Have you ever thought about how many animals you would have had to sacrifice as an offering to the Lord at this point in your life if we still lived in Old Testament times? Because I have. Recently I was reading the book of Leviticus, and it amazes me how many different types of offerings there are and how complicated the process is. God gave Moses very specific instructions on how the offering is to be made. Only a male animal without defects would be acceptable. The person offering the animal had to lay their hand on the head of the animal and then slaughter it. The priests would then take the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar at the entrance of the tent of meeting. Then, the offering would be skinned, and cut into pieces. The priests would then arrange wood on the fire and place the pieces of the offering on the wood. The organs and legs would be washed and placed on the wood. (Leviticus 1:10-13) While I was reading, I thought to myself, “If this were me, where would I even find a bull or sheep? How much would they cost? Am I even capable of capturing a pigeon or dove if I needed to? How long did this process take?” Eventually I stopped myself from spiraling too far, and said, “It doesn’t matter, I don't have to worry about any of this because Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, and He paid the price for MY sins, so that I may be forgiven.” I am so grateful that we serve a King who came into our broken world and lived a sinless life and chose to die on the cross for OUR sins so that we can be with Him in eternal life. “For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him”. John 3:17.

Making an offering to the Lord seemed like it took some time to accomplish with all the cutting and washing. It was likely something people had to carve time in their day to do because of how long the process took. Plus, other people were involved in the procedure. So, how nice is it that we are able to stop where we are and say a prayer of repentance, and we are forgiven. No one else has to be involved either. I know personally I appreciate how quickly and easily it is now to ask God for forgiveness of my sins, and He forgives them, all because of the sacrifice Jesus made. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" 1 John 1:7-10

From here on out, every time I ask God for forgiveness, I am going to thank Him for sending Jesus to die for our sins so we no longer have to make offerings.

Share