Ever since the most ancient of times human beings have offered up sacrifices to the God or gods they served, worshiped, and believed in. According to the Bible, at the beginning of history, Adam and Eve’s two sons offered up sacrifices unto the Lord (Genesis 4:2-5). Several centuries later Noah would also offer burnt offerings to God after the Flood. The Lord was so pleased with Noah’s sacrifice that He promised not to curse the ground any more (Genesis 8:20-22). But most importantly the prophet Samuel would reveal that to obey God is better than sacrifice (I Samuel 15:22). And as we read in the Gospel, to love God with all the heart and to love our neighbor as our self is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices (Mark 12:33). That being said let us now take a closer look at the sacrificial system as found in the pages of the Holy Bible.
The organized practice of animal sacrifice that the children of Israel would adhere to came about shortly after the Hebrews left Egypt, around the year 1446 BC or possibly 1200 BC. For in the first seven chapters of the book of Leviticus the rituals of worship are described and explained. In addition to burnt offerings Moses also wrote about grain offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and a guilt offering also known as a trespass offering. Sacrifices were carefully ritualized procedures. They involved both the one bringing the sacrifice and the priest and varied according to the type of offering. These sacrifices were first performed at the tabernacle and would later be exercised at the temple in Jerusalem after its construction during the days of king Solomon’s reign over Israel.
The burnt offering, or holocaust, was at the center of religious life in ancient Israel. Each day began and ended with the sacrifice of a male lamb which was without blemish. It was called a holocaust because the animal was completely burned and thus wholly given to God. The burning flesh produced a fragrance that was said to be a pleasing odor to the Lord (Leviticus 1:9). Peace offerings were made in thanksgiving, such as when a person survived an illness or in the fulfillment of a vow that a person made to God. The sin offering was made in atonement for an unintentional sin or impurity. In this case the fat portions of the animal were consumed by the fire, and the rest went to he priests. Some of the animal’s blood was smeared on the horns of the altar and the rest was poured out at the base of the altar. For sacrifices blood was important, “for it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof.” (Leviticus 17:14). For without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22).
If a man wished to make a burnt offering in the temple, he had to bathe in order to purify himself from any ritual uncleanliness. Only then could he approach the temple court with his sacrificial animal and additional offerings of flour, oil, and wine. When he reached the altar of burnt offering, he placed his hand upon the head of the animal so that, “…it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.” (Leviticus 1:4). After leading his lamb to the north side of the altar, he killed the sacrificial animal by cutting it’s throat. A priest stood by with a basin to catch the blood, “for the life of the flesh is in the blood…for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” (Leviticus 17:11). The priest would then cast this lifeblood against the altar, signifying that the life belonged to God.
The prophets of Israel on the other hand, were more critical of the people when it came to sacrifices, not by how well sacrifices were performed, but by how well the worshipers met the ethical and moral responsibilities of Israel’s covenants and laws. When the prophets discerned that the ritual of worship had replaced the obedience to God’s law, they chastened the children of Israel by preaching the judgments of the Lord against the emptiness of their rituals. For as the prophet Isaiah wrote: “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams…[rather]…learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” (Isaiah 1:1,17). Only when a sacrifice was matched by faithful actions outside of the sanctuary, did the prophets acknowledge that the offering was accepted by God.
Now after the destruction of the second temple in 70 AD, the ritual of animal sacrifice ceased for the Jewish people as a whole. But, now in the age of grace the Orthodox Church performs a sacrifice without the shedding of blood in the mystery of Holy Communion. For just as the blood of bulls and rams made atonement for the sins of Israel, so too has the blood of Jesus made atonement for all those who have faith in His name. Just as each year did every Jew make his pilgrimage to Jerusalem at Passover in order to sacrifice the paschal lamb, so too was Christ’s sacrifice on the cross a ransom for all humanity, making Jesus Christ the sacrificial Lamb of God.
References:
ABC’s Of The Bible. (Pleasantville, NY: The Readers Digest Association, Inc., 1991).
Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).