Old Sacrifices - New Methods
So I have this devotional book that I'm not good at being consistent with, but picked up after a lengthy hiatus last night. And I came across something interesting to me, and found it thought-provoking and worth bringing here, for others to comment, if you will. (Although I don't think I have a big following - the two or three of you who are faithful friends, please feel free to respond.)
In Leviticus 1-5, Moses is instructed by God on the five types of sacrifices to be offered in the tabernacle. Three of them - the sweet savor offerings - were voluntary expressions of worship tailored to the person's ability to give. The other two - the nonsweet savor offerings - were required when sin had broken fellowship with God.
The first three are:
The burnt offering - the worshiper declared total commitment to God
The meal offering - the worshiper acknowledged that his material possessions belong wholly to the Lord
The peace offering - The worshiper publicly expressed his thanks or made a vow of spiritual service to God.
The last two are:
The sin offering - covers sins of uncleanness, neglect, or thoughtlessness, provided restoration but also taught the seriousness of sin and its consequences
The trespass offering - convered sins of injury to God and others, provided restoration but also compensation for the injured party
So, while Jesus removed our need for offering animal and plant sacrifices, we are still encouraged in New Testament scripture to "offer our bodies as living sacrifices"(Rom 12:1), "bring sacrifices of praise" (Heb 13:15), see giving to brothers and sisters in need of assistance as "fragrant offerings, acceptable sacrifices, pleasing to God" (Phil 4:18).
So what the author of my devotional suggests is that there are contemporary methods in which to uphold the thought behind the sacrifice. That even though Jesus' ultimate sacrifice has caused us to not have to burn lambs on alters anymore, there are practical ways to carry out the purposes behind the sacrifice requirements.
Because when we sin, we break fellowship with God, and that needs to be restored.
And I think it's still necessary to declare our total commitment to God, acknowledge that our material possessions belong wholly to the Lord, and publicly express our thanks and decision of service to Him. And we need physical reminders of the consequences of sin in our lives, and we need to find ways to compensate those we trespass against, as a statement of our brokenness of our sin toward them, not as a payoff to make it all better.
Anyways...what are your thoughts on this? What are practical, modern day ways that these sacrifices can be carried out in our lives without alters and incense, and in light of a once-for-all-time Savior?
posted by Kathryn Young at 6:02 PM
8 Comments:
I think that it's interesting that Jesus covered all five of those offering types in his death...he bore our sins, he bore our transgressions, he was the prince of peace, lived a life of sacrifice and laid his life down as well as walked among a fellowship of believers. This is intriguing.
Though I think reflecting on these is incredibly rich and wonderful, I am hesitant to add any works to the idea of forgiveness or sacrifice without some really careful reflection on what that means. I'd have to read the devotional to get the real gist it seems. What is the book just out of curiosity?
It's called "Your Daily Walk" published by Zondervan in a "Walk Thru The Bible" Series, the exec editor is Bruce Wilkinson
I should also interject, that the idea is no longer for forgiveness, but as worship. As a means of worshiping God, I offer a sacrifice of praise, or my body as a living sacrifice.
These are not in addition to Christ's reconciliation on the cross as a means of forgiveness. This is how I live out that forgiveness toward others and in worship back to Him.
I agree with Margaret... Colossians tells us stuff like that was really only intended to point to Christ... they were a shadow of things to come. Whereas their sacrifice was meaningless without faith, because it rested on a future promise, our faith is meaninless in a similar way... we look for the future hope, the glorious appearing... we rest all we are, all we do on Christ. That faith, in and of itself, is a kind of sacrifice... and our lives become "poured out" as a result. Awesome thoughts, thanks for the post! :-)
I would disagree that it was "only" intended to point to Christ...that was not separate from foreshadowing Christ, but worked alongside that future.
But I think we're straying away from the point of my post. The idea is that there are still sacrifices that Christians are called to today...and take a close look at how they can be correlated to the purposes within the sacrifices of the past. Present-day sacrifices, those not involving the slaughter of animals, are still contingent upon the faith that purposes them.
And we must never forget that faith without works is dead. That there is a divine place for both our faith, and our works. But we need to do some serious re-evaluating of what those works are.
I would interject that it would have to do with feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, providing for the widows,etc. much more than it has to do with quiet times and bible studies or even church attendance.
You're right, I phrased that wrong. They were not "only" intended as such. You're absolutely right. However, as far as the New Testament mentioning sacrifice (relevant for us, post-cross) favorably, you can only find a handful:
"Hebrews 13:15-Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise."
1 Peter 2:5 tells us to be "offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ," but the context makes it clear that he is referring to personal holiness, not social action. As far as your last interjection in your final paragraph, I would humbly ask for a chapter and verse that says one is better than the other. Shouldn't we be just as consumned with gathering together as we are with caring for widows and orphans? God doesn't hold one higher than the other; should we? The only way we'll know if we're on track is by reading God's Word, which doesn't seem to be too high on your priority list. I don't think we disagree, do we? I know that Christ was teaching the in the synagogues, spending quiet time with the Father, and fellowshipping (church in the truest sense of the word) just as much as performing acts of social kindness. Thanks for the dialogue! I love talking about this stuff with you! :-)
Trent,
As always, thanks for the dialogue.
I think it's a very dangerous thing to say that only the New Testament and that which is "post-cross" is "relevant for us". I think even the most conservative Bible reader would have issues with that - in light of trying to convince the world that the Bible (as a whole) is still relevant.
I would also say this.
I'm not going to give you a chapter and verse, because you're taking what I said out of context. I said that works more likely fall into the social justice category, than the personal spritual development category. I never said those things are bad or less important to our faith. But when it comes to "works" ("deeds" NIV)within our faith - I believe it has less to do with our "15-minute quiet times" or "Beth Moore Bible studies" - which are still valuable, but not what I think James was referring to, especially in light of the James 2 passage in context.
I also have to say that the comment about reading God's word not being too high on my priority list is a rather bold assertion on your part. I am in fact reading Matthew and going thru the rest of the NT as we speak. So be careful what judgments you make. You don't know me that well, and have never met me face to face. And you aren't walking beside me in my faith daily. Reading it is definitely still very important to me, I just don't read it the same way I used to, and I don't read it for the purposes that I used to...such as proving my point with a chapter and verse.
Hey Kathryn! I rushed back home to check and see what you had to say... I'm so sorry, we seem to be shooting past each other. I'm sure it's just the way I phrase things... need to be very careful when I'm online, because things I say don't always come across the way I mean. I'm sorry! :-) I didn't mean to say that reading Scripture wasn't important to you... you just made it sound that way, and I was trying to point that out, which is why I said we actually agree. It just SEEMED that was what you were saying, but I knew you weren't. Again, my sloppy writing. Please forgive. Also, I never said that only the NT was relevant... I should have said "certainly relevant." The OT is more relevant today than ever, but we must see the OT in full blossom and explained through the NT. We have more knowledge now through Christ and the resulting NT that we can know more than OT saints... the OT was Christ hidden, the NT Christ revealed... that's just the way it is. We can't live completely in the NT or OT, and have to take into consideration the whole of Scripture... when someone points to the OT, I immediately look to see a fulfillment or explaination in the NT... and Christ is the fulfillment of sacrifice, once for all. Read Hebrews, a very OT kind of NT book :-) Hope I didn't muddle things too much! I'm currently teaching Matthew to my youth group too :-)
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