Feeling isolated...

Chapter sixteen of Leviticus contains instructions for the Day of Atonement, the Jewish festival known today as Yom Kippur. This was a special day, once a year, when atonement or payment was made for the sins of the people - all the wrong things of the previous year that hadn't specifically been atoned for by other sin offerings.

The people of Israel were left in no doubt that sin was a serious business that deserved death. If there were any animal-loving children in the camp, it must have been hard to know that little lambs and goats were going to be slaughtered because of our sin.

Two goats were needed for the day of atonement: one to be killed and the other to be kept alive. The killing of the first goat reminded the people that there could be no forgiveness without death, without the shedding of blood. The second goat was called the "scapegoat" - the origin of a word that we still use in our language today. The priest laid his hands on this goat's head, confessing over it all the sins and wickedness of the people. Then the goat was released and driven into the wilderness, symbolically carrying away the sins of the people with it.

Perhaps it seems at first that the second goat, the so-called scapegoat, was escaping the fate of being slaughtered and sacrificed. But I can imagine that being banished to the desert was not really a better fate. Perhaps the goat would go hungry for a while, before ultimately weakening and being eaten by a wild animal. It's a graphic picture of how our sin leaves us "banished from the safety of the camp" to a barren place where we will be easy prey for the enemy. 

The symbolism of the day of atonement - in the fate of both the first goat and the second one - would not be lost on these early Israelites as they travelled through a hostile desert environment and smelled the stench of blood whenever an animal was sacrificed for their sins. For us today, there's a danger that we become nonchalant about it. The concept of sin bringing death can seem so far away and other-worldly; we're not constantly reminded of it by seeing a favourite pet lamb or goat slaughtered to pay the price.

But if we're honest in the quietness of our hearts, the fate of the second goat is not so alien to us. We've all experienced times when our own selfishness or unkind words broke a relationship and alienated us from a friend. Perhaps we've even experienced being ignored and ostracised by others because they despise us for something wrong that we did. And at some point in everyone's life, there comes that moment when they realise that God seems far away; that their sin and selfishness have made them feel isolated and alone, easy prey for the accusation and discouragement of the devil. Many of the people who choose to commit suicide do so because they feel alone and without hope; they see no way forward and feel they have nothing and no one to live for. 

Yes, the fate of the two goats may seem like an old Levitical ritual, but they both remind us of the devastating effects of our sin; they both call us back to a loving God who, in this new covenant era, freely offers us atonement because of the death of His Son on the cross.  Who would choose isolation and wilderness when atonement and relationship are freely available to us? What a powerful picture and an amazing privilege!