Genesis 8:20 (NIV) Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean
animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.
Currently in my Bible reading I am
in Leviticus. Leviticus is not typically at the top of the list of
inspirational reading in the minds of most Christians. But God has included
this book of Moses in His Word. Therefore it is a blessing to any reader who loves
Jesus Christ. So far the book has been all about various ceremonial states of
cleanness and uncleanness. Today I read about what was appropriate for the
Israelites to eat and what they had to avoid. I found myself questioning why or
how God would allow one “class” of foods and not another (one species of
animal, bird, fish, or insect, and not another)… just wondering how He decided
the differences. After all, He created it all and declared it all good at the
time of creation. Perhaps it had something to do with what would be most
healthful and practical for them on their transitional journey to Canaan and
beyond to when they had settled there.
When God used Noah to preserve
humanity and animals from the flood, Noah was directed to board two of every species
onto the ark, except for “clean” animals. There were to be seven pairs of
these. Why was that? When sin entered the world, a process of atonement for sin
was established by God which involved the death of an animal as a substitution
for the person who had sinned against God. God showed grace to human beings in
this manner. But the process is a reminder of the seriousness of sin, which
always has a cost, and the response of a holy God toward sin. All sin produces
death. By grace God allows the blood of a substitute to work in the sinner’s
favor. This history of Noah’s time would have been known by Moses and taught to
the people. For after the flood subsided and Noah and his family could go out,
the first thing Noah did was to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. For this only
clean animals would do. This is likely why more clean animals were brought onto
the ark.
There is an association between
clean animals and sacrifice in the Old Testament. It is not just about clean
animals and what may be eaten. God’s people were set apart to worship Him. And
God arranged for particular animals to be set apart for this worship. “Clean”
animals were a reminder to them of this separation unto God. Every time they
ate, and every time they sacrificed they would be reminded that they were set
apart to God, so even just in the eating they could worship and acknowledge
Him.
In the New Testament we learn that
people are no longer judged according to the food they eat. In the new Kingdom
Christ comes and He Himself is the full and final atoning sacrifice for sin.
God’s own Son ends the need for any other kind of substitute, for He Himself is
THE substitute for our sin. On the cross as His blood is being shed, our sin is
being punished in Him. At the same time, His righteousness (His “cleanness”
before God) is being given to us. In this gospel God works what we call our
salvation from sin and death to eternal life. This gospel of God’s grace is
received by faith, and through it God transforms our lives. Nothing more than
the blood of Jesus – the ultimate sacrifice – is necessary. Nothing less will
work to meet our need before a holy God. Nothing else can bring us into
relationship with God. The cross of Jesus Christ alone is our hope. I pray that
your trust is in Him alone today.
Mark 7:17-19
(NIV) 17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his
disciples asked him about this parable. 18 "Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the
outside can make him 'unclean'? 19 For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and
then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods
"clean.")
Colossians
2:16-17 (NIV) 16 Therefore do not let anyone judge
you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New
Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a
shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in
Christ.
Isaiah 53:5-6 (NIV) 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he
was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon
him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like
sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us
all.
Hebrews 9:24-28
(NIV) 24 For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was
only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in
God's presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself
again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year
with blood that is not his own. 26 Then Christ would
have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has
appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the
sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as man is destined to die
once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was
sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a
second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting
for him.
Hebrews 10:8-14 (NIV) 8 First he said, "Sacrifices and
offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you
pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). 9 Then
he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the
first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we
have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for
all. 11 Day after day every priest stands and performs
his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can
never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had
offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of
God. 13 Since that time he waits for his enemies to be
made his footstool, 14 because by one sacrifice he has
made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
PRAYER: Thank you, God, for the ultimate and complete
sacrifice of Jesus, your Son, on my behalf. His death is sufficient for the
forgiveness of all my sin. Thank you that I need not depend on any other thing
or person… that Jesus has done all that is needed. And thank you that you have
declared all foods clean. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”
Jesus
Christ is Lord!
Scott
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