Have you thought about the two goats and one Savior?

 13 Feb 26

Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One

Readings:

Leviticus 15

Leviticus 16

Leviticus 17

Matthew 27:1-31

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

Have you thought about the two goats and one Savior?

The Day of Atonement occurs on the tenth day of the seventh month (Leviticus 16). God’s high priest would offer a sacrifice for his sin and then cast lots on two goats (Leviticus 16:3-10). The one goat upon which the Lord’s lot fell then became a sin offering for the people. The second goat, designated as the scapegoat, is sent away into the wilderness. Jesus takes on the role of the first goat because the sin of the world is placed upon Him (John 1:29). Likewise, He fulfills the obligation of the second goat, since “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). 

Employment Point: Celebrate Jesus as He who both bore and carried away your sins.

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Reflections

““ ‘When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening.”Leviticus‬ ‭15‬:‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• this is the very old and outdated thinking. That woman who are menstruating is unclean. In those times, they can’t even go into a temple. 

““ ‘When she is cleansed from her discharge, she must count off seven days, and after that she will be ceremonially clean. On the eighth day she must take two doves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting.”Leviticus‬ ‭15‬:‭28‬-‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• the poor women of the olden times.. which means they probably only have a time gap of about 2 weeks to be considered clean to visit a temple. And the amount of sacrifices they have to make after each cycle. To me, it makes it so hard for a woman to be near God back then.

“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 wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭16‬:‭21‬-‭22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• the word scapegoat I’m guessing, probably came from here. Like there is literally a goat that takes on everyone’s sin and sent into the wilderness where the men, then go sin-free
• Isn’t it the same for Jesus, who died for us all with all the sins upon Him, so we can be made free?

“When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!””Matthew‬ ‭27‬:‭3‬-‭4‬, ‭20‬, ‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• I read these few verses and am speechless what the chief priest and elders had done. They are the one who were the mastermind behind the betrayal and they were also the one who persuaded the crowd to have Jesus executed. In the end, Judas, as well as crowd were the one who had to bear the responsibility?
• No wonder Jesus said they were a brood of vipers. The people who are teachers of the law are committing the exact sin, they themselves should know better they ought not to commit. 
• The people, and Judas, who were blinded somewhat, claimed responsibility for their actions. Blood for blood.

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The Devotion of Listening

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

February 13

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” — 1 Samuel 3:10

Am I hearing what God is saying? Perhaps I’ve listened well to one of his commands, but I’ve turned a deaf ear to the rest. This is how I show God that I don’t love or respect him: I act like I can’t hear him, even though he is speaking to me clearly. Samuel deliberately turned his attention to God, and assured God that his ears were open.

Jesus said, “You are my friends if you do what I command” (John 15:14). Am I being a friend to the Lord, or am I disobeying his commands? If I’d been listening, I wouldn’t have consciously disobeyed. Most of us don’t care enough to listen. Our Lord might as well have said nothing at all.

The goal of my spiritual life is to be so closely identified with Jesus Christ that I always hear God and I know that he always hears me (John 17). When I am identified with the Lord like this, my ears are attuned to his voice at every moment and in every situation. A lily, a tree, the words of one of his servants: all may convey God’s message. If I haven’t cultivated this devotion of listening, his voice comes through to me only at certain times. Most of the time, caught up in serving or in my convictions, I pretend I’m too busy to listen. Serving is a good thing, but if it drowns out God’s voice, I know my devotion is running in the wrong direction.

Have I heard God’s voice today, or have I become deaf to him?

Leviticus 14; Matthew 26:51-75

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

To live a life alone with God does not mean that we live it apart from everyone else. The connection between godly men and women and those associated with them is continually revealed in the Bible, e.g., 1 Timothy 4:10. 

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Reflections

Somehow this devotional reminds me of a song that we sing for Children’s ministry. Titled “Jesus is my best friend”. The lyrics go like this.

Jesus is my best friend

my best friend my best friend

Jesus is my best friend

He is always there for me

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

and Saturday.

Jesus calls us friends. Do we treat Him like our friend too? Like the song goes, He is always there for us, everyday. We can definitely count on Him on anything. He is the most faithful and trustworthy friend anyone can have and we ought to be glad that He calls us friends. We too, should also treat Him the same, if not better.

Can you remember your best friend? Can you compare Jesus to your best friend? Who gets more of your attention? Who do you spend more time with. Who do you think of the most? Who would you like to spend more time with? We hope the answer is all Jesus.

We will definitely treasure our best friend. We want to spend time with them. We want to even go travel with them and do everything together. But does Jesus come in between? Are we treasuring Jesus more than our best friend? He ought to be first place, first priority and always Him first and the rest second. If we reverse the order, we are doing things our way. It is always easier to put Him first, then followed by the rest. If He is our best friend, we will hear everything He says, and also try our best to do the things He asked us to.

Let’s pray:

Father Lord, help stir our hearts to burn in zeal for an intimate relationship with You. Help us to always seek You first. Grant us the courage to step out of our comfort zone and do things different from others. Help us to remember that You are always there and there is no reason why we should ignore You and ask others for opinions. Accept our weaknesses Lord and be our best friend. Speak to us the things that You want us to improve and grant us the humble heart to want to change, to learn or relearn. Transform us in Your own image and bring us closer to You as days passed. In Jesus’s name we ask and pray. Amen 🙏🏻