Class 5: Introduction to Biblical Theology

Good morning, church.

Good morning, church.

So when we think of sacrifice today,

we often think of sacrifice in terms like

John has sacrificed so much of his career for the sake of family.

Or maybe it's the other way, right?

Maybe John sacrificed so much time with his family for the sake of career.

What about Martha?

She has sacrificed so much of her time

to work at the community shelter.

What about William, who's willing to sacrifice his own life

for the sake of country and freedom?

Well, this type of sacrifice is defined as

the act of giving up something that you want to keep,

especially in order to get or do something else or to help someone.

At times we can find ourselves asking,

you know, what are we willing to sacrifice

for the sake of family, career, freedom,

others, and even the gospel.

But this is not the sacrifice we're going to talk about today.

The sacrifice we're going to talk about today

has greater relational and eternal consequences.

A definition we can look at is to offer to God in worship by killing and consuming

as victim on an altar, either as an atonement for sin

or to procure favor or to express thankfulness.

As we think of sacrifice, it is by definition giving up something highly valued.

And as we see a focus on the blood of a sacrifice,

it's good to keep in mind that we are focusing on the most valuable offering that can be made,

the offering up of life itself.

We're going to look at where sacrifices began,

why they were put in place,

what its purpose was,

and why it matters to us.

And also,

why are we not offering sacrifices

to God anymore?

Or are we?

So let's open up in prayer.

Heavenly Father, God, we thank you for this day.

We thank you for this time that we can gather

and look into your word, Father Lord,

and see that which you have provided for us.

God, pray that this would be a time to bring you glory and honor,

and Lord, that it would edify your church.

God, we give you all thanks and praise in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So,

another set of definitions to keep in mind as we go through this study.

The first one is atonement.

This is the sacrifice needed to be made right with God,

to atone for one's sins.

And then we have justified, or justification,

which is the result of that atonement,

where we are seen as righteous,

no longer considered guilty by our sins.

So atonement,

see the sacrifice needed,

to make atonement for our sins,

and justify the results of that atonement.

So as we did last time,

we'll be looking at the big themes.

Creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.

We'll see the beginning of sacrifices.

We'll dive into several stories that,

and the,

look at the institution of sacrifice.

We'll look at the perfect sacrifice,

and what it means for us today.

So let's begin where it all began.

Genesis 1-1.

In the beginning,

God created the heavens and the earth.

And as we read the creation account,

and all God did,

we hear this declaration of his work.

And God saw everything that he made,

and behold, it was very good.

He saw all that he created,

and it was not just good,

but it was very good.

Everything was good in the garden.

And we see that there is no need for sacrifice.

There was no sin,

or effect from sin.

People were living in perfect worship,

perfect communion,

perfect fellowship,

and perfect peace with God.

Now God gave his people one command to live by.

In Genesis 2,

we see the Lord saying,

and the Lord God commanded the man saying,

you may surely eat of every tree of the garden,

but of the tree of the knowledge

of good and evil,

you shall not eat.

For in the day that you eat of it,

you shall surely die.

God's authority is established

by the mere fact that he's God.

And he's the creator of all things.

His authority is underlined as the law giver,

instituting this one rule

by which his people are to live by.

He alone is God,

they are not.

And while man was given a leadership role

and dominion over all that God created,

that authority was still executed

under the ultimate authority of God.

But as we stated before,

in this perfect garden

and perfect fellowship

between man and God,

we don't see need for sacrifices

at the beginning.

Now let's see what happens

in our next major theme,

the fall.

God's people rebelled

and disobeyed God.

They took the fruit of the tree

God commanded them not to eat

and their eyes were opened.

In essence,

what they were saying

by their action is,

God,

we don't want to be

under your rule and authority.

We want to be under our own authority.

We want to be our own God.

This is sin.

They missed the mark

and turned to their own desires,

which was against God.

And as God warned,

there were consequences

to their sinful disobedience.

They felt shame

in recognizing they were naked.

So they sewed fig leaves together

and covered themselves.

They felt guilt

and they hid themselves

when they heard God walking by.

And they were cast out

from the garden,

not allowed to be

in the presence

of a holy God.

