David0921. I agree, "we must keep in mind God's statement regarding the condition of ALL of Mankind", for truly 'none are righteous, no not even one'.
And yes, those OT Sacrifices clearly pointed to Israel that "their sins brought them under condemnation and the Wrath of God", yet they still needed to faithfully perform them so as to stay the Wrath of God from them. For this reason, verses such as Numbers 15:25 & Leviticus 4:31 (after the priest offers the sacrifice, the burnt offering becomes a "sweet savour unto the LORD' and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and IT SHALL BE forgiven him") spoke very clearly to them concerning their state before God & their lives were under God's Judgement. If all that they sacrificed before God & receiving His forgiveness by it, only meant that they were performing an act which was useless, since Christ (as you believe), was already sacrificed for them from before the foundation of the world, then we do have a problem in understanding the nature of the OT sacrificial system.
If Christ already atoned for their sins, what was the need to introduce a system of works to please God & receive His Forgiveness? It's almost like saying, 'that we have been forgiven by Christ's Blood, but we still need to add our own works to make His Sacrifice complete'. Certainly, the OT Sacrifices contained no efficacy, for their blood shed had no lasting atoning value to the offeror ( Hebrews 10:11,12), but it still had to be done, so that God's Wrath could be stayed, their sins had to be covered, that they be not destroyed. And if that were not the case, then so help any who failed to perform what God had commanded - their fate was sealed.
The sacrificial system was absolutely important for Israel's physical preservation, but it did look forward to that One & only Sacrifice which would avail for them & for us. To understand the Bible in any other way concerning the sacrificial system, becomes meaningless.
Yes David0921, I agree that the OT sacrifices pre-figured the perfect & everlasting Sacrifice by our Lord Jesus, yet it remains, how did God deal with the sin problem under that old sacrificial system?
The verses you shared from Hebrews chapter 10 are important & particularly verse 11, "And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins", shows us that those sacrifices could never deal with the sin problem as Jesus only could. They had to be 'offered oftentimes', whereas Jesus' Sacrifice was only offered once, as He, by His Own Sacrifice, fully met God's demands for the sinner's absolution.
Where sins of ignorance (of the Law) were committed, the sinner(s) brought in their sacrificial animal for the priest to perform the sacrifice unto the LORD. We read in Leviticus chapter 4 about this; and after the offering unto the LORD was completed, "...the priest shall make an atonement for his (the person's) sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him": Leviticus 4:35. Who forgives the sinner this sin? Was it the priest or God? So, there must be a forgiveness of sins committed under this system (not the wilful sins of breaking the commandments which required death); but I understand that God's Forgiveness was based on contrition for sin, of offering the sacrifice, & this was both specific & temporary - for the priests had to do this for all sin & each year for the sins of Israel. And all these pointed the people, maybe with limited understanding, to the coming Sacrifice Who would remove such a temporary covering of sin; where the Sacrificed Lamb ever stands before God's Throne and where sinners saved through the Cross simply confessed their sin & were sure of God's continual Forgiveness, based not on what they could possibly do, but all that Christ has done.
This is how I read the Bible interpreting itself: the OT was just as important - where sinners found forgiveness there as well.
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
The Altar of Incense does have a crown around it , it does represent Christ , the Incense flowing up to God from the Altar ( which represents Christ ) represents our prayers , flowing up to God through Christ our Heavenly Mediator . The Altar is Christ and the Incense is our prayers , going up to God , through Christ . It's all so beautiful . Even then God was looking towards us , giving us hope in a better future and life than this earthly physical one . God is alive , real , everywhere and full of love for us . Even then , thousands of years ago He was putting His plans for us to be with Him , into action . God's love is beyond anything any human can comprehend and it overwhelms me sometimes , just how unworthy of it I am . And yet He knows me , and all my horrible human ways , and He still loves me . And He loves you too .
The altar of sacrifice had no crown molding around the edges. On the cross, Jesus was accursed due to our sin being upon Him. He was in the sacrifice for our transgressions, the payment for our sins, the propitiation for our rebellion against God, the reconciling sacrifice to cleanse us from sin. The altar of incense did have a crown molding around the edge. Jesus is depicted in this altar as our reigning King who purchased us with His blood and made us righteous before God. He is our representative, like the High Priest is the representative of all of Israel. His atonement is accepted by the Father and we are received into union with the Godhead through Jesus.
