The Sacrificial System: The Answer to Sin – Part 1
Exodus 33:1-3; Exodus 33:15-16
The book of Exodus can be divided into 3 sections which constructs its theme: Yahweh’s Gracious Deliverance of Israel, Yahweh’s Gracious Covenant with Israel, and Yahweh’s Gracious Presence Among Israel. In the first part of Exodus, we read that God was displaying His power among the Egyptians, so that they and all the peoples of the earth may know that there is only one God of the universe and that He does not share power (Exodus 9:29). Israel witnessed these works and yet they rebelled against God.
There rebellion came about while Moses was on the mountain receiving the covenant document from God. Israel became impatient because of Moses’ delay. Under the direction of Aaron, Israel gave donations to the making of a golden calf in which they could see and touch. This caused the Lord to become very angry with His people. They even had the audacity to ascribe to this idol the work of God: “Israel this is your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt” (Exodus 32:4).
Because of the golden calf incident, the Lord announced that He would not go with Israel in their pursuit of the promised land. The divine presence of God among His people is what makes the nation of Israel distinct from all other nations. It was the belief in the Ancient Near East that the national deities were territorial. If a particular nation moved to a different territory, then they would serve the national deity of that particular land. However, the God of Israel had no concern with real estate but with a people of His own choosing. Dr. Daniel I. Block states,
Expressions like ‘God of Israel’ and ‘God of the Hebrews,’ with a gentilic or eponymic national designation in the genitive position, stress the association between deity and the population. But all the extra-biblical citations associate the divinity primarily with a geographic locality (Block 2000, 38).1
So then, the divine presence among the people of Israel is important. But how can a holy God dwell among a rebellious people? The answer is the book of Leviticus. Laid out in Leviticus is the sacrificial system. The sacrificial system points to Him who is to come. The blood of lambs and goats cannot cleanse the conscience, but if the worshiper brought his or her sacrifice in faith, then the Lord would be pleased. More will be said concerning the sacrificial system in part two.
Joshua Parker