Based on Leviticus 17:1-7 (New King James Version)
“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron, to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is the thing which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Whatever man of the house of Israel who kills an ox or lamb or goat in the camp, or who kills it outside the camp, and does not bring it to the door of the tabernacle of meeting to offer an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, the guilt of bloodshed shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people, to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they offer in the open field, that they may bring them to the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, to the priest, and offer them as peace offerings to the Lord. And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and burn the fat for a sweet aroma to the Lord. They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.’’”
Why did the sacrifice of certain animals exist in the Law of Moses before? The issue was that when man fell in the garden of Eden, sin came into the creation on this earth. The first innocent victim that was sacrificed was for the use of it skin, to cover man’s shame as the Bible tells us in the book of Genesis. God Himself sacrificed the victim as a sign of what was going to happen later. So then, sin was the reason for why this was done before.
The Bible explains to us, that since then, sin was the reason why everything that was good on this planet was ruined, because it was what introduced death into God’s creation. Sin is the reason why we have all of the evils we have seen in history, and what we live through until today. This is what the Bible explains even further: “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4. It also says this: “For the wages of sin is death…” Romans 6:23a. So then, this was the reason for why there were sacrifices in the Old Testament.
Now then, in the Law of Moses, in the Old Testament, the word in Hebrew that describes what the sacrifices did for sin explains that it did not remove sin, but rather, that they only covered them (the word “kaphar”). So, the sacrifices could never take away the eternal price of sin (the death of a soul), but rather, that they would only cover them before the eyes of God. Despite the fact that they were clean victims, they did not have enough power to erase the sins of men. It was something temporary. Something much greater, a being that was Holy, and also of divine and eternal nature was necessary so that the sacrifice could be perfect and eternal, so that man could have the possibility of saving their soul from a certain eternal death. And here is where the only begotten Son of God comes in: Jesus Christ. The sacrifices of the innocent in the past were only a sign of what would come later, and that it would become a reality through the Lord.
Our salvation was something very costly, something very hard and difficult. Although it was something similar to the innocent in the past, the Lord suffered far more. Even though He was God, He suffered it while having complete human consciousness, in our likeness. The Bible describes prophetically in one place what the Messiah was supposed to suffer through like this: “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:3-5. The Bible describes in different places the complete process that the Lord suffered, starting with Judas’ betrayal, experimenting unfair and unfounded judgments carried out by the religious Jews and roman authorities. He was beaten and scorned. He was crowned with a crown of thorns that was dug into His head. He was flogged with chords that had pieces of metal intertwined, such objects that would penetrate deep into his skin and flesh, and when retracted, they would pull off everything they had grabbed onto. He carried a heavy cross after, while the multitudes scorned Him, while they mocked Him, and as they spit on Him and threw things at Him. After that, He was nailed to that cross by nailing through His hand and feet, where He hung for hours. And in the end, in order to confirm that he had died, they pierced His side with a spear. All of this was what the Messiah experienced, as part of the process of His sacrifice.
Someone may ask, what was the reason, the why that something so horrible had to happen? As we had explained before, our sin carried a huge price, and that’s why it had to be this way. A simple death was not enough to be able to do what was necessary, or rather, to be able to do what we needed. And God did all of this not because He had some sort of obligation with us, or because He owed us something, because He owes us nothing. They did everything out of love, as it is written: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.
And now, knowing, or rather, understanding all of this, how could we see God’s salvation as something so simple or of little value? How can something so great be taken so lightly? Make no mistake, that even though salvation through Jesus is by grace, even though it is God’s incredible gift to man, it should not be taken lightly or as of something of little value, and for many reasons, part of which we just mentioned. God is love, but He is also just and consuming fire. As it is written: “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:26-31.
So then, have you understood the incredible thing God did for you? Do you value the price of your salvation, that the Innocent paid for the guilty? Lord bless! John