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Spring 2025 Sacrifices Unit 3: Special Offerings and the Sanctuary
The themes of worship, sacrifices, and offerings run through the Scriptures. Grasping the sacrifices and offerings of the old covenant is essential to our understanding of the New Testament’s presentation of Christ’s sacrifice. This quarter will explore sacrifice and worship in the Old Testament and what the New Testament has to say about sacrifice and worship under the new covenant.
Special Offerings and the Sanctuary
The final unit looks at the unique relationship between the sanctuary and offerings or sacrifices. King David’s choices led him to bear responsibility for his sin (1 Chronicles 21:14-30; see lesson 10). An angel of the Lord spoke through the prophet Gad and told David to “build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite” (21:18). David refused to accept a gift from Arunah for a sacrifice because David would not “sacrifice a burnt offering that costs . . . nothing” (21:24).
Lesson 11 will consider the dedication of Solomon’s temple and the lavish sacrifices that took place as part of that ceremony (2 Chronicles 7:1-7). However, after the people were exiled to Babylon, that temple was left in shambles. The foundation of a new temple would need to be laid by the people who had returned from exile. When the foundation of that temple was laid, the people celebrated the goodness of God, proclaiming that “his love . . . endures forever” (Ezra 3:11; see lesson 12).
The quarter concludes with recounting the people’s covenant renewal and their pledge to observe the commands of the Law of Moses and reject the abuse and neglect of the house of God (Nehemiah 10:28-39; see lesson 13).
Lesson 10 David’s Sacrifice. 1 Chronicles 21:14-30
Despite being portrayed as “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22), King David committed grievous sins. Most remembered are the sins of adultery and murder in his seduction of Bathsheba and the death of her husband, Uriah (2 Samuel 11). The “God’s own heart” part of David seems to have gained traction after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan about the violation of the sixth and seventh commandments (Exodus 20:13-14). The result was the tender prayer of Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
The prophet Gad delivered God’s judgment to David, and it came with a twist: David could choose from among three punishments, of varying impacts on Israel, for his sins. The choices were three years of famine, three months of attacks by the nation’s enemies, or three days of a pestilent plague (1 Chronicles 21:12). These three had been ways the Lord showed his wrath to Israel (see Jeremiah 14:12). David chose the third option, with horrific results for his people.
Lesson 11 Solomon Dedicates the Temple. 2 Chronicles 7:1-7, 11
The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles emphasize the importance of the reigns of David (1010–970 BC) and Solomon (970–930 BC) as their lives related to the temple’s coming into existence. The chronicler explains how those kings instituted most of the ongoing practices of the temple, especially those of sacrifice, prayer, and singing. All three of those elements are present in the parallel books of 1 and
2 Kings, but much more so in the Chronicles. In 1 Chronicles 22:8, King David explained to his son Solomon that God had forbidden David from building the temple due to the amount of blood he had shed. After David’s extensive preparations (22:5), the honor was to fall to Solomon instead. He spent seven years completing the temple his father dreamed of building (1 Kings 6:38). The year of its completion was, therefore, 963 BC. The book of 2 Chronicles links father and son in several passages not included in 1 Kings examples: 2 Chronicles 2:3, 7; 3:1; 6:42; 7:10; 8:14).
Lesson 12 Worship Is Restored. Ezra 3:1-6, 10-13
The book of Ezra tells how Jews from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin returned to their homeland from exile in Babylon. That happened shortly after the fall of the Babylonian Empire to the Persians in 538 BC (Ezra 1:1–2:1), when the Persian king, Cyrus, issued a decree that allowed the return (Ezra 1:1-4; compare 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Isaiah 44:28; 45:1, 13). The books of Ezra and Nehemiah chronicle the return in three distinct phases. Ezra 2:64-65 reveals about 50,000 people in the first wave, making the arduous trip of over 800 miles. A later wave of returnees, coming under the leadership of Ezra, took exactly four months (Ezra 7:8-9).
The primary purpose of the journey was to “[re]build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:5). The temple’s rebuilding would require much effort, money, time, labor, and good leadership. An easier and quicker task would be to start rebuilding the temple’s altar of burnt offerings (see description in Exodus 38:1-7 and use in Leviticus 1:1-17; 6:8-13; also see lesson 4). And that’s where we begin our lesson.
Lesson 13 A Covenant Renewal. Nehemiah 10:28-39
The year was about 444 BC, and the Judeans, led by Nehemiah, formed a tiny part of the vast Persian Empire. Nehemiah held a high post in that empire as the king’s cupbearer (Nehemiah 1:11). Most of the empire’s subjects worshipped numerous fictitious gods. Therefore, the Judeans had to draw firm lines between themselves and their neighbors in order to maintain their distinctive
identity as the consecrated people of the one true God. A failure to do so was what had led to the Babylonian exile in the first place (13:17-18). The stakes couldn’t be higher! Nehemiah, working with Ezra—a teacher of the law (Ezra 7:6; Nehemiah 8)—understood
that while physically protecting the city was vital, maintaining the spiritual defenses of the people was even more critical. Nehemiah 8 records a time of concentrated teaching from God’s law followed in chapter 9 by confession of sin. This recommitment to God involved two general categories: commitments to stop doing certain things and commitments to start or continue doing other things.
BIBLE STUDY
Adult Bible Study | Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom. To join virtual Bible Study please visit Zoom.us and enter Meeting ID: 802 973 031 To join by phone, dial 312-626-6799 and enter Meeting ID: 802-973-031
April 23rd – June 25th, 2025
Lydia shows us how to influence the people around us.
Elizabeth’s life challenges us to care for others.
Women like Herodias and Sapphira warn us against turning away from God toward bitterness and dishonesty.
This 10-week Study introduces twelve significant women of the New Testament, and invites you to enter into their lives and learn from them what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
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Elizabeth (Luke 1:5-25, 39-45, 57-66) Lesson 1 Replay
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Mary (Luke 1:26-38, 46-56) Lesson 2 Replay
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Herodias (Mark 6:14-29) Lesson 3 Replay
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A Sinful Woman (Luke 7:36-50) Lesson 4 Replay
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The Canaanite Woman (Matthew 15:21-28)
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Mary and Martha (John 11:1-44)
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Sapphira (Acts 4:32-5:11)
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Lydia (Acts 16:6-15)
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Euodia and Syntyche (Philippians 3:20–4:9; 2:1-8)
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Priscilla (Acts 18:1-4, 18-28)
January 8th – April 2nd, 2025
We all long for a full, rich, satisfying life. But how do we fill up the empty places in our souls? How can we quench our thirst for something deeper, more lasting, more meaningful?
This 13-week study urges you to take a fresh look at Jesus. Here is the opportunity to establish — or renew — your faith in the One who offers true meaning, true belonging, and true life.
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