As I prepared for this message, I read about dairy goats, Nigerian Dwarf goats, Pygmy goats, Angora goats, Cashmere goats, Fainting goats, Breeding goats, Guard goats, Farm goats, Goat mascots, and many other goats….
A couple in the church invited their elderly pastor for Sunday dinner. While they were in the kitchen preparing the meal, the minister asked their son what they were having for dinner.
"We’re having Goat," the little boy replied.
"Goat?" replied the surprised minister… "Are you sure about that?"
"Oh yes, I’m very sure," said the youngster. "I heard Dad say to Mom, “Today we need to have the old goat for dinner.”
Proverbs 27:26 “The lambs are for your clothing, and the goats are the price (the ransom, or redemption) of the field. v27 And you shall have goats' milk enough for your food, for the food of your household, and for the maintenance of your women and children”.
Well, let me just say up front that goats have gotten a bad rap.. The places in the bible which refer to goats in a negative way, are referring to the wild mountain goats which were plentiful in the area, not the domestic goats which were raised from birth.
By the way, you call a goat on a mountain, a Hillbilly! A goat that listens to country music is called Billy Ray Cyrus.. A goat playing the piano, is called Billy Joel. (STOP IT, STOP IT!!)
In Matthew 25:32 when Jesus tells us that he will separate the sheep from the goats, placing the goats on his left and the sheep on his right, He is using the daily practice of the shepherd in separating the two for a head count and to check their health and condition. It is an analogy simply indicating a difference in the two by using a spiritual truth to apply it to a natural condition. It is not a term which is indicating that goats are evil or inferior to sheep in and of themselves. (I’ll explain that in a little bit) But I do see here that one of the big differences in the sheep and goats, is that the sheep tend to stay near the shepherd because they recognize their vulnerability, but the goats tend to be independent and can easily wander off on their own and are not as close to the shepherd.
The domestic goat is clearly identified by Yahweh as a kosher animal, and is one of the animals mentioned as suitable for kosher human consumption along with the ox and the sheep.
Certainly, God would not have included goats in His list, if they were unacceptable for whatever reason. The baby goat is called a kid, and as parents, we certainly don’t mean anything bad when we called our children, our kids! As a matter of fact, In the original Hebrew, both baby goats and baby sheep can be referred to as lambs.
Goats were very much a part of the wealth attributed to people in the bible. A man was counted wealthy by the number of sheep, cattle and goats that he possessed.
Goats could thrive in barren areas such as the desert and wilderness regions where Old Testament folks lived. They required very little expense or maintenance to raise and keep, and gave back milk, meat and skins for various uses.
In the account of the wilderness tabernacle, it mentions that the Holy place, and the Holy of Holies, were covered over with “Badger” skins. This puzzled bible scholars for some time, since there are no badgers in that area. Then they discovered that the translation was “goat skins, died blue” which is the color of the heavens…. So goat skins, covered the two most holy areas of the Tabernacle!
The Hebrew word for goat is “at-tood” which refers to strength, fitness and hardiness.
Let me throw this in here….The goat is a ruminant, which means it shews the cud, just as a cow does. There is a separate part of the stomach which allows it to store what it ate and then bring it back up to chew on it some more. Even though there’s nothing to eat, the goat is always chewing….
When David, throughout his writings, uses the word “Selah’ at the end of a thought, he is saying, “pause and meditate on this”, or chew on this for a while…. That is a pretty good picture, in my mind, of how we are to digest God’s Word - it can't be digested all in once but must be carefully studied again and again, and applied to daily life again and again, until it has become a part of who we are.
(tell someone, “you need to chew on it for a while”)
So while we can see that goats are provided as a blessing, there is a blessing which God provided through the goat that goes far beyond our natural needs, we have seen so far….
The scripture actually includes goats as one of the animals which were to be included as an acceptable sacrifice unto the Lord.. It mentions that the blood of bulls and goats as well as lambs were to be used in making atonement for the sins of the people.
On the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) which is actually called (Yom Kippurim) because (Purim means deliverance or salvation) It also refers to the act of redeeming through the offering of a substitute. The term (Atonement) is actually (at-one-ment), when the people brought themselves into alignment with the requirements of God…. On the Day of Atonement, God required that two goats would be brought before the priest. The priest would cast lots and then tie a red piece of wool on the horns of one of the goats, which was called the (EL’Adonai) meaning “unto the Lord”. This goat would be sacrificed for the sins of the people, and it’sblood sprinkled on the mercy seat or the covering of the arc. Then, while the blood was still on his hands, the priest would lay his hands on the other goat’s head, this goat was called the (Azazel), meaning taken away or sent away, and it would be set free in the wilderness and carry the sins of the people outside the camp. The goat was never allowed to enter the camp again. The Jewish Talmud says that the red cord would turn white as the goat was led away… One goat died so that the other goat could live.
Oh, yes, the Day of Atonement was a brilliant picture of God’s redemption, but in some ways it was only a prelude and a mirage. The Day of Atonement was a temporary measure that would have to be repeated year after year.
