The Book of Leviticus begins with God’s commandments and the order of the sacrifices and duties of the priests. I allow myself to suppose that—deep in our hearts—we might feel that Leviticus is less relevant, especially compared to Genesis and Exodus. Mostly due to the simple fact that today, we don’t have active priests, sacrifices, or even a Tabernacle or a Temple where we can serve God.

The Book of Leviticus offers a list of ancient sacrifices that might feel somewhat ‘outdated.’ Perhaps from the idea that Yeshua the Messiah already took our sins upon Himself (as our Sacrifice), and purified us with His blood?

A Better Understanding of the Sacrifices

Yeshua’s sacrifice is precisely the reason that Leviticus is especially interesting and important for us as believers because it deals with the laws of the priests and the sacrifices. Yeshua the Messiah is both our Priest and our Sacrifice and that’s why it’s important to better understand Yeshua’s roles as Priest and atoning Sacrifice.

The Role of the Person Bringing the Sacrifice

Is the sacrifice all that matters? Or, is something required of the one receiving redemption, as well? For believers, that’s an essential question, because Yeshua the Messiah sacrificed Himself on the cross for the entire world. He sacrificed Himself for my redemption, and so I want to know what’s required of me. Would that be repentance, faith, or a certain heart’s intention (or a combination of these elements)?

Guilt Offering

Let’s take the example of the ‘Korban Asham’ (or: ‘Guilt Offering’) that’s needed for theft, deceit, breaching of trust, and other similar sins. What is required of the one who sinned, in order to atone and receive forgiveness?

Firstly, we see that even someone who sins intentionally or deliberately can repent and “be forgiven.” (Leviticus 5:16) The process to receive forgiveness for this type of sin:

• Step one: stop covering up the sin and confess guilt.
• Step two: return the stolen item or its full value plus an additional fifth (some 20%).
• Step three: bring the atoning sacrifice to the priest, who will: “make atonement for him before the Lord, and he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty.” (Leviticus 6:7)

In other words, a thief can obtain complete forgiveness and atonement for their sin, but should repay the debt first.

Zacchaeus

In Luke 19, we see a similar example of the various steps of the ‘Guilt Offering.’ Yeshua passes through Jericho and the chief tax collector, named Zacchaeus, wants to see Yeshua. He climbs a tree, as he’s rather short. Yeshua notices Zacchaeus, approaches him, and says: “I’m visiting your home today.”

During Yeshua’s visit, Zacchaeus is aware of his sin and declares: “If I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” (verse 8) Meaning, Zacchaeus will repay everyone he has cheated, including the added compensation (as described in Leviticus).

Now, Zacchaeus takes the following steps, and:

1. Confesses his sin.
2. Commits to returning the stolen property with added compensation.

As a result, “Yeshua said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house.’”

Three Approaches

As a follower of the Messiah, I also want to take the right steps to hear Yeshua say: “Today salvation has come to this house.” But first, let’s take a step back and return to the beginning to understand the fuller picture. In the first and second verses of Leviticus, God commands various sacrifices; and yet, the meaning of the sacrifices isn’t clarified. We’ll take a look at the three main approaches to better understand the reason for the sacrifices.

First Approach: Sacrifices are Symbolic

The first approach sees sacrifices as something symbolic. Meaning, the person bringing the sacrifice sees (or at least, is aware of) the animal being slaughtered, dismembered, and then burned on the altar. All of this impresses on the person’s consciousness, that they’re a sinner who’s unworthy to stand before God. In fact, the animal’s suffering—the slaughter, dismemberment, and burning—is instead of the sinner and due to his sin.

Second Approach: Prevention of Idol Worship

There are two additional approaches that oppose each other. The second approach claims that the sacrifices were meant as a safety measure to prevent idol worship. Instead of offering sacrifices to idols, we now have our own sacrificial system.

Third Approach: Drawing Closer to God

Contrary to the second approach, the third point of view argues that it’s impossible that the entire sacrificial system—which takes up so many Torah verses—is only meant to prevent idol worship. This approach claims that the sacrifices are meant to bring a person closer to God and to prepare our hearts to draw close to God.

Faith and the First Approach

As believers, we tend to follow the first approach, which views the sacrifices as something symbolic, with the main goal to attain forgiveness for our sins. This viewpoint sees the sacrifice as my replacement that’s burned, slaughtered, and killed in my place.

Other Sacrifices

This being said, sacrifices weren’t only intended for the forgiveness of sins, and Leviticus opens with a variety of sacrifices: voluntary offerings, sin offerings, grain offerings, and more.

The first sacrifice described in the Bible isn’t a sin offering, but rather a gift or offering for thanksgiving:

“In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.” (Genesis 4:3-5)

Why Didn’t God Accept Cain’s Offering?

Despite the good intentions, this offering for thanksgiving ultimately led to the first murder. And so, it’s worth asking: why didn’t God accept Cain’s offering? As believers, this question is important, because we want God to accept our offering.

Giving God Our Best

Some see significance in the fact that Abel brought “of the firstborn of his flock,” which meant only of the finest, while Cain simply offered “of the fruit of the ground,” which wasn’t necessarily the best. They claim that the difference between Abel and Cain emphasizes the importance of giving God the finest:

“the best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God.” (Exodus 23:19)

There are others who disagree that the text emphasizes the quality of the offering, and point out the priority of the identity of the one who brings the sacrifice. They explain that the text doesn’t say: “And the Lord regarded Abel’s offering, but didn’t regard Cain’s offering.” But, rather, “And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.”

