Common Sayings from the Bible: “Scapegoat”
Today, we assign the term scapegoat to someone (or something) that takes the blame of another. Someone who received the punishment for the actions of a group may grumble, “Why do I always end up being the scapegoat?”
The Law delivered to Moses is where this term is found (Lev. 16:8-10). The Law provided a way for the priest to atone for the sins of the nation by placing the blame on a scapegoat. The priest would lay his hands on the goat as he was confessing the sins of the nation. The blame would transfer from the nation to the goat, which would then be released into the wilderness to carry the sins outside of the camp. This ceremony took place each year on the Day of Atonement.
The fulfillment of the symbolism of the scapegoat is Jesus Christ. He was the scapegoat for the nation of Israel under the Prophetic program. Hebrews 13:12 declares, “Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the camp.”
by Pastor Matt Ritchey
Take me to another common saying from the Bible in this BABQ edition here: “Apocalypse”
2 thoughts on ““Scapegoat””
I wish there was a BOOK written by the BBI that had all of these Common Sayings From the Bible in it so that I could look at it and share it. Is there such a book?
Thank you for those encouraging words! Currently, that does not exist, but that is a great thought. Perhaps someday a tool or resource like that may be able to happen. For now, we are just beginning to work on starting to compile these article types in our digital format.