Let me explain what I am talking about so no one misunderstands what I am
saying.
A legion of angels gave the word of peace to the shepherds in Bethlehem. They
came to announce the birth of Him who was prophesied in the law. He was the
fulfillment of the two birds (Lev. 14) and the two goats (Lev. 16) as well as all of
the sacrifices and vessels of the tabernacle and temple.
As the first goat, He would be killed, so that His blood could be sprinkled on the
mercy seat in the temple in heaven (Heb. 9:7-12). This would COVER sin and
impute righteousness to us until such time as the work of the second goat could
be accomplished.
As the second goat, Jesus is doing—and will continue to do—His work in us
while we are in the wilderness (world) being “tempted of the devil.” The second
goat was led into the wilderness alive, and Jesus, too, was led by the Spirit into
the wilderness on the Day of Atonement when He was baptized by John. This
work is not finished until sin is REMOVED from us, for the purpose of the second
goat was to remove sin.
At the present time, we do not see sin removed from us. Though some may claim
perfection, I know myself well enough to know that I cannot make that claim. Even
so, I do not wallow around in guilt, because the first goat has covered my sin, and
righteousness has been imputed to me in spite of my actual condition.
In the interim, we are to present our bodies as living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1, 2). In the
laws of sacrifice, men were prohibited from bringing to God any animal that was
defective in any way (Lev. 22:18-24). Thus, if I were not imputed righteous, there
would be no way for me to fulfill this command to present my body as a living sacrifice
that is acceptable to God.
I can only do this as the result of the work of the first goat, which is Christ's death on
the cross, because otherwise, I would still be disqualified for my spiritual defects.
Jesus was led into the desert, or wilderness, to be “tempted of the devil” (Luke 4:2).
But Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit, who was the “fit man” prophesied in Lev. 16:21.
Both of the goats in Leviticus 16 represent Christ and are fulfilled in Him. However,
they also represent the body of Christ. Though we will never replace the Head, the
body itself is said to experience the sufferings of Christ. In 1 Peter 4:13 we read,
13 “but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ,
keep on rejoicing.”
In Phil. 3:10 Paul says,
10 that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection,
and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His
death.
It is clear, then, that Jesus (the Head) is not the only part of the body that is
identified with the first goat. We too have a part in this, though not to the extent
that Jesus had to suffer.
The Christ that is coming forth in the second goat's prophecy is the complete New
Man, consisting of both Head and Body. Neither is complete without the other,
and neither can function as a qualified priest without being complete. The law
disqualifies a priest for missing any parts to his body. We are priests of God,
qualified only because the body is complete and joined to the Head.
Once we understand these things, we can then look at the work of the second goat
in a more personal way. The second goat was said to be “for Azazel” (Lev. 16:8).
This is usually translated “scapegoat,” but it was literally a satyr, a “devil” figure.
While the first goat was “for Yahweh,” the second was “for the devil.”
The meaning of this is made plain when Jesus was baptized on the Day of
Atonement as the first goat while the priests were killing the goat at the temple in
Jerusalem. Then, when the priests sent the second goat into the wilderness “for
Azazel,” Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be “tempted of the devil.”
It does not mean that Jesus was being given to the devil in some nefarious way. It
means that in the divine plan, the devil was God's agent to test Jesus to see if
there was any wicked way in Him. Jesus passed all the tests and was later able to
say in John 14:30,
30 “the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.”
Jesus' testing in the wilderness looked back to Israel 's 40 years of testing in the
wilderness. They were called “the church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38). His testing
also prophesied of the 40 Jubilees of what the body of Christ would yet have to
experience in the next 40 Jubilees, for they too were sent into a wilderness of their
own.
Why? To be “tested by the devil.” As the body of Christ, they would have to
experience the same type of testing as the Head had experienced.
The Church, however, has often reacted to this testing by taking up the sword
against “the devil,” that is, those perceived to be doing the work of the devil. They
did not understand that this was part of the test—to see how they would react to
Azazel.
There is the way of Peace or the way of War. Peace happens only when we
understand that God is sovereign and that He has brought us into the hands of
His “enemies” to try our hearts to see if we react with force or violence. The
overcomers put on the shoes of the gospel of peace.
As a whole, the Church failed miserably, even as Israel failed in the wilderness
under Moses. Few understood that it was God who had led them to places
where there was no water or no food to test them and to see if they would
complain through fear or rejoice through faith.
In the end, we either understand the sovereignty of God or we do not. We either
believe Jesus when He says He will never leave or forsake us, or we believe that
He does leave us and forsake us whenever something goes wrong. To have that
level of faith is to have peace on earth.
We can only establish the Kingdom and “peace on earth” when the peace of Christ
rules in our hearts (Col. 3:15) while Azazel tests our hearts in the wilderness.
Logabe