עזאזל

He stands there, dressed all in layers of heavy, white linen. In one hand, he holds a couple of coloured stones; in the other, a ceremonial dagger. A gentle breeze ruffles the many folds of his clothing as the desert sun beats down upon his forehead. Across from him stands another man, holding the reigns of two identical male goats. This man waits expectantly as the man in white throws the stones in his hand to the ground. Dust settles, and they both look at the rocks. The man in white collects the stones while the herdsman offers the reigns of the goat on his left. Taking hold of the reigns, the man in white turns and walks off, disappearing through the blue, purple & red curtain that shrouds the only entrance through the large, 8-foot high wall of linen.

About half an hour later, the man in white walks out from behind the linen wall and comes to get the second male goat. The red spatter of blood has marred his white garments and he now smells like the smoke of charred animal fat. The man who was waiting hands over the second goat and stands, waiting, as the man in white disappears again through the red, blue & purple curtain.

Behind this curtain & within the linen walls is a large, open courtyard. It is completely bare, except for three features: a large fire pit that looks like bronze half-cube 8 feet wide & 4 feet tall, having bronze horns jutting off each of its upper corners; a large bronze bowl on a bronze stand; and a 30 foot high tent, rectangular in shape, made of red-dyed leather.

Smoke billows out of the bronze firebox, and the ground near one of its edges is covered with a warm, sticky mud—slightly red in colour. The man in white leads the goat to this firebox, and then he stops in front of it. He places his hands on the head of the hairy animal, lowers his own head to the ground and begins to speak, "I confess!"

For the next while, the man in white speaks of the wrongs done by him, to him, by others and to others. He recounts every single transgression and trespass that everybody in his country has committed. When he has finished the speech, he lifts his head, grabs hold of the reigns and leads the male goat back towards the red, blue & purple curtain that they had entered from earlier. Passing through the curtain, they meet back up with the herdsman who has been waiting for their return. The man in white offers the reigns back to the herdsman, who accepts the goat. He, then, turns and begins walking away, into the desert wilderness with the goat where, after a while, he will release the goat and walk back to his nation's camp.

“The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.” —Lev 16:22 (NASB)

I love the book of Leviticus. It is fascinating & ripe with symbolism, when compared to the rest of the Bible, esp. the passages concerning Heaven (Revelation, in particular). It's amazing. I have never before enjoyed reading the second half of Exodus or Leviticus, but this time around, it is full of life and wonder.

More thoughts about what I'm discovering later.