Why did God institute animal sacrifices?

February 22, 2009 FB
Under the Mosaic Law the Israelites were required to offer animal sacrifices to God. There are several reasons for this but there is one main reason: to point to Jesus Christ.

Animals required
Most animal offerings were to make atonement for sins. For example Leviticus 1:3-4 says “If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.”
The animal was to be without blemish, meaning it must be perfect. In the same way, Jesus died to make atonement for our sins, and he was without the blemish of sin.

Blood required
The above passage in Leviticus goes on to say “He shall kill the bull before the LORD; and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting” (Lev. 1:5).
Why was sprinkling the blood before the Lord important? Leviticus 17:11 says “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”
So not only was the animal to be without blemish, the blood was also required to be shed to make atonement. Although these animal sacrifices were able to cover the sins of a person, they were unable to completely clear the person of condemnation. Hebrews 10:4 says “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” This is where it is important for us to see that an animal cannot take away the sins of a human, and we will now see how God shows us His wonderful and amazing grace.

Human sacrifice forbidden
Israel was forbidden by God to offer their children to Molech, a Canaanite God. Newborn babies would be offered on the arms of a burning idol of Molech. In Leviticus 18:21 God says “And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.” God would not allow this so he required His people to offer animals instead. He had a better plan for the remission of sins.

Human sacrifice required
Even though God set up the sacrificial system to cover sins, it was never enough to remove sin and it only pointed toward the need for a Savior. Since none of us are without the blemish of sin, God had to find a way for an unblemished human sacrifice. This is why God sent His Son Jesus. Jesus was the perfect sinless Son of God who added humanity to His deity and died for our sins. Ephesians 1:7 says “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
Let this sink in for a second. God would not allow Mankind to offer human sacrifices, so He set up animal sacrifices to point to the Savior. God protected all the families of history from the pain of losing one of their own, and He provided His own Son instead. God Himself went through the unspeakable pain of offering His one and only Son for our sins.
Let’s talk about Jesus for a second. Jesus was not just a pawn in the hand of God. He was God from out of eternity who Himself chose to be born human, live in poverty, and eventually die on the cross for our sins. Even though God the Father planned it, Jesus still freely chose to humiliate Himself unto death so that He could save people from their sins. He loved us and gave Himself for us because He saw the joy that was ahead of Him. He saw that He would be able to save people from eternity without Him, and that He would be able to be with believers in love and joy forever.
Now let’s look at John 3:16 with fresh eyes: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him [Jesus] should not perish but have everlasting life.”

To our great fortune, Jesus rose from the dead to clean Himself from our sins and to be able to save sinners. A dead person cannot save anyone, so Jesus rose from the dead to be able to offer us salvation. Now, all you have to do to be saved is tell God you believe Jesus died for your sins and is risen from the dead, and then ask Jesus to save you because you know you are a sinner who is condemned and needs to be saved.

“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Cor. 9:15)

Nehemiah Ryan © 2009