My, Devotion to Him #311
The subtitle for part five is – Sacrifices
Verse Passage: Hebrews 7:26-28 “For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.” – ESV
Why was the tradition of blood sacrifice so significant that God instructed Noah to continue it after the flood? God had already judged and flooded the earth. Was that not adequate for the world’s sins? You’d think that by wiping out the entire population except for a small family, the issue of sin would be taken of. The extreme action would’ve been enough to counter the seriousness of sin. That is a normal view of those who do not understand sin itself. Even some Christians struggle with this event because we cannot grasp the severity of sin and its corrosive nature that takes root within each and every person. Taking its time to turn us into someone we don’t recognize.
From the beginning, God has been ingraining in His people the knowledge of our sins and the requirements of His law and justice. God instructed Noah to gather a certain amount of animals.
Verse Passage: Genesis 7:2-5 “Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.” – ESV
There needed to be a certain amount of animals that would last after the flood in order to allow blood sacrifice, increase the population of their species, supply food for people, and keep the food chain going.
God required a blood sacrifice to continue because sin would continue. This might seem strange and even brutal to the modern mind, but God had His reasons.
Verse Passage: Hebrews 9:22 “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” – ESV
As the story of Noah explains, we have always been a people unable to save ourselves, dependent on God, but revolting in our wills, rebellion crawling under our skin, whispering in our ears. We long to do life on our own. The story of Noah foreshadows the coming of the great High Priest, Jesus Christ, who offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. May we, like Noah, acknowledge that we cannot save ourselves and that we should cry out to the One true Living God who alone can save us through the blood of Christ. It was a sacrifice that saved us. Are we willing to sacrifice in order to show how much we want Him like He did for us?
God Bless,
Copyright © 2023 by Jacob Olinger
Noah, Goodness Still Abounds Series
- Noah Part 1: Understanding His Ways
- Noah Part 2: A Rising Tide
- Noah Part 3: Healing Is Coming
- Noah Part 4: Opportunities In Life
- Noah Part 5: Sacrifices (current page)
- Noah Part 6: Rainbows Among Us
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