Sacrifice – Vayikra – March 21

Leviticus 1:1 – Leviticus 6:7

“Sacrifice!” There is no subject as central and misunderstood in religious circles as sacrifice. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all contain a major religious holiday focused on sacrifice. Judaism observes the yearly Day of Atonement (the holiest day of the year) where it is commanded to have a sacrifice, however, since their is no Temple in Jerusalem the sacrifice is not made today. Christianity has as its principle belief the sacrifice of Yeshua on the cross and observes the yearly sacrifice and resurrection of Yeshua at or around the time of Passover. Islam observes one day a year called the holiday of the sacrifice where an animal is slaughtered, which remembers the sacrifice of Abraham on the mountain.

Why did God institute sacrifices?

I have personally wrestled with this question for years. Just when I think I start to understand the purpose of sacrifices other questions arise. Sacrifices seem to be so central to the Old Testament worship system but at the same time they are considered as worthless if not combined with listening to the voice of God. God told the prophet Jeremiah to proclaim these words:

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat flesh. For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ – Jeremiah 7:21-23

God reminded the children of Israel that His main concern is that His people would listen to His voice. Sacrifices were not an end to themselves but a constant reminder of man’s dependence on God and of the sin that separated man from God (Hebrews 10:3). Sacrifices are a visual reminder of sin and atonement but is sacrifice really necessary or is it just another part of religion?

The Legitimacy of Sacrifices

In talking with orthodox religious Jews about the primacy of sacrifices in the Old Testament I generally hear a very casual response to the role of sacrifices in the life of the Jewish people. Religious Jews today believe that prayers replace the sacrificial system citing verses like Hosea 14:2 which speak of forgiveness of the “sacrifices of the lips.” The sacrificial system of the Old Testament is often understood by religious Jews as a temporary solution for the sons of Israel to be cleansed from various sins, intentional and unintentional.

In preparing for this week’s study I read the following in one Jewish resource: “There is no single Jewish view on the purpose and desirability of sacrifices. Jewish thinkers differ radically on whether God wants sacrifices, whether sacrifices are designed to help God or people, and weather they should be reinstituted in the future.” (The Irwin Jonas Onkelos on the Torah, Leviticus p.xxii)
If God so clearly gave the Jewish people the institution of sacrifices, why is there so much ambiguity? What was the real intent of the sacrifices?

The Levitical Law and the Sacrificial System

We read in this week’s Torah Portion reading (Lev. 1:1 – 6:7) about the official institution of the sacrificial system given to Moses for the sons of Israel. The following sacrifices were instituted by God:

The Burnt Offering
The Grain Offering
The Peace Offering
The Sin Offering
The Guilt Offering

God prescribed specific animals that could be sacrificed, “from the herd or the flock,” with specific instructions regarding how the sacrifices were to be killed, cut apart, burned, and offered up (Lev. 1:1-9). God was concerned with the place that the sacrifices were to be made, “at the doorway of the tent of meeting,” and the object of the sacrifices, “a sacrifice to the LORD” (Lev. 1:2-3). God was even so specific as to require the gender of the sacrifice; requiring male animal sacrifices for the burnt offering (Lev. 1:3, 1:10), female animal sacrifices for the guilt offering (Lev. 5:6), and a male or female sacrifice for the peace offering (Lev. 3:1). For most offerings (including the burnt offering, peace offering, and sin offering) the person bringing the sacrifice was to lay their hands on the head of the animal offering, “that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf” (Lev. 1:4). There was a clear identification that this animal was being sacrificed in place of the one making the offering.

We read continually in these first five chapters of Leviticus that the smoke of the sacrifices and offerings was “a soothing aroma to the LORD” (Lev. 1:9). God was pleased with the sacrifices of His people. God commanded sacrifices to be carried out daily, yearly, and whenever needed because of sin. God prescribed these sacrifices and enjoyed the fragrance of these sacrifices. But why?

Why did God Institute Sacrifices?

In my quest to understand the intent of God in instituting sacrifices I believe that He was giving us a universal principle that is very similar to the Sabbath. Many people today are mistaken in believing that the Sabbath was only given in the Ten Commandments and is only for the Jewish people. However, the Sabbath was given at creation, before the fall of man, and was given to all of mankind. It was only reinstituted in the Ten Commandments to remind the sons of Israel to take a weekly day of rest and enjoy it. It is very similar with the observance and institution of sacrifices.

A Lesson from Cain and Abel

We read the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis chapter four . Abel was a keeper of flocks, a shepherd, and Cain was a tiller of the ground, a farmer. They both brought offerings to the LORD, Cain from the fruit of the ground and Abel from firstlings of his flock. God accepted Abel and his offering but God did not accept Cain and his offering. God warned Cain that he had the choice to do what was right and be accepted or to not do what was right and allow sin to come in. God commanded Cain to master his sin (Gen. 4:1-7). Cain rejected the voice of the LORD and killed his brother.

This account of Cain and Abel in the Bible gives us understanding into this subject of sacrifices. First of all, somehow Cain and Abel knew to bring God sacrifices even though we never see it commanded. We can only speculate how this was made known to them. The point being that sacrifice to God was an expectation. God desired right sacrifices, as we see from the life of Abel, and God also communicated with man what he needed to know, as in the case of Cain. We learn from this account of Cain and Abel that sacrifice was not new in the book of Leviticus when the LORD gave it to the sons of Israel, it was simply legislated with very clear instructions.

