ReconJos

I think giving the Jews a means of "atoning" for their sin allowed them to see God's mercy because 1) they realized He could have demanded THEIR lives; 2) it provided them with a means to satisfy His laws and cleanse their consciences; 3) it gave them a means to make a heartfelt offering - a real sacrifice - and return as often as needed to seek His help in turning from sin in the future. In actuality, though, the animal sacrifices were NOT sufficient to atone for sin. They served only to teach the Jews that there were real, just, legitimate consequences for their sin, and perhaps to draw them closer to God in appreciation of His mercy in not exacting judgment on them at the exact moment they committed a sin.

I think giving the Jews a means of "atoning" for their sin allowed them to see God's mercy because 1) they realized He could have demanded THEIR lives; 2) it provided them with a means to satisfy His laws and cleanse their consciences; 3) it gave them a means to make a heartfelt offering - a real sacrifice - and return as often as needed to seek His help in turning from sin in the future. In actuality, though, the animal sacrifices were NOT sufficient to atone for sin. They served only to teach the Jews that there were real, just, legitimate consequences for their sin, and perhaps to draw them closer to God in appreciation of His mercy in not exacting judgment on them at the exact moment they committed a sin.

Elements of sacrifice include: confession of sin selecting a young, blemish-free animal (this involved personal financial sacrifice on the part of the agrarian Israelite making the sacrifice - he could have slaughtered the animal for food for his family, or sold it at market, or used it to work his farm) laying hands on the head of the animal - symbolically transferring the person's sin to the animal, then putting that sin to death by slaughtering the animal collecting the blood after slashing the animal's throat; pouring the blood around the base of the altar collecting the fat and burning it on the altar then the priests would eat the cooked meat of the slaughtered animal. Necessary today: confession of sin, then seeking God's forgiveness and aid to put to death that particular sin in the person's life No longer necessary: actual slaughter of an animal, or any of the rituals involved with the blood, fat, or meat. This is because Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, and the only "blemish-free" sacrifice that could every truly be completely sufficient for God's righteous anger towards our sin.

Elements of sacrifice include: confession of sin selecting a young, blemish-free animal (this involved personal financial sacrifice on the part of the agrarian Israelite making the sacrifice - he could have slaughtered the animal for food for his family, or sold it at market, or used it to work his farm) laying hands on the head of the animal - symbolically transferring the person's sin to the animal, then putting that sin to death by slaughtering the animal collecting the blood after slashing the animal's throat; pouring the blood around the base of the altar collecting the fat and burning it on the altar then the priests would eat the cooked meat of the slaughtered animal. Necessary today: confession of sin, then seeking God's forgiveness and aid to put to death that particular sin in the person's life No longer necessary: actual slaughter of an animal, or any of the rituals involved with the blood, fat, or meat. This is because Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, and the only "blemish-free" sacrifice that could every truly be completely sufficient for God's righteous anger towards our sin.

Why is anger an appropriate response to sin? What is the difference between capricious or uncontrolled anger and anger that brings about justice? I think anger is an appropriate response for God to have towards sin because of how it contradicts His plan for us. God is holy and unable to sin. He created us to be in His image, and yet we indulge our sinful desires and deliberately (usually) sin against Him. Therefore we're taking the freedom He lovingly gave us and essentially throwing it back in His face when we choose to sin despite knowing better. Uncontrolled anger is just a result of indulging our flesh. It doesn't usually result from being angry about the affront to God that took place in the sin, but rather the affront to US that occurred. Our pride is hurt, our feelings are hurt, and so we take it out on the person who sinned against us by being bitter, malicious, etc. However, God is always right in being angry at sin because He has never sinned against us and therefore never deserves to have us sin against Him. He also knows that if we never received just punishment from Him, our sinful natures would dictate that we just keep right on sinning, regardless of His laws. His justice allows Him to correct us and teach us to turn away from sin and towards Him

Why is anger an appropriate response to sin? What is the difference between capricious or uncontrolled anger and anger that brings about justice? I think anger is an appropriate response for God to have towards sin because of how it contradicts His plan for us. God is holy and unable to sin. He created us to be in His image, and yet we indulge our sinful desires and deliberately (usually) sin against Him. Therefore we're taking the freedom He lovingly gave us and essentially throwing it back in His face when we choose to sin despite knowing better. Uncontrolled anger is just a result of indulging our flesh. It doesn't usually result from being angry about the affront to God that took place in the sin, but rather the affront to US that occurred. Our pride is hurt, our feelings are hurt, and so we take it out on the person who sinned against us by being bitter, malicious, etc. However, God is always right in being angry at sin because He has never sinned against us and therefore never deserves to have us sin against Him. He also knows that if we never received just punishment from Him, our sinful natures would dictate that we just keep right on sinning, regardless of His laws. His justice allows Him to correct us and teach us to turn away from sin and towards Him

John's statement about Jesus being the "Lamb of God" referred to sacrifice in that any Jew who heard him would immediately recognize one of the Old Testament's primary sacrificial requirements - a spotless lamb - for absolution of sin from the individual or the Jewish nation as a whole. I think the idea of Jesus being the Lamb who would remove sin from the world was a radical concept because the Jews of the day thought each individual had to bring a sacrifice to absolve just his sin and that of his family. There was no one lamb that would cover every single person on earth. Now here comes Jesus, being preached as a Lamb who would take away ALL sin - this was entirely new and foreign to the Jews and likely a primary cause for their persistent unbelief in the sufficiency of His sacrifice and atonement.

Hello everyone! My name is Josette and I live with my husband, Jack, in the Pacific Northwest, about two hours north of Seattle. We are both on active duty in the Navy (I am originally from NE PA, he is from the FL panhandle) which is how we ended up so far from home! I have been a Christian for nearly 10 years, and have been looking for a good Lenten Bible study for the past 2 years. I feel very blessed to have found one! I look forward to studying and reflecting on the true meaning of Lent and Easter with all of you.