Study Guide #3
Animal Sacrifices
Study Guide
In this study series, we present the concepts and evidence for what we have been studying, then pose questions we hope will emphasize helpful ideas, sparking discussion.
This study series focuses on our marriage with God, the wedding rehearsal events, and how our free will is preserved while being God’s partner. We believe that all of the appointed times (God’s festivals listed in Leviticus 23) have meaning and great significance for today and at the end of the age. We believe that the times listed in Daniel 9 all have a meaning at the end of the age. These studies lay the foundation for why we believe this.
Please visit our website, servantsvoice.com, for a link to each of our studies and study guides.
In Study Guide #2 – Grace / Law, we looked to see if grace replaces the law, and we looked at how the Bible describes God and the Law. This raised the question of whether the sacrifices commanded in the law are still commanded today.
Purpose of the Sacrifices
Sacrifices served several purposes. We will look at each of these in turn.
Reminder of Sin
The Bible goes into great detail about sacrifices and the different kinds. The apostle Paul summarizes these reasons in a few simple words.
Hebrews 10:3 NET “But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year.”
Hebrews 10:3 BSB “Instead, those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins,”
?? What does Hebrews 10:3 say the purpose of the sacrifices are?
Most of us have no desire to be reminded of our sins. Unless we can buy salvation by killing a lamb, getting rid of the sacrifices seems like an excellent idea. The idea of buying salvation is a popular idea, as most of us have no desire to be bound by any law.
?? Were the Jews able to earn salvation by sacrifices? Hebrews 10:4
In Jeremiah 6:20, God says He gets no pleasure in the sacrifices He commanded.
In Amos 5:21, God says He despises the appointed times and religious assemblies He commanded.
In Hosea 8:13, God says He will not accept the sacrifices He commanded.
The sacrificial system was not there to purchase salvation while allowing the sin to continue.
?? What does God really want? Micah 6:6-8
If you read the surrounding verses, it is clear that God will destroy the sinner who continues to sin, even if they make sacrifices.
So, why did God command animal sacrifices in the first place if what He really wanted was obedience?
The death of the animals was to illustrate what happens to the sinner. The wages of sin are death. The sinner dies. What Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Paul and multiple other Bible writers make clear is that the death of the animal never saves. The death of the animal is not a replacement for the penalty that the sinner must pay.
Does this mean that sacrificing animals is a worthless and unnecessary illustration that has lost its value and meaning? Did God change His mind about animal sacrifices? No. God is saddened that the meaning of the illustration is perverted and seen as a way to purchase salvation when that never was the intention.
Because created beings have free will and will continue to have free will after the second coming, there is always a need for a reminder of the consequences of sin.
Prophetic Reinforcement
Another purpose of the sacrificial system was to anticipate the arrival of God on Earth, living as human. Jesus became the sacrificial lamb. Jesus was inspected at the appointed time, died at the appointed time, was entombed at the appointed time, and was resurrected at the appointed time. Those who observed the appointed times given at Mt Sinai, using the clock and calendar put in motion by God at Creation, would recognize Jesus as the Son of God. He perfectly matches the môʿēḏ of the sacrificial system.
The fact that the major events associated with Jesus’ time on Earth reinforces the idea that the môʿēḏ are relevant and important for us to understand today, as not all of the môʿēḏ have met their match yet. Some are yet to happen.
We all know that Jesus is the sacrificial lamb; yet, it is worth reviewing some of the passages that tell us this.
?? What does John in John 1:29 call Jesus?
?? What words does Peter use in 1 Peter 1:18-19 to describe Jesus?
?? In Isaiah 53:7 where is the lamb led?
?? In 1 Corinthians 5:7 what is Jesus called?
?? In Revelation 5:6 where does the lamb stand?
Isn’t Jesus the ultimate sacrifice? Yes, but the sacrificial system is not about what God needs. It is about us. The reason Jesus became human, died, and resurrected Himself wasn’t for His benefit; it was for ours.
Jesus being the ultimate sacrifice is of no value if you reject His saving grace. The sacrifices made by Jesus were to erase your sins. However, as we saw in Study Guide #2, the Bible says this erasure only happens if you are righteous. The good news is that righteousness is freely offered to all who confess and seek forgiveness. Those who choose to allow the Spirit of God to reside within them are made righteous by God. As you are led by the Spirit, your salvation is assured.
Instruction
The sacrifices are also designed to instruct us as to what God wants.
?? Romans 12:1 begs us to do what?
?? According to Hebrews 13:15-16, what sacrifices are pleasing to God?
?? According to Psalms 51:17, what kind of sacrifice does God never refuse?
?? What does Jesus say God wants more than dead animals? Mark 12:33
?? Does God want the sacrifices that He commanded people to make? 1 Samuel 15:22
?? What chapter and verse in Hosea is Jesus referencing in Matthew 9:13?
