November 8, 2012

• Biblical Contradiction #5 (Does God Delight in Burnt Offerings?)

  #3 – Salvation: By Works or Faith? << Previous | MASTER LIST | Next >> #6 – An Evil Good God: Did God Create Or Use Evil?

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  Originally posted October 30, 2012.

  Here’s the (playful) question: Does God delight in burnt offerings or are they too crispy for His taste?

  A BLOODY MESS (NO, THAT’S NOT A BRITISH CURSE)
  God’s answer to the sin problem is one that would surely enrage P.E.T.A. and other animal rights activists. Undoubtedly, it probably has already even though Christians and Jews don’t employ them anymore.

  Animal sacrifices. A bloody mess, indeed. The question some critics have asked about – or even charged against – the Bible is if God delights in this whole bloody affair. Does God actually get enjoyment somehow from sacrifices or doesn’t He? How is the smell of burning fat a “pleasing aroma”? And, I’ll add myself, why does (rather, did) God employ them?

  The sacrificial system is a serious matter. (I say “is” for, even though we’re looking at the Old Testament sacrificial system which is no longer in use, we are still called to be living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) in our walk with Christ.) For, even after this article is done and I’ve clarified how there is no contradiction and hopefully have done so with a good dose of humor, what’s left is the very real matter of our sin – yours and mine – and Jesus, the Final Sacrifice.

  The ancient Israelites took the ritual of animal sacrifices very seriously. For it was not about appeasing an emotionally unstable deity nor was it to entice a god for good crops. Rather it was about redemption. A restoration of a relationship with God and a payment of debt…theirs…and ours. Like any debt, it demands repayment. It demands justice. But could they pay in full and still live?

  I NOW PRESENT THE INTRODUCTION…AGAIN
  As I have done with every entry to my Biblical Contradiction series, I like to give a little background on what inspired this and the other entries (because maybe you’re just now coming into the series and have no idea why I’m even writing it!). There is a rather comical video production on YouTube that some guy from England (they sure sound British anyway) put together in order to show a wide array of proposed Biblical contradictions in the text. (However, I have personally dialogued with the gentleman and he’s very convinced these aren’t just possible contradictions, but certifiable ones.) Fourty-five to be exact. It’s a clever “game show” with stick men…though not without some mockery at the expense of the Bible and Christians sprinkled all around just to spice things up.

  This time around, as you have surely guessed (either you’re that smart or I’m being way too obvious…or both), I’ll be addressing his argument that there is a conflict as to whether or not God delights in animal sacrifices (which comes in at time index 2:05 in the video). The verses in question are Jeremiah 7:22 and Exodus 20:24. We’ll get to these two verses later on.

  First, though, we ought to take some time to understand the types and purposes of each of the sacrifices God established through Moses.

  THIS ISN’T YOUR REGULAR BACKYARD BBQ
  As an overview, here’s a table that highlights each of the five main types of sacrifices and a few other details. I don’t want to delve too deeply into the details of the ritual in practice as they are simply not the focus. But let’s do take a glance. The book of Leviticus, written by Moses, as was Exodus, details the stipulations for the sacrificial ritual as prescribed by God.

