Making the Boring Parts of Scripture come Alive!
I was doing some reading in Scripture and I came across Numbers 28. This is the chapter that describes the various offerings that must be done in the nation of Israel. There are the daily offerings, the Sabbath offerings, the monthly offerings, etc. Now, to be honest I normally do not find this portion of Scripture very stimulating. I typically race through it to get to something that it is more interesting or relevant. The detailed descriptions of the various offerings that were to be done by Israelites seem not only to be tedious reading but also a tedious way to live. So… how do we make sense of this section of Scripture. It is the word of God and therefore it is profitable for us to study (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The challenge is to find out how we are to view this passage so that we can find a proper application for our lives.I believe that the answer lies in the concept of offering or sacrifice in both an Old Covenant and New Covenant sense. From an Old Covenant point of view the sacrifices of the Mosaic Law were required by God yet from a New Covenant perspective they did not take away any sin.
But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. (Hebrews 10:3)
First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you please with them” (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, ” Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:8-10)
The author of Hebrews is making the point that the offerings and sacrifices were required by God in the Old Covenant era yet they did not secure the forgiveness of sins. What then was the purpose of those sacrifices? When we repeatedly read in Leviticus that the doing of the proper sacrifice or will bring about forgiveness (Leviticus 4:26) what are we make of this? It would seem that in light of the teaching passages in the New Covenant era on the subject of Old Covenant sacrifices and offerings we are to understand that the sacrifices and offerings never paid for the sin of the one who was offering the sacrifice. It did give them a right standing in the nation of Israel but not acceptance by the God of Israel. Only the death of Jesus Christ on the cross can accomplish the forgiveness of sins. So, the sacrifices and offerings of the Old Covenant era functioned only as a picture of something that the death of Jesus on the cross would accomplish. If you only read the Old Testament that truth would not be very clear. Therefore we must read the Old through the lens of the New.
In the New Covenant era the subject of sacrifice is dealt with in a very different way. Jesus did offer himself as our sacrifice on the cross to pay for our sins. Yet we are told to offer our bodies as living sacrifices.
Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1)
The believer in the New Covenant era is not burdened with the tedious sacrifices and offerings that were the responsibility of the Israelites under the Old Covenant. Our Savior has made the perfect sacrifice for us and as a result of that we are unconditionally accepted by the Father. But there is a sense in which our lives are characterized by sacrifices. We are to be a living sacrifice to our Lord. All of life must be lived for Him. This is what we will desire to do if we have a new heart, and all those who have their sins forgiven will also have a new heart (Hebrews 10:14). So, in the New Covenant era sacrifice still dominates the people of God just as it dominated the lives of the picture of the people of God in the Old Covenant era. Only in this era the sacrifice that is required is a life that is motivated to do all things for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
So as you read the Scriptures please take the time to understand the significance of each portion. It all has meaning for us. All we need to do is to understand why it is there and our boredom will be extinguished.
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