Standing Ready

"Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness." Leviticus 16.21-22

On the Day of Atonement two goats would be presented. One of them would be killed and one of them would be driven out of the camp. The sacrifice paid for sin, and the scapegoat took the sins of the nation and carried them away. Aaron would lay the sins of the sins of the nation on the scapegoat and it would then be taken into the wilderness by a man who stood ready to go.

Sin had to be dealt with and then cast out. This wasn't a process that took place over a week or even a couple days, the sacrifice would be made, the sins transferred, and the scapegoat driven out. A man stood ready to take the scapegoat away. He was selected and dressed and ready. It wasn't someone they grabbed after the transfer and then waited for him to tie his sandals, he was ready to go so that sin could immediately be done away with.

Men, are you standing at the ready? Are you prepared to deal with the sin in your life, or are you holding on to it, procrastinating the actual removal of the habit, or behavior, or thought process?

Sin is not something to play around with. When Jesus died on the cross He payed for sin as the sacrifice. When He was buried He carried them away as the scapegoat. Rising from the dead He offers us new life. The question is are we standing at the ready to accept it, and when we do, to live it?

If we would be men of God, we must stand at the ready and deal with the sin in our lives. If there is a habit that needs to be cut because we've come to new life in Christ, cut it. If there is a behavior we need to refrain from, do it. If our whole thought process needs to be transformed, work towards it. Jesus will be with us as we do. He died to give us new life, and if we seek it, He will see it through to completion (Philippians 1.6).

Let us stand at the ready, let us deal with sin and cast it out.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor