February 9, 2022: Previous Sin Offerings Made to God Were a Representation of God's Final Sacrifice.

Reading through the Book of Leviticus, I am reminded of the many sacrifices that were made on behalf of the people of Israel by the High Priest on a weekly, monthly, and annual basis. These sacrifices were made for the sins that were committed by the Israelites intentionally or unintentionally by the people.

There were several types of sacrifices for the different types of sins committed. Depending on the type of sin committed, a different type of animals was to be used such as a young bull without blemish; a male or female, kid of the goats without blemish, depending on who sinned; a young female lamb without blemish and/or two turtledoves or two pigeons.

Leviticus 5: 17-19

“If a person sins and commits any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the Lord, though he does not know it, yet he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity. 18 And he shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering. So, the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his ignorance in which he erred and did not know it, and it shall be forgiven him. 19 It is a trespass offering; he has certainly trespassed against the Lord.”

These sacrifices were severe in nature, but that was how God saw our sins that were committed against Him. Our God is a Holy God, and no sin can come before His holy presence.

There must be a purification process that has to happen before anyone can come before God. These sacrifices allowed the people of Israel to have an on-going relationship with their God.

We, as Christians today, no longer need to sacrifice animals to be able to have a relationship with our God. Our sacrifice was completed on the Cross of Calvary. The "High Priest" that delivered our "final and once-and-for-all sacrifice" was Jesus Christ, the "Lamb of God".

John 1: 29 (NKJV)

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

When God came down out of heaven and became a man, to become our "final sacrifice" for our sins, God surrendered His holy position as God through the "Person of Jesus". Jesus Christ, who was fully human and fully God, in turn surrendered Himself on the cross so that we could have an "on-going relationship" with our God as well.

PERSONNAL COMMENT:

So, as we come to see the full picture of God's plan for our redemption for our sins, let us also come to complete and "absolute surrender" to our God as well. This is so little that He asks of us for all that He has done for us. Let us now represent our lives as a living sacrifice for our God.