I was so struck by this passage as I spent time recently in Leviticus (Amazing how Holy Spirit can speak to our hearts through all kinds of Scripture, right?!😉) . Here’s what I was chewing on:
We know that all of the ceremonial sacrifices laid out in Leviticus were symbols of the ultimate sacrifice to come. The perfect Lamb of God would be arriving to take away the sin of the world. Meanwhile, these animal sacrifices were placeholders. God, anticipating His Son’s death in our place, received them as atonement for His people.
Everything about Old Covenant worship points to something to that was to be unfolded in our New Covenant relationship with God. The central facet of the animals’ blood shed is this: the lamb died so the human could be forgiven and live. This is a foreshadowing of the blood of Jesus, poured out for our forgiveness and rescue from death.
What about, then, the multiple kinds of animal sacrifices, if there was only one sacrifice of Jesus? Each of them teaches us something distinct about what He ultimately achieved for us with His crucifixion. I want to highlight just two of them today: the burnt offering and the purification offering.
To state it simply, the burnt offering covered sins the worshiper knew he had committed. The purification offering covered sins he had been unaware of committing.
This encapsulates some beautiful news for you and me. Remember, both types of sacrifices were prophesying what our Savior would do for us. We can then receive this glorious truth: His blood cleanses us both from sins we know we are guilty of, and those we don’t even realize we committed. Every kind of sin, conscious and unconscious, is forgiven and washed away.
The practical result of this is that we don’t have to succumb to that vague, “I’m always failing/I’m a crummy Christian” feeling. That feeling is not from God and we don’t have to live under it. We don’t have to submit to its lie.
Who are you, really? You are who God says you are. You are His forgiven child, living in His light and continually cleansed from every kind of sin. Even the ones you don’t remember committing.
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1, NIV).
Furthermore, don’t worry about the mistakes you aren’t aware of right now. When there’s an issue that needs addressing, Holy Spirit Himself will bring it to our attention with utmost gentleness, showing us the path to freedom and change. That is His job. So let’s you and I not waste precious time gazing at our bellybuttons. Instead, let’s spend it gazing on beautiful Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.
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Do you have any thoughts to share, about how Old Testament sacrifices point us to freedom in Jesus?
Feeding On Jesus 
This is a message of assurance. Let’s continue holding on to the forgiveness and redemption Jesus Christ has given us.
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Amen and amen, dear Amelia. Father, empower us to always remember this!
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This is such a comforting thought! In Christ, we don’t have to worry that we forgot to confess some sin or that God is upset with us for some sin we didn’t even know we were committing. He can still look on us with favor even in our imperfection because we are covered by his perfection. Awesome!
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Hallelujah! I receive joy reading your words and being reminded of this once again 🙂 💕
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I have been thinking about sin, forgiveness and punishment for sins for a long time and I am confused . I do believe we are forgiven of our sins when we repent and work on trying not to repeat them. However God certainly punishes us for our sins yet also does forgive us. Example is Moses when striking the rock for water and then God forbidding him from entering the promised land. And yet when I sin, I don’t always see the punishment or at least it is unclear or even non-existent. For example when someone drives under the influence and they get caught the punishment is obvious. But far so often they are never caught and apparently never punished. Thus my question : Does it say in the Bible if we are always punished for our sins or do some go unpunished ? Are we punished in other areas of our lives where we just don’t make the connection? Like the DUI example that doesn’t get caught, do bad things happen later in his/her life because of it ? Maybe that is why bad things happen to “good” people. What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance. ( I just happened to find your post in connection to another- maybe for a reason ). Thanks in advance.
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Hello my brother! I am blessed to find your comment today; thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and processing here. As for the punishment for our sins, I believe that Jesus took our whole punishment on the cross, and therefore freed us of it. This does not eliminate concept of sowing and reaping though. If we sow to the flesh by deliberately disobeying God and not desiring to change, then I believe the Word is clear that we are going to reap destruction. But for those of us that are longing to please God, and putting our whole heart into growing closer to Him, I believe His blood and His grace cancels out a lot of what we might have otherwise suffered for our mistakes. For example, if we made a mistake that hurt someone we love, His grace comes in and brings healing in the relationship. His grace abounds to us in the New Covenant (Moses was still under the Old Covenant). I pray these thoughts are helpful to you, and that your day is filled with His grace and peace!
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Jennifer, this testament further assures the evidence behind the forgiveness and redemption as given to us through the body and blood of our Savior Jesus. Thanks be to God.
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Yes! Father we thank You and praise You with all of our hearts!
I sure do appreciate your comment on this, Richard. Rich blessings to you today!
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