April 6

God's Grace

Scapegoat

“He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the
wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the
goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of a man appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place.”
Leviticus 16:21–22 (NIV)

We were going through the Bible orally in a village in Tanzania (tanzan- EE-ah).
When we came to the concept that the high priest was to put the people’s sins on the scapegoat in Leviticus 16, no one understood.
I explained that everyone’s sin was put on the head of one scapegoat.
The people of Israel confessed all of their sins and sent the goat
away into the desert, carrying the burdens of his people. This allowed
everyone else to be forgiven.

As the picture became clearer, one of the men spoke up. “We have
a custom just like that,” he said. During colonial times, it was customary
for 20 young men to go out to fight the colonists and enemy tribes.
Many times, they killed one or more of their enemies. The German
authorities would then come hunting for the perpetrators with hopes
of punishing the guilty ones.

For the good of the tribe, the elders chose one of the young warriors
to accept the punishment. They told the authorities that this one warrior
alone did the killing. The colonialists would take away the warrior
to hang him for the crimes of his people. He was their scapegoat and
allowed the clan to be forgiven.

At that moment, I wanted so desperately for the Barabaig (bah-rah-
BIGE) people to understand that there is no forgiveness of sin without
the spilling of blood. Jesus is God’s perfect scapegoat, and His blood
has already been spilled.

—Dan and Peggy, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa

Blessed Jesus, thank You that You were the ultimate sacrifice for my salvation,
and I no longer need to look for a scapegoat. Father, give understanding to the
Barabaig people of Tanzania of what Jesus did for them. Amen.

Next day