Today, we reenter the world of sacrifices with a few reminders about this ancient system of worship.

First, for Israel, making sacrifices is about relationship maintenance. It isn’t about impressing God or achieving salvation. The grace of God had already been given by selecting Israel, out of all nations, as the LORD’s very own. Sacrifices were Israel’s way of maintaining its thanks and humility before the God who rescued it out of Egypt and made it a nation.

Following on that theme, these sacrifices were not performed because the LORD required food. This is unique. In the ancient Middle East gods were capable of controlling human armies, the weather, and your fate, but they could not feed themselves. This gave the humans some degree of power and manipulation over the gods.

Listen for how the LORD – Israel’s God – refutes this system, including who gets to eat the offerings after they’re cooked. Gifts are offered to Him, waved before Him, placed before Him, and even smelled by Him, but never consumed by Him. The LORD requires nothing from Israel. For this God, acts of grace always flow in one direction.

So it’s with this in mind that we once again reenter this world. Listen in Leviticus 3 and 4 as the following instructions and themes recur: how the blood is sprinkled on the sides of the altar; how sacrifices are a pleasing aroma to the LORD; even how the fat is treated for different sacrifices. Much is conjectured about the pragmatic purpose behind these specific instructions, but at their core this is about practicing obedience to a Holy God.

In chapter 4, we begin to see sacrifices that atone for specific sins. Notice that even unintentional violations require sacrifice. Listen for how the priests’ sin brings guilt, not only on themselves, but on the nation. Hear words like “atonement” and “forgiven” used regularly for the first time. You’ll be seeing these again.

Our verse for this week is Hebrews 11:29: By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.

Leviticus chapters 3 and 4. Now let’s read it!

Day 33 Guided Podcast