Christ, our Atonement
In the center of the Torah (being the first five books of the Old Testament) is the book of Leviticus. In the center of Leviticus is the description of the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur in the Hebrew. That’s not accidental: It is still to this day the most significant holiday of the Jewish calendar. The Day of Atonement ritual involves two goats without blemish. One, called the goat for Yahweh, becomes a sacrificial offering whose blood is sprinkled within the temple, on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant, and on the sacrificial altar as a means of purifying them from the sins of Israel. As for the other goat, the high priest placed his hands upon it, and read over it the sins of Israel that year. Having assumed the sins of the people, the goat was led out of the camp into the wilderness. Many English translations call this the goat the "scapegoat". If you’re used to reading out of the NIV, that’s exactly what you’ll read in Leviticus 16. In the Hebrew, however, this goat is literally called the goat for Azazel. This Azazel is a devil-like spirit who dwelled in the wilderness. Let’s take a look at this passage in the New English Translation:
[Aaron] must take the two goats and stand them before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, and Aaron is to cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and one lot for Azazel. Aaron must then present the goat which has been designated by lot for the Lord, and he is to make it a sin offering, but the goat which has been designated by lot for Azazel is to be stood alive before the Lord to make atonement on it by sending it away into the desert to Azazel. (Leviticus 16:7-10)
This is the last we hear of Azazel in the Bible. If you’re looking for more information about him, you’ll have to rely on what’s called the book of Enoch. To be sure, book of Enoch is not required reading to be a good Christian, but it was widely read by Jews in the second temple period, and because of that it can be a useful resource to help us better understand how Jews in Jesus’ day might have understood the Day of Atonement ritual. From the book of Enoch, Jews knew Azazel to be a leader of rebellious spirits in the time before the Flood who gave men knowledge about all sorts of technology: warfare, witchcraft, and other things which he knew would lead to man’s destruction. He was ultimately imprisoned by God in a place of darkness. Here’s what the book of Enoch has to say about Azazel’s fate:
the Lord said to Raphael, "Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into thefire.
And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons. And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel, to him ascribe all sin."
And so, by means of a goat, Azazel has the sin he deceived men into committing simply returned to him.
We can understand Jesus to be the fulfillment of the roles of both of these goats featured in the Day of Atonement ritual. Like the goat for Yahweh, his shed blood cleanses the earth from the taint of man’s sin. But he is also the goat for Azazel. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians that "he who knew no sin was made to be sin." Like the goat for Azazel, Jesus is returning that sin to its source. Let’s read about the time Jesus shows up in Hell. This is 1 Peter chapter 3:18-20, which I think Peter possibly wrote thinking about the story in Enoch:
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared
Our culture tends to emphasize not taking the blame, refusing to accept culpability. I think we’re supposed to sit with our guilt for a little longer than what that culture would like to do, but I also think we’re not supposed to stay there forever. There are temporal consequences to our sin. Perhaps, consequences we may deal with for life. But make no mistake: Jesus has once and for all atoned for our sin. If Atonement was central to the Torah, how much more is it so for we who have come to know Christ. He is undoing the corruption our sin has caused. He is separating us from our sin, as far as the east is from the west. If you’ve been stewing in guilt, I’ll commend you for at least acknowledging it, but please don’t stay there. If you’ve been worshipping a god who isn’t powerful enough to handle your sin, I encourage you to give that idol up and follow the Christ who has already dealt with it.
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