  TYPE	ELEMENTS	PURPOSE	PORTION LEFT FOR…
  Burnt Leviticus 1 Leviticus 6:8-13 Leviticus 8:18-21 Leviticus 16:24	- Bull, ram, or bird (dove or young pigeon for the poor) - Wholly consumed - No defect	- Voluntary act of worship - Atonement for unintentional sin in general - Expression of devotion, commitment and complete surrender to God	…GOD Entire animal …PRIESTS Skin (to be sold) …OFFERER Nothing
  Grain or Cereal Leviticus 2 Leviticus 6:14-23	- Grain, fine flour, olive oil, incense, baked bread (cakes or wafers), salt - No yeast or honey - Accompanied burnt offering and peace offering (along with drink offering	- Voluntary act of worship - Recognition of God’s goodness and provisions - Devotion to God	…GOD – Priest’s own offering: entire portion to God – Offering by others: memorial portion (a handful) …PRIEST – Priest’s own offering: none (all the remainder to be burnt) – Offering by others: all the remainder (had to be eaten within court of tabernacle) …OFFERER Nothing
  Sin Leviticus 4 Leviticus 5:1-13 Leviticus 6:24-30 Leviticus 8:14-17 Leviticus 16:3-22	- Young bull: for High Priest and whole congregation. The blood was to be sprinkled in front of the veil and put on the horns of the altar of incense - Male goat: for leader. The blood was to be put on the horns of the altar of burnt offering - Female goat or lamb: for common person. The blood was to be put on the horns of the altar of burnt offering - Dove or pigeon: for the poor. The blood was to be put on the horns of the altar of burnt offering - 1/10 ephah of fine flour: for the very poor	- Mandatory atonement for specific unintentional sin - Confession of sin - Forgiveness of sin - Cleansing of defilement	…GOD Fatty portions (fat covering inner parts, fat tail, kidneys, lobe of the liver) …PRIEST Atonement for High Priest and congregation: none (all the remainder was to be burnt outside the camp where the ashes were thrown) …OFFERER Nothing
  Peace (similar to a Vow Offering, Thanks Offering, or Free-will Offering) Leviticus 3 Leviticus 7:11-34	- Any animal without defect from herd or flock – Variety of breads	- Voluntary act of worship - Thanksgiving and fellowship (it included a communal meal) - Included vow offerings and freewill offerings	…GOD Fatty portions (fat covering inner parts, fat tail, kidneys, lobe of the liver) …PRIEST – Breast given to High Priest (wave offering) – Right foreleg given to officiating priest (heave offering) …OFFERER – Thanksgiving offering: all the remainder (to be eaten the same day) with no left overs allowed – Vow or freewill offering: remainder (to be eaten the same day and the next day) with any leftovers to be burnt on the 3rd day
  Trespass Leviticus 5:14-19 Leviticus 6:1-7 Leviticus 7:1-6	- Ram - If the worshiper had unwittingly cheated another of money or property, his sacrifice must be equal to the value of the amount taken, plus one-fifth. He offered this amount to the priest, then made a similar restitution to the former property owner. Therefore he repaid twice the amount he had taken plus 40 percent (Lev. 6:5-6) *	- Mandatory atonement for unintentional sin requiring restitution - Cleansing from defilement - Make restitution - Pay 20% fine	…GOD Fatty portions (fat covering inner parts, fat tail, kidneys, lobe of the liver) …PRIEST All the remainder (had to be eaten within court of tabernacle) …OFFERER Nothing

  TABLE DATA FROM: http://www3.telus.net/public/kstam/en/tabernacle/details/offerings.htm#
  * Additional data from: http://myfriendsforlife-prince.blogspot.com/2011/06/5-types-of-sacrifice-in-old-testament.html
  FOR MORE DETAILS ON EACH SACRIFICE TYPE: http://www.studylight.org/dic/hbd/view.cgi?number=T5431, http://maranathalife.com/teach-ot/classnotes/Notes%20-%20Class%205%20-%20Sacrificial%20System.pdf

  ABOUT CROSSING BURNED BRIDGES
  Primarily, the bulk of the sacrifices had to do with atonement for sins. It’s important to note that any sin, regardless of severity, creates a rift in our relationship with God. Again, it’s not necessarily the severity of the sin (that’s definitely important, too), but that there’s sin at all.

  If you recall in Genesis 1, God created us in His image. We are to be a reflection of who He is. If you consider a mirror, even one crack can distort the image of the one standing in front of it. Unlike a mirror (or the image it reflects), which is just an inanimate object, we are free-will reflections of God. So when we sin, we are essentially telling God, “This is who You are. This is what You ‘look’ like.” God takes offense to that.