And this,

this is the first time

in which we see,

we begin to see

sacrifices emerge.

Genesis 3.21,

And the Lord God

made for Adam

and for his wife

garments of skin

and clothed them.

God sends his people

out from his presence,

but not without making

a sacrifice for them.

God sacrifices

an innocent animal

in order to make clothing

out of it,

to cover the shame

and the guilt they felt

as a result

of breaking his law.

Church,

it's not hard to see here,

right?

This is a glimpse

of God's amazing plan

of redemption

for his people,

to do for them

what they could not do

for themselves.

We can also see this

in Genesis 3.15

when God declares

that through the woman's offspring,

one would come

to bruise the head

of the snake.

So,

our observation,

God covered his people

through sacrifice.

So now we're going to

carry on with the big themes

of the Bible.

We're going to look at,

we looked at creation,

the fall,

now we're going to get

into redemption.

We're going to look at

several stories of sacrifice

through the scriptures

and see how the story

unfolds with this topic.

So,

our first story

comes right after

the story of Adam and Eve

being sent out

from the garden.

We begin by looking

at Cain and Abel

in chapter 4

of Genesis.

Cain is a worker

of the ground,

and Abel is a keeper

of the sheep.

Genesis 4,

3 through 7 says,

In the course of time,

Cain brought to the Lord

an offering of the fruit

of the ground,

and Abel also brought

the firstborn of his flock

and their fat portions.

And the Lord had regard

for Abel in his offering,

but for Cain in his offering,

he had no regard.

So Cain was very angry.

His face fell,

and the Lord said to Cain,

Why are you angry?

Why has your face fallen?

If you do well,

will you not be accepted?

And if you do not do well,

sin is crouching

at your door.

Its desire is contrary

to you,

but you must rule over it.

So what do we learn

about sacrifice

from this passage?

Well, first we see

there's two types

of offerings.

One being an offering

from the fruit

of the ground,

and one being the sacrifice,

the firstborn of the flock,

and the fat portions.

Does this verse indicate

that a fruit and vegetable

offering is not as good

or pleasing to God

as an animal sacrifice?

I don't think that could

be said here for sure.

There's a few things

to consider.

First, it's clear

that Abel gave the best

and choicest parts

of the animal,

the firstborn

and the fat.

It's not clear

that Cain offered

the best

or even the first fruits

of what he had.

Second,

do these differing offerings

have different meanings?

At this point

of the unfolding story,

it's not clear.

Third, Abel's offering

and Cain's response

give us some insight

to the heart.

Abel's desire

to give God his best

demonstrates a heart

to please God,

where Cain's attitude

when God did not have regard

for his sacrifice

revealed a heart

of bitterness,

pride,

jealousy.

What is evident

is that the heart

behind the sacrifice,

the sacrificial offering,

matters to God.

So,

our observation,

God looks at the heart

of sacrifice.

All right,

next.

We're going to look,

take a look

at the story of Noah.

First thing we notice

with Noah

is that he

and his family

are the last people

on earth

who find favor with God.

All other people

have turned away from God.

As a result of the world's

pervasive wickedness,

God declares

that he will

send a flood

to wipe out humanity,

except for Noah

and his family.

God instructs Noah

on how to build an ark

which will save his family,

as well as some

of the creation.

Once the ark is finished,

God directs Noah

to take on board

the animals.

You know how

the story goes, right?

Noah takes on two

of each kind of animal.

Well,

something interesting

here

is that God directs

Noah

to take on two

male and female

of each

unclean animal,

but he is also

directed to take on

seven pairs

of each

clean animal,

male and female.

God,

in his wisdom,

brought on more

of the clean animals

in order that they

would appropriately

propagate,

seeing that they

would be used

as the sacrifices.

This

is made apparent

after the waters

subside

and the animals

are off the boat.

Let me read

Genesis 8.

The Noah

built an altar

to the Lord

and took some

of every clean

animal and some

of every clean

bird and offered

burnt offerings

on the altar.

And then when

the Lord smelled

the pleasing aroma,

the Lord said

in his heart,

I will never

again curse

the ground

because of man,

for the intention

of man's heart

is evil

from his youth.

