Readings for today: Leviticus 1-4
Flawless animals. Choice grain. First fruits. Burnt offerings. Grain offerings. Peace offerings. Sin offerings. What is the point of all these sacrifices? Why did God set up the sacrificial system? What’s His purpose? First and foremost, God is communicating His holiness. The entire book of Leviticus emphasizes the holiness of God. The fact that God is set apart. He is not like us. Holiness is not just moral purity. It is a state of being. A state of wholeness. Completeness. Perfection. It communicates blamelessness and integrity. To approach a holy God, Israel must be holy. But Israel is not holy as we’ve seen so she must offer a sacrifice in her place. She must present before the Lord animals that are physically perfect. The best of her crops. The first of her fruits. She must offer to God her best as a symbol of her whole-hearted devotion and desire to walk before Him.
The sacrificial system serves several purposes in addition to reflecting God’s holiness. It symbolizes Israel’s desire for purity. Her desire to be holy even as God is holy. It inspires and motivates pure worship. Whole-hearted devotion. Worship that is sincere and from the heart. It teaches reverence and obedience. As the people of Israel present themselves before the Lord year after year, engaging in all the prescribed festivals and sacrifices, they learn what it means to be God’s people. They learn what it means to surrender to His will and walk in obedience to His commands. Finally, the sacrificial system prevents any kind of corruption or dishonor. Israelites who bring inferior gifts to the Lord will find themselves rejected. Israelites who bring less than their best to the Lord will not enter His presence. Israelites who offer up whatever is left over to God will find their relationship with God growing cold and distant.
Through Jesus Christ, all the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament were fulfilled. Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice, the spotless and flawless Lamb of God, once and for all and brought an end to the sacrificial system. However, the meaning and purpose behind the system still remains. When we come to worship, do we understand we are entering the presence of a Holy God? A God who deserves and demands nothing less than our best? The offerings we bring are a pure heart and a right spirit. Such offerings God will never despise. If we want a rich and vibrant relationship with God, we must search our hearts continually. Confess and repent of our sins. Grow in holiness and sanctification. If we do these things, just like Israel, God will meet us in a powerful way.
Readings for tomorrow: Leviticus 5-7