The Sacrificial System 

What is the purpose of sacrifice? And why is God so fixated on all of these different rituals of sacrificing bulls, goats, pigs, cows, lambs, doves and so much more all throughout the Old Testament? Why does God behave this way, and why is all of this blood required at his hand? Well there is an answer to all of this, and the bible teaches us why sacrifice is critical to our own survival in this world. 

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God

Every human being on earth has been separated from God. Originally, he designed a perfect world where he dwelt with us and walked with us in physical form. His creation was without sin and without wickedness; without evil, where everything was good (Genesis 1:31). Every one of our needs were met and we were completely fulfilled being in fellowship with God and the rest of his creation.

But God didn’t want to create an environment where he was worshipped and followed blindly. He wanted a real relationship with humanity. He wanted his people to follow him out of love, of their own volition. So, God gave us the free will to make our own choices. And the choice was simple…life or death. The tree of life, or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Evil never existed in the mind of his creation, until mankind was fooled into violating his one and only command, choosing sin over obedience. Because we made this choice, humanity was separated from God's presence. Ever since this moment, sin crept into the land, and the world became cursed as a result (Isaiah 24:6).

God is perfectly holy, righteous, and just, and he designed our universe that way. In him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). Imperfection cannot exist in the presence of God, otherwise he would thereby become imperfect himself. This is why humanity has been separated from him. This is why sin is death sentence for us. Once we sin we become unholy. Once unholy, we cannot be with God. And without God, there is no life, but only death.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

When we sinned, we became imperfect. When we became imperfect, we became unholy. Unholy cannot intertwine with holiness, otherwise holiness is no longer holy. Just as darkness is the absence of light, death is the absence of God. This is why the result of sin is death. Separation from God results in death because he is life. Life does not exist outside of him. Only he can transform inanimate object into animated life (Genesis 2:7).

The law of Moses was not given to "save" us. In fact the 10 commandments condemn all of mankind to death (2 Corinthians 3:6). No human being can keep these laws perfectly and if we violate even one word of the law, we commit sin against God. Our God is perfect and Holy. Therefore if we sin against him, the result is death. So unless there is another way...unless there was a new covenant or new system put in place, every human being would be condemned to death. Even the most righteous person on the planet, who may be generous and kind, and may be a great person by comparison to others...is not righteous by God. There is one way out of this mess...but the path is narrow, and very few find it (Matthew 7:14). 

Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

We are not being judged on a relative basis to each other. We are judged by God's standard of perfect holiness. As the verse above in Isaiah states, our human righteousness is as clean as filthy rags (the term filthy rags being a reference to used women's hygiene products...). And that about sums up our potential to "earn" our own salvation. We can't. Any religion or individual that tells you otherwise is a liar. All have sinned. All fall short of the glory God. All need the blood of Jesus Christ to take away their sins. Otherwise, what else can and who else will? 

If you ask the average person on the street if they're a good person most will say that they are. And if you ask them if they think they're going to heaven most think that they will. But think of this from the perspective we have of our own reality. Imagine there's judge who is perfectly just, and you are on trial for a felony that you did commit. Even if you think you're a good person because you may have helped out a family member when they were in a pinch, or perhaps even helped an old woman cross the street that morning...there are no amount of good deeds that can cover up the fact that you committed a felony, and the Judge whose duty it is to serve justice is obligated to convict you of your crime. Our position before God is no different. We are guilty. We are condemned. Unless someone else is willing to take that blame for us...

Genesis 3:6-7 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

The necessity for sacrifice was there from the very beginning of creation, going all the way back to the garden. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, they were guilty and destined for death. They tried to cover up their nakedness before God with fig leaves, but it was no use. No amount of vegetation could provide them the protection they needed from the punishment they deserved. Just as no amount of "good" works can cover up our offenses against God. But in God's infinite mercy, he created another way for justice to still be satisfied while saving Adam and Eve from destruction. 

Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 

Adam and Eve owed their lives in exchange for the decision they made. They traded God's word for Satan's lie. They traded their souls for the false premise of "becoming like God", thus violating his only rule (this rule being a necessary requirement for God's construct to allow for free will; if there was no option to disobey God, then it would not be our own free will to follow him). They had a debt that needed to be paid, and nothing less than a life could satisfy that debt. God satisfied this exchange by offering the lives of two innocent animals for the lives of Adam and Eve. This why we have the need for sacrifice in our world. We too stand naked before God, and we too require his clothing to be saved. Jesus is the clothing...through faith in him and by placing our faith in his sacrificial atonement, we can then have his righteousness attributed to us. He exchanged his life to save us by taking God's punishment upon himself (justice being satisfied), just as the two innocents animals exchanged their lives for Adam and Eve. All of this was an archetype of The Messiah's saving sacrifice for the sake of all humanity. 

Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

Leviticus tells us that "life" exists in the blood. So God sacrificed two innocent creatures lives, thus shedding their blood instead of the blood that was required from his most treasured creation (Matthew 10:31). The Lord made the payment necessary for Adam and Eve to continue living while still maintaining the balances of justice.

The story of Cain and Abel echoes the same teaching from the garden:

Genesis 4:3-7 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Here we have two brothers from the same family tasked with providing a worthy sacrifice for The Lord. Adam and Eve clearly understood what was an acceptable sacrifice (animal with blood), and what was not (fig leaves). They learned this lesson the hard way as they were thrown out of paradise and barely escaped with their lives. There's no doubt these two boys were taught what was acceptable to the Lord, and what was not.

But Cain wanted to do it his own way, offering fruit as a sacrifice. This is a direct comparison to how Adam and Eve first tried to cover up their nakedness (sin) before God with fig leaves. Our own works or our own righteousness cannot justify us before God. Only He can justify us, by his way, through his methods. Abel understood this. He offered his very best and fattest lamb to God as a righteous sacrifice. Abel did well and was accepted by God (forgiven). Cain did not, thus sin was at his door (death). Until we accept Jesus, death lies at the door for each of us. It is only once we place our faith in God's perfect sacrifice that we will be accepted. God's perfect lamb was his only begotten son, Jesus Christ.

John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 

The system of sacrifice exists because God valued his creation of Man over all else, and loved us so much that He went through these extreme lengths to save us. We are the only animal blessed (and cursed) with the gift of knowledge, reason, and consciousness. God never wanted a bunch of mindless robots to worship him out of forced obligation. He wants his most advanced and prized creation to worship him out of pure love, and out of that person's free will to do so. Every breath we take, every second we have to be alive is a statistical impossibility. The only reason any of us have the gift of life is because it was given to us by our creator.

Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

Due to pride, jealousy, deceit, lust and more (Ezekiel 28:12-17), Mankind was attacked and corrupted by Satan. Through Satan's corruption of Eve, sin had entered into the world, and it is now something that all of us have to battle against. Because God did not want mankind to be eternally condemned, he covered our sins with a righteous sacrifice, just as he clothed Adam and Eve in the garden. If we trust in the Lord Jesus, he too will clothe us in his protective righteousness. It his blood and only his blood that allows for the remission of sins. Only God can clean the slate for us (Matthew 9:2). But we have to do it his way (John 14:6). 

Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith

Faith in Christ allows for the Holy Spirit to enter into the heart of a believer. This is the overriding force that pulls any individual out of condemnation, and into the righteousness of God. By placing our faith in the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, His sacrifice covers our sin, as God covered the sins of Adam and Eve. Jesus became sin for us, so that we can receive his righteous perfection, through faith. In doing so, we are clothed with eternal skins of protection (garments of salvation Isaiah 61:10) which guard us from God's wrath. Only God himself can take away our sins through this sacrificial method. But it was never bulls and goats that were the answer. Those were but a forecast of the true sacrifice. The true Passover of God's wrath and destruction comes from the blood of His Spotless Lamb, Jesus. 

John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.