This viewpoint says that if Cain is disqualified, his offering is disqualified, too, regardless of its quality. However, the opposite is also true: if Abel and his pure heart are accepted, then his offering is also accepted, even if he ‘only’ brings an offering of “fine flour mixed with oil.”

Combining Both Approaches: Quality and Identity

In addition to these two approaches, I’d like to combine both approaches. Pointing out that the quality of the offering is important, as it says we should offer a sacrifice “without blemish before the Lord.” (Leviticus 3:1) Similarly, a priest with a blemish couldn’t serve in the Temple (Leviticus 21). And so, when combining both viewpoints, we value the importance of the quality of the sacrifice; and yet, the identity of the one bringing the sacrifice and our heart’s intentions are even more important!

Half the Story

As believers, we tend to hold to the first perspective that says that the sacrifices are symbolic and meant to bring atonement for our sins. And, that the greater the quality of our offering, the more it pleases God, Who’ll always forgive our sins and accept our offerings.

But the sacrifice is only half the story.
The quality of the offering is indeed important, but it’s still less important than our sincerity and our heart’s intentions. God desires the heart of the one bringing the offering.
God examines the heart—and if our heart passes the test—God accepts our offering.

The Relevance Of The Sacrifices Today

How are the sacrifices relevant for our daily lives, especially for followers of Yeshua? The answer is that there’s a strong connection between the sacrifices, the idea of giving/sacrificing to God, and sacrificing in general (including in our personal lives), as we all make plenty of sacrifices throughout our daily lives.

Delayed Gratification

The idea of delayed gratification is that we sacrifice this moment, the ‘now,’ in order to gain something more valuable and long-lasting later. This might mean being strong and resisting sin now, with the hope of receiving a greater reward later. This idea is somewhat similar to working and saving up for ‘a rainy day.’ In that case, we sacrifice the ‘now’ for a later moment in time. This includes setting aside money for a retirement plan, to enable a more comfortable (future) life.

A sacrifice—any sacrifice—has the power to improve our future. In a similar way, a significant investment in our education or career gives a greater chance for a better financial future.

Sacrificing for Others

We sacrifice a great deal in relationships—as parents, spouses, or perhaps our care for our elderly parents or special-needs loved ones. Love helps us to go the ‘extra mile’ and sacrifice for the ones we love.

Sacrificing for God

And, in our love for God? We sacrifice much for God, including our time, intentions, and our money. Even though these aren’t animal sacrifices, they’re still sacrifices in every sense of the word, as we give from ourselves and from our loving hearts.

And God?

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

This is the essence of the New Testament and of Yeshua the Messiah. For God so loved the world that He gave His Son—His only one—in order to give us hope and redemption.

Which sacrifices are required of us today?
The answer is that for each person, the word ‘sacrifice’ means something different, because it relates to what’s most important and valuable to us personally.
God asked Abraham for his son—his only one—whom he loved.
God sacrificed His Son, His Only One, for the sake of the entire world.

And what do we sacrifice today?
Many soldiers sacrifice their lives for the people and for their country.
Many parents sacrifice (part of) their career—and with it—their personal fulfillment and success for the sake of their family.

When we stop sacrificing, things will eventually start falling apart.
Marriages fall apart when spouses stop sacrificing for one another.
Being unwilling to sacrifice in the present time truly and deeply affects our future.
A society that loses the concept of sacrifice is a society without a real future.

Blood-Sacrifice

All of this is good and beautiful, and yet, before God we are required to bring a sacrifice through blood:

“Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Hebrews 9:22)

Similarly, the entire New Testament stands on the solid foundation that Yeshua is our atoning Passover sacrifice, called the ‘Lamb of God.’

And yet, even the sacrifices themselves aren’t the final answer, because they had to be offered again and again in the Temple, day after day and year after year. This repetition was an ongoing reminder of our sin and obligation (and need) to repent. And yet, after a while, we lost our innocence and hearts’ intentions.

Why the Prophets Criticized the Sacrifices

Most of the prophets, like Isaiah and Jeremiah, spoke sharply against the sacrificial system. Just to clarify: these prophets didn’t want to abolish the sacrifices! Rather, they opposed the idea that the sacrificial system could atone for people’s sins without genuine repentance. Without genuine repentance, the Biblical sacrificial system would turn into a kind of a ‘bribe,’ as if God would merely forgive our sins just for offering an expensive and generous enough sacrifice (without the necessary, true change of heart).

Yeshua’s Sacrifice and the New Covenant

In contrast, taking part in Messiah Yeshua’s sacrifice, requires us to write the Word of God on our hearts and implement it. And so, our commitment to God’s Word isn’t just a matter of empty words, but people around us should be able to truly feel and experience the impact of that commitment, as they witness our daily lives. Similarly, the meaning of the ‘New Covenant’ is also that we internalize God’s Word into our hearts.

Yeshua is the perfect sacrifice, of whom Isaiah says:

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)

Being sanctified through the sacrifice of Yeshua, let us prepare ourselves daily to draw near to God with a pure heart and offer to Him our best as Abel did.