THE SACRIFICE

Time with Jesus - 2 Dec 2013

Hi all,

The Sacrificial System of the Old Covenant was, from our point understanding, very complicated. It had to be. God intended the system to represent what Jesus would be for New Covenant believers. They are thus a “type” of Jesus. To describe Jesus Christ’s death on the cross was difficult in terms of Old Testament imagery. 

In this instance, five different “procedures” were required to accomplish what He achieved with one! Furthermore, the death and blood of an animal is not adequate to atone for the sins of anyone. That’s why it was repeated every year on the Day of Atonement. 

You could say these sacrifices were the “down payment and annual subscription” for the Grand Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His sacrificial death would not have to be repeated annually. Once for everyone was sufficient. All this was carried out within a framework (the tabernacle) modelled on the one in “heaven”. In other words, what took place on earth was a sort of an “ongoing dress rehearsal” of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for us. The following two tables can be found within the NIV Study Bible.

Offering	OT References	Nature/Elements	Purpose	Offer's Work	Priest's Work	God's Portion	Priest's Portion	Offer’s Portion
Burnt	Lev 1;  6:8-13; 8:18-21	Bull, ram or male bird (dove or young pigeon for poor) without defect - wholly consumed	Voluntary act of worship;  atonement for unintentional sin in general; expression of devotion, commitment and complete surrender to God	Lay hands on animal Kill animal	Sprinkle blood on altar	All totally consumed on the fire	The skin	None
Fellowship - Peace	Lev 3; 7:11-34	Any animal without defect from the flock or herd;   variety of breads	Voluntary act of worship;  thanksgiving and fellowship - it included a meal	Lay hands on animal Kill animal	Sprinkle blood on altar	Fat of innards	Breast or shoulder "waved" before the Lord;  recognising it was also His	Anything left over
Grain or Food  or "Meat"	Lev 2; 6:14-23	Grain, fine flour, olive oil, incense, baked bread (cakes or wafers); salt; no honey or yeast; accompanied burnt offering and fellowship offering (along with drink offering)	Voluntary act of worship;  recognition of God's goodness and provision;  devotion to God	Bring to the Priest	Offer handful	Handful	Remainder	None
Sin	Lev 4:1-5:13; 6:24-30; 8:14-17; 16:3-22	1  Young bull for High Priest and congregation 2  Male goat for a leaders 3  Female goat or lamb for common person 4  Dove or pigeon for the poor 5   Tenth of ephah of fine flour for the very poor	Mandatory atonement for specific unintentional sin;  confession of sin;  cleansing from defilement	Lay hands on animal;  kill animal	Sprinkle blood on altar	The whole within - without the camp	A portion not burned	None
Trespass or Guilt	Lev 5:14-6:7; 7:1-6	Ram or Lamb	Mandatory atonement for unintentional sin requiring restitution;  cleansing from defilement;  make restitution;  pay 20% fine	Lay hands on animal;  kill animal	Sprinkle blood on altar	Fat of innards	Remainder	none

THE NEW COVENANT SACRIFICE
Offering	Jesus Christ	The Christian
Burnt	Completely gave Himself to the Father	Present ourselves as living sacrifice by yielding to His Lordship
Fellowship - Peace	Had perfect fellowship with the Father	Communion and fellowship with God
Grain or Food or "Meat"	Walked in obedience with the Father	Walk in the Spirit
Sin	Forgiveness for our being a sinner. He became sin for us	Crucified with Christ
Trespass or Guilt	Forgiveness of sins we commit. He took them on Himself	Confess our sins for reconciliation

It is astonishing to realise that for some 1500 years the Nation of Israel followed this pattern of worship year in, year out. You would think, they would have had no difficulty recognising Jesus when He ministered among us. Sadly, repetition often shifts the emphasis from what it is portraying, to the ritual itself. The participants focus on what they do rather than what it means. The objective is to play the part as closely to perfection as possible.

Thus this ritual continued until 70AD when the temple was destroyed. It has been suggested that the Jews intend to rebuild a temple in Jerusalem and resume the system of animal sacrifice. It may yet happen!