And then, it happened…. The one greater than the yearly offering of bulls and goats arrived. Jesus offered himself as our substitute and our sin offering. He fulfilled the roll of both goats, He became the “El’adoni” and the “Azazel”, by becoming our sacrifice, and by carrying away our sins, far from us…so that as we receive His sacrifice for us, we are then allowed to go free!
What was placed on Him, does not have to be carried by us…If He took it, why should we carry it!
If our past was placed on Him, we no longer need to carry it… If our failures were placed on Him, we no longer need to carry them… if our sicknesses were placed on Him, we no longer need to carry them… If our unrighteousness was placed on Him, we no longer need to carry it….He has made a transfer,and we need to see that!!
If Jesus took it as your substitute, why do you need to carry it! Listen, we serve the God of second chances, and I, for one, am enormously grateful of that reality. (We don’t live in “what if”, “what might be” or “what should or could be”, we can live in “What Is”!!!
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new is come!”
Our sins can never be greater than the grace of God. Our failure can never be greater than God’s love. Our failure in the past does not determine what we will become in the future. We serve a God of new beginnings!
What if we spent more time thanking and praising Him for what now is possible, because He took it all so we could go free! So we don’t have to live with what was, but we can begin to enjoy what is!
We have made the story of Jonah about a fish, but it’s actually about the God of a second chance.
We have made the story of Samson about his great failure with Delilah, but it’s really a story of the God of a second chance.
Without a second chance Peter would never have made it to Pentecost and Apostleship…
Without a second chance Paul would never have made it to the position of Apostle to the Gentile world and writer of the epistles.
Now I am told, that someone got to heaven a lot sooner than they thought they should, and went up to the Lord and said, “Lord, I don’t’ understand why I’m here, I thought if we failed and really messed up bad…. you gave second chances. The Lord said, sorry my son, that doesn’t apply to sky diving! If you fail when you’re sky diving, there are no second chances…..Heaven IS your second chance!
Robin Jones Gunn …. “When it comes to God, We can neverrun out of second chances...but we can run out of time”….
It’s like the woman who was getting married for the fourth time to a funeral director. Her first husband was a banker. The second one was a circus master and the third one was a minister. She told her fourth husband, that she married one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go!
We all want to know that there is a way to erase, the bad choices,
the hurtful words, the opportunities missed, the hateful thoughts, and
the willful defiance and rebellion of our lives…
But isn’t that what the word “Redeemed” is all about!
Hebrew 10:19,20 (The Message Bible) “So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into "the Holy Place." Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, for He now acts as our priest before God”.
He ever lives to make intercession for us…. When we mess up as believers, He points to the blood He sprinkled on the mercy seat. When we miss the mark as believers, He points to the blood He sprinkled on the mercy seat….He’s not the accuser, He’s the El’Adoni and the Azazel ….
On New Year's Day, 1929, Georgia Tech played the University of California in the Rose Bowl. During the first half of the game a player by the name of Roy Riegels recovered a fumble for California on his own thirty-five yard line. In scrambling with the Georgia tacklers, Riegels became confused and He started running in the wrong direction, for sixty-five yards. One of his teammates, outran him and tackled him on the one yard line just before Riegels was about to score a touchdown for Georgia Tech.
Then, when California attempted to punt out of the end zone, Georgia blocked the kick and scored a safety, which gave them a shot at the victory. Everyone watching the game was asking the same question: "What will the coach do with Riegels in the second half?" The players filed off the field and into the dressing room with the “Booing of the fans in their ears. They sat down on the benches and on the floor. But Riegels pulled his blanket around his shoulders, and sat down in a corner, put his face in his hands, and wept like a baby.
That afternoon in the dressing room, coach Price was quiet. When the timekeeper came in and announced that there were three minutes before getting back on the field. Coach Price looked at the team and said simply, "Men, the same team that started the first half will start the second."
The players got up and started out – all but Roy Riegels. He didn't budge. The coach looked back and called to him again. Still Riegels didn't move. Coach Price walked over to Riegelsand said, "Roy, didn't you hear me? The same team that started the first half will start the second."
Roy Riegels looked up and his cheeks were wet with tears.
"Coach," he said, "I can't do it. I've disgraced you. I've disgraced the University of California. I've disgraced myself. I couldn't face that crowd to save my life." Then Coach Price put his hand on Riegels shoulder and said, "Roy, get up and get out on that field. The game is only half over." Riegels did go back, and those Tech players testified that they had seldom seen a man play as Riegels did in that second half. He was determined to take advantage of a second chance!
From that day, he had the nick name “Wrong Way Roy”…Aren’t you glad grace doesn’t call you the name of your failures, but it calls you by the name Jesus gave you…. “More than conquerer”, “Joint Heir”, “The redeemed”, “New creature in Christ”, “Overcomer”…..
Yes, we may take the ball and run in the wrong direction. Yes, we may stumble and fall. And we're so ashamed of ourselves that we never want to try again.
