The name of God, to some, brings to mind images of a hateful being filled with rage for slight offenses which are dealt with in a drastic fashion. Contemporary interpretations of God and His character have focused on the aspects of His judgment against transgression without acknowledging His mercy and love for mankind. In the study so far an attempt has been made to present God within the context of His provisions for mankind in general, and for His people specifically. God is more than a wrathful being created by the Hebrews in a desperate attempt to explain the calamity that befell their nation.
One passage that is often quoted by believers bears this out. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3.16). A being bent on destruction and filled with fiery indignation against helpless man does not demonstrate the characteristics noted by John. The key phrase in the passage cited is, “For God so loved the world...”. While Christ is the manifestation of the love of God, He did not act alone. Christ came into the world as part of God’s plan to reconcile man. It was God’s power that created the body inhabited by Christ, and it was the power of God that raised Him from the dead. While Christ is the open symbol of God’s glory, power and love, the Father also possesses these characteristics.
The sacrifice made by Christ was the sacrifice of God. As a son Christ humbled Himself and did the Father’s will (Philippians 2.5-8) giving us an example of what our relationship to the Father should be. In this chapter we will discuss the sacrifice of Christ as an act of faithfulness on the part of God, carried out as an expression of His concern for the spiritual welfare of mankind. God went to great measures and suffered a terrible loss in giving His son. God’s role as the loving Father of all living things can be seen in the careful planning and execution of the scheme of redemption that lies at the heart of the Biblical narrative.
First of all there are general blessings that God has given to all that live on the earth. From the beginning He provided food (Genesis 2.16, Genesis 9.3). God made a provision for meeting sexual and reproductive needs through marriage (Genesis 2.23-24, Matthew 19.4-6, 1 Corinthians 7.2, Hebrews 13.4). God also provided the means to address the physical needs and general care for humans on the earth (Job 25.3, Matthew 5.45, James 1.17). In spite of this care mankind turned away from the benevolent creator (Romans 1.25) who in turn waited patiently until the time when he would reveal His will and require all to repent and obey Him (Acts 15.16-17, Acts 17.26-30).
To think of God as a being who was angry without cause ignores the teachings of the scriptures. God did not take the life of Cain after the murder of Abel but invoked a sanction against him and provided a protection that no one should kill him (Genesis 4.9-15). God did not condone killing and later voiced a universal sanction against this crime (Genesis 9.6). God shows mercy in other situations as well. Abraham bargained with God for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18.23-33). Ten righteous souls would have spared these wicked cities but this number could not be found (Genesis 19.1-24).
God intervened with destruction only as a last resort. Noah prepared an ark for the saving of his household while God waited patiently for the completion of this task (1 Peter 3.20). Noah is said to have condemned the world through his own faithfulness to God (Hebrews 11.7). God does not desire the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18.23,32, Ezekiel 33.11). When the nations of Judah and Israel sinned He sent messengers and prophets to call them to repent but finally allowed them to be destroyed when they refused to correct their ways (2 Chronicles 36.15-17). A wrathful being who sought only the destruction of those who did not obey Him would not have manifested this type of attitude.
God knew the mind of man (Genesis 8.21-22) and realized the need for a means of reconciliation. God manifests Himself as a good planner by making a provision for this contingency before the world began. Paul acknowledges this in his writing to Titus when he states, “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” (Titus 1.2). God veiled His plan through prophecy and specific representations that prevented intrusion and tampering by the Devil who worked against God from the very beginning. Christ, rebuking those in the Temple who demonstrated a lack of belief, describes the nature of Satan, when he told them, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8.44). God hid His plan from the eyes of the Devil, and mankind, thus paving the way for Christ, providing a foundation upon which His Son would firmly stand.
Paul further explains the reasons for this concealment in his writing to the Corinthians. “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (1 Corinthians 2.7-8). The mystery of which Paul speaks was revealed fully through Christ as God’s plan for salvation (Colossians 1.26-27). Christ stated that he came to fulfill the Law and the prophets (Matthew 5.17) and not one part of that word would pass until it had all been completed (Matthew 5.18, Luke 16.17). The mechanisms God employed shows us a wisdom that surpasses earthly understanding (Isaiah 55.8).
Giving Christ as the sacrifice for the sins of the world is the expression of God’s love toward mankind. Paul states, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5.8 NKJV). The world was largely ungrateful for this sacrifice and remains so today. God’s care is openly challenged by statements that are intended to demean and misrepresent His character. In order to appreciate the depth of God’s love for mankind we must understand the purpose of the sacrifices made by the patriarchs and later commanded under the Law of Moses. Examining these we can establish a link between them and the offering of Christ as the final sacrifice.
First a look at the actual function of the sacrifices will provide additional background for the study. Unlike pagan practices, sacrificing animals to God was not a ritual intended to meet His needs or buy His favor. The Psalmist states, “If I were hungry, I would not tell you: for the world is mine, and all it’s fullness. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?” (Psalm 50.12-13). God was not like deities of pagan cultures. In such superstitious systems the gods had to be offered food to appease their appetite or gain some other benefit. God did not require sacrifices for these reasons. The Psalmist continues and explains the nature of the sacrifices as he states, “Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the most high.” (Psalm 50.14). As we shall see, the offerings made to God were for the benefit of mankind and were part of a much larger picture.
