“And Moses slaughtered it (the ram) and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, and on he thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. He also had Aaron’s sons come near; and Moses put some of the blood on the lobe of their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot. Moses then sprinkled the rest of the blood around on the altar.” (Leviticus 8:23-24)
Now I would daresay you’ve recently read through the Old Testament book of Leviticus (not!). Somebody asked me a question long ago about the book and I thought I would convey my answer in a blog post.
A BOOK ABOUT BLOOD
If anything can be said about Leviticus, it’s this: it’s a book about blood. Not many of us like blood and gore, but that’s Leviticus.
From the ordination ceremony of the Levitical priests (in the verses above) to the various offerings required by God, quite frankly, my friends, it wasn’t a pretty sight the animals that needed to be slaughtered. (I’ve never been to a slaughterhouse where they kill cows, but I was thinking that’s a modern-day glimpse of what Leviticus is all about.)
And there are at least two things that come to my mind when I think of this bloodiness of Leviticus. (I don’t mean to gross you out, but it’s important.)
PEOPLE NEED CLEANSING
The first thing is: people need cleansing. This is truly humankind’s bottom line problem. We don’t need more education. We don’t need more tax cuts. What we really need is a good washing … and from sin! And then we’ll be made okay and right and whole in the sight of God.
And so that’s the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the bloodiness of Leviticus: people need cleansing.
ONLY BLOOD CAN CLEANSE
And the second thing now: only blood can do it. Only blood can cleanse us. Not mantras (“Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna.”) Not bowing down to Allah and traveling to Mecca once a year. Only blood can cleanse us from sin.
And only the blood of Jesus!
My brothers and sisters, I’m thankful today for the bloody book of Leviticus. (I never thought I’d say that.)
But more so I’m thankful that cleansing for sin is available.
Could it be you could use a good washing?
“If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
(Moses consecrates Aaron and his sons and offers their sin offering picture above is in the public domain: click here. PD-US)
You might also be interested in:
About Pastor Mike
(To view old map,