In Chapter 10 the author talks how man, over the centuries, has sought God’s forgiveness and attained salvation. He begins by quoting Psalm 51:1-3 and underlines the fact that the text of the Old Testament resonates with the New Testament in a perfect manner. He moves on to underline nine important words and their connotations:
- What is sin: Sin, iniquity, transgression
Sin is the act of committing wrong; iniquity is the flaw in us whereby we are pulled towards sin and transgression is openly defying the rule or breaking the law set by God.
- What God is: Tender Mercy, Loving Kindness, Steadfast Love
God has always shown His Tender Mercy, Loving Kindness and Steadfast Love even when humans have sinned or transgressed. He has never ceased to shower His daily blessings on us nor has he punished us on every sin that we commit. He is fully aware of our acts and overlooks our faults and weaknesses whenever we turn to him for forgiveness.
- What we seek from God: Blot out, wash thoroughly, cleanse
When we become aware of our sins and deliberately plead for God’s forgiveness; we seek His mercy for blotting out our sins which can be compared to a black stain that God can wipe away; or ask Him to wash us thoroughly, so that our sins get washed out like stains from a garment’s fibers or implore Him to cleanse us of all our sins and transgressions that are like a wall between us and God, impeding us from reaching out to Him in worship.
The Author quotes David in Psalm 51: 7 where he is pleading with God to “purge me with hyssop”. Here David asks God to purge/throw out/ cleanse him of his sins and refers to the sprinkling of lamb’s blood as a way of overlooking/forgiving his transgressions as was done on the Passover night whereby the lamb’s blood became a means of salvation against God’s tenth plague for the people of Egypt. The tenth plague was to consume the first born sons of non-believers through death, however Israelites were instructed by God to sacrifice a lamb and mark their doors with its blood so that the Angel of death would pass by their doors and not harm their first born sons.
The Author goes on to elaborate on four key ideas as to how the blood of the lamb helped save the faithful from the plague:
- Safety (or security) The Lord himself descended to judge the people of Egypt on the Passover night. Israelites, who had marked their doors with the blood of the sacrificial lamb remained safe not due to God’s special favor but for the fact that they had complete faith in the promises of God which would be the means to their salvation.
- Propitiation (or satisfaction) When God entered Egypt His wrath was cooled down and He was at Peace when He passed by the doors marked with the lamb’s blood. God was happy at the obedience and unfaltering faith of the Israelites.
- Equivalence (or substitution): The sacrifice of the lamb was in direct proportion to the number of persons in the house and their need/appetites; a careful calculation. Any leftover lamb after the Passover night had to be given as a burn offering. The Author quotes Exodus 12:5 where it is explained that it was not that simple; the lamb had to be without blemish, perfect, as only the pure and the innocent can be a substitute for washing away the sins of a transgressor. The question that arises is, “did the lamb’s blood only save the firstborns?” The Author gives the reference of Exodus 4:22 where God says, “Israel is my son, my first born”. Hence all Israelites were saved from the tenth plague.
- Salvation: The Israelites were saved from the cruelty and slavery of the Pharaoh after the Passover night. They left Egypt and began their journey with God.
After the Israelites left Egypt they went to Sinai where they were introduced to the Law of God. Two other most significant factors in Sinai were the Tabernacle and the sacrifices. The Israelites became aware that to be with God and enter the Tabernacle where God dwelled, they had to be free from sin. Hence they were taught by God how to cleanse themselves and prepare to be in God’s presence.
The sacrifice comprised three elements:
- Burnt offering would burn all the sins, hold nothing back, so that the sins would be sent up to God through smoke;
- Peace offering was to communicate with God as well as family and friends over a meal so that peace and happiness would prevail among family and friends as well as with God; horizontally as well as vertically.
- Sin offering was done by sprinkling/shedding blood of a sacrificial animal that was perfect and blemish free. It was a promise from God that offering an animal sacrifice would rid Israel from their sins. It was an official event whereby the person would place his hand on the head of the sacrificial animal, transferring his sins to the animal while the priest would pray for the person’s atonement and cleansing. This was God’s way of showing mercy to Israel for the salvation of their souls.
The Author says that God taught Israel to cleanse themselves of sin through sacrificial animals and shedding their blood but the final will of God and His bigger plan materialized when Jesus was sent on Earth to atone for the sins of all believers. The Author quotes Isaiah 52:13, 53:12
where it says that the Lord took upon Him all sins and inequities of man and bled in his stead. Isaiah states that only man could be a true substitute for the sins of another man.
He quotes Hebrews 10:7 where Jesus says, “behold, I have come to do your will oh God”. The Author says that the final will of God has been done, man has been provided with the best substitute for cleansing him of his sins as per God’s ultimate plan.
Important Lessons Learnt:
My belief that God forgives us our sins because he loves us unconditionally was reinforced through this chapter. The God of Mercy has always desired for man to be on the straight path and not stray towards Satan. He has always welcomed anyone who wants to turn to Him and does not deny forgiveness, no matter how much he has sinned. I also came to know how God taught man to seek His forgiveness and showed him ways of atonement through animal sacrifice, burn offerings and peace offerings. The most important lesson learnt is that God is ever loving and gracious and never leaves or abandons anyone, even when man deviates from the right path.
Conclusion:
I strongly believe that Jesus came to relieve us of our sins and that His sacrifice as a substitute for man has completed the final picture. We have been cleansed and salvaged in a way that was not possible through animal sacrifices. We are fortunate that God loves us to this limit that He never abandons His beloved creation.
