Leviticus 1:1-2 The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting.  He said, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any of you brings an offering to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.’”

I’ve been reading the book of Leviticus and I struggled through the first 7 chapters because they were about all the sacrifices/offerings that the Israelites were instructed to give to God.  The verses weren’t gruesome or anything like that, but they were very detailed.  There were verses about burnt offerings, grain offerings, fellowship offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings. There were instructions about which animals to use and what parts of the animals to use. Some parts of the animals were to be burned, some parts eaten by the priest and some parts eaten by the person giving the sacrifice.  All in all, there are 171 verses with very specific details on how all the different offerings are to be made. 

Honestly, as I was reading these verses, I thought to myself, “Wow, I’m super glad I didn’t live 1400 years before Jesus.  There is no way I would be able to remember all this.”  I mean, it’s not like they could whip out a pen and paper to take notes.  They didn’t have cell phones to record the sacrifices so they could remember how to do them again the next time.  If I lived back then, I think I would have been terrified that I would forget something.

In the Old Testament, an animal’s life was given to save the life of a person in the form of a sacrifice. But this was only a temporary fix because people would sin again and again.  Luckily, we were born after the most important sacrifice was made. That sacrifice was Jesus dying on the cross.  In John 1:29 it says, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Jesus was called the Lamb of God because he was sent to us from God to be the ultimate sacrifice so that we no longer had to sacrifice animals or grain to be forgiven.  Jesus died for us so that we could be made right before God forever and spend eternal life with Him in heaven.  One sacrifice that never has to be done again. One and done for you. 

Jesus, thank you for giving your life as a sacrifice for mine. You are the most incredible example of love.  You fill me up with joy and happiness.  Please open my eyes to see others that need to hear the good news of about your love and sacrifice for them.  Help me to be a reflection of you.  Amen.