Tag: sacrificial system

The Need for Partnership and Participation (Malachi 3:5-12)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year CLeave a comment

“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.

“I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.

“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’

“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty. (New International Version)

Return To God

God and God’s people were at odds with each other. The Lord was weary of the people’s constant complaining. They had a wrongheaded notion that God was absent, just because circumstances were not going their way.

Yet it is important to keep in mind that belief in God’s presence and God’s inherent goodness is absolutely essential to a faithful and good life.

If you think God is absent, then the best place to find God is at the outskirts or margins of a society. The Lord is there to protect the weakest persons and those who have been neglected by others.

The needy in Israel were on the outside without any power or a voice, which is why the prophet Malachi called the people to repentance – to change and amend their ways. They should return to God.

But what does a return to God look like? Since the people generally did not think they were doing anything necessarily wrong, they didn’t have a clue how to do this returning to God. They didn’t have the sense to know they were on the outs with God – which is why the prophet Malachi was speaking to them.

To the people at that time, and practicing the injustice that they were practicing, God responded that they should return by stopping their robbery of God.

Tithes and Offerings

Specifically, the people should reinstate the full mandated practice in the law of tithes and offerings.

Please understand that these tithes and offerings have nothing to do with modern capital fund campaigns for building churches or establishing new ministries. Rather, these words have a specific context that we must pay attention to.

The “tithe” in Israel was the temple tax, paid to the Levites, because this was the tribe of Levi’s only source of income. (Numbers 18:20-30)

An “offering” is a general term, referring to all the sorts of sacrifices offered at the temple as a part of Israelite worship. And once again, the Levites depended upon these offerings in order to eat and live.

Thus, tithes and offerings in Israel had a synergistic purpose of providing the people an opportunity to worship God and center their communal life around the Lord; and also providing for the Levites, so that they could make their living.

And then, the priests who attended to all the temple functions would use funds from the tithes and offerings to help the poor and indigent in the community.

So, a failure to provide tithes and offerings was an injustice, because it was neglecting to care for fellow members of society who needed help.

People could starve and die without practicing God’s law concerning tithes and offerings. And that is why it angered God so much whenever people reneged on their duty toward the temple practices.

Cooperation, Not Competition

Therefore, repentance and returning to God would happen only when the priests and the people cooperated together. Then, God’s faithfulness could be made effective and manifest itself among the entire social structure of Israel.

The entire society was built upon a divine/human cooperative. It required both human action and divine blessing working together.

None of this was a contract or a deal in which people do the right thing, and then God automatically blesses, like some divine slot machine that persons put coins into.

Instead, it is a system in which the laity work together with the clergy; and then all the people work together with God. In other words, God’s ideal is partnership and participation.

God will bring a great produce. But the people would have to do the hard work of planting and harvesting the crops. This is very far from any sort of name-it-and-claim-it theology in which a person prays for whatever they want and God will give it to them. That is not how an abundant life is produced.

Abundance comes wherever there are partners who participate with each other. If that system breaks down, then people are in a world of trouble.

So, people must take the social justice of God quite seriously – with its specific requirements about caring for one another.

Although we may not have the same particular system of Levites and a Temple, God’s heart for justice, for people’s basic needs to be met and satisfied, has never changed. That value still stands the test of time throughout all of human history.

Almighty God, who created us in your own image: Grant us grace to fearlessly contend against evil, and to make no peace with oppression. Enable us to reverently use our freedom, in the establishment and maintenance of justice in our communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy Name. Amen.

The Real Thing (Hebrews 9:24-28)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Strange Shadows (Shadows and Substance), by Gertrude Abercrombie, 1950

For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 

Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the holy place year after year with blood that is not his own, for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world.

But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (New Revised Standard Version)

I admit that the Book of Hebrews in the New Testament is one of my favorite books of the Bible. I also recognize that Hebrews is one of the most difficult books to deal with. And specifically, chapter 9 can be quite mind-boggling.

The author of Hebrews, whoever he was actually was, did the intellectually and theologically staggering job of establishing continuity between the two testaments of the Bible.

He compared and contrasted the old (or first) covenant with the new (or second) covenant, examining the Levitical priesthood and its sacrificial system, with Christ as the high priest whose singular sacrifice ended all sacrifices.

The old sacrificial system began on Mount Sinai. Moses sprinkled the sacrificial blood of bulls and goats on both the people and the tabernacle. He was consecrating them, and the sacrificial implements, so that everyone could participate in the worship of Yahweh.

In the new covenantal system, blood is also used to purify. Yet, the heavenly tabernacle could not be cleansed with the blood of animals. It required a better and superior sacrifice. (Hebrews 9:23)

The Sacrifice of Christ, by Elizabeth Wang, 2002

That sacrifice is Jesus. He was both the high priest officiating the ritual, and the actual sacrificial offering. It is the life of Jesus, given in self-sacrificial death, which enables worshipers to come to God without any obstruction whatsoever.

Jesus does not have to keep offering himself. It was a one and done affair. One sacrifice on behalf of everyone. Once for all.

