.jpg)
This morning I was reading in Exodus about the required sacrifices that were to be made by the Israelites to God. While I read, I came upon the setting up of Aaron and his sons as priests in the tabernacle. I read about the different offerings that were required and the very specific instruction for each priest in order to make the tabernacle, their garments, and the sacrifices acceptable and holy.
Exodus 29 speaks mostly of what was required for Aaron and his sons to be consecrated (sanctified and set apart) to the work of offering sacrifices for the people. It’s very detailed. And even the description of each sacrifice is quite graphic and specific. Just for example:
19 “You shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram, 20 and you shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet, and throw the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar. 21 Then you shall take part of the blood that is on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons and his sons’ garments with him. He and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him. (You can get the full account in Exodus 29-30.)
Right, big toe? Earlobe? Blood? I gotta be honest. I noticed as I read that an uncomfortable feeling began to rise up within me. I found myself somewhere deep down asking, “Are these ritualistic gestures really necessary?” I read that daily sacrifices were necessary for generations. The blood of animals was shed daily for a really, really, long time.
PINIMAGEWhy? I wanted to understand.
The system of sacrifices was an outward expression of a person or community’s inward desire to restore the broken relationships between humanity and God and humanity and the world.
The following offerings were required ongoing with specific instruction from God.
BURNT OFFERING: The purpose of the Burnt Offering was for general atonement of sin and expression of devotion to God.
GRAIN OFFERING: The purpose of the Grain Offering was a voluntary expression of devotion to God, recognizing His goodness and providence.
PEACE OFFERING: The purpose of the Peace Offering was to consecrate a meal between two or more parties before God and share that meal together in fellowship of peace and a commitment to each others’ future prosperity.
SIN OFFERING: The primary purpose of this offering is not to atone for sins but rather to purify oneself for re-entering the presence of God.
GUILT OFFERING: The purpose of this offering was to make reparations for one’s sin.
source: The 5 Offerings in the Old Testament, By Jeremiah K. Garrett
I want to point out why the daily burnt offering was necessary…look at what resulted once sacrifice was made.
Exodus 29:42-46:
42 It shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. 43 There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. 44 I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. 45 I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. 46 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.
Because of these daily sacrifices, the Lord promised to meet with them and speak to them.
God says that the place where He meets with Israel will be sanctified by His glory: including the tent of meeting, the altar, and the priests.
I love how the NLT puts it…God says, 43 I will meet the people of Israel there, in the place made holy by my glorious presence.
NOTICE: the sacrifices did not make the place holy…they only prepared for the arrival of a Holy God.
His presence makes the tabernacle holy. The Israelites are invited into His holy presence once atonement for sin has been made.
What’s my point: God will not dwell with sinful people. In order to draw close to Him our sins must be atoned for with a blood sacrifice. I don’t think the depth of our sin cannot be fully understood by sinful man.
I don’t want to lose you here, with this look at historical sacrifices. I want you to consider something with me.
Once these sacrifices were made, God promised:
He will meet with them. He will speak to them.
He will sanctify the meeting place.
He will consecrate the tent, altar and priests.
He will dwell among the people.
He will be their God.
AND THEY WILL KNOW that He is their God, their Deliverer.
His objective was not the shedding of blood but His fellowship with us. The blood made the way.
When I found myself becoming uneasy about all the daily requirements that were necessary, all the blood of animals that was shed, I expressed these feelings to the Lord in a whispered prayer.
My heart whispered, Why make it so difficult and detailed, God? To which I felt the response…
This wasn’t God making it difficult for man to draw near to Him. This was a Holy God making it possible.
Think about it.
My perspective changed in a moment. He WANTS to draw near to us. He listed out the ways He would dwell with us. And so, for generations (not days…but days, upon days, upon days) in order for Him to do so, atonement was to be made for sins.
Ex. 29:42a – These burnt offerings are to be made each day from generation to generation.
What I hope I’ve done here is to paint a clear picture of the burden of sacrifice and more importantly the HOLINESS of the GOD who longs to dwell with His people. God cannot dwell where sin is present.
There is no other atonement for sin but the shedding of blood.
We often think we can appease God by good behavior or good deeds.
We sometimes believe we are righteous because we are better than the next guy.
Maybe, like I was tempted to do, you might say, “God is all this really necessary?”
The answer is YES!
And, because God knew we couldn’t save ourselves, He did what we could not do.
FAST FORWARD to the New Testament.
I jumped to Matthew 26. In this chapter, Jesus is facing crucifixion. He has just been betrayed by one of his own disciples for 30 pieces of silver. (Some kind of friend he was!) Jesus is in anguish over what He is getting ready to face. He asks his closest friends to watch and pray with him and they fall asleep. Jesus knows that His blood will be the eternal sacrifice that would end the need for animal sacrifice. His blood would atone for all mankind. He says, “God, if it be Your will, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not My will but Yours be done.”
He endured the cross because He saw the reconciliation of mankind. Hebrews 12:2 says,
Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
As Jesus went to the cross, He was abandoned by those He loved. You can see in Matthew 26 that Peter emphatically pledges His devotion to Jesus and then shortly after denies Him. And in Matt. 26:56 we see, Then all the disciples left him and fled. He was left alone.
I am point this out because it shoots holes in the argument that “we are just good people trying to do good and so we should be accepted by God.”
Maybe you’re saying, “You can’t say all men are bad just because the disciples deserted Jesus.”
I guess the point I’m trying to make is that we’ve never been able to save ourselves.
Ever.
Nothing we can do apart from the shedding of blood of a perfect sacrifice could atone for our sin and reconcile us to God. That’s what Jesus did. That’s who Jesus is, the perfect spotless lamb, slain for all mankind, for all time.
Isaiah 53:4-6 says,
4Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
And what has His sacrifice made available to mankind? The opportunity for us to draw close to the throne of God Himself and to DWELL with Him.
Because of Who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for us we are told in Hebrews 4:16, 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
When I studied this verse in depth, I learned that the phrase draw near means to come and sit, to abide there. We don’t just stand in the request line, take our turn and walk away. No, we get to abide in the presence of our Glorious and Holy God. There, as we abide in His presence, day in and day out, He offers grace and mercy in our time of need.
My objective and hope through today’s post was just to get us thinking more about “What’s been done.” How wonderful to know it! What a great price has been paid for our sin. We now live forgiven by the blood of Jesus and reconciled to God.
Just as we read in the Old Testament…God’s purpose for you and I is that we would know, by His great sacrifice of His Son – Jesus, that we are invited to dwell with Him our God and our Deliverer. That’s what’s been done. Praise the Lord!
If you haven’t entered into a personal relationship with God through Christ’s sacrifice, He invites you today. You can e-mail me directly to find out how to know God personally. tammy@tammyontuesday.com
