119. Why the sacrifice? What for?
What is a sacrifice for?
I am going to think about this...
Why a sacrifice...is it a substitute for capital punishment of oneself?
Because we want to buy ourselves free? ( Old testament}
So why would we make a sacrifice even of say, luxury, or hair, or fashion?
Why was Abraham ready to sacrifice his son?
Why was Abels sacrifice acceptable and Cains not?
What is significant about Jesus dying on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins?
Or was it for Adams sin?
Is there science or logic to suggest why one needs to make a sacrifice?
Is it the act of buying back ones life from Satan? Then if so, wouldnt the offering be made to Satan?
Who can answer all of those?
All the wwws...who what when where why, oh dear!
Some would say...does it matter?
But yes it does, if we dont understand that, we dont understand the scripture .And I think, that matters
Pro 24:5 A wise man [is] strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
I am going to think about this...
Why a sacrifice...is it a substitute for capital punishment of oneself?
Because we want to buy ourselves free? ( Old testament}
So why would we make a sacrifice even of say, luxury, or hair, or fashion?
Why was Abraham ready to sacrifice his son?
Why was Abels sacrifice acceptable and Cains not?
What is significant about Jesus dying on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins?
Or was it for Adams sin?
Is there science or logic to suggest why one needs to make a sacrifice?
Is it the act of buying back ones life from Satan? Then if so, wouldnt the offering be made to Satan?
Who can answer all of those?
All the wwws...who what when where why, oh dear!
Some would say...does it matter?
But yes it does, if we dont understand that, we dont understand the scripture .And I think, that matters
Pro 24:5 A wise man [is] strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
posted by Ross at 10:05 pm
1 Comments:
What is a sacrifice for?
A sacrifice is a gift to something or someone we love and/or honour. It might cost us something but it is given with joy and love. It is chosen with the recipient in mind; something for their pleasure or convenience; something they need or like.
The first sacrifice we read about in the Bible was given by God. Something He gave to two people he loved and for whom He felt compassion. And he gave them something they needed. But it cost a life. He gave Adam and Eve skins, most likely from sheep, to clothe them, because they felt ashamed of their nakedness. It was a symbol of the Lamb, Jesus, who by His death, would cover the shame of mankind ………a covering of love and forgiveness..
I am going to think about this...
Why a sacrifice...is it a substitute for capital punishment of oneself?
We sacrifice to God out of love, praise and gratitude, one would hope. Because we can do nothing much to make atonement for ourselves. When we try it is inadequate and pathetic (e.g penances)
Because we want to buy ourselves free? ( Old testament}
No…. because we are acknowledging the one us buys our freedom for us.
So why would we make a sacrifice even of say, luxury, or hair, or fashion?
We will sacrifice small conveniences for the accomplishment of something greater. E.g. athletes make lots of personal sacrifices to achieve higher levels of strength, speed and stamina. To excel at anything means the sacrifice of time, and imposing discipline on oneself.
A disciple following a discipline has to impose upon himself self-discipline, so that he is not distracted from following his discipline!!!
It’s a trade …. Trading up! …. Like the man who had many very good pearls and he traded them all for the Best One. He lost all his good pearls but he had better value in having THE pearl.
Why was Abraham ready to sacrifice his son?
Simply, because he loved God and God asked it. Abraham trusted God, so he trusted God’s request as having a high purpose. Perhaps Abraham did not see Isaac entirely as his own, but more as a gift loaned to him by God (as I view my own children) But, not so simply, Abraham may have already been aware, or may have come to understand through this experience, that God’s plan was to offer His Son for Mankind. Abraham was acting out a prophecy.
Why was Abels sacrifice acceptable and Cains not?
The most important thing about the sacrifice of these two brothers would have been the motives and heart attitudes that prompted their sacrifice. So Abel’s attitude and motives must have been more pleasing than Cain’s.
However, we can speculate endlessly about possibilities:
Maybe Abel understood more about sacrifice than Cain. Maybe he understood that God gave lambs for his parents and he brought a lamb from his flock in acknowledgement and gratitude …… he might have been conscious of his own need of forgiveness and grace from God.
Cain on the other hand brought the good of his produce. Perhaps Abel was a more spiritual man and more aware of the spiritual implications of his sacrifice. Maybe Cain was more focused on earthly things. Their choice of sacrifice might indicate this.
Maybe this signifies that humility (respect) and contrition ….”Thankyou Lord, I owe you”…. Is a more accurate assessment of how things are and better than…. “I have done a good thing for you Lord, be pleased with me”!
