Have you read the book of Leviticus lately?  It is interesting reading to say the least.  I am currently reading through it and am wading through all the ceremonial details of offerings and sacrifices that God expected of the Israelite people.

It is rather daunting in a way.  The priests had to know all the details of all the different types of offerings – each one a little different.

There is a lot of content about what made the people unclean and what it would take to become clean again.  What if we were still required to make the sacrifices and to go through the cleansing rituals that the Israelites did? It seems we would not have time to do our work or live our daily lives as we know them.

As I read through these passages, it became clear that we do not follow the same expectations today.  We do not think about what we eat and what we touch.  Some of the things we do would have made the Israelites in that day outcasts from their cities and loved ones.

Also, in reading about the many different steps in the sacrificial system it took for the Israelites to become clean, I realized how grateful I am that we have a Savior who became the ultimate sacrifice for us.  Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross we do not have to worry about the endless details of killing animals and burning them in a certain way on altars.  For that, I give praise.  My life seems to be so much easier than that of the Israelites just coming out of Egypt.

So, then I ask myself, am I really that different?  Do I live my life as one who is clean before God?  Or do I take advantage of my privilege to live without further altar sacrifices and live as I want to?

The sacrificial system of ancient Israel was put in place by God so that His people could come to Him clean and blameless.  The ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was given for the same reason for those of us living now.  The problem then and the problem now is that we tend to forget what God has done for us and we want to live our lives freely in our own power and follow our own dreams and do as we please.  God really wants us to live with freedom and with His power and to do as He pleases.  The thing is that if we have a deep relationship with God, what He pleases is right for us.

However, for the most part we have become complacent; we often forget the marvelous gift of God’s sacrifice.  My prayer today is that we remember daily – even moment by moment God’s love and the greatest sacrifice of all – His son, Jesus!  Let’s live our lives as grateful citizens of God’s family!