The Book of Leviticus begins with several chapters outline the sacrifices Abba requires for varying purposes. At its base level, there are two primary categories of offerings: meat and bread.
There are several reasons you may appear before Abba with an offering: the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the consecration offering and the sacrifice of peace offerings. And there are very specific rules for each.
While there are well-defined protocols associated with each type of offering, we want to focus more broadly on one particular question:
Why does Abba require sacrifice?
Simply speaking, there is a cost for violating His Ways, and if we want to enter back into His presence we need to make it right. Lip service (confessing) is part of the process but we are fickle beings. There must be a tangible expression of our repentance (or gratitude).
And sending flowers isn’t enough. We need a visual equivalent to our violation to fully appreciate the gravity of our choices.
Hebrews 9:18 This is why the first covenant too was inaugurated with blood. 19 After Moshe had proclaimed every command of the Torah to all the people, he took the blood of the calves with some water and used scarlet wool and hyssop to sprinkle both the scroll itself and all the people; 20 and he said, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has ordained for you.” 21 Likewise, he sprinkled with the blood both the Tent and all the things used in its ceremonies. 22 In fact, according to the Torah, almost everything is purified with blood; indeed, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
23 Now this is how the copies of the heavenly things had to be purified, but the heavenly things themselves require better sacrifices than these. 24 For the Messiah has entered a Holiest Place which is not man-made and merely a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, in order to appear now on our behalf in the very presence of God.
Blood must be shed. Bringing something that breathes and has value to you must be put to death before your very eyes. Seeing the value loss is one thing. Watching an innocent animal spill its blood on your behalf is another one altogether.
We usually only respond to two things in our lives: pain and loss.
These are the biggest motivators for just about everyone. We go to great lengths to avoid pain. And we sacrifice most things close to us in order to have more -- which helps us avoid loss.
Some people will go after wealth but this isn’t just to have more. It’s to ensure you never experience loss.
Some people go after building a name for themselves but this isn’t just to have a good reputation. It’s to ensure you don’t lose your status.
Some people go after a life of comfort but this isn’t to be relaxed. It’s to ensure we have no pain.
But you can’t avoid it. We live in a broken world. We all have experienced pain and loss in our lives, and we will continue to do so.
And yet, we work diligently to avoid both of these at all costs. Never needing to give up anything, and never confronting the spilling of innocent blood that must be done on your behalf.
We create a bubble of no loss and no pain then fight with everything we have to keep that false reality in place.
But they are necessary to meet Abba face-to-face. We must confront our own true state before coming into His presence.
…almost everything is purified with blood; indeed, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
Oddly enough, however, we protect our pain with a wall of pride.
Why won’t people receive healing?
I think this is because we haven’t actually watched Yeshua’s blood get spilled out before our very eyes. Sure, we have an understanding of His sacrifice, but have you ever put yourself into that place of watching His blood fall to the ground?
This isn’t a continual killing of the Messiah but confronting it when your sin is brought into the light.
Digging into our history can be painful. But we prefer to hold onto that instead of confronting it. For some reason it makes better sense to us to live in a prideful state of denial alone than to bring it to the altar to live in a humble state with Abba.
What kind of motivation do we need to lay down our pride so we can be healed?
The same motivation we already use: avoidance of pain and loss.
The difference is wisdom and understanding with regard to what it means to experience true pain and true loss.
True pain is death. Not physical death, but spiritual death.
True loss is losing our eternal rewards. Surrendering what is actually valuable for a temporal reward today.
In order to avoid spiritual death we need to understand the sacrifice.
In order to avoid eternal loss we need to understand the sacrifice.
Have you ever seen the One that gave Himself for you?
Revelation 1:13 and among the menorahs was someone like a Son of Man, wearing a robe down to his feet and a gold band around his chest. 14 His head and hair were as white as snow-white wool, his eyes like a fiery flame, 15 his feet like burnished brass refined in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, out of his mouth went a sharp double-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
17 When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. He placed his right hand upon me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last, 18 the Living One. I was dead, but look! — I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys to Death and Sh’ol.
Is this Man worthy of your praise?
Is He greater than your pain?
Is He greater than any loss you may experience?
Can you begin to understand what He gave so you could be free?
Not free to avoid pain -- but to face it head on.
Not free to add more to yourself -- but free to give more of yourself away.
Revelation 5:6 Then I saw standing there with the throne and the four living beings, in the circle of the elders, a Lamb that appeared to have been slaughtered. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the sevenfold Spirit of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of the One sitting on the throne. 8 When he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down in front of the Lamb. Each one held a harp and gold bowls filled with pieces of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people; 9 and they sang a new song,
“You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals; BECAUSE YOU WERE SLAUGHTERED; at the cost of blood you ransomed for God persons from every tribe, language, people and nation. 10 You made them into a kingdom for God to rule, cohanim to serve him; and they will rule over the earth.”
11 Then I looked, and I heard the sound of a vast number of angels — thousands and thousands, millions and millions! They were all around the throne, the living beings and the elders; 12 and they shouted out,
“Worthy is the slaughtered Lamb to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and praise!”
13 And I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth and on the sea — yes, everything in them — saying,
“To the One sitting on the throne and to the Lamb belong praise, honor, glory and power forever and ever!”
14 The four living beings said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshipped.
Notice it is the slaughtered Lamb that is to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and praise. Not You.
It is the One on the throne and the Lamb that are to receive praise, honor, glory and power. Not you.
Without the sacrifice of the Lamb, you are nothing. You have been made guiltless in Abba’s eyes because of this one Man’s sacrifice. It has nothing to do with your own righteousness.
Matthew 26:27 Also he took a cup of wine, made the b’rakhah, and gave it to them, saying, “All of you, drink from it! 28 For this is my blood, which ratifies the New Covenant, my blood shed on behalf of many, so that they may have their sins forgiven.”
The point of these sacrifices is to be set free from sin.
The point of these sacrifices is to release you from guilt.
The point of these sacrifices is to gain access to the presence of the Father.
Here is the most amazing thing of all:
Yeshua became this sacrifice so you can be set free from sin.
Yeshua became this sacrifice so you can be released from guilt.
Yeshua became this sacrifice so you can now come into the presence of the Father.
Do not forsake the gift He has offered you. Lay down your life and receive it. Seek healing in this hour then look this glorious Man in the eyes and say to Him:
“Worthy is the slaughtered Lamb to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and praise!”
“To the One sitting on the throne and to the Lamb belong praise, honor, glory and power forever and ever!”