The sacrifices were ordained and commanded by God with a more significant spiritual purpose. A study of the manner in which these sacrifices were to be offered, the duties of the priests and the requirements of the animals to be used clarify the essential aspects of purity and sanctification. God gave specific instructions regarding the nature of the animals that were to be offered. God defined these clearly when He told Moses, “Those that are blind or broken or maimed, or have an ulcer or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar to the Lord. .... You shall not offer to the Lord what is bruised or crushed, or torn or cut; nor shall you make any offering of them in your land.” (Leviticus 22.22,24 NKJV). In short God states, “Whatever has a defect you shall not offer.” (Leviticus 22.20 NKJV). The sacrifices were to be of the best quality as indicated in just a few of the references that can be found which include: Leviticus 1.3,10, 3.1,6, 4.3,23,28, 5.14,18, 6.6.
The characteristics of the animals, the manner in which they were to be offered and the need of the priest to offer for his own sins first (Hebrews 7.27) defines limits and demands attention to detail, or memory, as was noted earlier in the study. The attitude which eventually manifested itself among God’s people was one of corruption. Their failure to maintain the sanctity of the sacrifices by offering that which was unacceptable brought about a rebuke by God (Malachi 1.8,13-14).
The spiritual nature of the sacrifices can be seen in some of the statements which indicate their ownership. God states through Moses, “Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.” (Exodus 23.18). Speaking of the Passover God told Moses, “Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the Passover be left until morning.” (Exodus 34.25). This latter statement provides a link to Christ.
There are two senses in which the phrase “my sacrifice” can be viewed. The first is that the sacrifices were commanded by God and thus were to be offered to Him as directed. They were to be God’s by virtue of His command and thus were holy because of the purpose for the animals. Another sense in which this phrase can be understood is that of the actual ownership of the sacrifices. God had given the Hebrews all of their possessions including their herds and cattle. While the priests and people were to reserve certain animals to be offered to God they were ultimately owned by the Lord as the provider. This sense provides a link with Christ who is God’s gift as a sacrifice to the world.
God being the provider of the animals for the sacrifices, incorporates a prophetic element into the sacrificial law. The sacrificing of animals could not take away sins (Hebrews 10.11) and only represented a remembrance of sin in such a way as to point to a better sacrifice (Hebrews 10.1-4). God’s commands to the Hebrews however provided a foundation for the sacrifice of Christ who would be brought into the world during the fullness of time (Galatians 4.4). The Law was put in place by God to prepare the way for Jesus and would direct the people to Christ at the proper time (Galatians 3.24). Paul stated that the things that were written “aforetime” (Romans 15.4) are for our learning and through a careful study we can understand the link between Christ and the sacrifices.
The similarities between Christ and the animal sacrifices clarifies the idea that those sacrifices were a “shadow” of things to come (Hebrews 8.5). First is the requirement that the sacrifices were to be without blemish. This phrase occurs repeatedly throughout the early portion of the book of Leviticus (Leviticus 1-7) which details the offering of the various sacrifices. Likewise, Christ is described as being without blemish (Hebrews 9.14, 1 Peter 1.19) and is referred to as the lamb of God (John 1.29,36, Isaiah 53.7). Christ was sanctified, or set apart, to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world in accordance with the will of God (Isaiah 53.4) which creates a contrast between Christ’s nature and the nature of the animal sacrifices.
The sacrifices the Hebrews were commanded to offer were a means of appeasing God spiritually until Christ would come into the world. Christ was made flesh by God for the specific purpose of being offered as a sacrifice for sins. The writer of Hebrews states, “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me .... then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10.5,9-10). Thus Christ was brought into the world in physical form to be offered up by God for the sins of the world (Hebrews 1.6).
God’s determination that Christ was to be the acceptable sacrifice for sin was made before the world began (Titus 1.2, Ephesians 1.4). He died according to the will of God (Isaiah 53) for the sins of all of mankind (Hebrews 9.28, 1 John 2.2). To demonstrate his more excellent nature over the animal sacrifices, Christ was raised from the dead by God (Ephesians 1.20, Acts 2.24,32, Hebrews 13.20) and was given glory by receiving all power and authority from the Father (Matthew 28.18, Ephesians 1.20-21, 1 Peter 3.22) for the completion of God’s work. The only exception to this power which Christ received is that God Himself is not subject to Christ (1 Corinthians 15.27).
The keeping of the sacrifices by the Hebrews represented their faithful service to God and pointed to a time of complete reconciliation. This fullness of time would not only be for the Hebrews or Jews but for all nations (Isaiah 2.1-2, Micah 4.1-3). The sacrifices themselves spiritually represented the sacrifice of Christ as the lamb of God. For this reason the purity of the sacrifices, making them acceptable to God, had to be maintained. Failure to do this corrupted the offering, polluted the temple of God, and created a barrier between themselves and God’s salvation.
The sacrificial system instituted by God is a demonstration of how God used physical means to represent spiritual figures. The physical means employed were temporary indicating that something more permanent was forthcoming. In each of these situations God respected the sacrifices of the faithful since these were instrumental in linking them with the blood of Christ to be offered at a future date. God speaks of redemption at times in the Old Testament as in the future, while at other times He refers to it as being already accomplished. For the faithful, God speaks and acts in such a way that indicates the surety of the promises He has made. God many times speaks in the present as though things yet in the future are already past. This is the faithfulness of God. If God has promised something it is a sure thing that can be relied on.
The way in which the faithful of all ages can be linked with Christ has to do with the shedding of blood. The spiritual representation of salvation by the shedding of blood can be followed through the scriptures and serves to link the Bible further as a unified whole rather than a group of disorganized texts. This trail, and it’s spiritual significance, is the subject of the next chapter which continues the discussion of the sacrifices and their link to Christ.