Neither will

I ever again

strike down

every living creature

as I have done.

While the earth

remains,

seed time

and harvest,

cold and heat,

summer and winter,

day and night

shall not cease.

Noah takes

some of every

clean animal

and bird

and makes

a burnt offering

to the Lord.

This sacrificial

offering finds

satisfaction

with the Lord.

Look how we can see

into the very heart

of God.

It was a pleasing

aroma to him

and he would

never again

curse the ground

because of man.

also,

do you see

the language

for the intention

of man's heart

is evil

from his youth?

We see that

even though

man's heart

is bent

towards sin,

this burnt

offering from Noah

shows that there

can be peace

with God

through the

atoning work

of a sacrifice.

Following the

sacrifice,

we see the

Noahic covenant

established.

And if you

haven't had a chance

to listen to the

biblical theology

study on the

kingdom through

the covenants,

I would highly

recommend going

back online

and checking it

out.

You'll be able

to hear more

details on the

Noahic covenant

as well as the

other covenants

and how it all

points to Christ.

So,

our observation,

peace made

with God

through sacrifice.

Okay,

next.

Next,

we're going to

look at the

story of Abraham

and Isaac.

Genesis 22,

1 through 2,

says,

after these

things,

God tested

Abraham and

said to him,

Abraham,

and he said,

here I am.

He said,

take your son,

your only son,

Isaac,

whom you love,

and go to the

land of Moriah

and offer him

there as a

burnt offering

on one of the

mountains of

which I will

tell you.

This passage

can be hard to

read.

Is God

really asking

Abraham to

sacrifice his

son?

This is

something that

we'd expect

from the

surrounding

nations,

but God

asking Abraham?

Why would

God ask this?

And why would

Abraham listen?

Let's continue

reading.

When they

came to the

place which

God had told

him,

Abraham built

the altar

there,

laid the wood

in order,

and bound

Isaac his son

and laid him

on the altar

on top of the

wood.

Then Abraham

reached out

his hand,

took the

knife to

slaughter his

son.

But the

angel of the

Lord called

to him from

heaven and

said,

Abraham,

Abraham.

And he

said,

Here I am.

He said,

Do not lay

a hand on

the boy or

do anything

to him,

for now I

know that

you fear

God,

seeing you

have not

withheld

your son,

your only

son,

from me.

And Abraham

lifted up his

eyes and

looked.

And behold,

behind him

was a ram

caught in

the thickets

by his

horns.

And Abraham

went,

took the

ram,

and offered

it up as

a burnt

offering

instead of

his son.

So Abraham

called the

name of the

place,

the Lord

will provide.

As it is

said to this

day,

on the

mounts of

the Lord

it shall

be provided.

First,

we see God

was testing

Abraham,

who displayed

a remarkable

trust in

the Lord.

Abraham

to take

his son,

his only

son,

was to

take

everything.

Isaac

was the

child

promised

to

Abraham.

In

chapter 21

of Genesis,

God said

to Abraham,

through Isaac

shall all

your offspring

be named.

Yet Abraham

believed

that one

way or

another

the Lord

would provide

and keep

his promise.

Whether he

was thinking

that God

would stop

him,

provide a

way out,

or even

bring Isaac

back from

the dead,

Abraham

had complete

faith in

God.

Second,

God had

no desire

for Isaac

to be

sacrificed.

God

holds

Abraham

back from

bringing

down his

hand of

judgment.

Rather,

he provides

a ram,

an adult

lamb,

to take

his place.

Another

thing we

see with

the sacrifice

is this

notion of

substitution.

This idea

of an

animal sacrifice

taking the

place of

a person

as an

offering

before God.

So our

observation

here is

substitutionary

atonement.

Next,

we're going

to look

at the

Passover.

So,

the Israelites

have been

in bondage

in Egypt,

and God

uses Moses

and Aaron

as his

instruments

to bring

his people

out from

under the

hand of

Pharaoh.

God

brings about

a series

of plagues

on Egypt

because Pharaoh

is not

letting the

Israelites

go.

After the

ninth

plague

of

darkness,

Moses

is speaking

with Pharaoh

to let

his people

go.

