(Thursday)
The Day of Atonement. We read today about how God has made provisions for His people to atone for their sins. (Atoning in case you are wondering – is about making amends for – saying you’re sorry). So God provides a way out. The priest was to present two goats before the Tent of Meeting and by casting lots, one would be chosen to be the scapegoat. All the sins of the children of Israel would be laid upon this goat and then it would be taken out into the wilderness to a solitary place and released.
I love this image of our sins being removed from us and taken away – so far away and forgotten. I think the psalmist captures this image well when we writes, “He [God] does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:10-11.) God has always made provisions for us – God has promised that when we turn our sins over to Him, when we repent of them and ask Him to forgive us our sins – He will. And then He removes them from us.
When we let the guilt of confessed sins reenter into our lives, it is not because God is bringing them up, it is our failure to release them. If you are dealing with a sin that keeps coming back, remember the “scapegoat” and know that in God’s eyes, it has been removed.
Praising God today!
Pastor Kathy