I just started reading through the Old Testament book of Leviticus. This is not necessarily a thirst that I am quenching, as much as a box that I am marking off in the journey of reading through all of the Bible.
Even though I was not initially excited about the venture, I became fairly passionate about this as I wrapped up 1 & 2 Chronicles and was looking for some new territory. I was determined to take this frequently ignored section of the Bible and slowly, thoughtfully comb through its message and see what recesses of my heart God might grab. I've only begun, and already I've been benevolently assaulted.
The first 5 chapters of the book give detailed instructions for burnt offerings, grain offerings, fellowship offerings, sin offerings and guilt offerings. Fairly mundane stuff. Or is it?
Imagine the ancient Hebrew's world - a world of hard work, and utter dependence on the one Lord Jehovah. The various offerings/sacrifices addressed a number of circumstances, but centered mostly on consistent worship (an acknowledgement of God's supremacy in all things) and penance for sin.
How often these offerings had to be brought, I don't know. But between the periodic offerings required for maintaining devotion to God, and the offerings required for sin, a lot of sacrificing was going on nationally and personally. The priests and Levites were engaged 24/7 in the midst of blood and fire. And each Hebrew household was consistently providing from their own means offerings for worship and repentance. Selecting a blue ribbon calf or lamb to be given away and slaughtered was a very real cost. And it was a cost that came around often and consistently.
Every offering was a reminder of the gap between God and man that must be mended, and that the remedy was no simple thing. It required literal blood, sweat and tears.
Would the cost of sin and the difficulty of reconciliation between Creator and His creatures not become deeply impressed on the lives of those ancient people? To imagine a day in which someone else paid the price and the sacrifice ceased would be a day of almost unfathomable celebration.
You and I have lived our whole lives in the age of Grace. Most of us have a very fuzzy impression of the true cost of sin. Unless we have seen some specific rebellion cut into life lethally and then become healed by God in a specific way, we don't quite feel the impact of sin. In my experience forgiveness has always been fairly easy. Believe a story. Pledge allegiance. When I screw up, say a prayer. It's covered.
But what if I had to spend one year offering a calf/lamb/ram/goat/pigeon/ephah of grain every Sunday and every time I sinned? Would grace suddenly become a more marvelous thing?
I can't wait to continue my reading in Leviticus. I anticipate a deepening understanding of sin, holiness and grace.
1 comment:
That was a really interesting post. I wish that I could strip away all of the world's shackles and see what it was like to be so dependent on God for even my day to day needs. That is a part of God's provision that I totally take for granted now that there are so many middle men to take the credit for feeding me or keeping me safe. It is such an act of worship, even if for atonement, that they give back their best possessions. I wonder if they saw it as an act of worship or if it was something they had to do more like punishment.
Post a Comment