I learned recently that Israel’s practice of animal sacrifice ended in A.D. 70, when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem’s temple. Since then, the Jewish teachers of the Law have decided that the practice should be replaced with prayer and good works. But before that, the sacrificing of animals was the most prevalent ritual of a people trying to maintain their side of a covenant with the Almighty God.
Israel was a unique case in their day. For the surrounding peoples, the central religious idea was that they had to serve their gods in order to earn their favor, blessings, and salvation. But God flipped the script for Israel. He rescued them out of Egypt, saving them though they didn’t deserve it, and only then gave them the standards of how to be holy. In doing this, he set them apart from everyone else. In fact, the definition of holy is essentially to be set apart, and God was making them a holy nation that would live in relationship with him—a relationship in which he had glorified them, and so they were glorifying him. The thing about holy people is that they worship out of love, not out of fear of punishment. Thus, God supplied for them the Law to show them how to be set apart, that is, holy.
This “holy” people was still sinful, however, and so animal sacrifice had to enter the picture. Hebrews 9:22 summarizes the rationale behind this well when it says “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Sin makes us unworthy of the infinitely perfect God, and so we deserve nothing short of death—unless something else dies in our place. Hint hint: Jesus. But before Jesus, God was still providing a way for his people to be restored to him. Notice the last sentence of the passage above. The Lord was already working atonement and forgiveness.
Yes, we ought to always turn our eyes upon Jesus. But we make a mistake if, in doing so, we treat other parts of his Holy Word as irrelevant. Leviticus is a difficult read, but a necessary one. It helps us understand the context into which Christ’s teachings and crucifixion are played out, and why Israel so desperately needed him. These are the laws that he came to fulfill. If we understand the Law, we better understand Christ.
