Strange Commands for a Unique Sacrifice

In our Bible reading, my wife and I are both going through the Law that God laid out for His chosen people to live by. Last night, she pointed out something that I have often thought about as well, namely that the commands of the sacrificial system that God made a part of His Law seem very odd. As modern readers, most of us have never seen any such religious practice, nor can we fully picture it in a realistic way. Though the Israelites had witnessed all sorts of animal sacrifice in Egypt and elsewhere, the demands of the sacrificial system that God required of them were strange and alien to them as well. As with everything that God does, there is a purpose behind even this.

The immediate purpose of God giving them such a system of sacrifice was to make their way of approaching and interacting with Him totally unique, in comparison with all other sacrificial systems that had been devised in the world. What they were to do could never be confused with what was done in worshipping the false gods of the rest of the world. They were marked as unique and special by the blood of these sacrifices, especially the priests.

For example, my wife pointed out that after God had given them very detailed instructions about the making of priestly garments for the Levites, which included a concern for keeping the garments clean, God then made it clear that those garments were to sprinkled with the blood of sacrifice to make them ready for God's service. Blood can be washed out of clothing with water while it is still wet, but not if it is allowed to soak and dry. Though the priestly garments would be washed, it would only be after they had performed their duties as priests. What was to be cleaned from the garments was any filth caused by those wearing them while doing their duty, but the stains from the blood that was sprinkled upon them would remain. This especially becomes significant in light of the New Testament.

The ultimate purpose of the sacrificial system was to point to the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus Christ would make for us all. Concerning the sacrificial system that God imposed in the Old Testament, the Bible says, "For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect." (Hebrews 10:1, NKJV) The sacrifice of Jesus Christ, when He died on the cross, was the crowning moment of those "good things to come." The Bible explains, "But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:11-14, NKJV) The only thing in this world that could ever compare with what Jesus Christ did for us, was the sacrificial system of the Old Testament and only because it was a unique symbol of the unique sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us.

The sacrifice of Jesus leaves a mark on all those who believe in Him, setting us apart as His own, much like the blood that sprinkled the priests in the Old Testament. The Bible declares, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10, NKJV) Because of His unique sacrifice, we are a unique people, following the One True God through a world that denies Him. To be His is to be set apart by His blood for serving Him. It is something that should effect how we live in obvious ways. The Bible reminds us, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:6-7, NKJV) I pray that His blood has left a mark on your life as it has on mine!

"Dear Lord, help us to remember Your sacrifice and its purpose today. Please work in our lives to show the difference that You have made there through the blood of Your sacrifice of love. May we stand apart from the ways of this world, while we stand in it to serve You! Amen."