“And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.”
Leviticus 16:21
The ritual was profoundly simple. Every year two goats were brought into the Temple. Goat #1 was sacrificed for the sins of the high priest. Goat #2 was not killed, but became the “scapegoat.” The priest would lay his hands on its head, and the nation’s sins would be transmitted and then carried to the desert.
This ritual finds fulfillment in Jesus Christ, for He absorbs our sin and carries it away.
Scripture is clear on this. Maybe this might help. Back in the 1970s I remember sponges printed with a politician’s advertising his platform/promises. At first the sponge was paper thin. But when you added water it expanded into a full-size sponge.
For some weird reason that communicates what happened at the cross. Jesus received my sin, darkness, and iniquity. He absorbed it all, and I’m free. He is my scapegoat. He carries all of my dark darkness.
“Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy].”
“And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span [0ver 9 feet tall]. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail.
“Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.“
Men are going to die unless something happens. But then up steps David, he is untried in battle, but within him is an eager commitment to a faith in Jehovah. Fear has consumed the hearts and minds of the Jews, which are now full of ‘scary Goliath fears’ and confusion.
These guys are pretty much scared. The Scripture says “they were terrified and deeply shaken.” This is an irrational fear. It’s not from God.
David steps out and into the confusion. He is just a shepherd boy, but he’s resistant to the fear that attacks his brothers. He identifies the giant before him as evil, and that giant stands in the way of the Father’s will. David advances without fear.
The space once occupied by fear has been filled up by faith.
This story, is much more than a story. It may entertain schoolchildren, but it is so much more for us as believers. Most definitely you will be called upon to face a Goliath of your own. He’s waiting for you, and you must step forward in faith.
So much points to Goliath’s superiority.
He is a man-of-war; dedicated, well trained in the ways of death. Goliath is confident that he will destroy you. But David steps out. He is trusting in God alone. He steps forward with no armor but God.
David is about to kill Goliath, with just a stone from his sling.
He swings, throws and embeds a rock into the giants forehead– right between his eyes! The giant collapses, and David moves forward, and he cuts off the giant’s head.
Each of us face an enormous evil.
We’re facing something that is monstrous and destructive. We cannot reason with it. We can only face it with the weapons the Father provides for us. When we advance to that source, we must do so with a faith that is real and undefeated.
Some reading this are pounded with failure. I understand. But you’re called to take out your personal darkness.
At times, we think that we can negotiateour way to victory. We hope to rationalize our enemy away by thinking positively about him. We think we can move against him by being clever. That does not work.
“By the strength of God’s grace, you trusted the Almighty and conquered your Goliath. The first giant is dead. Satan is masquerading as your former enemy so he can slip past your faith and regain entrance into your life. Resist him.”
“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16, ESV
As verses go, this is one of the more significant. There are plenty of promises to be found in the scriptures but Hebrews 4:16 has a meaningful spot in my walk. When I think about it, and consider its implications, I have very little to say but “hallelujah!”
Jesus is our great High Priest. That word “great” clearly underscores His value to us. It shouldn’t really surprise us: the word in Greek is “megas” which means preeminent, all intensive and all abundant. (The idea can also mean ‘weight.’)
Some versions of the Bible use “boldness” instead of confidence. I like boldness but confidence is good too. Both words are wonderful. (One version uses “bravely!”).
His absolute power as a Priest is forever and ever.
He is now our precious mediator. Jesus is now our go-between of our ugly sin and His incredible holiness. He has created a spiritual super-highway for those who chose to come to Him through a saving faith. He has done this all by Himself. It was what He wanted.
The throne He sits on is now known as our “throne of grace.”
“Ancient Jewish Rabbis taught that God had two thrones, one of mercy and one of judgment. They said this because they knew that God was both merciful and just, but they could not reconcile these two attributes of God. They thought that perhaps God had two thrones to display the two aspects of His character. On one throne He showed judgment and on the other throne mercy. But here, in light of the finished work of Jesus, we see mercy and judgment reconciled into one throne of grace.”
Mercy and grace. Help in our time of need. If you’re anything like me, my neediness is perpetual. I need Jesus all the time, and He has made it clear through His Word that He’s always available to us. His throne room is never off-limits. He has given us the keys!
“The greatest privilege God gives to you is the freedom to approach Him at any time.”
We’re to be energized by contact with God’s Spirit. He fills us up, enables us to run full tilt, stretching and straining. The muscles in the neck popping out, and lunging for the tape. This is Paul’s understanding of his daily walk.
Paul was an athlete in the Spirit.
These days, developing a spiritual athleticism would not be such a bad idea. We live in a society where we sit and watch the NFL: there are 22 men on the field, desperately in need of rest, and they’re surrounded by 50,000 people desperately in need of exercise. We have become a society of observers and that is a shame.
God loves us, sent his only Son to die for us. God sets us up with a energy-packed, Red Bull. And I respond with an anemic, 2% milk religion. And that perhaps is the real tragedy.
There’s a real tendency for entropy as a follower of Jesus. Things have a real tendency to wind down, and start moving in the opposite direction. I think all of us can relate to the “Sunday Syndrome.” In this truly wonderful world of fellowship, worship and the Word we seem to come together. Life is good on a Sunday morning. And it should be.
But we wind down, and by Thursday we have sinned and compromised a hundred times or more. Life is not good on a Thursday afternoon. Because of our mental illness this degradation downward is usually worse. We experience a whole lot of shame and guilt. And that poisons our spirits.
Throw into the mix some depression, anxiety, or OCD and it makes consistency even harder. It’s a challenge to maintain a credible Christian walk. It’s kind of the deflated feeling four hours after downing three Red Bulls.
Paul, always an interesting fellow, described his own personal walk with Jesus in Philippians 3:10f. in the Message Bible.
10-11I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.
12-14 I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this…
“...but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.
Can you really tap into all of that energy?
Paul is downright aggressive here, he models a “muscular Christianity” that pushes through every obstacle, whether within or without. Most of our translations use the word “work” when translating “effort”. The Church fathers used the word “energy” instead. There is a distinction.
Energy, or “energize” denotes an outside source for power. I energize my electric razor when I plug it in at night. It takes a charge and runs accordingly on demand.
We are told to press in, and to reach.
We’re to be energized by contact with God’s Spirit. He fills us up, enables us to run full tilt, stretching and straining. The muscles in the neck popping out, and lunging for the tape. This is Paul’s understanding of his daily walk.
Paul was an athlete in the Spirit.
These days, developing a spiritual athleticism would not be such a bad idea. We live in a society where we sit and watch the NFL: there are 22 men on the field, desperately in need of rest, and they’re surrounded by 50,000 people desperately in need of exercise. We have become a society of observers and that is a shame.
God loves us, sent his only Son to die for us. God sets us up with a energy-packed, Red Bull. And I respond with an anemic, 2% milk religion. And that perhaps is the real tragedy.
