Sacrifice

can be observed that the priest’s role in sacrificing was instrumental in his endeavor to succeed as guardian.

And yet, there is no denying the importance of sacrifice among the priestly responsibilities. The offering of sacrifices “remained central to the ritual systems of the tabernacle and the first and second temples and, therefore, to the Old Testament theology of God’s ‘presence’ and his relationship to ancient Israel as his ‘kingdom of priests.’”

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Sacrifice was God’s way of dealing with his people’s defiled holiness and overall uncleanness, so that communion with him could be restored. It was a vehicle God entrusted to priests that effectively brought shalom to the relationship that was broken.

While Israel began offering their sacrifices primarily at the tabernacle and later at the temple, Israel continued to construct altars throughout the landscape of Canaan and offer sacrifices on them during this period.

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It seems that at least part of the reason Israelites continued to build altars during this time has to do with their continued effort to

“lay claim to the land that the Lord had promised Abram.”

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While these altars continued to play a role in Israel’s relationship with God, the tabernacle became the central location where Israel met with, worshiped, and made sacrifices to God.

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72 Richard E. Averbeck, “Offerings and Sacrifices,” in EDBT, Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996), 574.

73 Joshua’s altar on Ebal (Deut 27:4-7; Josh 8:30-31), the eastern tribes’ altar of witness (Josh 22:10-34), Gideon’s altar (Judg 6:17-24), Manoah’s altar (Judg 13:19-20), the people of Israel’s altar during a controversy with the tribe of Benjamin (Judg 21:1-7), Samuel’s altar at Ramah (1 Sam 7:17), Saul’s altar (1 Sam 14:31-35), David’s altar in Jerusalem (2 Sam 24:18-25; 1 Chr 21:18-27), and Elijah’s altar (1 Kgs 18:23-39) are examples.

74 Averbeck, “Offerings and Sacrifices,” 575.

75 In addition to the introduction of the tabernacle with Israel, a complex list of required offerings and sacrifices is also delivered to Israel in the book of Leviticus. These included burnt offerings (Lev 1:1-17), grain offerings (Lev 2:16), peace offerings (Lev 3:1-17), sin offerings (Lev 4:1-5:13), and guilt offerings (Lev 5:14-6:7). Each type of offering had its own characteristics and functions. Burnt offerings functioned as a means to call out to God to respond to the needs of the offeror, to express worship to God (Lev 22:18-20), and to make atonement for the offeror (Lev 1:4). Peace offerings signified that all was well between God and his people and always came last when offered with other kinds of offerings. The peace offering was subdivided into thank, votive, free will, and ordination offerings. Thank offerings were presented as an expression of gratefulness for blessings received (Pss 50:23; 107:22). Votive offerings were offered to repay a vow (2 Sam 15:7-8). Free-will offerings needed no specific reason to be offered. The ordination offering was presented at the ritual ordaining of the high priest (Exod 28:19-28, 31-34; Lev 8:22-29, 31-32). Grain offerings and drink offerings (wine libations) accompanied burnt and peace

Highlighting further the role of the priesthood to guard the holiness of the people of God, it is important to observe that this sacrificial system was designed to provide atonement for a specific people, the covenant community of God, and not to all people without exception. Numerous examples throughout the Old Testament

demonstrate the definite nature of priestly sacrifices. The sacrifices of the patriarchs atoned for the sins of those in their households and not for the world at large. In the same way, Israel’s sacrificial system clearly dealt with the sins of the household of Israel, and not for the sins of the nations.

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Thus, in all of the regulations and practices concerning Israel’s sacrificial system, its extent and overall benefits are limited to specific groups of people or individuals. Therefore, as Israel’s priests carried out the work of sacrifice, their services were only extended to guarding the holiness of the covenant people of God.

Additionally, in offering sacrifices to God, as guardian-priests, it was essential that the priests carried out their ministry near God’s altar with accuracy and with a commitment to meticulously following God’s instruction. Commenting on the priests’

offerings (Num 15:1-5). Sin offerings served as the main blood atonement offering in the sacrificial system, bringing forgiveness of sins to those offering the sacrifice when any of the Lord’s commandments were transgressed (Lev 4:2). Guilt offerings, which had to be accompanied with the offeror’s acknowledgment of guilt and the repayment of damages, made atonement for sins committed when sacred or holy items had been desecrated because they had been treated as common instead of holy (Lev 5:14).

Space does not allow for a more thorough evaluation of each of these sacrifice types. For a discussion of the variances between the different sacrifices, see Susan Rattray, “Worship,” in HBD, ed.

Paul J. Achtemeier (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985), 1143-44; Averbeck, “Offerings and Sacrifices,”

574-81; Jenson, Graded Holiness, 155-65.

76 The Passover ritual of Exod 12-13 appears to have had a definite application; certainly, the atoning nature of the sacrifices were not intended to have efficacy for the whole world, but only for God’s elect and circumcised covenant people who participated in the Passover ritual (Exod 2:24; 3:10; 6:1-8;

12:43-35, 48-49). This point is substantiated by the fact that the number of sacrificial animals was directly proportionate to and efficacious for the number of those in the participating households (Exod 12:4, 7-13, 21-23). Moreover, it should be noted further that on the Day of Atonement, the high priest “made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel” (Lev 16:17). No forgiveness of sins or purification was extended to the non-Israelite world. Only those in covenant with God, which including not-native Israelites or “strangers” who joined the covenant community (Num 15:25-26, 30-31), were the beneficiaries. The definite nature of Old Testament sacrifices may be observed further in that the sacrificial system was designed to offer atonement not only for the collective covenant community of Israel as a whole unit but also for the individuals who comprised the covenant community as they sought

atonement for themselves (Num 5:7-8). See Paul R. Williamson, “Because He Loved Your Forefathers:

Election, Atonement, and Intercession in the Pentateuch,” in From Heaven He Came and Sought Her:

Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective, ed. David Gibson and Jonathan Gibson (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 227-46.

failure to offer a pure sacrifice in Malachi 1:7-9, Richard Taylor links the priest’s task of guardianship with the responsibility of maintaining the holiness of the sanctuary: “The priests showed their contempt for the Lord’s name by offering him food that desecrated the very sanctuary whose holiness they were responsible to maintain.”

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Clearly, it was the responsibility of the priests to guard the sanctuary from befoulment and to examine all of the sacrifices prior to offering them to God. Such polluting sacrifices included, for instance, blind, disabled, lame, mutilated, or sick animals (Lev 11-15; 22:17-25; Deut 15:21; 17:1; Mal 1:8).

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The priests’ pollution of these sacrifices had grave implications, for in polluting them, the text indicates that the infraction was actually directed against God himself. The priests fleetingly seek to defend themselves against their guilt, asking,

“How have we despised your name?” and “How have we polluted you” (Mal 1:7)? By

neglecting to maintain the purity of the sacrifices, the priests demonstrate their disregard

for God, for “despising the sacrificial system is a direct way of despising God.”

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Thus, in

offering sacrifices to God, priests had to remain steadfast in guarding the sanctity of the

sanctuary of God. In so doing, priests not only maintained the holiness of the temple of

God, but they also guarded the holiness of the people of God and upheld the honor of the

name of God.