This is, of course, a distinctively Christian view and approach to the problem of guilt, shame, disobedience, and death. It has been a very compelling view for millions of people over the past two millennia.

In whatever way one seeks to understand and make sense of the author’s line of reasoning concerning a Christian approach to sacrifice and dealing with sin, what is apparent to me is that the author talked of a reality that we do not presently see.

The author of Hebrews was lifting up something important that he wanted us to notice. He was pointing out the reality of spiritual forces that have the power to both destroy and give life.

The earthly objects that we can see, touch, feel, hear, and smell are mere representations or shadows of heavenly things.

Many people, if not most people, today would say that invisible things such as our ideas and philosophies of religion are mere mental ways of understanding the objective reality in front of us that we can use our five senses to detect.

But the author of Hebrews insists – and I believe rightly so – that it’s the other way around. Everything we are presently experiencing with our objective senses is a projection of the ultimate invisible reality.

In other words, this entire world will pass away, because it is but a shadow in the history of eternity. The invisible God is the real deal. The heavenly sanctuary is reality. Love is the permanent operating system of eternity, and not your 401(k) or the next political election.

Jesus the Christ has offered himself once for all time, and for all sins. And he did it because the triune God – Father, Son, and Spirit – is a community of unitive love. That is, God is Love. So therefore, God can only do that which is love.

The end of time is not yet here. This present world with all of its inconsistent ways of doing both good and bad is still with us. But Jesus will come again.

The sin issue has been dealt with, once and for all. Christ did that. Jesus will return in order to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

If we must wait, let us do it patiently, with all of the faith and endurance it requires. Yet, this is not a passive waiting. We are to be busy proclaiming the good news of God’s invisible realm with both words and sacraments – with the signs and shadows and representations we have that point to the reality of God.

Everything visible and tangible on this earth is mirroring a greater, better, and superior reality which we cannot see with our eyes or touch with our hands.

Christianity is unabashed that all things point to Christ, who is the first and the last, the alpha and omega, the be all and end all of everything.

Come, Lord Jesus, Son of God, Son of Humanity. We long for you to return in glory and set us and this entire sinful world aright with your divine justice.

Be our guest, Lord Jesus, our Savior and Friend. We receive in faith your salvation. We trust that both the physical food and spiritual food you give will sustain us for our work and worship in this world.

May it be so, to the glory of God, and through the enablement of the Holy Spirit. You are one God – Father, Son, and Spirit – in one holy community of Love, now and forevermore. Amen.

Visible Signs of Invisible Realities (Hebrews 9:15-24)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. (Hebrews 9:15-24)

The Hebrew Christians were tired. They had faced adverse circumstances, unjust imprisonments, persecution, prejudice, confiscation of their property, and public ridicule.

Most of all, they encountered rejection from their Jewish families of origin. There was precious little support for them, outside of their group.

The suffering went on long enough that the Christians began to experience a weakening of faith. In their distress, they started considering whether to return to Judaism, and renege on their commitment to Christ.

The author of Hebrews saw the struggle and spoke up, encouraging and exhorting the believers to keep going, to exercise faith and perseverance in the face of their ongoing troubles.

The author’s overall message to the discouraged believers was that Jesus Christ is superior over everything and everyone. Christ is better than the angels, Moses, and Aaron. Jesus is the ultimate high priest who offered himself as a sacrifice, once for all.

By means of the cross, Jesus became the mediator of a new and better covenant. There is, therefore, no more need of another high priest. Christ now occupies that office permanently.

Jesus Christ Points us to God, by Elizabeth Wang

Christ’s death was efficacious for all. The sacrificial system with all of the officiating Levitical priests was the old order of things, meant to point us to Christ.

Offering sacrifices day after day, and engaging in prescribed liturgical rituals in order to access God, are no longer necessary. Perpetual anxiety exists wherever people keep wondering if they have done enough to satisfy their guilt and/or responsibility.

The answer of Christianity is yes, the work is finished; Jesus completed it, once and for all.

There is no longer anything that can distress us. Sin, death, and hell have been conquered through the death of Christ. His singular sacrifice has achieved victory over the sinful powers, and reconciliation and peace with God.

Blessed is the one
    whose sin the Lord does not count against them
    and in whose spirit is no deceit. (Psalm 32:2, NIV)

The covenant code’s sacrificial system was never designed to be a permanent way of doing things. All of the implements used in that system were symbols pointing to the real deal. They were a temporary means of leading people to Christ, who is the once for all sacrifice to end all sacrifices, the one who truly takes away our guilt and shame forever.

The picture is of Christ, as our high priest, who sprinkled us with his own blood and made us clean – not only today or for some temporary period of time – but for all time. We are not only made clean; we are made clean forever by the blood of Christ.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. (Psalm 51:7, NIV)

The historical person of Jesus – his life, ministry, crucifixion, death, resurrection, ascension and glorification – was a visible image showing us the great importance of invisible realities.

The Ark of the Covenant was a visible sign of God’s invisible presence, and the need for a restoration of the divine/human connection.

The temple, the worship implements, and the whole sacrificial system was a visible sign of God’s invisible holiness, and the need for purity of heart amongst the people.