Then there is the possibility of competitiveness tainting Cain’s sacrifice. Maybe that’s why he so quickly became envious of his brother. It wasn’t just a little bit of envy; it was intense and led to murder.
What is significant about Jesus dying on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins? Why did someone have to die for us anyway? This puzzled me for years …. And this is the conclusion I have come to so far. After Man partook of the FRUIT of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he was no longer an innocent being. Too aware, too worldly wise. His knowledge was fuel for his imagination …. His imagination would lead him to sin; it was now part of his makeup. In other words Mankind was now a corrupt being, stolen by Satan’s treachery, his soul now unfit for Heaven and destined to reside with Satan forever.
How to save this dire situation? How to rescue these lost souls? The Rescuer had to die so that His soul could confront Satan and Hell (“there is a great gulf fixed between Heaven and Hell” – see the story of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus in the gospels) Earth was the Bridge between Heaven and Hell, so the rescuer had to be an earthling. He had to be absolutely pure so that the forces of Evil could not harm His force of Good ( think: a ray of light in a dark room; the darkness cannot diminish or harm the pure beam of light) and he had to be imbued with the power of God’s Spirit from Heaven, so that He could remain pure while living as a man on earth. And He had to endure the punishment , the consequence, of the evil that people have done, and pay the debt that had accrued. This included physical and emotional suffering while in his earthly body, isolation from God (the greatest suffering perhaps) who is too pure to be the companion of one carrying the wrongdoing of all the world, (read about the Scapegoat in Leviticus 16) and also braving the dreadfulness and horror of a Something/Somewhere beyond sinister human imagination in the extent of its evil. Did such a man exist?
In Isaiah (a book full of promises that a Saviour would come) chapter 59 contains a lamentation for all the corruption, sorrow and injustice amongst the people and it says “the Lord saw it and it displeased him that there was no justice”. And He saw that there was no man able to fulfill this role of Intercessor “therefore His own arm (Jesus, as an extension of Himself) brought salvation for Him …..
So,,, Jesus, God’s “Right Arm” in Heaven, was donated, and donated Himself, to the Cause. He was born as a baby and experienced all that Mankind experiences in a normal life. He had God’s Spirit from the beginning, he remained pure and gained an understanding of God’s Plan against Satan and for Mankind and His special role in it all. A gentle, sensitive person, He steeled Himself for the intense suffering He knew He must endure, relying heavily on the Power from Heaven of which He was so conscious. He sacrificed in several ways: the glory of Heaven and His glorious place in It, condescending to come to live with beings whose thoughts and deeds were so low by comparison as to be repulsive, (yet he was not repulsed because of His huge compassion for their circumstances. He condemned Evil, not Mankind), he suffered loneliness, rejection, loss, poverty, all kinds of hardship and denied himself all sorts of legitimate comforts and conveniences so that He could achieve His goal. He did it out of love for Truth, for God and for poor Mankind ….. it wasn’t easy, but he was willing, cheerful and totally committed.
So ….. our sacrifice should be the gift of utter gratitude, love, and devotion to all He was devoted to. Whatever hardship this course takes us through is nothing ….. it is all for the Cause of overcoming Evil, Death, Suffering. How can we withhold anything when we understand what He gave? How can we not offer praise when we get some inkling of how great God is?
Or was it for Adams sin?
Adam’s sin is our sin. He and Eve did what every human does in some way, to some degree. We all need the same redemption. None of us are totally pure without Christ.
Is there science or logic to suggest why one needs to make a sacrifice?
Maybe …. But sacrifice is the impulse of giving that comes from the state of loving.
Is it the act of buying back ones life from Satan? Then if so, wouldnt the offering be made to Satan?
The act of buying back one’s life is, was, will be carried out by Jesus. Our offerings are out of love and gratitude to our Rescuer and with the aim of furthering His Mission.
Sacrifice is something to give because the situation demands it. Paul the Apostle said “woe is me, if I don’t (cannot) preach the gospel”) Does the firefighter consider his own danger when he goes into a burning building to rescue a trapped victim? The URGENCY of the situation demands the actions of rescue …. It completely overrides the fireman’s thoughts for his own safety or comfort. The URGENCY of Mankind’s plight completely pre-occupies the Host of Heaven. Many heroic actions have been accomplished for Mankind’s sake, by other heavenly beings, but Jesus’ action is the Most heroic.
Who can answer all of those?
Not me …. Just an attempt!
All the wwws...who what when where why, oh dear!
Some would say...does it matter?
But yes it does, if we dont understand that, we dont understand the scripture .And I think, that matters
What matters is that we love so much that we offer total commitment. Any understanding that increases that love, matters …………….missus r
Pro 24:5 A wise man [is] strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
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