I am an animal lover, so it is difficult to read of the sacrifices of innocent animals as an offering to God. Perhaps I can imagine sacrificing a bull, but a perfect, innocent lamb? It's much easier to put cash or a check in the offering plate every Sunday than give a live creature that you've personally nurtured from birth. It's even more difficult to imagine an offering where the sacrifice demanded is supposed to be perfect, without defect, from a people wandering around in the desert with few resources for food other than their daily allotment of manna. It didn't matter if it was a fellowship offering or a sin offering, it always had to be without defect and to make matters worse, not only were they required to make the offerings, they were the ones that were to slaughter the animal in front of the Tent of Meeting. A perfect sacrifice slaughtered by one's own hand.
I think if I faced the prospect of having to offer one of my animals whenever I sinned, I might consider my actions more carefully. But the Israelites proved that was not the case. The requirement of a blood sacrifice did not change their hearts and as the years progressed, their sins became more flagrant and insulting to God. Eventually, no sacrifice was sufficient to compensate for their sins. So it was left to God to offer a solution, the perfect sacrifice that none of us could make. Imagine offering one's own perfect son as a sacrifice, not for your own sins, but for the sins of everyone else. What mercy, what love and what grace.
2010 Post - Leviticus 1-4: Offerings
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