Today’s 333 Devotional: “God’s Whipping Boy”

This is not an easy statement because of the meaning’s history. The name, “whipping boy,” refers to someone blamed and punished for the faults of others.

The name comes out of the early monarchies of Europe and China. Those in the monarchy were considered untouchable. When princes misbehaved, the Tutors could not use corporal punishment, so instead, they had other young men, or companions to the princes, punished in their place. The idea was that when the prince saw someone else punished for their misdeeds, they would take it to heart and not repeat the behavior.

In the Bible there is another illustration that fits this description. It’s known as the scapegoat. At the Day of Atonement, the high priest would take two goats. The first was sacrificed for the sins of the people, and then the high priest would place his hands over the second goat, confessing the people sins and transferring them onto the goat. They then took the goat out into the wilderness and let him go, taking away the people’s sins.

Tradition has it that they took the scapegoat and tossed it off a cliff. They didn’t want it to find its way back and once again defile the people.

When looking at this, I thought it was a great picture of our Heavenly Father and His giving His Son, Jesus, to be humanity’s whipping boy, or scapegoat.

Jesus was punished for our sins. “By His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) The Father provided this so that we could be spared God’s punishment for our sins.

What punishment? Jesus took our place and died the death we deserve so that we could be sons and daughters of the Most High God, hence royalty. The Apostle Peter said we are a “chosen generation, a royal priesthood.” (1 Peter 2:9)

The Apostle Paul said, “He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach.” (1 Colossians 1:21b-22)