“So the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin, and he shall be forgiven.” Lev 4:26 and 31 and 35. Throughout the book of Leviticus, this phrase will appear again and again in very similar form. In fact, atonement is one of the more popular words of this book. So what is atonement? Let’s make some observations from the above verse to shed light on this central motif because as we discover in the New Testament, Christ is our atonement! First, notice that atonement is God’s idea. It is a God-given gift to us. Atonement is God’s provision for man so that man may escape the wrath of God! Atonement is serious business. It is life or death!
Second, atonement involves substitution. It is the sinning man who is guilty, but through the act of atonement, blood from another being is substituted as the payment for man’s sin. Sin still bears the consequence of death, it is through atonement that man is saved from this death.
Third, it bears repeating that atonement is an act resulting from man’s sin! Sin brings death. Sin brings separation from God. Man sins constantly. Atonement removes the consequences of sin and reconciles man with God!
Fourth, atonement ends in forgiveness. The goal of atonement is the removal of sin from man’s account so that man may again approach and worship and glorify a holy God!
Christ, our atonement, is all of these things for us! Christ is our substitutionary atonement, sent by the Father as a propitiation for our sin, and it is through him that we are reconciled to God!
Whew! So many things I don't understand. What would it have been like to live then? So much blood! I am definitely a product of my suburban "sterilized" culture. I don't even have men in my family who hunt. Meat comes in neatly wrapped styrofoam and plastic packages, not from animals slaughtered, bled and butchered!
ReplyDeleteHere's the question that stands out over the rest just now: The sin offering (ch. 4) and the guilt offering (ch. 5) are for unintentional sins. I think we'd just call these "mistakes," but God calls them SIN. Whatever is not holiness is sin, right? But what about INTENTIONAL sins? The burnt offerings section (ch. 1) doesn't mention anything about sin at all, intentional or unintentional. But the sections on sin offerings and guilt offerings keep using the word "unintentional" or the idea "when he realizes his guilt" (4:1, 13+14, 22+23, 27+28; 5:2+3, 15,17; AND Hebrews 9:7) Is this another example of how Jesus' sacrifice for our sins is so much BETTER? (Hebrews 9:14)
I'll save my other questions for another comment. Don't feel pressed to respond to all, or any, of them, Bro. Wil. I have too many!!
I believe the sacrifices for intentional sins will come later. For example, broadly speaking, the Day of Atonement was meant to cover all sin for the year for all the people.
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