  Sacrifices are not to be confused for a mere fine for breaking the law, necessarily, such as paying for a speeding ticket or littering; but the equal consequence for breaking the law. For instance, when you have a lit room, disrupting the electrical flow to the light bulb will cause an equal consequence of darkness. You cannot interrupt the electricity and still expect to have light. With animal sacrifices, it’s like God is creating an alternate circuit pathway to allow your light to still shine…at the cost of the animal’s life.

  A light must still go out. The grace is shown in that it’s not yours.

  It should be noted that the sacrificial system is more than just about paying off debts. God’s design of the system was also to be an act of worship to Him, a means to maintain or repair Israel’s part in the Mosaic covenant, (re)focus the people’s hearts on Him, and show their dedication to Him. God is Lord and Creator, and more.

  Keep this in mind: Sacrifices were a means to externally demonstrate what was inwardly true. More on that later.

  THIS IS GONNA HURT…
  As I mentioned, animal sacrifices were part of paying a debt…but instead of us – the guilty ones – paying the debt, God’s establishment of this system of rituals was a gracious and merciful way for us to be spared.

  The instructions for each type of sacrifice were very strict in most cases and were not to be taken lightly. Among other things, the one who was offering the sacrifice had to provide the animal from his own assets (Leviticus 1:2)…and it had to be the best (Leviticus 1:3, et al, with certain exceptions: i.e.: Leviticus 22:17-30). Animals were clearly a huge part of daily living back then. One’s wealth was often measured in terms of livestock. It was, indeed, a sacrifice to actively take responsibility for the deep cost of sin (let alone the natural consequences of the sin, itself).

  God wasn’t asking the people to kill off the milk cow or the strong ox for plowing the farms, of course. As you read through the Bible, even in times of serious punishment, there was always at least a hint of grace and mercy stitched into His every judgment (consider God’s judgment to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3). The sacrificial animal was most often the firstborn male that was just about to reach its prime for labor, and not the individual’s immediate source of livelihood.

  Indeed, the cost for sins was heavy, but it was a small price to pay considering the alternative.

  We see that King David understood this cost very well in one instance. David had sinned against the LORD and was on his way to follow the instructions God gave him through the prophet Gad.

  That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

  So David went up to do what the LORD had commanded him [through the prophet Gad]. When Aaraunah saw the king and his men coming toward him, he came and bowed before the king with his face to the ground.

  “Why have you come, my lord the king?” Araunah asked.
  David replied, “I have come to buy your threshing floor and to build an altar to the LORD there…”
  “Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you wish,” Araunah said to David. “Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and you can use the threshing boards and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar. I will give it all to you, Your Majesty, and may the LORD your God accept your sacrifice.”

  But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the LORD my God that have cost me nothing.”  So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen.

  David built an altar there to the LORD and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the LORD answered his prayer for the land…
  (2 Samuel 24:18-25, NLT, bold mine)

  David was king; he had access to great riches, so fifty pieces of silver was hardly taxing his pocketbook. But that wasn’t the point. Had David not paid Araunah, it would effectually have been Araunah paying (I speculate a far greater amount in relative comparison) for a sin he had not committed and David would not truly be taking full responsibility for his offense and the due penalty. The grace comes through in that David did not have to pay the full penalty of his sins but God never simply dismisses matters of justice, either. David understood this and so he insisted on paying the cost for Araunah’s offerings. David committed the offense, so it had to be David who made compensation.

  “CLEAN UP ON AISLE FIVE” or …NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED
  We are told that forgiveness for sins can only come by way of the sheading of blood (Hebrews 9:12-14). Had God not implemented sacrifices as a way to pay the debt of sin, we would all be dead, for it would be our blood that was shed.

  That God set up this ritual system emphasizes and underscores the very key point: God wants us to live. Because God is the Lord of life, sin detaches us from the source of life, Him. Just as I illustrated earlier with the light bulb, we cannot live without the source of life. The natural consequence is death when we sin. (Part of God’s grace is that the punishment is not fully realized – it’s postponed that grace may be given and life renewed.)

