The Jews will be observing the Day of Atonement on 16 September this year. If you do not know what the Day of Atonement is, please read Leviticus 16. In brief, the Day of Atonement is the one day in the Jewish Calendar that the High Priest was allowed to enter the Most Holy Place in the temple. Before he entered the Holy of Holies, as it was called, the High Priest needed to perform some rituals.

In brief, the following are the main rituals that happened on the Day:

“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. “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.” (Leviticus 16:7-10, 20-22 NIV)

The High Priest was to take two goats and cast lots (flick a coin) on them. One lot was for the Lord, and the other for the scapegoat. The Hebrew word for scapegoatis Azazel. This is a strange name that has confounded many biblical scholars over the centuries. It’s clear meaning is not known, but is thought to mean “who God strengthens” or “the strong one against/for God”. Some have said Azazel is a name of a demon. What is Azazel, and what was it about?

Firstly, to understand what Azazel means, we do not need to go anywhere else except the very passage where it is found. This word is only found here in Leviticus 16 in the whole Bible. The first clue about what Azazel represents is in Leviticus 16:10: “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 16:10 NIV)

As you see this goat was presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness. If Azazel is a name of a demon it means that a demon is being used for making atonement. That can’t be! Jesus is the one who makes atonement for our sins, not a demon or the devil. See what John says: “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2 NIV). Whatever Azazel means, it cannot refer to a demon or the devil.

Secondly, we have further clues about Azazel in other verses in Leviticus 16: “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.” (Leviticus 16:20-22 NIV)

See that the sins are confessed over the Azazel goat so that the goat can carry their sins into the wilderness. In Leviticus, when sacrifices were made, the sinner confessed their sin over the lamb or the goat so that the sacrifice carries the penalty of death on behalf of the sinner. The one who carries the sins of humanity is Jesus Christ. John the Baptist said Jesus is  the lamb of God “who takes away the sin of the world! (John1:29 NIV). The Orthodox Jewish Bible says that Jesus is the Azazel who takes away the sins of the world. 

“As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus (Luke 23:26 NIV). Jesus was led away to the wilderness of Golgotha by the Roman soldiers with the sins of the world on his head, just as the Azazel goat symbolized by being led away into the wilderness.

“After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him” (Matthew 27:31 NIV). The live Azazel goat represented the leading of Jesus to Golgotha to be crucified. The goat that was killed represented the death of Christ on the cross. Therefore, the Day of Atonement represented events that took place at the crucifixion of Jesus, not a future event. Both the two goats represented the atonement work of Christ, both in his life and death. Azazel points to Jesus’ atonement work. It means “the one who God strengthened”‘ or “the strong one for God”. Jesus is the one who God strengthened as he was led away to Golgotha carrying that heavy cross. He is the Azazel! He is the scapegoat for our sins. He is the one God strengthened for our sake. Amen!