“Then he [the high priest] shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil…sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat.” – Leviticus 16:15
Of the many prophetic elements on the Day of Atonement, one stands out. Two healthy goats without defects were chosen; they were therefore fit to represent sinless perfection, perhaps in spite of the protests of animal rights activists.
This first goat was a sin offering.
The high priest slaughtered this innocent goat, which acted as a substitute for the sinners who rightly deserved a violently bloody death for their many sins. He then sprinkled some of its blood on the mercy seat on top of the Ark of the Covenant inside the Holy of Holies.
The goat was no longer innocent when it took the guilt of sin; it was a sin offering for the people (Lev. 16:15).
Subsequently, its blood represented life given as payment for sin. The dwelling place of God was thus cleansed of the defilement that resulted from all the transgressions and sins of the people of Israel, and God’s just and holy wrath was satisfied.
Theologically, we call this the doctrine of propitiation, whereby God’s wrath is propitiated (or taken from us) because of Jesus so that we are no longer under God’s wrath.
In tomorrow’s devotional we will look at what the priest does with the second goat.
Take some time to reflect on all that God has saved you from through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
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