Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

This picture of the Lord in the Old Testament has multiple shadows of His own sacrifice, but for this particular post, let us dwell on the constant repetition of sacrifice.

Although our Old Testament passage speaks of the yearly sacrifice, as in Leviticus 16, describing the Day of Atonement, daily sacrifices were performed as prescribed throughout the Old Testament. Sacrifices that kept the priests busy within the temple grounds, to the point that there was never to be found a chair to rest in.

My son once tried to read the entire Bible in a couple months, and his remarks after getting through Leviticus was that the priest’s worked like butchers in an abattoir. A never ending slaughter of the living to cover over the sins of a nation and it’s people.

Though as we think of this, we must remember that the very consistency of the sacrifices gives evidence of the inability to take care of the sin problem permanently.

As it stood, the practice of continual sacrifice provided the nation an opportunity to approach to the Living God, and allowed them the privilege of being the only people on earth to hear from Him, to begin to understand Him and to experience His direct intervention in their lives.

Yes the sacrifices were a permanent fixture in the relationship the nation of Israel had with the living God, but when compared to our current standing, it pales in comparison.

One sacrifice to permanently provide access to the Living God, to provide the Spirit of God to those who follow, to understand the full revelation of the Lord through the Son of God.

One Sacrifice, permanently and for forever, to the praise of His name!

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