Leviticus 16:5-10
"And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness." Lev. 16:5-10
After being thus clothed, Aaron was to " take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering." These two goats he presented before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and cast lots upon them; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat. The goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, was to be offered for a sin-offering, but the scapegoat was to be presented alive before the Lord to make an atonement, to send him for a scapegoat into the wilderness. It is important here to remark that the two goats were one sin-offering, and the apparent object of having two was, to present two aspects of the same offering for sin. An atonement accomplished for the Lord to satisfy Him; and this atonement made manifest to the people in the scapegoat sent into the wilderness. So that the one goat is directed to be offered for sin, viz: that upon which Jehovah's lot fell; and the other is spoken of as making atonement by being let go as a scapegoat into the wilderness. And here on consulting the Hebrew, we shall find a remarkable and important expression. If the 9th verse were literally translated, it would read thus, " and Aaron shall bring the goat upon which Jehovah's lot went up, and shall make it sin.
Do we not find here the source from which that blessed sentence in the New Testament is derived, " he bath Made him sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Cor. 5:21.
The goat on which the Lord's lot fell, and which therefore peculiarly belonged to the Lord, was killed as bearing the sin of the people. see ver. 15. No audible voice of the high priest laid the sin of the people upon its head; but in the act of killing the goat, he laid the judgment of death upon it because it represented the people's sin.
When the Lamb of God was nailed to the tree, He fell under the whole weight of God's judgment upon sin. God made Him who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf-dealing with Him according to His own holy and just indignation against sin. Christ became a curse for us-according to the solemn words of Deut. 21:23, " he that is hanged is the curse of God." Jesus was then our substitute-for what are we by nature but children of wrath? Jehovah's lot had fallen upon Him. God had selected Him in His own eternal counsels as the only one who could (because without sin) be the substitute for the sinner; and because He was the Son of man, the Son of God, the mighty God, He alone could endure the fearful penalty due to sin.
And what a wonderful result is deduced in that verse in the epistle to the Corinthians, from the fact of the Lord Jesus having been made sin-"that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." A different word is here used for made, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. The righteousness of God -what a glorious manifestation will the church be hereafter as a whole, and every living member of it, of the righteousness of God-the full expression of His perfect righteousness, because one in life, in glory with Christ-"in Him"-deriving all from Him, and united to Him. Receiving out of His fullness; and manifesting His fullness.