I am sure there is much more to be said on this Chapter. I welcome others input.
So, as to the differences, let's begin with the topic of voluntary and compulsory.
The first three offerings were not required. They are a free will offering on the part of the Israelite because they want to honor God and worship Him without being constrained to do so. It demonstrates the believers desire to commune with God, to bring Him glory, to interact with Him, and to give to Him.
The sin offering is mandatory. Sin must be dealt with. It has a price to be paid by a sacrifice. When a sinner brings this sacrifice to God, He is out of fellowship with God and the sacrifice removes the sin so that fellowship can be re-established. The sinner needs to be purified of sin. This purification must be made outside the camp, not in the camp where only that which is clean can abide. Our sin separates us from the fellowship of the Trinity because He is absolutely pure and holy. He cannot abide with sin.
Also, The body of sin is not fit for human consumption. It is tainted through and through. So, the priests cannot eat of it, also.
The sprinkling of the blood before the door of the tabernacle vs. before the veil is significant in that the courtyard is where all the Israelites congregated, but the holy place was entered only by the high priest as a representative of the people. So the blood of Christ sprinkled upon the place (our inner man) where the people worship God is sanctified and the blood of Christ sprinkled before the veil that separated the people from God indicates to God that the sin had been satisfactorily propitiated to reconcile the people to God. This is a beautiful picture of Jesus as our Mediator, High Priest, and Savior.
The application of the blood upon the horns of the altar of incense vs. the altar of sacrifice, my thoughts are of this sort. The brazen altar of sacrifice refers to the Cross of Christ where He paid for our sins. The altar of incense refers to the intercession of Jesus as our Mediator. .. continued
This Chapter discusses the procedures for the sin offering for various groups of people:
The high priest
The whole congregation
The leader or ruler (prince or king in later times)
A common Israelite
The sacrifice is very similar to the offering for atonement in Chapter 1, but there are a few differences.
In Chapter 1, the animal was skinned, not so in Chapter 4
The animal could be cattle, sheep, goat, or birds in Chapter 1, but in chapter 4 the animal is either a young bullock (1-2 years old), or a male kid goat, or a female sheep.
In Chapter 1, the blood was sprinkled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, in Chapter 4, the blood is sprinkled before the veil that separated the holy place and the holy of holies. The priest is to dip his finger in the blood and apply it to the horns of the altar of incense seven times or to the horns of the altar of sacrifice.
In Chapter 1 the animal sacrificed is to be burned completely on the altar until it is ashes. Like the peace offering in Chapter 3 the fat is burned on the altar of sacrifice, not the flesh and remainder of the animal in Chapter 4. Also, differing from the peace offering, in the sin offering, instead of the flesh being eaten in a fellowship meal, the whole carcass of the animal is taken by the priest outside of the camp to where the ashes from the altar of sacrifices are deposited and the animal is completely burned on wood on top of this heap of ashes.
The first three offerings were voluntary, but the sin offering was compulsory.
The first three offerings were a sweet aroma unto God. The sin offering was not.
The word atonement is used for both the burnt offering in Chapter 1 and the sin offering in Chapter 4. Makes me wonder, does this word have different meanings in these two instances?
These differences are a bit subtle and can be easily overlooked in reading through the chapters.
So my thoughts on these differences will be given in the next post....
The priests played a serious role in representing the people before Jehovah God and offering sacrifices in their behalf. The greater High Priest, Jesus Christ, has a similar role today.
I heard Christ died for our sins when I was desperate. 2 people were sent to me and showed me. I get it ...I will never die and live happily everafter. His death burial and resurection was to save us from the wages of sin by actually supernaturally forging those that get it into one body, the body of Christ while he was in hell.
Verses 2-4~The people were to give a sacrifice if they sinned because of ignorance. We are sinners and we should pray to Jehovah God for forgiveness and help when we sin.
Audrey; You may have been misinformed about forgiveness in the Law and the Prophets. See Leviticus 4:20,26,31; 5:10,13; 6:7; 19:22; Numbers 14:19;15:26. Adam and Eve were forgiven and released to live out the rest of their lives and propagate the whole human race because of the Word of God that Christ would come in the flesh and undo the works of the devil and the power of sin; so RECONCILING man.
