Old testament scriptures give accounts of how Aaron, the brother of Moses, and his sons were to act as priests, cleansing themselves and offering sacrifices. This included the release of a SCAPEGOAT. It was said that all sins were laid upon the scapegoat instead of you. You were assumed guilty if you came. Your sacrifice meant you knew you could be forgiven.
“Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.” Leviticus 16:7-10
I doubt that the casting of lots was for pure luck, God chose how the luck turned for that goat. If anything, God can turn the “luck” of casting lots or anything gambling or He can let it play out. We are to remember that it not a gamble when God is in control. God chose the sacrifice offering goat and God chose the SCAPEGOAT. He is that way with us too. He allows us to escape our second death by offering Jesus’s death instead. I would not call that lucky, I would humbly call that blessed. My Scapegoat? My Savior. My sacrifice? My life. Jesus’s sacrifice means He KNOWS we can be forgiven. We should accept His eternal forgiveness, not entering instead into eternal death.
If we think we are in charge of our own destiny and we turn away from God, seemingly going down a path of our own agenda, His narrow gateway is still at the end of our life. He still decides our “fate”. It is not fate if there IS a GATE… He controls both and we must choose which path. No lukewarm faith or walk. If we walk with Him, then He takes us on HIS path. If we put our faith in HIS Power. He escapes us from certain life traps and especially the lost-ness of the wilderness. Jesus went to wilderness so we don’t have to. Yet we can get to our own wilderness and He will be the only One there to rescue us. I don’t think of Jesus as a get out of jail free card as much as a boat to get us over the rocky moments of life, a living water source in our life drought.
Life is life, humanly lived and humanly flawed. Life is not perfect, yet Perfect is the One who created it.
God does not casting lot to see who lives and dies. God is holding the whole earth, wanting everyone to turn one way or the other. God will work to turn you towards Him. He will bring you not to into wilderness for becoming lost but for you to find wonderment. We may wander into wilderness of our own accord, but He would rather go there instead of us. It’s Jesus who takes your sins out to the wilderness. Jesus lives to love you, loves to serve our God Father, serves to let you live. Our sacrifice? Ro follow Him.
Cast not lots, but cast your eyes upon Him today. Be remembering Him as our Scapegoat. He is our Savior.
Let us be His and LIVE.
Amen
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Matthew 7:13-14
The Narrow and Wide Gates
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
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Leviticus 16:20-22
“When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.
Debbie Upper 
I appreciate the Lord in so many ways, especially for my connection to understand that He is so very much in control… and He blesses us, me, in a million ways I never could acknowledge and know. One I do know – He saves us from everlasting death.
Yesterday, I had to work in the morning and an unexpected delay at noon was good timing for some things but seemingly messed up my plans for the afternoon. But change of plans substituted – and we even escaped seeing the tornado crossing the road we were on by about 15 minutes… others were hit, we saw the police responders, saw the immediate damage first hand. I felt like a prevented plans person become an escapee due to His timing over mine and His blessings. It’s good to be remembering blessings… it’s good to escape things like tornados before you run into one…
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👍👍🙏Sent from my Galaxy
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