Some of the choices the sovereign creator God almighty makes are difficult for us to understand. As the One offended by sin and as sovereign God, He has the right to define what the payment for sin should be. We are fortunate that He provided a payment for sin; without it we would be doomed to eternal punishment for our sin. His choice for the method of payment for sin doesn’t mean that He is bloodthirsty or uncaring of innocent animals. Rather, it teaches us what a horrible and costly thing our sin is.
For a homeschool assignment my daughter Emma had to write a description of what sacrificing an animal as laid out in Leviticus would be like. Perhaps I’m just a proud homeschool mom, but I feel moved by her description. She gave me permission to share it here.
Offering Burnt Offerings
I am going to show God sorrow for my sin and how dedicated I am to Him. First I must find a young bull, sheep, or goat without defect. As I look for a lamb I see my favorite, so I walk over to it. It nuzzles my hand looking for a treat or two. I whisper to him that I don’t have anything today, still he nuzzles me. His wool feels clumpy and soft like a silk blanket. Then I present my sheep at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and he looks up at me, bleating as if to say, “Please don’t choose me.” I tie my sheep’s legs together, and I put it on the altar of burnt offering. I can feel it squirming, trying to get out as I lay my hand on it. He looks up at me with pitiful eyes like he is trying to say to me, “Are you really going to do this to me? I thought you liked me!” When I slaughter him I start to cry. I can still taste my salty tears. I feel him go limp. As the priests sprinkle the blood I can smell the blood of my lamb that had to be killed because of me! I skin it and cut it into pieces, and wash the inner parts and legs. As I skin my favorite lamb I feel the skin that I used to spend a lot of time petting and grooming. I see the nose that used to be sticking in my hand looking for food. I smell the meat burning that used to be my favorite lamb. Sin is a very gruesome thing, isn’t it?
Since we don’t have to kill animals to pay for our sin, we may lack an understanding of the awfulness of our sin. Since Jesus was the one to sacrifice for our sin and not we ourselves, we may be tempted to take our sin and its payment lightly. Can you ask God to give you a true understanding of your sin?