Blood and Atonement - Part 1/4

[cgpb]

BLOOD AND ATONEMENT - PART 1/4

The following thread can also be viewed at the following link:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BvOJ1ikDto

Ancient societies understood the importance of blood as a vital and integral part of their identity.
However as societies have became more modern, they have become less spiritual and more materialistic and as a result they have lost their link with their spiritual heritage, and today people often don’t understand the importance of blood in spiritual matters.

One of the main objections that Jews raise is that there are other ways apart from blood to make atonement for sins and in an attempt to justify their position, they raise the following main points:


1. The prophets themselves repudiated blood sacrifices

2. The Bible refers to other ways apart from blood to make atonement for ones soul

3. That repentance, prayer and charity alone are valid methods of atonement for sin when Jews are not able to bring an offering such as during exile or when the Temple is not standing

4. Jews don’t believe in human sacrifices


We shall examine each point in turn and see the problems that each poses. This thread deals with point 1 that "the prophets themselves repudiated blood sacrifices."


PART 1 – “THE PROPHETS THEMSELVES REPUDIATED BLOOD SACRIFICES”

The following scriptures are often quoted from the prophets in an attempt to justify that God isn’t pleased with blood sacrifices.

1 Samuel 15:22, Amos 5:21-27, Hosea 6:6, Hosea 14:2, Isaiah 1:11-15,Micah 6:6-8, Proverbs 21:3

The main problems with this first argument are as follows:

• The scriptures have all been taken out of context.
If one examines all these scriptures, one will see that they are spoken in times when God is not very pleased, because either someone or the nation has sinned, is being rebellious, or is being called to repentance. God is not saying here that He doesn’t delight in blood sacrifices, He is saying that he doesn’t delight in them when they are offered in disobedience or hypocrisy where people think they can cover up persistent and unrepentant sin by offering sacrifices which was an abomination to God.

The concept would be no different today for someone who goes to church or any place of worship and prays and praises God but at the same time is cheating his employees out of their wages. Wouldn’t God say the same thing to them: "Your church attendance, prayers and praise mean nothing to me." So yes “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice,” but that doesn’t mean that blood sacrifice is therefore nullified as the means for atonement. Likewise if the man repents and starts paying his employees their due wages, that wouldn’t therefore mean he stops going to church, praying and praising God.


• Why didn’t God repudiate blood sacrifices when righteous men like Joshua, Gideon, Samuel and David offered them? Could it be that God accepted their sacrifices as pleasing? Can one verse be found where God repudiates a righteous and obedient man after he has offered a blood sacrifice?

For example - Why did God accept Abel’s sacrifice but didn’t accept Cain’s? Could it be that Abel’s sacrifice met the requirements of the God – instituted Covenant, cut with the blood of an animal to cover over his sin so he could be accepted by God, whereas Cain’s sacrifice didn’t?

• Isaiah 58:5 also repudiates hypocritical fasting. Does that mean we don’t need to fast anymore?

• Jews quote Isaiah 1:11 to show that God has no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. Why then does God express His grievance at Israel through the same prophet for not bringing Him blood sacrifices in Isaiah 43:23. Is God contradicting Himself?

“You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings, nor honored me with your sacrifices” (Isaiah 43:23)


• Even though the prophets repudiated sacrifices brought in hypocrisy, they themselves do not suggest in any way that because of hypocrisy, the blood no longer atones for sin and there is no suggestion that the prophets themselves didn’t offer them.

• The prophets that repudiated hypocritical worship were active in ministry before God brought judgment on both the Northern and Southern kingdoms with the North ceasing to exist and the South going into exile, so it was fitting for these prophets to reject hypocritical offerings because it was the sins of the nation that provoked the Lord’s judgment on them in the first place.

• Ezekiel was a prophet during the exile. Why does God command him to offer blood sacrifices in Ezekiel 43:20-27.

• If blood sacrifices weren’t important, then why did God move the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to proclaim that the Temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices ? (Ezra 1:1-4 and 6:3, 10)
Why was a sin offering of 12 male goats offered for all Israel, when the 2nd Temple was completed and dedicated?

(Ezra 6:-16-18).


• After the exile, why don’t we see the post exile prophets like Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi repudiating blood sacrifices? In fact we see them prophesying that the temple be rebuilt and sacrifices offered, (Haggai 1:13-15, Zech 1:16 ).


• If blood sacrifices weren’t important to God, then why do we see God in Malachi chapter 1 expressing His anger at the priests for bringing him blemished animals?

• If blood sacrifices weren’t important, why then does the nation weep and wail in prayer in Malachi 2:13-14 when God does not respond to their sacrifices and then in Malachi 3:3 why does the Lord say “Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.”

• Exodus 5:3 shows how important sacrifices were to God. Wasn’t this a key reason God wanted the Israelites to leave Egypt so that they could be separated to offer sacrifices to God in the desert

"Now let us take a three day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or He may strike us with plagues or with the sword." (Exodus 5:3)

Why so much emphasis in scripture on the importance of blood sacrifices?
• They are described as being a pleasing aroma to God and this phrase occurs about 40 times in the OT. In fact more chapters are devoted to the subject of sacrifices and offerings in the than to anything else and they are described as lasting ordinances.