A Lesson from Noah

We also read in Genesis chapter eight of Noah and how he offered sacrifices of every clean bird and animal to the LORD after he and his family exited the ark and were saved from the flood (Gen. 8:20). We do not read that God instructed Noah to offer sacrifices but maybe He did. Either way, we see in this account of Noah that Noah knew that offering sacrifices to the LORD was right and good. We also read that the smell of the sacrifices was pleasing to the LORD (Gen. 8:21).

Sacrifice from a Biblical Perspective

We could continue to look at Abraham and the forefathers of the faith in the book of Genesis to see how sacrifices to the LORD were part of life. Sacrificing to the God of heaven and earth was a reality of man’s dependance on God, thankfulness to God, and atonement for sin. We also read in the book of Numbers how shortly after receiving the instructions about sacrificing to the LORD the children of Israel played the harlot and went after other gods. The children of Israel sacrificed to the gods of the Moabites and the Midianites (Num. 25). Sacrifices are a barometer of the heart. What we make the object of our sacrifices becomes our God. This is why God gave such specific instructions about how to sacrifice and to whom to sacrifice. God is a jealous God (Ex. 34:14).

Sacrifice is a basic act of spiritual worship to the God of heaven and earth. Through sacrifice sin is atoned for, thanksgiving is offered to God, peace with God is made, first fruits are offered to God, and relationship with God is continued. God’s relationship with mankind after the fall always included sacrifice.

A Lesson from the Life of Saul

Sacrifice is central to relationship with God but it is not an end to itself. We see this clearly portrayed in the life of Saul. Saul was instructed by the LORD through the prophet Samuel to utterly destroy Amalek and all that belongs to the Amalekites. Saul went with his army and destroyed the Amalekites but left King Agag alive along with the best of all of the oxen, flocks, and herds (1 Samuel 15:1-9). Saul disobeyed the voice of the LORD (1 Samuel 15:17-19). Saul defended himself before Samuel and tried to justify his leaving alive king Agag and the choice cattle and flocks. Saul actually blamed the people for leaving the animals alive but justified this act by saying that they were left to sacrifice to the LORD (1 Samuel 15:20-21). Samuel then responded with these words: “Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22). And then Samuel told Saul that the LORD has rejected him from being king.

Sacrifice in and of itself is meaningless without properly relating to the LORD God of heaven and earth. God wants sacrifice but He is more concerned with our heeding His voice. God wants a people that follow after Him with a whole and complete heart through total obedience. He demands sacrifice but not without a devoted heart.

David, A Man Who Understood SACRIFICE!

In King David we see a man who, although he was far from perfect, knew how to balance listening to the voice of God with offering the sacrifice that God demanded. This is clearly seen in a scenario that occurred towards the end of his life. David ordered the numbering of the Israelites and this was a sin. Joab tried to stop David but David wouldn’t concede (1 Chronicles 21:1-6). Israel was counted and God’s anger was aroused. David immediately repented and admitted his sin (1 Chronicles 21:7-8). God then sent the prophet Gad to offer David three choices of punishment; three years of famine, three months of being overtaken by the enemy, or three days of the sword of the LORD.

David chose the “three days of the sword of the LORD” option because he was hoping to fall into the hands of a merciful God. God sent a pestilence on the people and 70,000 died (1 Chronicles 21:9-14). The angel of the LORD was about to destroy Jerusalem but God relented and told the angel to stop. The angel of the LORD was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan. David saw the angel of the LORD and told God that he alone is to blame and that he is the one who has sinned. David asked for God to judge him and not the people. The prophet Gad was sent to David to tell David to build an altar on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite (1 Chronicles 21:17-19).

David bought the threshing floor of Ornan, built an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD. David called out to the LORD and the LORD answered David with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. Then the angel of the LORD put his sword back in its sheath (1 Chronicles 21:26-27). David sinned and repented, God judged the whole nation of Israel, David pleaded with God, and God told David to offer sacrifices. David offered the sacrifices that God commanded and the plague was checked and innocent life was spared.

We see in the life of David like no other this cycle of sin, repentance, obedience, and sacrifice. Sacrifice alone is not what God desires. God desires brokenness. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart” (Psalm 51:17). God desires a heart that wants to know Him above all else but there must be a sacrifice.

The Reason for Sacrifice

The place where David built the altar and offered sacrifices was to become more than a threshing floor. The place where David made peace with God became a place of an altar and sacrifice. The place where David bridged obedience, brokenness, and sacrifice was the exact place of the Temple that Solomon later built (2 Chronicles 3:1). This choice of location wasn’t coincidence. This revealed the heart of God. God demands sacrifice and He also demands obedience to His voice. God would later send His Son to this same city of Jerusalem where Yeshua Himself would bridge obedience and sacrifice through His life.

God gave us the sacrificial system because it is the only way that we can continually meet with Him. This has been from the beginning and will continue forever. Thankfully, God provided a perfect sacrifice in the death of His Son at Passover 2000 years ago and because He died and arose again He conquered death once and for all so that we can have continual relationship with the Father (1 Corinthians 15:20-22).

Shabbat Shalom!

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Torah Portion: Lev. 1:1 – Lev. 6:7

Hafatara: Isaiah 43:21 – Isaiah 44:23

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