  Paul said in his letter to the church in Galatia, “Jesus gave His life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live” (Galatians 1:4, NLT). His very first command to Adam and Eve included a stern warning to obey lest they die. When they did sin, God sacrificed animals to clothe them before sending them out of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 4:21). The clothing was also symbolic of His covering of protection as they ventured out into the wild, beyond the protection of the Garden, and was a reminder of God’s forgiveness – which restored life – in light of their deliberate disobedience – which was the catalyst for death. It also included the first foreshadowing of Christ – both in the sacrificial deed and verbatim when God mentioned Eve’s offspring.

  So, in order for us to live on, there must be the shedding of blood to pay the penalty for disobeying the demands of Life. (Leviticus 17 points out that the life of every creature – human or animal – is in the blood. This is true medically and spiritually.) This is because we cannot pay the full penalty (everlasting death) and yet still have God’s gracious gift (everlasting life).

  In order to guide His people – and later the world – into righteousness, into Life, God had to lay the groundwork. There had to be a foundation to build upon, and that’s very much what Leviticus is.

  Leviticus, as a singular book within the Biblical cannon, only gives us part of the context, however. When we’re asking the question of whether or not God delights in animal sacrifices, it’s important to understand the message being delivered in this particular text. The first seven chapters alone detail how the Israelite priests were to lead the sacrifice rituals, be it for themselves, the Israelite leaders, or the rest of the community (individually or as a whole). The purpose was, as we got a taste of with David’s account earlier, for the sinner to identify with the cost of their sin (Leviticus 4:4, et al), recognizing that their punishment was being passed on to an innocent. It was supposed to spur the sinner to repentance – to change their ways and seek God’s goodness and obey. In short, to live according to God’s image.

  The majority of Leviticus is a code of conduct book and the consequences for not holding to them. These regulations addressed how the people were to carry out their ceremonial activities, primarily, and to address what God considered holy and unholy. It barely details the heart the individual ought to have while carrying out these regulations. As we’ll see later, though, God was not talking about empty legalism…a kind of talking without the walking.

  We do get a taste of why God was so keen on the people adhering to His commands. Leviticus 18:24-30 definitely highlights God’s reasons:

  “Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for the people I am driving out before you have defiled themselves in all these ways. Because the entire land has become defiled, I am punishing the people who live there. I will cause the land to vomit them out. You must obey all my decrees and regulations. You must not commit any of these detestable sins. This applies both to native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you.

  “All these detestable activities are practiced by the people of the land where I am taking you, and this is how the land has become defiled. So do not defile the land and give it a reason to vomit you out, as it will vomit out the people who live there now. Whoever commits any of these detestable sins will be cut off from the community of Israel. So obey my instructions, and do not defile yourselves by committing any of these detestable practices that were committed by the people who lived in the land before you. I am the LORD your God” (NLT).

  “I’LL TELL YOU WHAT I WANT, WHAT I REALLY, REALLY WANT!”
  Now we have the background on the sacrificial system and its purpose. This is clearly how God wanted things to be done where sacrifices were concerned. The question that remains, then, is if this was specifically what God wanted – did He want sacrifices at all? And that’s where the contradiction claim comes in.

  Exodus 20:24 – which is expounded upon in Leviticus – quotes God saying,

  “Build for me an altar made of earth, and offer your sacrifices to Me – your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats, and your cattle. Build my altar wherever I cause My name to be remembered, and I will come to you and bless you” (NLT).

  Way over in Jeremiah 7:22, we hear God crying out,

  This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Take your burnt offerings and your other sacrifices and eat them yourselves! When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, it was not burnt offerings and sacrifices I wanted from them. This is what I told them: ‘Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’” (NLT, bold mine).

