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 As an animal lover I always found it difficult to understand why the God who created animals, would command the sacrifice of them. It seemed incredibly cruel to me.
Then I read verses like the following by David in Psalm 51:16-17.
For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.
What? That really confused me. Did God want sacrifices or not?
As I studied, I began to realize that I did not understand how much God hates sin. There is very little hatred of sin in our world today. The world indulges freely in sinful activities, jokes about it, and is entertained by it. God, however, takes sin very seriously. The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). It began in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve first sinned. Genesis 3:21 states,
Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
Where did the “tunics of skin” come from that formed Adam and Eve’s first clothing? Many commentators think this was the first time death occurred on earth. Those innocent animals died as a result of Adam and Eve’s sin.
One day God gave me a very real vision for the way the sacrificial system was supposed to have worked. (not that God messed up, the people did)
At that time we had three horses and a pony that my daughters and I dearly loved. What if the next time I committed a sin, one of our horses would have to pay for my sinful behavior with his life? Even worse, what if I had to sacrifice the horse myself? Sacrifices were supposed to be the owner’s best, most perfect animal, so I couldn’t choose the horse I liked the least; it had to be our best one.
If we really had to sacrifice one of our horses for our sin, wouldn’t we begin to take sin a little more seriously?
I think that’s what God intended the sacrificial system to be – a reminder of how awful sin is and the price that has to be paid for it. God’s intention was that when people saw a perfect, innocent animal killed to atone for their sinful behavior, it would cause them to become more obedient to Him.
In Isaiah 1:11 God says that He is not pleased with the people’s sacrifices.
“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats.”
The people had lost sight of the fact that their sinful behavior was responsible for the death of an innocent animal. They began to act as if the killing of animals was what pleased God. They callously offered their sacrifices and then went out and lived however they pleased.
What God really wants from us is a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. Wouldn’t it break your heart to know that a sin you committed resulted in the death of your horse?
God hates sin so much, not for some abstract theological reason, but because He loves us and knows how harmful sin is for us. He knows all the pain and suffering it will cause in our lives and how it spills over from us and hurts innocent people.
The sacrificial system was a picture to show us the seriousness of sin and the dreadful penalty that must be paid for it. All of that, of course, was a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice, Christ Himself, who died for our sins once and for all, the perfect Lamb of God who took away the sins of the word.
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