Comments, and previous Devotionals can be found on my Blog – http: //jimnphyllida.blogspot.com

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Shalom

Jim & Phyllida Strickland 

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus - 2 Dec 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	THE SACRIFICE
My love affair with the Methodist Church goes back to 1951. As a nine year old I was sent as a boarder to Kingswood College in Grahamstown. It was a “water-shed” year for me. After evening “prep” one of the masters read from Pilgrim’s Progress. On other occasions we would sing hymns from the Methodist Hymn Book. That’s where I “cut my teeth” on hymn singing. The school was by no means what we would call “devout”. We were just boys growing up in a Methodist environment. They didn’t “push” the Bible at us. But they used it for light disciplinary purposes. If you did something wrong, the prefect would say, “Exodus 20”. It was the equivalent of writing “lines”. It meant that we had to spend time writing out Exodus 20 from the King James Bible. Fortunately for me, my parents had given me a Bible for Christmas 1950. So I was able to find Exodus 20 and write it out. I quickly learned it comprised what today we call, the “Ten Commandments”. It also meant that I had to read something from the Bible. I had a go at reading Exodus but quickly became aware that it was mainly about some funny old tent Moses had to build. Frankly, in those days it had no relevance to me whatsoever! Incidentally, I still have that Bible. It’s well used and a bit grubby. But it still has great value for me. Of course, the “tent” was the Tabernacle God instructed Moses to build. Subsequently I got a better idea of what it was all about. What fascinates me, are the animal sacrifices in terms of the Old Covenant; the ritual by which the Children of Israel had their unintentional sins “covered over” for a year. There was no sacrifice for deliberate sin. The law declared such people must die. Then I began thinking about the sacrificial system itself. I realised that 2 000 000 people came out of Egypt. Then I took a guess and concluded that although there were about 500 000 families, by the time each family came to confess their sins, there could have been as many as 2 000 000 animals to sacrifice every year. So over 1500 years there would have been some 3 billion animals sacrificed! Probably many more! It struck me that it was a huge waste of animal life. There had to be a better way. There was and is. Jesus Christ came! His life is worth infinitely more than all the animals in creation. Furthermore, the Life of God is worth infinitely more than the lives of an infinite number of people. Suddenly the “penny dropped”. His death upon the cross was worth the lives of every man, woman and child who had, who is, or will ever live on this planet. So He is the sacrifice for the intentional and unintentional sins of homo-sapiens! That’s it! The blood of animals is no longer efficacious. His blood is all we need. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22 ESV	There had been those practices for fifteen hundred years. God gave them to Moses on Horeb, it appears.           Horeb = Mt Sinai Very complicated. Was always done “just so”. According to the Scripture, ‘twas how they had to go. The “Sin” and the “Guilt” offerings; The “Fellowship” or “Peace” The “Burnt” and the “Grain” offerings began and didn’t cease, Until the Babylonians took all of them away. But they were reinstated, when they came back to stay. They actually continued until seventy AD; When Titus burned Jerusalem, is when they ceased to be. Except for the “Grain” offering each one required blood. So all throughout these ages, there must have been a flood, Of bulls and rams and male birds or pigeons for the poor. This multitude of offerings; and yet, there was no cure, For sins which were deliberate. The sinner had to die! And as we look back on it, we ask the question, “Why?” We look back on the animals and all the blood they shed. “Enough to fill an ocean” keeps running through my head! There had to be a better way. To last more than one year. But it was quite impossible ‘til Jesus Christ came here. The reason’s very simple. Each bull or ram or goat Had to be the sacrifice. The priest would cut its throat. And as the poor dumb creature gave up the life it had, The Jews had the atonement for what they knew was bad. I have a little theory. Perhaps it isn’t true? That there were far more animals than folk like me and you. The life of one dumb animal was sacrificed for me! And every other person the Lord has caused to be. When Jesus came it ended. He suffered in my place. He gave His life for every sin, wrong-doing and disgrace, That we have all committed. His blood is worth far more, Than everyone who’s ever lived, back to the days of yore. So they’re no longer needed. The animals that died, Can never be the equal of the Christ we crucified. That system is now obsolete. It’s just a waste of time. No longer can it cover up an accidental crime. So Lord we want to thank you for all that You have done. For giving us redemption by the blood of Christ Your Son. Jim Strickland Written 2nd December 2012
			13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people's bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered Himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Hebrews 9:13-14 NLT
			24 You have come to Jesus, who brings the new promise from God, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better message than Abel's. Hebrews 12:24 GW
			7 We have been set free because of what Christ has done. Through his blood our sins have been forgiven. We have been set free because God's grace is so rich. Ephesians 1:7 NIrV
			19 Moses first announced every commandment of the law to all the people. Then he took the blood of calves. He also took water, bright red wool and branches of a hyssop plant. He sprinkled the scroll. He also sprinkled all of the people. 20 He said, "This is the blood of the covenant God has commanded you to keep." (Exodus 24:8) 21 In the same way, he sprinkled the holy tent with blood. He also sprinkled everything that was used in worship there. 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be made clean with blood. Without the spilling of blood, no one can be forgiven. Hebrews 9:19-22 NIrV