I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Leviticus 16-18.

    Only Moses and Aaron were allowed to enter the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle, later that would be only the high priest who was allowed to enter (NOTE: this suggests that when Gabriel announced the coming birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah, Zechariah was functioning as the high priest). However, Aaron, and later his successors, were not allowed to enter the Most Holy Place at just any time. They were only allowed to do so after offering the sacrifices described in this passage: a bull as a sin offering for the high priest, and two goats as a sin offering for the people, one goat to be sacrificed and one goat to be driven into the wilderness (I am curious how that was accomplished once the Temple was built in Jerusalem). As part of the sacrifices there was a complex ritual which the high priest was to perform. My reading of this passage suggests that this sacrifice of atonement could be performed at any time, but was required to be performed at least once a year on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).
    There is an aspect of this ritual which has entered into our culture (although most people have completely lost knowledge of the reference). As part of the ritual the high priest would lay his hands upon the head of the goat which was to be driven into the wilderness and confess over it all of the sins of the people. This goat was referred to as “the scape goat”. All of the sins of the people were laid upon it and it was driven into the wilderness. The idea being that the people drove their sins away from themselves. While we no longer follow this ritual, we should do what it symbolizes. We should seek to catalog our sins and drive them away from ourselves.