The goat for Azazel is sent into the wilderness after the
high priest has laid hands on the head of the goat to transfer the sins of the
nation to the goat. A man leads the goat
into the wilderness and sets it free there and then all come and wash
themselves who have had contact with the goat.
This is not because goats are particularly dirty, this is a ceremonial
washing because the sin of the people is defilement to the hands of all who
touch the goat. All that has occurred
this day requires Aaron to strip off all his clothes in the tent of meeting and
bathe completely, he has contracted defilement vicariously through atoning for
the sins of the people. It is a day of
fasting and mourning by the people that such is necessary because of their
sins. In Jesus we see exactly the
opposite, people who touched Him, even the fringe of His garment, were made
clean in the encounter. At the cross,
every sin on Him was laid and He bore away our defilement. The goat's disappearance symbolized the
putting away of sin forever, just as Jesus' sacrifice puts ours away.
What does it mean to pray for the coming of the kingdom on
earth as it is in heaven? We can be
anxious for its coming when we pray. We can
be fearful for its coming. We can be
disappointed that it does not come. Our
prayer should include the idea of the coming of the kingdom in us and that the
river of living water would flow not only in us but through us to all with whom
we come into contact. That river flows
by forgiveness, first in receiving and then forgiving others as we are
forgiven. When we fail to forgive others
we stop the flow to us. Our forgiveness
is contingent on dispensing grace to others.
The kingdom of God has more to do with grace and mercy than anything
else. The entire sacrificial system of
the Old Testament was based on grace, God's desire not to hold sin against the
people. Yom Kippur is a day of mourning
but also of joy in forgiveness. Let us
not take that principle of grace for granted.
Paul says that if you have received grace, received
salvation from Jesus, your life should look different. We should be always prepared to greet the
coming of the king to establish His eternal kingdom. Unlike Israel, we don't have to wait for the
Day of Atonement each year, the Day of Atonement was Good Friday when Jesus
died once, for all, on the cross. The sacrifice
to end all sacrifices was made on that day and we can know our sins are
forgiven as we confess and repent. Repentance
is the change of life to turn away from those things we have just
confessed. Paul tells the Thessalonians
that they have received grace to become new creations, and life is mean to
reflect that change in status. Jesus may
have disappeared into the heavens but we know where He is, He is interceding
for us at the right hand of the Father.
No comments:
Post a Comment