1 Chronicles 16:9 (ESV/emphasis added/jaj)...."Sing to Him, Sing Praises to Him; Tell of All His Wondrous Works!"....
PJP2 PROLOG POST 160218 Leviticus 16:20-22 (NIV/emphasis added/jaj)....“When Aaron has Finished Making Atonement for The Most Holy Place, The Tent of Meeting and The Altar, he Shall Bring Forward The Live Goat. He is to lay both hands on The Head of The Live Goat And CONFESS over it ALL the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—ALL their sins—And Put them On The Goat’s Head. He Shall Send The Goat Away Into The Wilderness in the Care of Someone Appointed for The Task. The Goat Will Carry on Itself ALL their sins To A Remote Place; and the man Shall Release It in The Wilderness."....
This Passage Of the Word Select (POWS) brings to mind our current Lenten Season. You may recognize that Leviticus 16:20-22 is YAHWEH giving Moses the Instructions for employment of The Scapegoat. As noted, The Scapegoat would 'carry on itself All their sins'.
Thus I am Hearing The Holy Spirit Share two correlations with me in connection to our Lord Jesus Christ - (1) Jesus is our Once and for All Scapegoat; (2) His 40-days in The Wilderness (Matthew 4:1-10) could well represent His Being Prepared to Be our Scapegoat.
I can only imagine when the Scapegoat was led out into that remote place by the 'Caretaker', then released on its own, that Scapegoat had to be wild with fear. Perhaps there was a momentary thought in its beastly noggin' that, "Wow, I am Free! I can run where I want, kick up my heels, do whatever. Outstanding!" But then, there would have to be some moment when the reality may set in that, "Yikes, I am flat out on my own here. Where's my nice bed of straw? Where's my Caretaker to bring me my needed nourishment? Where's the water trough, I am getting a bit thirsty? What's that sound? Sounds like a predator who's starting to stalk me....HELP!"
Look at what our Lord Jesus said as recorded by Mark (15:34/ESV) - "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, Lena sabachthani?'...which means, 'My God, My God, Why have You forsaken Me?'"
As I let this soak in, I can only say, I know full well that in how I've lived my life, had our Lord Jesus not have Come and Agreed to Be God's Scapegoat in my place, carrying all my sin, there would be no Hope for me.
Then there's 'The Wilderness' Journey that our Lord Jesus takes (Matthew 4:1-10). I find it very interesting that The Word Says, "Then The Holy Spirit Led Jesus into The Wilderness to be tempted."....Now granted our Lord Jesus' Wilderness Journey was at least three years prior to His Passion. Yet the Word does not really share with us what went on, or what Jesus was doing/thinking during those 40-days. We do know that towards the end of the 40-days, the evil one took his best shot at breaking Jesus down. However, that's a thought for another reflection. For today's entry, let me simply say, I have to ponder if God The Father, His Holy Spirit, and our Lord Jesus, God's Son, we're both discussing man's Need for a Once and For All Eternal Scapegoat, as well as Preparing Jesus by Encouragement and Strengthening Him to Meet His Lifesaving Mission of Redemption and Reconciliation.
Bottom-Line/Up-Front for me - I am so very Thankful that our Lord Jesus Came and Gave Himself to Cover Once and For All my sin. I would Hope and Pray for you that you too Know Him as your Scapegoat, but more importantly as your Lord and Savior. If you don't, I can assure you, He Stands Ready, simply ask Him Into your Heart.
My Prayer for us today would simply be - O Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your Amazing Grace. Lord Jesus, Help us to Learn from Your Word and to Grasp Your Gift to us as You Took On the Role as our Scapegoat. Holy Spirit, Be With us as well as we too go through those Wilderness Journeys. Help us, as You Guide us and Minister to us to Be Open to The Life Lessons You are Teaching us. Father God, May we Readily Accept Your Gift of Salvation. Help us, Lord, to Serve You and Reflect Your Light to all those around us, that they too May Come to You. In Your Precious and Holy Name we Pray....Amen/Amen....jaj
Blessings/jaj
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