  In terms of the issue of the Biblical contradiction, I don’t see any. The assumption in Exodus 20 is that that’s what God wants, but all that we can surely discern is that God is describing what He expects to be done regarding animal sacrifices and what the purpose for them are (as further described in Leviticus). Much, much later in Jeremiah 7, God’s stating that He never wanted sacrifices at all! One is an instruction, the other is a reflection.

  Why do we have sacrifices if that’s not what He wanted? What did God want from us?!

  “AND HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?”
  This might sound sacrilegious, but imagine God laying on a shrink’s couch while He vents about how upset He is over humanity’s constant sin issue. “They eat, drink, sleep, and dress in sin! Everything good they call bad. Everything bad they call good! I did not create them for this! Gah!”

  In God’s own words, He tells the people through the prophet Isaiah how angry He is with His people:

  “What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of the fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to worship Me, who asked you to parade through My courts with all your ceremony?

  “Stop bringing Me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts Me! … Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways.”
  (Isaiah 1:11-13a, 16, NLT, bold mine)

  What does God want?
  Love. Obedience. Giving hearts. Humility. An everlasting relationship with us in peace and joy.

  God wants a people who live like Him. I began this article explaining what the purposes of sacrifices were for – to address the consequences of the broken relationship with God.

  Earlier in the book of Jeremiah, God laments,

  “I thought to Myself,
  ‘I would love to treat you as my own children!’
  I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land—the finest possession in the world.
  I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father,’ and I wanted you never to turn from Me.
  But you have been unfaithful to Me, you people of Israel!
  You have been like a faithless wife who leaves her husband.
  I, the LORD, have spoken.”

  Voices are heard high on the windswept mountains, the weeping and pleading of Israel’s people.
  For they have chosen crooked paths and have forgotten the LORD their God.
  (Jeremiah 3:19-21, NLT, bold mine)

  God’s provision – it is, indeed, a provision – of the sacrificial system was the only way to ensure justice was addressed, yet assured a gracious and merciful restoration of our relationship with Him. The terms of “child” and “Father” underscore the depths of the relationship God longs to have with us.

  God wants us to want Him the way He wants us.

  IT’S WHAT’S ON THE INSIDE THAT COUNTS
  Jesus had extremely harsh words for the Pharisees and other teachers of the law one day.

  Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

  “Everything they do is for show…

  “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!

  “… Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.
  (Matthew 23:1-5a, 23-24, 27-28, NLT, bold mine).

  The context here obviously isn’t about sacrifices, but Jesus’ criticism strikes to the heart of the matter.

  Since the sacrifices were for the purpose of addressing disobedience – a matter ultimately of the heart expressed through actions – a sacrifice for those sins had to include a complete repentance in the heart, too, expressed by actions! They had to stop sinning!

  The Pharisees, in their daily lives, made like they were ultra-righteous and Jesus called them out. (This very critical commentary to the Pharisees enraged them a great deal…and it happened often.) They went through the motions, observed all the laws, but their hearts were unmoved towards God.

  It’s like speeding down the highway and the only reason you slow down to observe the speed limit is because your radar detector is going crazy. Are you obeying the law for the purpose of the law or are you obeying it just to avoid being caught?

  The Pharisees sacrificed the rams and goats and turtledoves, ate their allotted portions of the offerings, but had no desire to truly honor God. They neglected that the point of the entire Mosaic Law was to point us back to God in a personal way and to foreshadow Jesus, Himself. As Jesus pointed out, “they crush people with unbearable religious demands.” God wasn’t about being some kind of spiritual ant bully. He was about setting the people free from the bondage of sin and the eventual reality of Hell! But Jesus caught them “in the act,” having revealed their hypocrisy. (This is why Jesus also encouraged His listeners that His yoke – like that which a beast of burden wears – is light; His burden is easy (Matthew 11:30).)

  Equally, it’s hypocritical to make sacrifices for sins that we’re not even sorry for or, worse, we don’t stop doing. What good is a sacrifice for one’s sins if you just keep on sinning? All you’re doing is murdering an animal (and God had a lot to say about that, too)!

