Leviticus 1-7 ~ Sweet Smell of Sacrifice

Last Sunday saw the start of Pastor Josh's series on Leviticus. The sin offering, Jewish sacrifices of the Old Testament, were always performed in the same location (i.e. the Tent of Meeting) and involved everyone (including the priest, the whole congregation, and the average Israelite) as a means of atonement for sin, whether unintentionally (e.g. touching an unclean thing in Leviticus 5:2) or intentionally (e.g. deceiving / oppressing neighbour or finding a lost item and lying about it in Leviticus 6:1-3). Such sins have the effect of making one unclean and subsequently defiling the Tent of Meeting, hence, why the sacrifices were performed in the Tent of Meeting. Josh gave the analogy of someone stepping on dog poo (making oneself unclean) and getting into the car following that, subsequently making the car unclean (defiling the Tent of Meeting when the sinner enters it).

The book of Leviticus records many different types of offering including the grain offering (a reminder of the covenant with God with the need of adding salt), peace offering (restoring fellowship and relationship, especially with God), and guilt offering (as reparation for the damage in our relationship with God, caused by our sin). Essentially, all these different types of offering have one common purpose: atonement. Leviticus 16:16 tells us that it deals with out uncleanliness and sin, which separates man from God. Sacrifices make us clean again so that we can come to God as it gives us forgiveness.

There are 4 main elements of sacrifice:

1. It is costly (e.g. from one's own flock or herd in Leviticus 1:2).
2. It has to be unblemished (i.e. no fault).
3. It has to be a sacrifice that identifies with you (e.g. the sacrificer has to lay his hand on the head of the animal before the sacrifice i.e. the sacrifice becomes our representative or association).
4. It involves a violent, brutal and bloody death (because our sin deserves death).

Leviticus is actually just the "visual aid" for the "real thing": the sacrifice of Jesus. He is an unblemished sacrifice who is "clean" (i.e. no sin or faultless). Ephesians 5:2 tells us that Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. The phrase "for us" emphasizes that Jesus became our substitute and representative and died on our behalf in our place so that God can be pleased to forgive and accept us. 2 Timothy 3:15 goes on to say how from infancy you have known the holy Scripture, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus - this Scripture tells us that God is holy, that man is sinful and unclean, and that the sacrifice is necessary that we may come back to Him. Compared to the offerings of pagan or Asian religions, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is different as this sacrifice is given to us by God, as God doesn't need the food / offering (unlike how some of us Asians may attempt to offer something that we believe our dead ancestors need), and as God is not an unpredictable God. This last point is further evidenced by Romans 3:25 that tells us that God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance, he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.

Thank you, Jesus, for being the perfect sacrifice for our sins...