Pharaoh

is willing,

but he

wants them

to leave

behind the

livestock.

Interestingly,

Moses makes

it clear that

Pharaoh must

allow the

people to

take the

livestock

with them

in order

that they

may offer

sacrifices

to God.

Israel

is to

leave Egypt

and worship

their God.

But the

Lord

hardens

Pharaoh's

heart.

He does

not let

the

Israelites

leave.

This

brings

upon

Egypt

the

last

and

final

plague.

The

Lord

commands

his

people

to

take

a

lamb

without

blemish

and kill

it.

We pick

up in

Exodus

12.

Then

they

shall

take

some

of

the

blood

and

put

it

on

the

doorposts

and

on

the

lentils

of

the

house

in which

they

eat

it.

They

shall

eat

the

flesh

that

night

roasted

on

the

fire

with

unleavened

bread

and

bitter

herbs

they

shall

eat

it.

Do

not

eat

any

of

it

raw

or

boiled

in

water

but

roasted

its

head

with

its

legs

and

its

inner

parts

and

you

shall

let

none

of

it

remain

until

morning

anything

that

remains

until

morning

you

shall

burn

in

this

manner

you

shall

eat

it

with

your

belt

fastened

your

sandals

on

your

feet

staff

in

hand

and

you

shall

eat

it

in

haste

it

is

the

Lord's

Passover

for

I

will

pass

through

the

land

of

Egypt

that

night

and

I

will

strike

all

the

firstborn

in

the

land

of

Egypt

with

man

and

beast

and

all

the

gods

of

Egypt

I

will

execute

judgments

I

am

the

Lord

the

blood

shall

be

a

sign

for

you

on

the

houses

where

you

are

and

when

I

see

the

blood

I

will

pass

over

you

and

no

plague

shall

befall

you

to

destroy

you

when

I

strike

the

land

of

Egypt

after

leaving

Egypt

this

becomes

one

of

the

most

important

days

to

remember

in

Israel

carrying

on

with

the

theme

of

substitution

we

see

that

a

lamb

was

to

be

sacrificed

for

every

household

and

it's

the

blood

put

on

the

doorposts

and

the

lentils

of

the

house

this

act

of

obedience

provided

the

firstborn

of the

household

protection

from

death

they

escaped

God's

judgment

by

the

blood

and

death

passed

over

them

so

our

observation

the

blood

of the

lamb

satisfies

the

Lord's

wrath

so

now

let's

take a

look at

a later

scene

with

Moses

at

the

confirmation

of

the

Mosaic

covenant

Exodus

24

reads

Moses

came

and told

the

people

all the

words

of the

Lord

and all

the

rules

and all

the

people

answered

with

one

voice

and said

all the

words

the

Lord

has

spoken

we

will

do

and

Moses

wrote

down

all the

words

of

the

Lord

he

rose

early

in

the

morning

built

an

altar

at

the

foot

of

the

mountain

with

twelve

pillars

according to

the twelve

tribes

of

Israel

and

he

sent

young

men

of

the

people

of

Israel

who

offered

burnt

offerings

and

sacrificed

peace

offerings

of

oxen

to

the

Lord

and

Moses

took

half

the

blood

and

put

it

in

basins

and

half

the

blood

he

threw

against

the

altar

then

he

took

the

book

of

the

covenant

read

it

in

the

hearing

of

the

people

and

they

said

all

that

the

Lord

has

spoken

we

will

do

and

we

will

be

obedient

and

Moses

took

the

blood

and

threw

it

on

the

people

and

said

behold

the

blood

of

the

covenant

that

the

Lord

has

made

with

you

in

accordance

with

all

these

words

after

God

gave

Moses

the

Ten

commandments

in

Exodus

God

gives

both

burnt

offerings

and

peace

offerings

we

begin

to

see

a

formalization

of

these

sacrificial

offerings

and

is

the

first

time

we

see

a

peace

offering

made

we

see

Moses

along

with

the

Israelites

offering

these

sacrifices

to

God

yet

this

is

before

the

Lord

had

provided

the

Levitical

law

for

the

sacrificial

system

as well

as

their

purposes

we

see

also

that

Moses

is

throwing

the

blood

against

