Seriousness of Sin Seen in Sacrifice (Leviticus 1:1-6:7)
The first thing that jumps out at one reading Leviticus is all the bloody sacrifice. It becomes overwhelming, and after a while you begin to wonder, “Did they have enough livestock to supply the system?” And, “How much blood flowed out from the tabernacle?”
Those are natural concerns and seeing all of the sacrifice and imagining the horror of such a system you can see why people are not drawn to this book. (Beyond the dry nature of legal documents. Constitutions and law codes don’t tend to be page turners!)
But what should jump out at us reading the first several chapters of Leviticus is the seriousness of our sin and the deadly seriousness of atonement. The book is all about how a sinful people can live in community with a holy God. It is not enough for God to desire community. He is a just and holy God and to ignore our sin would go against His nature. And while His nature is also Love, it is not a fickle, silly love. He wants to have a real relationship with a changed, holy people. And, that entails a huge cost!
We will see more about that cost as Leviticus progresses, laying the groundwork for the Gospel and the cross, but for now consider: our sin is a serious, deadly serious problem. And overcoming that problem in an effective way is a costly proposition. More costly than we could ever pay it turns out…
Those are natural concerns and seeing all of the sacrifice and imagining the horror of such a system you can see why people are not drawn to this book. (Beyond the dry nature of legal documents. Constitutions and law codes don’t tend to be page turners!)
But what should jump out at us reading the first several chapters of Leviticus is the seriousness of our sin and the deadly seriousness of atonement. The book is all about how a sinful people can live in community with a holy God. It is not enough for God to desire community. He is a just and holy God and to ignore our sin would go against His nature. And while His nature is also Love, it is not a fickle, silly love. He wants to have a real relationship with a changed, holy people. And, that entails a huge cost!
We will see more about that cost as Leviticus progresses, laying the groundwork for the Gospel and the cross, but for now consider: our sin is a serious, deadly serious problem. And overcoming that problem in an effective way is a costly proposition. More costly than we could ever pay it turns out…
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