Why did God require animal sacrifices in the Old Testament?
God’s Requirements
(Leviticus 4:35) They shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the lamb of the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar on top of the food offerings presented to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven.
(Leviticus 5:10) The priest shall then offer the other as a burnt offering in the prescribed way and make atonement for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven.
(Leviticus 17:11) For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.
Animal Sacrifices Temporarily Covered Sins
God’s requirement of sacrificing animals in the Old Testament provided a temporary covering of sins. The life of a creature is in the blood and it was the blood that made atonement for sins. (Hebrews 9:22) says without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. These animal sacrifices were for an annual reminder of sins.
While the blood of the bulls and goats could not take away sins, we read in (Hebrews 10:1-4) that the Law, and these sacrifices, were only a shadow of the good things to come.
What Animal Sacrifices Couldn’t Do, Jesus Did
What the blood of animals could not do, Jesus did. God came to earth as a man and became the perfect sacrifice for our sins when he died on the cross. Although he never committed sin (1 Peter 2:22), he personally carried our sins in his body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24). Because of his death and resurrection, we are no longer required to sacrifice animals. With his own blood (Hebrews 9:12) Jesus made a way of salvation for us. When we are baptized in his name our sins are now washed away!
Follow THE BIBLE ANSWER on Facebook and Instagram!