the

altar

and

on

the

reasoning

is

not

stated

here

it

can

be

seen

as

a

way

of

symbolizing

the

covenant

being

made

between

God

and

the

Israelite

people

so

our

observation

here

is a

key

phrase

the

blood

of

the

covenant

the

covenant

is

established

by

the

sacrifice

of

sacrificial

blood

so

now

we're

going to

get

to

Leviticus

thus

far

we've

seen

sacrifice

used

to

cover

God's

people

to

offer

burnt

offerings

peace

offerings

to

establish

a

covenant

to

satisfy

God's

wrath

but

the

question

that

comes

to

mind

is

what

are

all

the

types

of

sacrifices

and

their

purposes

this

brings

us

to

the

book

of

Leviticus

now

I'll

admit

that

at

first

glance

this

book

can

be

easy

to

gloss

over

we

see

God

prescribing

Moses

the

type

of

sacrifices

their

intended

purpose

the

details

on

how

to

offer

them

it

can

feel

as

exciting

as

reading

your

company

policies

and

procedures

for

how

you're

to

operate

but

this

book

really

comes

alive

when

you

look

at

it

through

the

lens

of

biblical

theology

so

what

does

this

book

say

so

we

see

that

there

are

five

types

of

offerings

that

are

to

be

brought

before

the

Lord

of

these

five

types

of

offerings

four

of

them

require

sacrifice

so

let's

take a

look

first

the

burnt

offering

the

Hebrew

word

which

actually

means

to

ascend

or

to

go

up

in

smoke

this

is

what

we

most

likely

saw

with

Abel

as well

as

Noah

Abraham

and

Moses

in

chapter

one

of

Leviticus

the

burnt

offering

was

to

be

of

a

male

from

the

herd

without

blemish

it

would

be

brought

to

the

entrance

of

the

tent

of

meeting

the

one

bringing

the

offering

would

lay

his

we

see

a

personal

and

symbolic

identification

with

the

animal

as

the

animal

becomes

a

substitution

for

the

offerer

then

it

was

the

offerer

who

would

kill

the

animal

then

the

priest

would

take

over

and

perform

the

prescribed

rituals

in

verse

9

we

see

it

would

be

a

pleasing

aroma

to

the

Lord

this

type

of

offering

was

done

voluntarily

but

we

also

see

in

the

book

of

Numbers

the

burnt

offering

at set

times

as

well

such

as

every

morning

and

evening

the

sabbath

the

beginning

of

each

month

the

passover

the

feast

of

weeks

feast

of

trumpets

the

new

moon

day

of

atonement

feast

of

booth

and

what

was

the

emphasis

of

this

sacrifice

this

was

the

most

common

offering

and

sometimes

would

be

combined

with

another

offering

it

was

used

as

a

means

of

voluntary

atonement

a

petition

or

praise

to

the

grain

offering

while

this

wasn't

a

sacrificial

offering

it

was

considered

to be

a

most

holy

part

of

the

food

offerings

presented

to

the

Lord

it

offered

a

pleasing

aroma

to

the

Lord

and

consisted

of

four

elements

fine

flour

oil

frankincense

and

salts

it

could

be

presented

uncooked

or

baked

and

the

purpose

of

this

offering

was

to

worship

God

and

acknowledge

his

provision

third

the

peace

offering

also

known

as

the

fellowship

offering

this

could

be

a

male

or

female

from

the

herd

and

it

had

to

be

without

blemish

it

followed

similar

steps

to

the

burnt

offering

this

also

was

a

voluntary

free

will

offering

this

was

a

way

to

share

in

communion

with

God

it's

the

only

sacrifice

the

offer

or

participate

in

fourth

the

sin

offering

this

was

a

mandatory

sacrifice

the

purpose

of

this

sacrifice

was

to

deal

with

the

sins

of

the

people

and

make

atonement

for

them

we

see

atoning

of

the

priests

the

whole

congregation

the

leaders

and

the

common

people

what

is

interesting

to

note

with

this

sacrifice

is

that

it

was

for

unintentional

sins

or

sins

committed

in