Modern Sacrifice

I love the Old Testament. 

Recently someone joked that much of Leviticus has proven properties to combat insomnia. I laughed because I have personally used the Old Testament to get me to sleep, especially in my youth. Nonetheless I recognized that the joke carries the undertone of why so many people glance over the Old Testament rather than find the many gems that glimmer the light of truth.

The Old Testament does present some obvious challenges. The lifestyle and culture are alien to our present day life and most translations use words and phrases that our out of step with modern speaking style. We also have other writings and scripture that seem so much clearer. It is not uncommon to simply skim the Old Testament and then move on to the more understandable teachings of Christ and his apostles.

I decided to take myself to task and read the first two chapters of Leviticus. These chapters discuss the sacrifice of herd, fowl and grain. To my lifestyle and moral code, these sacrifices seem brutal and almost barbaric. But this time I read these chapters seeking ways to put the ideals of scripture in my own life. As I reflected on the detail of these sacrifices, things like their voluntary nature, the animal without blemish or the finest grain, and the step by step details to be observed, I pondered what it must have been like to offer such sacrifices.

Faithful believers offered animals that they must have treated with great care. Imagine the effort to raise an animal in a way to make sure that it suffered no blemish. It would have been the finest animal in your herd. Yet, these people would not only carefully raise these animals, they would voluntarily offer them as a sacrifice, just as our Heavenly Father would offer his only Begotten Son as a sacrifice for us. With that simple shift in perspective these chapters of scripture instructed me about the true principles of sacrifice.

I believe that the crucifiction of Christ fulfilled and transcended the commandment to offer animal sacrifice. But I still believe that the principle of sacrifice applies to me just as much as it applied to the early Israelites. The sacrifice that I must give is to offer a broken heart and a contrite spirit. One commandment that helps me keep the law of sacrifice is tithing.

The law of tithing allows me to give ten percent of what I earn for the benefit of others. At first glance I compared what I offer, money, with the special animals that earlier believers offered. My offering seemed fungible and their offering unique and deeply personal. But as I reflected further, I realized that the tithing money is not my offering, it merely symbolizes my true sacrifice. My true offering is a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

I cannot conceive of a more personal or unique offering and I hope to one day do it right.

I love the Old Testament.