Walking the Path of Sacrifice

Based on Leviticus 1-2, Psalm 22

Get ready to travel back in time! We are going back to the Old Testament in the book of Leviticus. It is great to glance back at this book after Matthew because there are so many comparisons, especially concerning sacrifice. We will see how the path of sacrifice began and how it all leads to Jesus, our final Sacrifice.

"For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture." Psalms 22:16‭-‬18.

Sound familiar? The crazy thing is, these are the words of David! But how much more obvious could it be that the Old Testament is just a path to the New Testament! It's all connected, and Jesus is the reason why!

It's easy to stay in the mindset that the Old Testament is not for us, especially when we read through these upcoming sacrificial procedures in Leviticus. But God is for us, and this is His Word! If it didn't happen this way, no one would understand why we need Jesus today!

"If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord." Leviticus 1:3.

All sacrifice was of one's own voluntary will. This is so crucial! If people sacrificed just to do it, because it was routine, or because they were told to, they were completely missing the point! Everything was supposed to be a way to please God. It was to be done out of love. If not, then you've got the scribes, Pharisees & Saducees of the New Testament!

...And speaking of them:

"And if thou bring an oblation of a grain offering baken in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil. And if thy oblation be a grain offering baken in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil." Leviticus 2:4‭-‬5.

Notice the emphasis of "unleavened" bread. Let's reach forward into Matthew again for a moment:

"Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." Matthew 16:12.

The leaven of the Pharisees & Saducees was a doctrine based in tradition, not based in love & desire to please God. This is why an unleavened offering was required; it later would hold so much symbolism & comparison to us! We need to put the emphasis on God, not on our traditions (remember, trade in tradition!). Although these sacrifices were of God, we have to understand the "why." This path of sacrifice continuously points to Jesus!

"No grain offering, which ye shall bring unto the Lord, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the Lord made by fire." Leviticus 2:11.

We don't need to sweeten the sacrifice to make it any more acceptable unto God! Sometimes, it's in our human nature to not want to do enough. But also, it's in our human nature to overdo it. To overstep our boundaries and do things to our own standard. In this instance, God asked for nothing more than unleavened bread. The act of the sacrifice is what's important, not the extravagance of it. This is another Phariseeical fault! Sometimes doing more doesn't add up to better standing with God. It's in obedience to God's original plan that please Him most!

"And every oblation of thy grain offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy grain offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt." Leviticus 2:13.

Just like the sacrifices upon the altar, we need to be seasoned with salt. We need to walk the path of sacrifice closer to Jesus, just like Jesus walked the path to the cross:

"For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt."
Mark 9:49.

"Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." Matthew 5:13.

If we lose sight of our Savior in the sacrifice, then we have lost our savour! Just like the smell of a burnt offering was to be a sweet savour unto God, our lives are to be a sweet savour as well!

Are we walking the path of sacrifice? The one that leads us closer to God's Will, and not our own will? It may seem to be a challenge, but in the end, it's God's Will which brings true happiness & satisfaction, not our own. God knows us better than we know ourselves! Little sacrifices make big differences! The release brings peace!