Praise God for Yeshua that our names are already written in the Lamb’s Book of Life!
As Israel and the Jewish people prepare to observe the holiest of holy days in the redemptive calendar which God has given to her — the Day of Atonements — it’s interesting to consider a remarkable feature of the incarnation of God appearing in the flesh, that great mystery of godliness. We often think of the Lord Yeshua as the Lamb, and as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. The Lion, symbolizing the authority and power of the King of kings who is rightly to be feared and honored, emptied Himself to become the lowly and meek dependent Lamb of God, who always walked in the Spirit in faithful obedience to the Father. But what is interesting on the Day of Atonements (Yom Ha-Kippurim) is that the sacrificial animal which God ordained was a goat, actually two goats, to provide the atoning sacrifice of all Israel’s sins.
A goat is a clean animal, acceptable for both eating and for sacrifice, but which has a character that will not enter the Kingdom of God (Mt 25:31-46). Goats do not love their shepherds, but are very content to benefit from all that the Shepherd provides as He leads them to pasture. Goats can pretty well take care of themselves, and are not choosy about what they will eat, and will also annoy the sheep by eating their food, too. Shepherds can waste a lot of time and energy dealing with the goats, while it is the sheep which require their attention. Sheep are faithful to their shepherd, and are dependent upon him for their protection, guidance, and provision.
The apostle Paul writes in Rom 8:3 that Messiah came in the flesh, in the likeness of sinful flesh. The Lion who is the Lamb not only came in a body like ours which requires to be replaced with a new and eternally suited one in the resurrection, but in the judgment of men, Jesus was/still is a troubler within and among the children of Israel and also of all humanity. He did not entrust Himself to man, but rather to God. He did not submit to their authority when it opposed the truth and will of God, but as a sacrificial Lamb with the authority of the kingly Lion, He both taught and corrected and rebuked with all authority. In the eyes of human powers and judges, Yeshua was a deceiver and a criminal. In their eyes, at best He was a goat who was expendable for the sake of their own flock. God was willing to come down to dwell among us to be condemned in order to provide salvation for us all, especially for those who repent and believe the good news!
There is a beautiful song, “Above All”, but the last line misses the heart of the Lamb. In Lev 16 we have the most detailed description of God’s provision of His sacrifice to forgive all of the sins of all Israel, especially for those who believed it. One of the goats was sacrificed unto YHVH. The other was sent alive with all of the sins of the people upon it unto Azazel, and is the scapegoat outside the camp bearing all the reproach, even though it has made it possible for God to dwell amongst His sinful people. Before Yeshua went to the cross, He first went to the Garden of Gethshamane. There He offered Himself, with tears and bloody sweat in prayer to God His Father, to willingly obey Him in His love for Him, to accomplish salvation according to the plan of the uniquely one God before the creation of this universe. Afterwards, Jesus went to the cross and bore the sin of the world and all of our sins, asking the Father to forgive us because we really don’t know what we have done or do with respect to the holiness of our God. The song concludes that Jesus first of all thought about me, but the truth is that first of all, He thought about His Father, and in that, He gave Himself also for us, still considered “clean but sinful”, but for the grace of God to give us eyes to see, ears to hear, a new heart and a new spirit. It’s all about Him!
For the glory of the Ancient of Days and the Lamb upon the Throne!