| Christian Life and Doctrine | July 1967 |
Sacrifice in the Plan of God—Section II
Scriptural Foregleams
MORE than four thousand years of human history elapsed before the Word was made flesh as the babe of Bethlehem, and before the man Christ Jesus was hailed as “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) But this did not mean that God’s plan of redemption was slow in being formulated, or too late to benefit all who had perished prior to that time.
The Scriptures reveal that God’s foreknowledge had anticipated man’s fall in Eden, and that his wisdom had devised the needed plan of salvation. In the mind of God “the Lamb [had been] slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8), but time was needed to work out many preliminary features before Jesus could be sent. This seeming delay was not to limit the efficacy of Jesus’ sacrifice, however, for as Paul declared, “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”—I Cor. 15:22
The concept of sacrifice was introduced very early in the history of mankind. In Genesis 3:21 we are told that God made “coats of skins” to clothe our first parents after they had sinned. Pictorially, they could no longer stand directly before God and were in need of a covering. The implication is that this was provided by slaying one or more animals in Eden. If this is so, it is the earliest scriptural indication that sacrifice would be the means of extricating man from his plight and correcting his undone condition.
Cain and Abel, children of our first parents, both brought offerings to the Lord. Not very much is recorded concerning them, so that we can only surmise that God revealed the acceptableness of such an arrangement. Abel’s offering was considered “more excellent” than Cain’s and gained God’s approval (Heb. 11:4); he had brought “of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.” (Gen. 4:4) But Cain’s offering was rejected, as he apparently had not heeded the Lord’s instructions regarding the kind of sacrifice that would be acceptable; Cain had brought “of the fruit of the ground.” Thus is shown the need not only for sacrifice but for a particular kind of sacrifice—one that would fittingly portray the future role of the Lord Jesus.
A Normal Custom
Scattered throughout the early chapters of the Bible, other accounts of offerings made to Jehovah suggest that this was the normal custom of those who knew the Lord. God was pleased to demonstrate in this manner man’s need of salvation and the basis of the plan which was to be used to provide it.
Noah built an altar to the Lord and offered burnt sacrifices of beasts and fowl. (Gen. 8:20) Abraham met the difficult test the Lord brought upon him, when he demonstrated his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, the son of promise, who so appropriately portrayed Jesus. (Gen. 22:6-13) Who can fail to observe the love and mercy of the Heavenly Father in substituting the ram for Isaac, and to note his unwillingness to accept a human sacrifice apart from his own beloved Son Jesus, who alone was to become the ransom.
Still later, Jacob was described as offering sacrifices (“killing beasts,” margin) upon the mount of Mizpah. (Gen. 31:54) At the time of the Exodus, we are introduced to the sacrifice of the passover lamb and the related rituals which preview in such amazing detail the salvation of the world and the roles of Jesus and the church. (Exod. 12) Then we are brought to the tabernacle in the wilderness and the intricacies of sacrifice under the Law Covenant with Israel. How remarkably the sin offering was typed in the Day of Atonement sacrifices in particular, as we shall note in some detail later. And finally, the temple of Solomon also illustrated the prominence of sacrifice in the old Law arrangement.
It becomes apparent, then, that God’s plan of sacrifice was not one which was hastily conceived to compensate for an unexpected act of disobedience. Rather, the evidence shows that it was carefully devised, with much attention given to details. God’s requirement of various kinds of sacrifices over such an extended period of time no doubt was designed to prepare man for the arrival of the reality of all of these in the person of his own dear Son. As we shall see, there were also many beautiful and valuable lessons interwoven in the rituals of sacrifice, which were intended for the blessing and instruction of God’s people throughout the present age.