Blood and Guts 2/18/13

Reading through the Old Testament can get quite ...um...heavy. The description of the temple and its construction and the rules and the sacrifices can be tiresome. When I am reading these sections I always try to remember that this too is the inspired word of God. God never makes a mistake so these descriptions and explanations have purpose. I always ask God to reveal something new to me when I read these sections or at least remind of something I already learned. As I was reading tonight in Leviticus it struck me how much time I would have spent in the temple making sin offerings. Oh, my. I would have spent more time there than at my own home. Also, how many sacrifices were truly without blemish? Were there really that many animals that were perfect? That must have been a stinky, smelly time with all those animals and all that blood. I think that is the whole point of these passages. God wanted us to realize how much we cannot meet the requirements of the Old testament laws of sacrifices. We will spend our entire lives trying. There had to be a better way and God had already planned it from the first sin. One sinless sacrifice, without blemish. Jesus is the escape from the sacrificial law. Once he made the ultimate sacrifice there were no more needed. What an awesome reminder to us. I think we often lose sight of that and these passages that can sometimes get boring remind us of how wonderful and merciful and gracious God was to send his son as a sacrifice in our place.

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