  King David already understood the heart of the matter that Jesus would identify many years later. After the prophet Nathan confronted the king regarding his affair with Bathsheba and his subsequent murder of her husband (all of which David thought he managed to do in secret), David anguishes through this song:

  Have mercy on me, O God, because of Your unfailing love.
  Because of Your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.
  Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.

  For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.
  Against You, and You alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in Your sight.
  You will be proved right in what You say, and Your judgment against me is just.

  For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

  But You desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.

  Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
  Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me—now let me rejoice.
  Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.

  Create in me a clean heart, O God.
  Renew a loyal spirit within me.

  Do not banish me from Your presence, and don’t take Your Holy Spirit from me.
  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and make me willing to obey You.
  Then I will teach Your ways to rebels, and they will return to You.
  Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of Your forgiveness.
  Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise You.

  You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
  You do not want a burnt offering.
  The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit.
  You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

  Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

  Then You will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit—with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings.
  Then bulls will again be sacrificed on Your altar.
  (from Psalm 51, NLT)

  I’m sure many of you will recognize a very popular worship song here. This is where it came from.

  When David says to God, “You do not desire sacrifice, or I would offer one,” he is not ignoring God’s command that the sacrificial rituals be observed. He’s saying the ritual, itself, is not important to God. It’s not the motions that are the focus. It’s something deeper…

  Pay attention the parts I’ve highlighted, but also note David’s attitude regarding his sin. The man is devastated over what he has done. This is a guy – a high and noble king! –  who is inwardly broken by the gross and reprehensible actions he has committed. During this time, David’s son with Bathsheba is less than a week away from death – a part of the consequence for David’s sins. His crimes against God (and Bathsheba’s late-husband) were striking very close to home and David wasn’t running away.

  Solomon (David’s son, who had his own list of major no-nos) knew how to hit the nail on the head:

  The LORD detests the sacrifices of the wicked, but He delights in the prayers of the upright.
  The LORD detests the way of the wicked, but He loves those who pursue Godliness.
  (Proverbs 15:8-9, NLT)

  The LORD is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer Him sacrifices.
  (Proverbs 21:3, NLT)

  Jeremiah 7:23, 1 Samuel 15:22, Amos 5:21-27, and Hosea 6:6-7 all cry the same message, too. Sacrifices mean nothing by themselves. Innocent animals die for absolutely nothing then. Sacrifices mean even less when they are but a pretense to cover up the rampant sin of the people offering them. In each example I’ve cited that speaks of God saying how much He doesn’t want sacrifices, this is coupled with the fact that 1) He wants obedience in the first place, 2) He is furious with the sin and sacrificial hypocrisy, and 3) if a sacrifice is offered, He expects new and good behavior stemmed from the heart.

  If nothing else could be said, the people were taking advantage of God’s graciousness and patience. God is slow to anger, and they were using this fact to their advantage…as if God wouldn’t really do anything.

  GLADE NEVER HAD AN AROMA QUITE LIKE THIS
  Throughout Leviticus, as God detailed how the sacrificial rituals were to be carried out, He always added “It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.” It’s a very curious thing for Him to say. Psalm 50:9 spells out that God is not in need of anything, least of all the sacrifices given by His people. So it’s not like in other religions and cultures where the people offered food to feed their gods – God wasn’t saying, “Oh, that smells yummy!” And we see plainly, abundantly that God doesn’t even want sacrifices primarily, or at all. So why does God consider the sacrifices a special gift? What’s so aromatic about a gift He doesn’t even want?

  The gift, actually, is not the sacrifice. It’s not the slaughtered animal roasting on the fire. Rather, it’s the act of humility before God; the admission that the sinner is unworthy of the grace God has provided through the entire ritual. Remember, this isn’t like other religions where the sacrifice given is somehow feeding the god or is appeasing the god’s wrath or is bribing the god for a good harvest.

  Pay close attention to what I say next. Re-read it several times:

  The sacrifice is the courtroom sentencing. It’s judgment in action!

