Word Up Ministries

February 21, 2025

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Scripture:

LEVITICUS 14:33-16:34

Scapegoat

Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family, making them right with the LORD. Then he must take the two male goats and present them to the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle. He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be reserved as an offering to the LORD and which will carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel.

Leviticus 16:6-8

My Takeaways

Something Old

The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons, who died after they entered the LORD’s presence and burned the wrong kind of fire before him.
Leviticus 16:1

How heartbreaking for Aaron this must have been.

Something New

la-Azazel לַעֲזָאזֵֽל: Leviticus 16:8,10,26: to/for/as Azazel
He shall take the two goats and set them before the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel. Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD and offer it as a purification offering,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.
Leviticus 16:7-10 (NRSVUE)
Then he must take the two male goats and present them to the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle.He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be reserved as an offering to the LORD and which will carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel. Aaron will then present as a sin offering the goat chosen by lot for the LORD. The other goat, the scapegoat chosen by lot to be sent away, will be kept alive, standing before the LORD. When it is sent away to Azazel in the wilderness, the people will be purified and made right with the LORD.
Leviticus 16:7-10
Not completely certain of the exact meaning of the word.
It can be considered a proper name, either of a place or a “power” (a demon).
The goat is not sacrificed but released to Azazel.
Several Hittite rituals feature the transfer of evil to an animal that is then sent away.
Other cultures who did similar rituals did it as an appeasement to an angry god, which is vastly different from the Israelites, who did it symbolically as a way to release their sins.
The sins are placed on the goat, and sent to the wilderness by an appointed person. It's not a sacrifice, but a transfer of sins. The atoning sacrifice has already happened.

Something to do

Take responsibility for our sins, and allow others to take responsibility for their sins.

A Quick Word

Complete

Mark as Complete

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A small change to your Read Thru the Word experience.

Hello everyone! Recently, we experienced a problem with the "complete/incomplete" function of Read Thru the Word. We are excited to say that this function has been restored and should provide a more robust solution for the future. However, 2025 lessons that you have marked as "complete" now show as "incomplete." There are two ways to approach this: One- you can sleep well with the knowledge that you've completed January and most of February, and continue to mark "complete" on lessons moving forward. Two- If you love seeing the little blue check marks on your 2025 grid, you’ll need to revisit January and February lessons and mark them as complete again. Thank you for your patience as we work to provide an amazing daily experience while you Read Thru the Word!

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