Audrey; You may have been misinformed about forgiveness in the Law and the Prophets. See Leviticus 4:20,26,31; 5:10,13; 6:7; 19:22; Numbers 14:19;15:26. Adam and Eve were forgiven and released to live out the rest of their lives and propagate the whole human race because of the Word of God that Christ would come in the flesh and undo the works of the devil and the power of sin; so RECONCILING man.
Jesus came to dispel laws of sacrifice because the true temple of God is in your heart and mind not in a building built with hands. Gods kingdom is in his heaven and the entire earth is under his feet. How does one put a roof over God? God does not allow it. If a temple made by hands is not required then an altar with the blood of dead animals on it is not required. Join together but with truth.
thank God for the love. that he has for us.for if God didn't love us the way that he do our sin would have taking us straight to hell.thank you Lord for giving the world another chance.
To Tony on Lev, 4 - all the O.T. was a 'schoolteacher' to bring us to Christ. It's all a 'shadow' of the N.T. Jesus' sacrifice was the fulfillment of the O.T. The shedding of blood in the Old was foretelling of Jesus shed blood. That' why the old had to be repeted many times - because it was not PERFECT; Jesus was PERFECT.
Animal sacrifices provided a means via which the Israelites could be forgiven of sins, because Christ had not yet died. The animals were sacrificed as a substitute for the sinner (because the wages of sin is death), in much the same way that Jesus was sacrificed in order that our sins can be forgiven. So Jesus fulfilled the sin offering by dying in our place, allowing us access to eternal life.
Tony, this chapter deals with instructions to the children of isreal on how to atone to sins through ignorance. This only applies to Hebrews.
Read the first verse.
This chapter 4 of Leviticus is strange. What is the symbolic meaning of this chapter? I can't reconcile this in any way with our LORD's sacrifice. There has to be a deeper meaning that I cannot understand at this time. Anybody?
the sins of ignorance committed by a common person,needed a sacrifice; the greatest are not above, the meanest are not below divin justice.we need to use frequent self-examination,with serious study of the scriptures.
And yes, those OT Sacrifices clearly pointed to Israel that "their sins brought them under condemnation and the Wrath of God", yet they still needed to faithfully perform them so as to stay the Wrath of God from them. For this reason, verses such as Numbers 15:25 & Leviticus 4:31 (after the priest offers the sacrifice, the burnt offering becomes a "sweet savour unto the LORD' and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and IT SHALL BE forgiven him") spoke very clearly to them concerning their state before God & their lives were under God's Judgement. If all that they sacrificed before God & receiving His forgiveness by it, only meant that they were performing an act which was useless, since Christ (as you believe), was already sacrificed for them from before the foundation of the world, then we do have a problem in understanding the nature of the OT sacrificial system.
If Christ already atoned for their sins, what was the need to introduce a system of works to please God & receive His Forgiveness? It's almost like saying, 'that we have been forgiven by Christ's Blood, but we still need to add our own works to make His Sacrifice complete'. Certainly, the OT Sacrifices contained no efficacy, for their blood shed had no lasting atoning value to the offeror ( Hebrews 10:11,12), but it still had to be done, so that God's Wrath could be stayed, their sins had to be covered, that they be not destroyed. And if that were not the case, then so help any who failed to perform what God had commanded - their fate was sealed.
The sacrificial system was absolutely important for Israel's physical preservation, but it did look forward to that One & only Sacrifice which would avail for them & for us. To understand the Bible in any other way concerning the sacrificial system, becomes meaningless.
The verses you shared from Hebrews chapter 10 are important & particularly verse 11, "And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins", shows us that those sacrifices could never deal with the sin problem as Jesus only could. They had to be 'offered oftentimes', whereas Jesus' Sacrifice was only offered once, as He, by His Own Sacrifice, fully met God's demands for the sinner's absolution.
Where sins of ignorance (of the Law) were committed, the sinner(s) brought in their sacrificial animal for the priest to perform the sacrifice unto the LORD. We read in Leviticus chapter 4 about this; and after the offering unto the LORD was completed, "...the priest shall make an atonement for his (the person's) sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him": Leviticus 4:35. Who forgives the sinner this sin? Was it the priest or God? So, there must be a forgiveness of sins committed under this system (not the wilful sins of breaking the commandments which required death); but I understand that God's Forgiveness was based on contrition for sin, of offering the sacrifice, & this was both specific & temporary - for the priests had to do this for all sin & each year for the sins of Israel. And all these pointed the people, maybe with limited understanding, to the coming Sacrifice Who would remove such a temporary covering of sin; where the Sacrificed Lamb ever stands before God's Throne and where sinners saved through the Cross simply confessed their sin & were sure of God's continual Forgiveness, based not on what they could possibly do, but all that Christ has done.
