Gory and great sacrifice

Today: Leviticus 1-4

I have to admit something: Leviticus and Numbers (our next few books of the Bible) may be my least favorite. I always thought they were drier than the other books.

Until I read today's passage. Yes, it contains requirements for different forms of sacrifice. But they're definitely not boring! As I read today (maybe it the realness of The Message version?), I realized just how...well...gory this passage is. It describes rules for dealing with different types of animal blood, guts and bodies. I can't imagine what it would have looked like to visit the Tabernacle in the desert. How did it smell? Like a butcher shop? Eww.... Maybe we just don't want to know. :)

It's definitely interesting to think about. All of those gory scenes had a purpose, though. The continual sacrifices of animals and grains paid for people's sins. Thank GOD we don't have to do animal or grain sacrifices today. Because of Jesus' ultimate sacrifice, we are free from these rituals.

However, I wonder how many people take what Jesus did for granted? Because we no longer have the visible animal or grain reminders of our sin, do we see the greatness of Jesus' sacrifice for us? Because we are not mandated by law to bring sacrifices for forgiveness of our sins, do we forget to even ask for forgiveness? Do we forget to thank God for his great gift of grace?

Perhaps. However, our neglect could never discount the greatness of His sacrifice. We may not see (or smell) gory sacrifices regularly, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the ultimate price was paid on our behalf. Thank God for that.

Tomorrow: Leviticus 5-7