Leviticus 16:7-10 English Standard Version

⁷ Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁸ And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. ⁹ And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, ¹⁰ but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.

The title of the episode of a show was “I need a goat”. Seeing this prompted me to think about the use of a scapegoat in Leviticus 16. As I studied the subject much attention was paid to Azazel and the meaning which is not determined. Many suppositions were made to the meaning whether a place or a person. Parallels were drawn but in doing so the importance of the scapegoat was diminished.

Who cares about the scapegoat? The sins of the people were place upon that animal and it was sent to a fate unknown. It was just a goat, what do we care? Putting it out of the encampment was literally the same as putting it out of our minds. Those sins are gone, we do not know where nor do we care. We put it out of our minds. It is just a goat.

John 1:29 English Standard Version (ESV) The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Now we see God’s eternal plan to take away the sins of the world but it is not a simple goat that we can dismiss without consideration. This is the Son of God, God in the form of man, and not one that is so easily dismissed in sacrifice. Now we do not put our sins out of our minds because we now see them as the reason for His death on the Cross.

My death He died.

To pick up where we left off yesterday’s Instruction, I would like to say this first.

Critiques do not have to be critical.

We are in covenant relationship and we need to speak truth in love. Lead with love and the truth of a moment will be easier to accept.

First find a positive thing to express. Then ask a question. Expressing the need for further explanation puts the hearer in a place of learning better how to express their thoughts and leads to growth in their presentation.

Do not critique style. Style changes as we mature. We adapt to what works if we do not feel like we are being attacked.

Acts 15:37-39 English Standard Version

³⁷ Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. ³⁸ But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. ³⁹ And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus,

Sometimes a future leader just needs a new tutor.

There have been leaders that are only interested in results as they try to establish a new church. They are impatient and unwilling to train up replacements. Leaders are grown in this Kingdom and it takes time for each gift to be fully developed in order to be functional. That does not mean that the inexperienced need to be replaced, they need the experience and right kind of feedback.

In business I was asked to accept a new and higher position. My first task was to find and train a replacement. That is a difficult task to accomplish without recognizing the talent in others. This is how churches flourish and find lasting success in a community. Otherwise the church average age will increase until that body of believers dies of old age.