This is how I read the Bible interpreting itself: the OT was just as important - where sinners found forgiveness there as well.
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
Revelation 8:3-4.
Go's bless.
The altar of sacrifice had no crown molding around the edges. On the cross, Jesus was accursed due to our sin being upon Him. He was in the sacrifice for our transgressions, the payment for our sins, the propitiation for our rebellion against God, the reconciling sacrifice to cleanse us from sin. The altar of incense did have a crown molding around the edge. Jesus is depicted in this altar as our reigning King who purchased us with His blood and made us righteous before God. He is our representative, like the High Priest is the representative of all of Israel. His atonement is accepted by the Father and we are received into union with the Godhead through Jesus.
I am sure there is much more to be said on this Chapter. I welcome others input.
...continued.
So, as to the differences, let's begin with the topic of voluntary and compulsory.
The first three offerings were not required. They are a free will offering on the part of the Israelite because they want to honor God and worship Him without being constrained to do so. It demonstrates the believers desire to commune with God, to bring Him glory, to interact with Him, and to give to Him.
The sin offering is mandatory. Sin must be dealt with. It has a price to be paid by a sacrifice. When a sinner brings this sacrifice to God, He is out of fellowship with God and the sacrifice removes the sin so that fellowship can be re-established. The sinner needs to be purified of sin. This purification must be made outside the camp, not in the camp where only that which is clean can abide. Our sin separates us from the fellowship of the Trinity because He is absolutely pure and holy. He cannot abide with sin.
Also, The body of sin is not fit for human consumption. It is tainted through and through. So, the priests cannot eat of it, also.
The sprinkling of the blood before the door of the tabernacle vs. before the veil is significant in that the courtyard is where all the Israelites congregated, but the holy place was entered only by the high priest as a representative of the people. So the blood of Christ sprinkled upon the place (our inner man) where the people worship God is sanctified and the blood of Christ sprinkled before the veil that separated the people from God indicates to God that the sin had been satisfactorily propitiated to reconcile the people to God. This is a beautiful picture of Jesus as our Mediator, High Priest, and Savior.
The application of the blood upon the horns of the altar of incense vs. the altar of sacrifice, my thoughts are of this sort. The brazen altar of sacrifice refers to the Cross of Christ where He paid for our sins. The altar of incense refers to the intercession of Jesus as our Mediator. .. continued
This Chapter discusses the procedures for the sin offering for various groups of people:
The high priest
The whole congregation
The leader or ruler (prince or king in later times)
A common Israelite
The sacrifice is very similar to the offering for atonement in Chapter 1, but there are a few differences.
In Chapter 1, the animal was skinned, not so in Chapter 4
The animal could be cattle, sheep, goat, or birds in Chapter 1, but in chapter 4 the animal is either a young bullock (1-2 years old), or a male kid goat, or a female sheep.
In Chapter 1, the blood was sprinkled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, in Chapter 4, the blood is sprinkled before the veil that separated the holy place and the holy of holies. The priest is to dip his finger in the blood and apply it to the horns of the altar of incense seven times or to the horns of the altar of sacrifice.
In Chapter 1 the animal sacrificed is to be burned completely on the altar until it is ashes. Like the peace offering in Chapter 3 the fat is burned on the altar of sacrifice, not the flesh and remainder of the animal in Chapter 4. Also, differing from the peace offering, in the sin offering, instead of the flesh being eaten in a fellowship meal, the whole carcass of the animal is taken by the priest outside of the camp to where the ashes from the altar of sacrifices are deposited and the animal is completely burned on wood on top of this heap of ashes.
The first three offerings were voluntary, but the sin offering was compulsory.
The first three offerings were a sweet aroma unto God. The sin offering was not.
The word atonement is used for both the burnt offering in Chapter 1 and the sin offering in Chapter 4. Makes me wonder, does this word have different meanings in these two instances?
These differences are a bit subtle and can be easily overlooked in reading through the chapters.
So my thoughts on these differences will be given in the next post....
Read the first verse.
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