But Jesus Christ puts a nail-pierced hand on our shoulder and says, "Get up; go on back. The game is only half over." I took that failure for you, I covered that fumble, and that stumble, so you go back out there and be the best you ever could be! So you could fulfill the promises you made when you were up against the wall.
The goat has gotten a bad rap, and maybe you feel you have gotten a bad rap too…. Injustice, misunderstanding, lies and being wronged…
But you’re exactly what God is looking for, to show his glory to you, and show you the power of the second chance! To let you see redemption at work….That’s what the grace and favor of God is all about!
Jeremiah 31:34 “For I will forgive their wrong doing and I will remember their sins no more.”
If God forgets, shouldn’t we!
Our confidence rests in the reality that Jesus’ sacrifice was presented not in an earthly tent or temple, but it was presentedin Heaven, where nothing can touch it to diminish it or in any way, take away from it.
Second, He did not use the blood of bulls and goats, but His own blood
Third, His sacrifice cleanses us inside and transforms us outside.
Fourth, His sacrifice was once and for all time. There is no expiration date, it is eternal, unfading and unmovable.
(Tell someone)…. “Aren’t you glad the Lord came up with your solution, long before the devil came up with your problem”!
I love the story of “The Count of Monte Christo”.. as portrayed by Jim Caviezel. In the story, Edmond Dante was wrongly accused and imprisoned. A fellow prisoner, gave him the map to a fabulous treasure. When the prisoner died, Edmond took his place in the body bag and escaped. With the treasure, He was able to have a new life, far beyond anything he could have dreamed.
Suppose you had a great debt that you owed that you could not pay. The creditors were foreclosing and you were helpless to stop the process. Now suppose someone came and paid your debt? But suppose they not only paid your debt but also eliminated every trace of that debt from your financial record. It was removed from your credit rating, it was removed from bank records. And suppose this someone promised you that when you ran into trouble again, He would make sure, you would not be foreclosed on.
That is what Christ has done for us.
We see something else that took place when Christ fulfilled the Day of Atonement. In Matthew 27:51 we read, "At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom."
The curtain that blocked the way to the Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies was ripped apart. In other words the way into God's presence was now opened. Not only was sin removed, but we now have access into the presence of God. It’s not about how we feel, or how we see ourselves, but how God now sees us, through the finished work of Christ. We don't have to wait for the priest to go to God for us. We can go ourselves. We don't have to wait for Yom Kippur, we can go at any time. We are not restricted to a certain time or place. We can come into His presence regularly, any moment of any day.
Hebrews 10:21-24 (New Living Testament) “And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s people, let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near”.
I read a story about a lighthouse keeper whose son was on a whaling vessel that had been out at sea for several months. This was in the time when the light had to be tended by hand and one night he struggled to stay awake, but fell fast asleep. A terrible storm came up and when the lighthouse keeper woke up, the light had gone out and the ship which his son was on, had been caught in the storm, and while trying to find the harbor, had capsized and sunk and his son was lost. He had watched for months, and at the critical moment, when he was needed the most, he had fallen asleep and it cost him his son.
We are told to be diligent, to be watching and waiting…. Don’t let yourself be caught off guard at the critical moment. Be vigilant and stay focused on your mission.
Don’t be caught up with distractions, and unrest and preoccupied with things that are not eternal….
So often it is not bad things but good things that pull us away from our first love. Things which elbow their way in so that we are no longer seeking first the kingdom and His righteousness.
Let’s be sober and alert, for our enemy, Satan is busy making sure we’re too busy with the wrong things.
Romans 13:12 “The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the work He began when we first believed. v13 We can’t afford to wast a minute, we must not squander these precious hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. v14 Get up and get ready! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Prepare yourselves in Christ, and be up and about”!
Chris Tomlin, sings a song titled “The way I was made”… it says.. “I wanna live like there's no tomorrow
I wanna dance like no one's around
I wanna sing like nobody's listening
Before I lay my body down
I wanna give like I have plenty
I wanna learn like I'm not afraid
I wanna be the one I was meant to be”.
When I read that God has given us the goats, for the price of the field, I am thinking, the field is about my home, my family, my livelihood, my responsibilities, and my daily needs.
And God is telling me that in His redemption, all of this is included and it will come in unexplained ways, if I will be responsible and be diligent in the things he has committed into my care.
He will place in my reach, those things at the right time, which will meet my needs and those I am responsible for.
“My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory, in Christ Jesus”.
Grace and favor are about sufficiency and adequate provision.
He is the Lord my provider!
My shepherd is leading me if I will follow…. He leads me to His provision, He leads me to places of refreshing, to places of restoration, to places of anointing, to places of safety, to places of overflow, and to places of His shaping and molding in my life. It’s all paid for in full… All I need to do is believe it and receive it!
THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, HE LEADS ME,
HE RESTORES, HE REFRESHES, HE ANOINTS, HE PRESERVES, HE GUIDES, HE PROVIDES, SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY, GRACE AND FAVOR SHALL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE!!!
Hallelujah, let’s do some declaring today…. Because He has done it, let us declare it and live like it!