The purpose of the sacrifices was not to produce dead animals but, rather, to instruct people on how to live in a way that is pleasing to God. The idea of displeasing the Creator was supposed to be so horrifying that you would not want to sin. At the time of Jesus on earth, killing the Creator was supposed to be horrifying, too.
Future Sacrifices
Will animal sacrifices happen again? If they do, are they of God?
Please take a look at the following passages and think about when they are referring to.
Consider all of Zechariah chapter 14.
?? Is chapter 14, and specifically verses 16, 20, and 21, about the future?
Consider all of Jeremiah 33.
?? Is chapter 33, and specifically verses 14-18, about the future?
Consider all of Isaiah 56.
?? Is chapter 56, and specifically verses 6-8, about the future?
Ezekiel chapter 40 and chapters 43-46 are about a temple that has not yet existed. It is a temple that is larger and more elaborate than any prior temple. Ezekiel 43:18-27 gives detailed instructions about animal sacrifices that will be offered in this new temple.
Are the things that were shown to Zechariah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel all conditional visions that never come to fruition? If so, what other things would be lost? Read again what each of these prophets wrote about and think about what it would mean if all of the things mentioned in these prophecies do not happen. Is our desire to be rid of the sacrificial system so great that we deny the coming day of the Lord?
The Bible tells us that there will be sacrifices in the future in a temple that does not exist yet.
Why No Sacrifices Now?
Many Christians think it inconsistent and hypocritical to participate in the môʿēḏ (the appointed times of God) but not sacrifice animals. If you observe the festivals of God, shouldn’t you also kill lambs?
If the law is still in force, as both Jesus (Matthew 5:18-18) and Paul (Romans 3:31) say it is, then why are there no animal sacrifices today? Why isn’t there an altar in every church where the blood of a real animal can be brought each week to remind us what it did/does to Jesus each time we sin? Don’t we need to be continually reminded of the consequences of sin? (Hebrews 10:3)
?? Where is the only place that God said sacrifices should be done? Leviticus 17:1-9
?? Where was the tent of meeting? 1 Kings 8:1-11
Because God’s chosen people ignored God’s commandments, trying very hard to keep the letter of the law but ignoring the spirit of the law, the temple and the city were destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. The only place that God allows animal sacrifices to be made was at the temple in Jerusalem; but, that temple has not existed for 2,000 years.
- God requires sacrifices.
- God requires the sacrifices to be made at the temple in Jerusalem.
- There is no temple at the place God designated and, hence, it is impossible to obey.
There are no sacrifices made today because God tells us that it would be a sin to offer them anywhere but at the temple in Jerusalem.
Should the third temple be built, then the sacrificial system will resume. The purpose of the sacrifices was to remind one of the consequences of sin. The one who sins will die the second death. The sacrificial system also illustrated that there is an exception to this fatal outcome. For the person who is righteous, the death of the Creator of the law will wash away the repented sins. This is explained by the transfer of sins to the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement. Leviticus 23:26-32 and more fully in Leviticus 16.
Because God’s chosen people rejected the sacrifice, the temple and the entire sacrificial system was destroyed.
?? Does the Bible describe animal sacrifices being made in the future?
?? Is it a sin to sacrifice animals at some place other than the temple in Jerusalem?
?? If a new temple dedicated to God were to be built in Jerusalem following the pattern described in the last chapters of Ezekiel, would the animal sacrifices still be commanded by God?
Conclusion
Consider again what the purposes of the sacrifices are.
- They are to remind us of the consequences of sin. As we will find in a future study about free will, this will be necessary for eternity.
- They are to help us recognize Jesus as the Son of God, as He perfectly matches the môʿēḏ of the sacrificial system.
- They are to instruct us on how to live.
Remember what God wants of us more than animal sacrifices.
Romans 12:1 NET “Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice — alive, holy, and pleasing to God — which is your reasonable service.”
Hebrews 13:15-16 NET “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, acknowledging his name. (16) And do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.”
Psalms 51:17 NET “The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit — O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject.”
Mark 12:33 NET “And to love him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
1 Samuel 15:22 NET “Then Samuel said, ‘Does the LORD take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience? Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than the fat of rams.’”
Matthew 9:13 NET “Go and learn what this saying means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The sacrifices are not done away with. They did not end at the cross. The sacrifices will resume again in the future. The purpose of the sacrifices is to provide us with a reminder of the consequences of sin, assurances that Jesus is God and that the appointed times of God have significance, and they are instructions for us on how to live. The sacrifice of animals are there as illustrations of something far more important – that is, how to live in harmony with our Creator.
Please visit our website for a link to each of our studies and study guides.