Azazel-Scapegoat

“Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the LORD and the other for Azazel. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the LORD and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.”-Leviticus 11

Today I want to take a look at the scapegoat ritual that takes place on Yom Kippur.  It is detailed in the last lesson in steps 3, 11, and 12.  The word Azazel from the above verses in Leviticus is normally translated into the word Scapegoat.  However, the simple truth is scholars have been beating themselves over the head for ages attempting to figure out exactly what this word means.  The dictionary gives us the following definitions:

1)     The demon or place in the wilderness to which the scapegoat is released in an atonement ritual.

2)     The scapegoat itself.

3)     A prince of demons (in later Jewish and Gnostic writings and in Muslim tradition)

Regardless of the many existing interpretations out there, one thing is for sure.  There is nothing positive about this Azazel. If you recall from Leviticus, Aaron the High Priest was to cast lots for two goats he had received from the Israelite community.  Depending on the results of the lots cast, one goat was to be presented as a holy sacrifice to the L-rd and the other was to carry all of the sin of the Israelites away into the wilderness.  So we have a compare and contrast paradigm being presented to us here.  One goat for G-d and the other for G-d’s opposite, although not explicitly stated.

There is much rich symbolism in this two-goat ritual that shadows the work that our Messiah would do in the future.  One goat for the L-rd was offered up as a hata’at (sin offering) by which atonement for our sins was made and the second goat that was sent out to the wilderness served to visibly banish our sins. In other words, our sins are not just covered up, they are completely gotten rid of.  This is what Yeshua accomplished for us on the cross.

This goat for Azazel that supernaturally carries on its shoulders all of the iniquity of the Israelites is a supreme example of G-d rebuffing Satan.  It’s as if G-d is demonstrating that regardless of what Satan and all his evil minions may attempt to do to thwart G-d’s purposes for His people, in the end, at one stroke of the pen, G-d is going to throw it all back in his face. 

This reminds me of Hitler’s Nazi Germany and the founding of the nation of Israel in 1948. I think Hitler could even be a sort of Azazel-prototype.  Here we have a demon-possessed maniac who in his diabolical hatred for the Jewish people literally tried to exterminate every Jew in the world.  And at one point during World War II it almost seemed as if he might have succeeded.  But what ended up happening? Hitler put a bullet in his head and shortly after in 1948 Israel became a nation again. Bible prophecy fulfilled!!! Hallelujah!

L-rd,

No matter how trying or hopeless our circumstances may seem to be.  Please give us the faith to stand firm as Job did when he cried out “Thou He slay me, Yet I will trust in him.”  L-rd, help us to trust you and have faith in Your power to rescue us utterly and totally from our destructive sins.

Amen.