Part of this post is an excerpt from my book He Who Bleeds available on amazon.com
Is God angry, raging and vengeful? Animal sacrifice? What a barbaric custom! Gruesome, even cruel. No wonder many Christian theologians separate the angry God of the Old Testament from the loving God of the New Testament.
Who is Who?
There is a gospel in the Old Testament. Jesus opened the Old Testament scriptures to the disciples on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection.
Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Luke 24:27
What is animal sacrifice? I mean, what is it all about? I know it is representative, but who is who? I mean, who is the animal representing? Maybe he is representing me, and I should die for my sin, but the innocent animal dies in my place so God can forgive me. Is this really what is going on?
What if, in the gospel according to the First Covenant, the sacrificial animal takes the representative role of the victim of that sin? To find the answer we must look into the ceremony of Atonement.
Atonement is a Legal Term
The Hebrew word in the Strong’s concordance is #3722 kaphar[1]. An example of kaphar as a legal term is in Isaiah 28:18 “your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand;” A covenant is a legally binding agreement, like a contract. Disannulment brings the contract to a legal end. Disannulment frees the signers from further contract liability. Disannulment is atonement, kaphar.
Atonement as referred to in Mosaic Law is the waiving of the required legal punishment. Sins for which atonement is made are covered. They are covered from the punishment of the law. The process of atonement does not negate the need for repentance and restitution. On the contrary, confession, repentance and making restitution are necessary steps to atonement[2]. According to Leviticus, after these first steps had been accomplished, then the priest shall make an atonement for him.
The Priest is the Acting Intercessor
How did the priest make an atonement for the sinner? What did the priest do?
In a case where the sinner confesses and repents to the victim, as long as the victim is satisfied with the repentance, they may declare peace with one another, and the incident is over. Like Jesus said in Matthew 5:25, Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him. There is no need for the law to step in and provide an intercessor. But what if the sinner repents, and still the victim refuses to make peace? Then there is need for the law to provide an intercessor. The intercessor acts in the place of the defrauded victim and makes an atonement for the repentant sinner.
The earthly pattern that God gave Moses for atonement had two parts. These were two actors, so to speak, in this earthly pre-enactment of the necessary action in the heavens. The sacrificial animal and the priest both represent the victim of the sin. The animal loses his life as the victim who has been defrauded of a portion of his life. The priest, in the place of the victim, makes atonement, in other words, waives the charges against the sinner.
Ceremonially, two actors were needed because the animal could lay down his life, but could not intelligently waive the charges. The priest could waive the charges, but could not die or suffer equal defraudment for every sin he atoned. So, the priest was required to eat the sin offering[3] to make himself one with the animal who was taking on the position of the victim. It was imperative upon the priest that he eat the sin offering, and only the priest who offered the sacrifice was allowed to eat it.
Because the priest representatively becomes the victim of my sin, he has the right to press charges against me or to waive the charges.
What did he do? The priest waived the charges in the stead of the victim and atonement was made.
Jesus was able to be both sin offering and priest. Jesus was “touched with the feeling of our infirmities”[4]. He accepted the weight of pain and grief caused by every sin ever committed bearing it in his own body on the cross. He is the Victim of all our sin, and He could choose to press charges or to waive the charges against us. Thank God, he chose to intercede in the proceedings that were against us making atonement for our sins, not pressing the charges. Only the victim or one who legally stands in the victim’s stead can do that. Jesus is the True Victim who holds the right to forgive every sin; and he is our High Priest who “ever liveth to make intercession for us”.[5]
Let’s go back to where we started. Is this a barbaric picture of animal sacrifice? Gruesome, even cruel? Maybe; but who is cruel, God? or the sinner?
Sin is cruel, and Jesus came to take away sin.
Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:29
[1] 3722 kaphar {kaw-far’} From Strong’s Concordance
Meaning: 1) to cover, purge, make an atonement, make reconciliation, cover over with pitch 1a) to coat or cover with pitch 1b1) to cover over, pacify, propitiate 1b2) to cover over, atone for sin, make atonement for 1b3) to cover over, atone for sin and persons by legal rites 1c1) to be covered over 1c2) to make atonement for 1d) to be covered
Origin: a primitive root
Usage: AV – atonement 71, purge 7, reconciliation 4, reconcile 3, forgive 3, purge away 2, pacify 2, atonement…made 2, merciful 2, cleansed 1, disannulled 1, appease 1, put off 1, pardon 1, pitch 1; 102
[2] Leviticus 6:4-7 Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, 5 Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering. 6 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: 7 And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.
[3] Leviticus 6:26 The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation.
[4] Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
[5] Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
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