Torah: The Logic of Sacrifice
Leviticus 1:1-17 (Non-Lectionary)
February 15, 2004

The language of sacrifice we encounter in the Torah sounds utterly barbaric to our modern ears.  Here is surely a distinct, insuperable wall between the God we know through the Torah and the God we know in Jesus Christ!  All of the stereotypes of religion as ignorant and brutal seem to be born out in these passages.  We are inspired to contact our local chapter of the SPCA or PETA when we read about the bloody sacrificial practices enjoined upon the people of God in the OT.

However, as we have found throughout this series on the Torah, the God we know in Christ is the unchanging God revealed in the OT as well as the NT.  Since this is the case there are eternal truths that we can apply to our lives right now in the 21^st century.

Above all, sacrifice shows us that we cannot enter into God’s holy presence and then enjoy fellowship with the living God based on our own merits.  Last week we talked about the fact God shows us in the Torah that he desires to have an intimate relationship with each of us.  We are invited into a relationship with God – but it is a relationship on God’s terms.  His condition for the relationship is absolute holiness on our part.

I.  Sacrifice reveals the SERIOUSNESS of sin.  How can a fallen and defiled people enter into the presence of a holy God who demands holiness on our part?  That is a serious question that just as vital for us to answer as it was for ancient Israel.

A.    The first reaction is that we want to minimize the problem.  So one answer contemporary people give is that holiness is an irrelevant concept because there really isn’t anything wrong with us in the first place.  We are good enough just as we are.  If there is something really wrong with us it still is irrelevant because:

·        It’s probably God’s fault in the first place so he should just cut us some slack!

·        Or God is such a doddering, indulgent old “granddad writ large” that he doesn’t care about our moral or spiritual failings.

B.    But this type of thinking falls apart because it is inconsistent with the reality we can know by just looking around. 

·        From the heinous crimes of someone like Joseph P. Smith, the man caught on tape abducting Carlie Brucia, to the petty, conniving wrangling we see at the office or in our families the evidence points unmistakably to a humanity that has been ruined by sin.

·        Likewise the depiction of God as a senile grandparent oblivious and insensitive to the moral and spiritual brokenness of his children does not present us with a God worthy of our respect or devotion. 

C.    That’s why the system of sacrifices presented in the Torah is so important.  Leviticus 1 relates essential truths about God and about us! We may want to minimize it, but sin is a serious affair.

II.  Sacrifice shows us the terrible CONSEQUENCES of sin.  All sin is based in rebellion against and rejection of God.  Such rebellion always unleashes destructive forces.

A.    Sin ALWAYS hurts someone else.  There is no such thing as a private sin or a victimless sin.  When the worshiper in ancient Israel saw that animal slaughtered for their sins they realized that sin sends out shockwaves of destruction.  “That creature died because of me!”

B.    Similarly, sacrifice shows us that human sin disrupts the very fabric of God’s good creation.  Look back at Genesis 3.  After Adam and Eve rejected God and rebelled against him their first instinct was to cover their shame by clothing themselves with fig leaves:

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Genesis 3:7 (NIV)

But the shame of sin is not so easily dealt with.  Look at what happened in Genesis 3:21:

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. Genesis 3:21 (NIV)

An animal has to die to literally provide covering for Adam and Eve’s sin.  The harmony and peace of God’s original plan are destroyed by our rebellion!

C.    Sacrifice reveals that sin always brings death.  It is unavoidable.  It kills relationships.  It kills the joy of life.  It literally brings the end of earthly life because of its anti-God power.

III.  The sacrificial system also reveals that God would not leave us powerless to come to him.  He provided a means of bridging the gap between his fallen creation and his holy presence. 

A.    God’s remedy is that one life may be offered for another.  Substitionary atonement. 

B.    Sacrifice shows that this is a costly gift.  It had to be a perfect life – flawless.  It cost something to restore our relationship with God.  God’s remedy therefore is that a pure spotless life may be given in exchange for the life of the sinner.

