My Personal Christian Blog

Thanks for sliding into my blog site. This blog bog is a spin-off from my website at http://www.niteowldave.com/. Call me a Night Owl, as my full-time mission and hobby are jabbering from midnight until 8 a.m.ish with chatter bugs across the world. Hoot, hoot! Being a retired newspaper guy and a Curious George, I've written and assembled a whack of stuff that I hope you'll find interesting and thought-provoking. Check out the Stories bar on the right side, below, for all my articles - from my web site and this blog.




December 20, 2014

A LOOK AT GOD’S BLOOD SACRIFICES


By NiteOwlDave
niteowldave@gmail.com
 

For some, the idea that eternal salvation is through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ raises a thorny question: How were people saved from their sins before the cross of Christ?

The Bible says God is fair. Where is the justice?

Well, let's try this on for size.

Before salvation became available through Christ's death on the cross, people were "saved" by obeying God's laws. Back then, appointed prophets spread the truth of God.

Before Christ, salvation was through the Jews; God’s appointed people.

Once a year, followers of Jehovah brought an animal (size depending upon their wealth) to the priest who would enter the holy-of-holies and place blood on the "mercy seat" on behalf of the people.

Instructions are given in Leviticus 30:10, a book in the Jewish Torah and the Bible.

This blood sacrifice symbolized the future sacrificial blood of the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed at Calvary.

So what about the non-Jew, or "Gentile," as they were called in Scripture?

They were saved by submitting to the God of the Jews and obeying the same sacrificial instructions. Most Gentiles worshipped their own false gods then.

The Bible speaks of certain Gentiles, such as Rahab and Ruth, and even whole cities such as Nineveh, which repented at the preaching of Jonah.

The first blood sacrifice was initiated by God in the Garden of Eden, when He killed an animal for skins to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve, the first couple and the first sinners.

Their sin prompted God to send His Son to the cross several millennia later, to shed His blood for all mankind.

The first sons of Adam and Eve - Cain and Abel - got into a dustup over the sacrifice issue: God accepted Abel's animal, blood sacrifice, but rejected Cain's produce, non-blood offering. Out of jealousy, Cain killed Abel.

Throughout the Bible, God demanded a blood sacrifice as the payment for sin.

Animal offerings were representative of the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Christ. Hebrews 9:22 says, "Without shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin."

God never explained why the Jews are His chosen race. The fact that Jesus was born a Jew was the final flourish of their hefty benefit package.

The country of Israel is geographically the center of the "world," the crossroads of three continents—Europe, Asia and Africa.

Throughout Scripture, the Jews are identified as the "chosen people," the nation of God.

Interestingly, the Jews have had a roller coaster ride since day one, because of their on-off relationship with almighty God.

And since God's chosen people rejected Christ as their Messiah they have paid a huge price.

In World War II, six million, of a world population of 16 million, wound up in Nazi concentration-camp ovens. And a study of Bible prophecy reveals the worst is yet to come for Israel.

That may sounds unfair, but Israel, like the Gentile, has been given free will—free choice.