Jesus was a real person with a real body and real human needs, a visible reality which showed us the invisible God, and what God truly deems as right and good.

It is Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Humanity, in whom we have redemption the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God. (Colossians 1:14-15)

Christ is our Mediator, bridging the gap between heaven and earth.

Christ is our Savior, delivering us from our guilt and shame, our worry and anxiety, and our old enemy, death itself.

Christ is our Advocate, stepping in and acting on our behalf, and sending the Holy Spirit to be his continuing presence on this earth.

Christ is our champion, the pioneer of our salvation, securing redemption for us through his singular death.

Christ is our Intercessor, who even now lives to intercede for us, as we strive and struggle to live in humility, justice, and righteousness, as peacemakers in this world.

What this all means, from the vantage of Christianity, is that we need Jesus.

Without Christ, there is no hope. With Christ, all things are possible.

Jesus is the answer to every question, because Jesus is the center of all things. He is the fertile soil from which all of life sprouts; the first-fruit which provides life; and the continuing sustenance which saves us from a disconnected, fragmented, discouraging existence.

Along with the ancient Hebrew Christians, let us be encouraged with Christ, who is truly our everything.

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.

Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word, and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.

Grant us the gift of your Spirit; that we may know you and make you known; and through your Spirit, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.

A Better System (Hebrews 7:11-22)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Mosaic of Melchizedek, in the Church of Sant’Apollinare, Ravenna, Italy, c.5th century, C.E.

If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? 

For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. 

For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared:

“You are a priest forever,
    in the order of Melchizedek.”

The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him:

“The Lord has sworn
    and will not change his mind:
    ‘You are a priest forever.’”

Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant. (New International Version)

The author of the Book of Hebrews argued that the old Levitical sacrificial system was temporary; it was never designed to be permanent. And because it was temporary, the system was insufficient in bringing restoration to God and settling the sin issue once and for all.

Only Jesus could bring perfection to worshipers; the Levitical priests could not. The old system is obsolete, because of Christ. Jesus has brought a new and better way.

Before Google, Wikipedia, and the internet, there were actual physical libraries with lots of books. In order to research anything, you needed to go to the library, use the card catalogue to access what book(s) you needed, check them out, and pour over them to find the information you need.

I grew up in an era of typewriters. I learned to use one. All through my high school and college undergraduate years, I would draft all of my papers by writing with a pen on a legal pad of paper (I have to spell out what it actually was, because not everyone knows what it was like back in the day!).

Then, I would manually type my paper draft on a typewriter. If I made a mistake, I would have to use a fluid called “white out” to cover it, and then type the correction over it. As you can either remember, or imagine, this was a painstaking process.

Finally, the paper was physically submitted to the professor, in person. If you lost the document, or spilled something all over it, you would have to type it all over again.

But back then, when I was doing it, I didn’t know any better. There was no other way to get your papers researched, typed, and submitted.

Computers and the internet changed everything. It made library card catalogues with the Dewey Decimal System, and manual typewriters obsolete.

I have “written” thousands of documents since getting my first computer. A lot of my research is now done on a computer, via the internet. I can draft and finalize a document in one place. And when I’m done, I simply attach the virtual document to an email and send it. The entire process of “writing a paper” takes a fraction of the time it took me decades ago – with a lot less hassle.

I still remember some people ridiculing computers when they first came out. They said it was a fad that wouldn’t last; and just a way for electronic companies to fleece money from us in order to pay for one of the newfangled contraptions.

You will now find all the tools I once used to write a college term paper in antique stores and museums. They are obsolete. A better system now helps us all.

The old sacrificial system compared to Christ’s once for all sacrifice is even more pronounced than typewriters and computers, library books and the internet.

The author of Hebrews argued and insisted that the person and work of Jesus Christ is vastly superior and better than the Old Testament sacrificial system handled by the Levitical priesthood. It’s not even close.

The new covenant has replaced the old. We can be close to God and enjoy God because of Jesus, without using a typewriter.

The old way wasn’t bad; it’s just been replaced by a better way. Jesus is the way.

None of this came about haphazardly. It was according to God’s purpose, which is why the author of Hebrews referred to Old Testament passages to reveal that it has always been the divine purpose to have a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek, not Aaron.

God has made an oath and will not change the divine mind about it: Jesus Christ is a priest forever, permanently, eternally. With the permanence of Christ’s person and work, our hope is secure.

You cannot improve on perfection. The work is finished. All there is left to do is exercise faith, hope, and love, according to the system that is now permanently in place.

So, the ancient Jewish Christians were not to be fooled in thinking they could go back to the old Judaism they grew up with. They needed to persevere in faith and patience by sticking with the system of perfection, and with the perfector of our faith, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God’s throne.

Think of what he went through; how he put up with so much hatred from sinners! So do not let yourselves become discouraged and give up. (Hebrews 12:2-3, GNT)

Almighty God,
all thoughts of truth and peace
proceed from you.
Kindle in the hearts of all people
the true love of peace.
Guide with your pure and peaceable wisdom
those who take counsel
for the nations of the earth;
that in tranquility, your kingdom
may go forward,
till the earth is filled
with the knowledge of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.