  Imagine you have committed a heinous murder and you have been sentenced to die. That is the just punishment for your crime. Instead of you dying, though, another steps in to die in your place. But you don’t get to simply walk out the door scott-free. You’re still the guilty one, remember? You have to walk your scapegoat down the hall. You have to walk him through the door and into the chair. You have to strap him in tight and look him in his innocent eyes. You are the one who has to flip the switch on the electric chair.

  …Then you can go free… And never commit another crime again.

  That’s why God instructed the Israelites to lay their hands on the animal as the priest killed it. It symbolized a “transferring” of guilt and the literal punishment avoided. This is unlike any other brush with death; your life didn’t flash before your eyes: it was literally handed back to you.

  Consider that in the story of the adulterous woman who was caught (rather, set up) and used as a trap against Jesus. After He told the people that those who were without sin could be the first to stone her (the proper punishment for such a sin at the time), He asked, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more” (John 8:1-11).

  Jesus did not dismiss the woman’s sins after wisely and cleverly addressing the hypocrisy of the would-be Judge Dredds. Jesus expressed mercy as He said, “Neither do I [condemn you].” But He makes it plain and clear that she did sin and she is to do it no more.

  What might we say of the woman who accepted Christ’s forgiveness and yet later went on to commit adultery again and again and again? We don’t know what she did afterwards – the Bible just doesn’t say. But would you think she was truly a changed woman if she continued her sinful life despite Jesus’ grace? Would you think she was grateful? Psalm 50:14a says, “Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God…” (NLT).

  What could be a greater, more pleasing gift to God than to return to Him His gift of life through our humble, grateful obedience after He so graciously spared us from death?

  When the Pharisee [Simon] who had invited [Jesus] saw [what the immoral woman had done to anoint Jesus’ feet], he said to himself, “If this Man were a prophet, He would know what kind of woman is touching Him. She’s a sinner!”

  Then Jesus answered [Simon’s] thoughts. “Simon,” He said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.”
  “Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.

  Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people – 500 pieces of silver [a laborer’s full day’s wage] to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose love him more after that?”

  Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the large debt.”

  “That’s right,” Jesus said. Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer Me water to wash the dust from My feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet Me with a kiss [on the cheek, as was the customary greeting], but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing My feet.

  “You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint My head, but she has anointed My feet with rare perfume. I tell you, her sins – and they are many – have been forgiven, so she has shown Me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”

  Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
  (Luke 7:39-48, NLT, italics mine)

  This woman understood her depravity, I am sure. The pleasing aroma of the perfume could be said to be representative of her repentance. Jesus knew of her many sins and recognized what she was offering in her heart through her actions. And this woman sacrificed a great deal unto God. She sacrificed her pride as she cried and washed Jesus’ feet. She sacrificed a huge financial commodity with the rare perfume. She sacrificed herself, in a sense. She gave herself up to God, and God was most pleased with her heart. That is why Jesus could easily say her sins were forgiven.

  That is the aroma that God so longs for. He would much rather it came without the precursor of sin and sacrifice, but He still delights in a heart that returns to Him. And the only way for us to return to an unhindered relationship is for the sin issue to be addressed justly and humbly.

  THERE’S STILL A CONTRADICTION
  After all of that, there still remains a contradiction. It’s not regarding God’s desire for sacrifices or not, though. The contradiction comes in our own hearts when we seek God’s forgiveness when we know we have obviously sinned, yet go about the rest of our days living the same offenses. The contradiction is when we say we’re sorry but act otherwise. The contradiction is when we call Jesus Savior and Lord and Friend and Redeemer (do we even truly understand what He’s redeeming us from?) and don’t even bother to give Him as little as a single Sunday a week! It’s when we say we have no sin at all and don’t need God but live contrary to even our own standards.

  That’s the contradiction. It’s not in the Bible; it’s in us.

  The good news is that it doesn’t have to stay that way.

  • 2:17 pm
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