CONCLUSION:  Ultimately, the Torah system of sacrifice revealed how God would redeem humanity in Jesus Christ.  God would offer himself through his own Son to save us.  God sacrifices himself to be in relationship with us.

Philosopher and theologian Nikolai A. Berdyaev, who abandoned Marx for Christianity, insisted that neither history nor theology nor the church brought him to the Christian faith.  Rather it was the example of an elderly Russian nun called Mother Maria.  She had been arrested by the Nazis and sent to the Ravensbrook death camp for saving Jews.  The account of her death that seemed to alter Berdyeav says that one distraught mother refused to part with her baby. When Maria saw that the SS officer was only interested in numbers, without a word she pushed the mother aside and quickly took her place. This action revealed to Berdyaev the heart of Christianity — this action was radiant with the logic of sacrifice. 

Jesus understood that he was the fulfillment of the logic of sacrifice.  When Moses offered Israel a place in God’s covenant this is what happened:

Exodus 24:7 - Exodus 24:8 (NIV)

⁷Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.”

⁸Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

God offered a covenant relationship with Israel because a spotless sacrifice took away their sin.  The shed blood of the sacrifice sprinkled on the people showed that a life had been given in exchange for their life.

When Jesus Christ offered his followers a new and better covenant this is what happened:

Matthew 26:26 - Matthew 26:28 (NIV)

²⁶While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

²⁷Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Jeffrey Ebert  tells this story: When I was 5 years old, before factory-installed seat belts and automobile air bags, my family was driving home at night on a two-lane country road. I was sitting on my mother's lap when another car, driven by a drunk driver, swerved into our lane and hit us head-on. I don't have any memory of the collision. I do recall the fear and confusion I felt as I saw myself literally covered with blood from head to toe.

   Then I learned that the blood wasn't mine at all, but my mother's. In that split second when the two headlights glared into her eyes, she instinctively pulled me closer to her chest and curled her body around mine. It was her body that slammed against the dashboard, her head that shattered the windshield. She took the impact of the collision so that I wouldn't have to. It took extensive surgery for my mother to recover from her injuries.

   In a similar, but infinitely more significant way, Jesus Christ took the impact for our sin, and his blood now permanently covers our lives. [Jeffrey Ebert in Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching (Baker), from the editors of Leadership.]

Jesus Christ, the pure, spotless, innocent Son of God offered himself up in your place.  He has shed his blood for you.  God has transferred your guilt to him.  Now all that is required is for you to accept Christ and own his sacrifice on your behalf.

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Leviticus 1:1-17

1:1 The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting. He said, 2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When any of you brings an offering to the LORD, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.

3 "'If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to offer a male without defect. He must present it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting so that it will be acceptable to the LORD. 4 He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. 5 He is to slaughter the young bull before the LORD, and then Aaron's sons the priests shall bring the blood and sprinkle it against the altar on all sides at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 6 He is to skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest are to put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8 Then Aaron's sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, including the head and the fat, on the burning wood that is on the altar. 9 He is to wash the inner parts and the legs with water, and the priest is to burn all of it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.

10 "'If the offering is a burnt offering from the flock, from either the sheep or the goats, he is to offer a male without defect. 11 He is to slaughter it at the north side of the altar before the LORD, and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides. 12 He is to cut it into pieces, and the priest shall arrange them, including the head and the fat, on the burning wood that is on the altar. 13 He is to wash the inner parts and the legs with water, and the priest is to bring all of it and burn it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.

14 "'If the offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, he is to offer a dove or a young pigeon. 15 The priest shall bring it to the altar, wring off the head and burn it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar. 16 He is to remove the crop with its contents and throw it to the east side of the altar, where the ashes are. 17 He shall tear it open by the wings, not severing it completely, and then the priest shall burn it on the wood that is on the fire on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.
NIV

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