed it from me.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: Have you experienced this gracious forgiveness and cleansing God offers you? If not, turn to Him today.
TODAY’S PRAYER: “God, I am humbled by Your grace. In turn, I want to please You today with all my life.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Leviticus 17:1-19:37