This is an extended version of that devotional. To see the version that conforms better to their format, hit the Scio Journal link above.
Scripture
Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. And having sacrificed the sin offering, the burnt offering and the fellowship offering, he stepped down. Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown. (Leviticus 9:22-24)
Observation
Why do we need sacrifices?
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to getting to this particular part of scripture for my contribution to the Scio Journal. Mostly because I never really understood the animal sacrifice thing. So, instead of blasting through the reading of it like I have in the past, I spent more serious attention into figuring out the WHY of it all since the nitty-gritty gory parts made me flinch. If I actually looked at it full on, let my imagination sink into it and see what they were doing, I got squeamish. I inevitably would emotionally shut down from going further because of my own personal reaction to what I was reading. In doing this study, and it being my turn to give you something to think about, I didn’t have this luxury. So I opened a new document, formatted it and fretted over what in the world I was going to say.
I understood the basics of what it was all about, that Sin has a price to pay. The currency is blood, and not just a donation – but all of it. The bible says that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). It’s one thing to see that on an intellectual level and quite another to see that penalty acted out, bloody to the elbows, splattered with it, splashing it on an alter and cutting out sections of the body – splitting it apart for the purpose of making a point.
Because God told Moses exactly what he and Aaron and the tribe of Levi were to do in exact detail, this means it’s important. Clearly, it’s a very big deal to God. It should be a big deal to me too! But because of the time and culture I live in, I just really didn’t get it. And it made me uncomfortable to look at. What was once okay to read and accept on faith, even if I didn’t really understand it, isn’t enough anymore, it’s time to dig deeper and find out what it means.
So I hit the books and tried to figure it out. What follows is what I’ve learned.
First, I’m going to put it into context. God was temporarily moving out of heaven and living among his people. To understand on a gut level what this means, you have to be aware of the differences between Holy and Common. I found a 15 page PDF file online that broke it down nicely for me. It’s from a book called Journal of Translation and this section is called Translating the Levitical Sacrifices. Much of what I am going to tell you is my attempt at note-taking and condensing what I have learned from this site. In fact, the following bullet list is a copy / paste from there. I want to share with you because it clearly sets up the framework that everything else rests upon.
• Everything that is not holy is common.
• Common things divide into two groups, the clean and the unclean.
• Cleanness is an intermediate state between holiness and uncleanness.
• Cleanness is the usual intermediate state of most persons and things. (This implies that what is holy is set apart as somehow special.)
• Clean things become holy when they are sanctified, but unclean objects cannot be sanctified.
• Clean things can be made unclean by being polluted.
• Holy items may be profaned and become common. They may even be polluted and made unclean.
• The unclean and the holy are states that must never come into contact with each other. If an unclean person eats part of a sacrificial animal, which is holy food, he will be cut off from his people (Lev. 7:20–21).
• Most importantly, sin and impurity cause profanation and pollution, while the offering of sacrifices reverses the process and brings about cleansing and sanctification.
In order for us to be able to be with God, who is Holy, we (who are common and unclean) must first be clean. So we have three categories that God places us within: Unclean, Clean and Holy. This categorization of things reflects in everything God does. The Temple for example, has outer and inner courts, and then an inner chamber called the Holy of Holies, where only sanctified high priests could enter. It was this division of states that makes it impossible for us to get to Heaven on our own, and the reason God made a way possible and he did it through these 5 types of sacrifices.
Thankfully, we are not stuck in the state that we are born into, but rather, we have the ability to move between these states fluidly. Things that are unclean can be made clean, and those clean things can also be made holy. The opposite is true as well, it is possible for holy things and people to be polluted and corrupted, becoming profane.
So, what is it about a sacrifice that makes us clean?
It’s in the blood. There is life in the blood. Leviticus 17:11 explains it by saying that “For the life of an animal is in the blood. I have provided the blood for you to make atonement for your lives on the Altar; it is the blood, the life, that makes atonement.” As a side note here, in all of the references in scripture where lifeblood is mentioned, it’s meaning is “life given up in death” so it’s all of the blood, not just a token.
In Genesis Chapter 9 it says “Whoever shed’s man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed."
Leviticus 1-7 talks about the 5 Major sacrifices and their purpose. Those being:
Burnt Offerings: The death of the animal is a substitution for the death of the sinner who has laid their hands on the animal and transferred their sin upon it. It is a ransom paid for penalty of sin. The whole animal is burnt up and given to God alone. It is the most holy of sacrifices. This burnt offering gives a smell that God finds soothing and acceptable. I can’t explain how a smell can do that for God, I only know that when we are living obediently, and agreeing with Him on what sin is, and choosing to live in a way that pleases Him, it makes Him happy.
Grain Offerings: This tribute of thanksgiving is recognition that the one whom you are giving it to is superior to yourself. Grain offerings were bounty from the land, Gods provision, and care for us. Giving grain offerings to Him were much like we use the tithe for today I think; A recognition that he supplied it, and we return it to him on order for our hearts to always be reminded of who it came from in the first place.
Peace Offerings: This is an offering for feasts and fellowship that included a portion for God, a portion for the priests and the rest for the family. God himself shared in this offering as a way of joining us at the table; because He desires fellowship with us, but even this, more casual type of offering, was drained of the blood first and it was splashed on the alter. This was a subtle reminder that this fellowship was a holy thing, something that by doing – you were cleaner and purer for the observance of it.
Purification Offerings: These sacrifices were for ritualizing the decontaminating process. The reality is that we live in a corporeal world that has disease, pestilence, and bacteria. These offerings were Gods way of communicating to us the importance of keeping the holy and common things separate, so that we aren’t polluting the clean things with the unclean things. The people of that time, didn’t understand germs, ritualizing the washing of things (and adding this sacrifice to ensure it) demonstrated physically what sin does spiritually.
Guilt Offerings: There are many different views on what this one means. The thread that holds all those views together though is this (copy / paste from the link mentioned):
“When an offender feels guilt concerning some desecration and if the offense is known, he is to make full compensation or reparation to all offended parties, putting them back in the same position as before plus a twenty percent additional penalty. Besides this compensation, he is to present a reparation offering to Yahweh, the purpose of which is that the priest will make atonement for him and he will be forgiven (Lev.5:16, 18; 6:7)”
In this way, God made it possible for his people to approach Him. This was only through the office of the priests who stood as the intermediary between God and the people.
Application
So, what can I take away from this?
We are no longer living in Old Testament times when we needed sacrifices to be able to approach God. Today, we can approach God without the office of the priest, because Christ became our High Priest.
Hebrews 10:19 – 23 says “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
That is worth shouting about, don't you think?
Prayer
Thank you for your faithfulness to me, I am so grateful that that you didn’t leave me to myself, but had a plan worked out from the very beginning to preserve a way for me to be able to approach you and enter into your presence. Through time, through the generational sin that’s passed through my family line, you still found a way to reconcile me to your side. I will never fully understand the sacrifice you made in sending your son to be the atonement for me. I pray though, Lord, that I never take that sacrifice you made for granted. I shout for joy and fall face down.
Amen.
