Leviticus 16:10 demonstrates that God removes our sins by placing them on a living substitute, ultimately foreshadowing the eternal redemption that Jesus would provide.
In the midst of Moses’ instructions for the Day of Atonement, Leviticus 16:10 focuses on the goat designated as the scapegoat: “But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.” (v.10) Historically, this moment took place during Israel’s wilderness journey around the mid-15th century BC, when Aaron (the brother of Moses, serving as high priest) would follow God’s command to cast lots over two goats. While one goat would be sacrificed, the other was left alive and carried away into the solitude of the desert. The wilderness in question was likely the barren terrain surrounding the Israelites’ encampment, an expansive and harsh region symbolizing an unknown or distant place where sin would be banished. By sending the scapegoat to a land far off, the Israelites witnessed a physical display of God’s promise to remove their transgressions and purify the camp.
Scripture’s statement that this goat “shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it” (v.10) underscores the vital imagery of transferring guilt onto a living creature, who then departed the camp bearing the people’s sins. According to the user-provided commentary, “The scapegoat was not killed but was to be presented alive before the LORD and released into the wilderness. This scapegoat was the personification of all the nation's sins, and its release into the wild depicted the banishment of sin from Israel's midst”. This ritual foreshadowed a future, greater atonement where sin is permanently removed, pointing ultimately to the work of Jesus Christ. Just as the scapegoat took on the guilt and vanished into the desert, Jesus took on the sins of humanity so that believers could be freed from the penalty of sin (Hebrews 9:14).
By remaining alive and carrying Israel’s iniquities away from their community, the scapegoat provided a picture of God’s mercy and His power to entirely separate sin from His people (Psalm 103:12). The wilderness thus stood as a stark landscape of solitude and distance, highlighting the completeness of atonement.
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Leviticus 16:10 meaning
In the midst of Moses’ instructions for the Day of Atonement, Leviticus 16:10 focuses on the goat designated as the scapegoat: “But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.” (v.10) Historically, this moment took place during Israel’s wilderness journey around the mid-15th century BC, when Aaron (the brother of Moses, serving as high priest) would follow God’s command to cast lots over two goats. While one goat would be sacrificed, the other was left alive and carried away into the solitude of the desert. The wilderness in question was likely the barren terrain surrounding the Israelites’ encampment, an expansive and harsh region symbolizing an unknown or distant place where sin would be banished. By sending the scapegoat to a land far off, the Israelites witnessed a physical display of God’s promise to remove their transgressions and purify the camp.
Scripture’s statement that this goat “shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it” (v.10) underscores the vital imagery of transferring guilt onto a living creature, who then departed the camp bearing the people’s sins. According to the user-provided commentary, “The scapegoat was not killed but was to be presented alive before the LORD and released into the wilderness. This scapegoat was the personification of all the nation's sins, and its release into the wild depicted the banishment of sin from Israel's midst”. This ritual foreshadowed a future, greater atonement where sin is permanently removed, pointing ultimately to the work of Jesus Christ. Just as the scapegoat took on the guilt and vanished into the desert, Jesus took on the sins of humanity so that believers could be freed from the penalty of sin (Hebrews 9:14).
By remaining alive and carrying Israel’s iniquities away from their community, the scapegoat provided a picture of God’s mercy and His power to entirely separate sin from His people (Psalm 103:12). The wilderness thus stood as a stark landscape of solitude and distance, highlighting the completeness of atonement.