Dave Dishman

Of the many religious ceremonies instituted for the nation of Israel, the one I would most like to have seen was the ritual of goats on the Day of Atonement. Once a year, the high priest would lead a pair of goats into the temple. One goat he sacrificially killed, sprinkling its blood on the alter. Here are the instructions for the other:

Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.

The complex system of sacrifices for the forgiveness of sin failed to cover every possible issue. The live goat bore away the rest of the iniquities. This practice points to Jesus, who himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.

This scapegoat makes for a compelling image of the Messiah. No amount of sacrifices covered all the sins of the people. Not enough blood of bulls and goats exists to make full and final atonement. It took one ultimate sacrifice to bear away every one of our sins. Which makes Jesus truly the GOAT—the greatest of all time.

Leviticus 16:20-22; 1 Peter 2:24

Photo by Max S.

Leprosy existed as a horrible scourge in the ancient world. The disease infected many, causing the slow decay of bodies while ripping families apart. Today, thanks to modern antibiotics, leprosy is rare, easily treated, and not even highly contagious. Thank God we live in a modern age of medicine.

God gave the priests of Israel instructions on how to check people for skin diseases, including when to treat or when to banish the infected from the camp. You begin to realize the harsh reality of life before the treatment of this terrible affliction. It’s similar to cancers diagnosed today—some are cured while others run their course until the end of the patient’s life.

The good news is that many of us recover. When a person recovered from a skin disease among the Hebrews, they took a lamb to the temple. The priest sacrificed the lamb, and then followed these instructions: The priest shall take some of the blood…and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.

Why such an odd ritual, and why these specific body parts?

One commentator wrote, The blood on the right ear said, “this one should hear God first.” The blood on the right thumb said, “this one should put his hand to do God’s will first.” The blood on the big toe of the right foot said, “this one should follow God’s path first.” This ritual affirmed and declared the radical change of life that happened to the restored leper. He was a new person, born again as it were and his life belonged to God in a special way.

The leper was born again—where have we heard that phrase? I love the image of a once defiled outcast now returned to health with the purpose of glorifying God. There is hope. Jesus made it a point to touch and heal lepers. We each are born bearing the leprosy of sin in our bodies. Wondrously, the blood of Jesus touches not just our right ear lobe, our right thumb, and our right big toe, but covers our souls as well.

Leviticus 14

Photo by Possessed Photography

I went to the dentist this week for my bi-annual checkup and cleaning. Routine X-rays revealed a lingering problem that has gotten worse. An old filling from when I was younger (I avoided the dentist as much as possible) expanded and cracked the tooth. As a result, a new cavity has taken root. Now the old filling must be removed, the cavity cleaned out, and a new cap put in place. Feeling invincible in my twenties gifted me several hours in the dentist’s chair this spring.

The writer of Hebrews foreshadowed an experience coming in our future we should look forward to like a trip to the dentist: Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

At some point we will make a reckoning for how we lived our lives. Everything laid bare before the eyes of God. As clever as I might obscure my thoughts or attitudes or secrets, the Lord sees plainly, like a drone swarm surrounding my every move.

But there are actions we can take today to mitigate this looming inspection. Just before the news of this accounting the author wrote: The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

God’s word holds within its pages extraordinary power. The Holy Spirit uses truths found within to slice through our soul, to refresh our spirits, to even bring physical changes. The Scriptures call us daily to an accounting similar to the one we’ll face in the future.

I cannot imagine standing before the most Holy God and stammering out an account for my life. Sounds impossible. But the Lord won’t spring anything new on us when he calls us to the mat. Everything is in the Book. Thanks to Jesus and the Holy Bible, we can live today a little less terrified about falling on our faces before God in the future.

Hebrews 4:12-13

Photo by Kenny Eliason

The saddest people are the ones who squander away good fortune. This is especially true of those who walk away from God. The author of Hebrews put it this way:

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

I’ve known a few people over the years who have been hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. These folks move away from the Lord, first in their hearts and then in their actions. Once committed followers of Jesus, the glitter of money or sex or freedom caught their eye, and mind and heart and actions followed. Eventually lives around them shattered, families crumbled and friendships dissolved. No one seems happier than they were before.

How to avoid such a fate? Stay in the mix with fellow believers. Speak truth, seasoned with grace, to one another. Read God’s Word and let it soften your heart. Practice god-pleasing living despite hardship or ridicule. Seek truth, stay connected, stand firm. In other words, keep the faith.

Hebrews 3:12-13

Photo by Luis Santoyo