THE SCAPEGOAT
As I drive down the hill on my way home from work I often gaze upon the mountain of Azazel, known as Gebel Muntar in Arabic. This conical mountain, the highest in the area, lies about 10km southeast of Jerusalem in the barren Judean Desert. It is to this mountain the 'scapegoat' bearing all the sins of the people of Israel was banished on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).
Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 He shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 8 Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.
And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. 21 Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. 22 The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.
Leviticus 16: 6-10, 20-22
View of Judean Desert as seen from the top of Mt Azazel
This extremely dry and barren desert land which is still largely unchanged from Biblical times is steeped in myth and mystery, as is the word Azazel itself. Azazel has become a swearword in modern Hebrew: lech l'azazel meaning 'go to hell'. Thus Azazel has come to mean Hell. In the times of the Temple the scapegoat was led out into the desert, the sins of Israel laid upon it, and it was cast over the steep cliffs on the east of the mountain to its death. In the Zohar and the Apocryphal literature Azazel is identified as a fallen angel or even as a demonic god.
However it seems to me that the real meaning is simpler. This word Azazel is probably the combination of two Hebrew words 'Az meaning goat, and 'azal' a primitive root used mainly in poetry meaning simply 'to go'. We still use this root in modern Hebrew. I would say 'Col ha'lehem azal' meaning 'all the bread has gone (as in run out)'. If this is correct then Azazal simply would mean 'the goat that has gone out'. Thus the word usually translated into English as 'scapegoat' simply means the 'goat that has gone out' into the desert.
In the passage above we can see that God commanded three sacrifices to be carried out on the Day of Atonement. The first was that of a bull which was to be sacrificed for atonement for the sins and uncleanness of the High Priest and his family. Then one goat was to be sacrificed by fire to the LORD for the purification of the Holy Place, the Tabernacle and the Altar. Then the second goat was to be sent off alive into the desert bearing the sins of Israel.
I see this second goat, the live goat bearing the sins of Israel, as a prophetic forerunner of the Messiah, who though he was cast into the wilderness of death, lived before God and carried away the sins of Israel and all the world.
Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— 26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
Hebrews 9: 23-28
Whatever the case, we are now preparing for the Day of Atonement, or Yom Hakippurim, which begins on Tuesday night. Since the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD the bull and the goats are no longer sacrificed.
Yom Kippur is a time when all Israel stops. For 26 hours no cars move on the roads, except for emergency vehicles. All places of work are closed, except hospitals. Most people fast, eating no food nor water, and many gather in the synagogues for special services. There are 5 prayer services held during the course of the day. It is the most solemn day of the Hebrew calendar and one which has retained its sanctity in spite of the pressures of modern consumerism. A hush falls over the land. It is a time for reflection and introspection. A time to repent before God for the sins we have committed. A time for returning to God.
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| Yom Kippur in Jerusalem http://igoogledisrael.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/YomKippurJerusalem2.jpg |
Please pray with me that all Israel will turn back to God, seek his Truth and his Messiah, this year. Time is running out (azal)! Israel is facing threats more severe than any it has ever faced before - including the Holocaust. We are sitting on a time bomb and the clock is ticking. At any moment the tension could escalate to full-out war. And the song that keeps resonating in my head is ' I wish we'd all been ready....".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9mETkfC7xQ
Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
Matthew 24: 42
This week has been a tense one here in Israel. On Wednesday a rocket fired from Gaza landed in the town of Sderot. It landed in the street in front of the house of the Mayor and just meters away from a school. For some reason the rocket interception system failed to bring it down, but praise the LORD that He steered it away from the school. The following day Israeli forces bombed several Hamas targets in Gaza.
Yesterday, Sunday, a 60 year old woman and a 29 year old policeman were killed when a terrorist opened fire on a bus stop and nearby cars on a major arterial road located on Ammunition Hill. Five others were injured and the terrorist was shot dead as he was attempting to flee into the neighboring Arab village of Sheikh Jarrah. This terrorist had links to Hamas and was about to go to jail for assaulting a police officer on another occasion.
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| Levana Melihi and Yossi Kirma , victims of yesterday's terror attack http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4864763,00.html |
Tension is very high in the city during these holy days, and thousands of police are patrolling the danger points. The West Bank is closed off except for humanitarian emergencies but many Arabs in the city, like yesterday's terrorist, have Israeli citizenship and can therefore move freely around the country. Please pray we can get through the rest of the High Holy Days without any further terror attacks. It is very hard, almost impossible, to anticipate and prevent these 'lone wolf' attacks.
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| Prayers at the Western Wall on Yom Kippur http://st.depositphotos.com/1009778/2727/i/950/depositphotos_27273603-Wailing-wall-in-jerusalem.jpg |
