Pictures from the Old Testament: the Levitical System

Most nations around ancient Israel believed that they were ruled by unseen beings in the sky who controlled the weather, the fertility of people, animals and crops (and thus their lives, in an agricultural setting) and many other things.  The nations believed they had to appease those beings by any number of methods including sacrificing animals -- and sometimes humans, sometimes even their own children!  (See for instance 2 Kings 17:31.)  The problem was, one could never be certain of success; the weather might still be against you, your crops might still fail, etc.  You always had a little cloud of doubt hanging over your head.

The system God gave Israel was similar in many respects, at least to the casual observer. They had holy places, priests, altars, sacrifices of animals and grains, and even boxes that represented the presence of their god (that's why the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant in 1 Samuel 4).  But there were differences, and those differences assured the people of the forgiveness and faithfulness of Yahweh.  In addition, the whole Levitical system (the priests were all from the tribe of Levi) points directly to Jesus, our Savior. 

Here are just a few points, to illustrate:

• The 'sin offerings' described in Leviticus 4 and 5 are described as being effective:  "they will be forgiven" is used in 4:20, 4:26, 4:31, 4:35, and 5:10, 5:13, 5:16, 5:18, and in other places. 
• The offering had to be a 'male with no defects' (Lev. 1:3)
• The priest wears, on his turban, a seal engraved with the words "Holy to the LORD" which is taken to mean that he "may take on himself any guilt of the people of Israel when they consecrate their sacred offerings. He must always wear it on his forehead so the Lord will accept the people." (Ex. 28:36-68).
• The priest wears stones such as onyx and emerald, engraved with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel: “In this way, Aaron will carry the names of the tribes of Israel on the sacred chestpiece over his heart when he goes into the Holy Place. This will be a continual reminder that he represents the people when he comes before the Lord." (Ex. 28:29) 

Jesus himself fulfilled all those things: 

• He is our high priest (Heb 9:11) the one bringing the offering, and he was also the offering itself.
• He had no sin of his own but carried our guilt (Heb. 9:14)
• He represented all the people, as did the high priest in Israel; and through his sacrifice on the cross, all sin is taken away for all people, forever (Heb. 9:24-28). 
• That offering is effective, not because of the blood of animals, but the blood of Jesus himself (Heb 10:4-10).

This is one more of those reasons why we say that we read the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, through the lens of Jesus Christ.  The sacrificial system of the Israelite nation did nothing to change peoples' hearts (Heb. 10:1-4) but only looked forward to the One who was to come.  Now, we live under the terms of the New Covenant, not the old one (Heb. 10:9) and are completely forgiven, even to the point of having a clean conscience.  That's what Jesus has given, not only to us, but every human who has ever lived! 

Weeds

I just pulled a few weeds from the cracks in the driveway. That reminded me of the sins -- ideas, habits and reactions -- that creep into our lives when we're not looking.

Yes, our sins are forgiven by Jesus' sacrifice, and we are brought into the loving communion of the Trinity through his work (not ours!). But that's never an excuse to allow sin to come back into our lives and injure us -- and others. It's important for us to keep our eyes open to those things that threaten our relationship with God and with each other.

Hebrews 12:1 says (right after the list of the people of faith in chapter 11) "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." The Greek adjective translated 'trips us up' means anything that would slow us down and take our energy. The metaphor here for Christian life is an endurance race, not a sprint; so it's important not to let sin creep in and take away even a little energy, as that will have serious consequences over 'the long run.'

Later on in Hebrews 12, verse 15 says "Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many." Now, that's interesting: the writer tells us two things -- to not let bitterness come in and poison the relationships between us; also the command to "look after each other." I think one of the most serious 'weeds' that gets into our lives is offense and unforgiveness -- bitterness -- between us.

If we're considering where to find sin our lives -- and we should -- then looking carefully for conflict, or the leftovers of conflict like resentment against someone else, is vital. Too often (really, once is too often) Christians simply withdraw from each other, cutting off contact and communication, rather than working things out. That weed always grows, never dying by itself, and it spreads seeds that also grow, "corrupting many." We have to go after that sin and pull it out by the roots before it affects our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Like weeds, sin is serious stuff. We need to surrender it to God and ask him for the help we need to get rid of it. How about searching your life this week for those 'weeds' that hurt you and those close to you? And how about forgiving -- really, deeply letting go -- of someone else's sin against you?