As you close out Exodus, Leviticus picks up right where Exodus leaves off. The Hebrews are at the foot of Mount Sinai and God is trying to help them lead a life that will be pleasing to Him. The most striking thing about these first chapters are the demands God makes of His people. For atonement of their sins, God commands the Israelites to make animal sacrifices as offerings to Him. All who were guilty had to pay the price in blood. Only the blood of the purest animals could conceal the sins of the guilty and every sin had to be atoned for. How many thousands of gallons of blood is that? When reading and thinking about this, does the word BIZARRE come to any one’s mind? How about just GROSS!?
Fast-forward to the New Testament. As we read about the Last Supper and the betrayal of Jesus, we can not help but fast-forward to what’s coming. More blood. More pain. More sacrifice. Most understand the main idea behind the sacrifice. Jesus, the spotless Lamb, died perfect so that the price would be paid for our sins. He carried our cross, bore our pain, and died our death so that we could come before God in Heaven as perfect as Jesus was. Underneath of that idea is a nagging question though. Why is all this sacrifice necessary? We have seen in Jesus that God has the power to defeat sin, so why does all this blood have to be spilled? Couldn’t He just clean the slate for us without having to sacrifice His only son? What do you think? Out of all the options God had, why did He pick that one? Or maybe, there were no other options?
By Aaron Blackwell
1 comment:
I'm a very visual person, be it because I'm right brained, and artist, or because I grew up on cartoons, I don't know. What I do know though, is that in order for me to understand the full breadth of an idea, or know how to play a game, or wrap my head around a political concept, I need it drawn out for me. I mean literally.
I think that the same that is true for me now could be true for tons of people now and in the Old/New Testament. Without actually seeing something, having something to visualize, the real depth of sacraficing for sin may not have really hit home. True, I can't go watch Jesus be crucified now, nor am I willing to kill a little goat, but through the words of the Bible I have that picture, and I am able to visualize and recognize the scale and meaning of Jesus' sacrafice. I don't think I would have the faith I do without being able to see what(who) was given in exchange for my sin.
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