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Spring 2025 Sacrifices Unit 1: Tabernacle, Sacrifices, and Atonement
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.
Tabernacle, Sacrifices, and Atonement
The first unit of lessons covers parts of Exodus and Leviticus that describe the system of sacrifices and offerings that created a holy people and a place for the presence of the Lord. On Mount Sinai, the Lord decreed to Moses that the Old Testament covenant people are “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6; see lesson 1). The Lord gave the people specific instructions for constructing a sanctuary known as the tabernacle, which contained “the Holy Place [and] the Most Holy Place” (26:33; see lesson 2). In the tabernacle (and, later, the temple), burnt offerings were presented to the Lord, following the expectations that he gave to the people (Leviticus 1:3-17; see lesson 4). Not only did the Lord consecrate specific places, but he also consecrated specific people for a particular service. For example, from among the people, priests were chosen and ordained to officiate at the altar (Exodus 29:1-9, 35-37; see lesson 3).
Lesson 1 A Kingdom of Priests, A Holy Nation. Exodus 19:1-14
Four hundred thirty years from the time of Joseph, God delivered Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 12:40; 18:10). Through miraculous plagues, which showed Egypt’s deities to be powerless (7:8–11:10; 12:29-42), God brought the people out into the wilderness, where he continued to protect and provide for them (Exodus 13–18). In spite of dangers and trials, the people arrived at their destination:
Sinai, the mountain where God had first revealed himself to Moses (Exodus 3). Exodus 19 begins the climactic meeting of God with his
redeemed people.
Lesson 2 A Space for God. Exodus 25:1-9; 26:1, 31-37
In the context of today’s lesson, Moses— living more than 500 years after Abraham—had gone up Mount Sinai and entered the cloud of God’s presence (Exodus 24:15-18). During that 40-day encounter, God gave him instructions for a tabernacle, for the items to fill it, and for the ministry of the priests. These instructions span Exodus 25–31 (see lesson 3). God desired to grant access to his holy presence, but that required a systematic approach to prevent anything profane (not just sin, but also things ritually unclean) from entering the tabernacle.
Lesson 3 The Ordination of Priests. Exodus 29:1-9, 35-37
In Israel’s earliest days, Aaron and his sons became the first priests under the nation’s leadership by Moses, who was Aaron’s brother (Exodus 7:1; 28:1). They were anointed, ordained, and consecrated to do so (28:41). The act of anointing consisted of pouring oil on the priest’s head, done as a ritual to show a person had been selected. Ordination was the act of appointment through the authority of the congregation of the people. Consecration was the “setting apart” of the person for the tasks of the priesthood, with the tacit agreement that the person would strive to live a holy, blameless life, observing the laws of Israel as given by God through Moses.
Setting the stage for today’s lesson is Exodus 28:41, which summarizes the detail that follows in Exodus 29 regarding the ordination of priests. Leviticus 8 offers a detailed account of Moses carrying out the actions God specifies in today’s lesson text.
Lesson 4 Offering a Sweet Aroma to God. Leviticus 1:3-17
This quarter’s previous lessons, taken from the book of Exodus, emphasized that God would dwell with his people and receive their worship in the tabernacle. Leviticus contains the most thorough instructions on the proper forms and procedures for the worship of God: the “where” and “how” for worship. The book’s divine authority and purposes are emphasized from the start (Leviticus 1:1-2). These are the Lord’s regulations and instructions for his people and how they must conduct themselves in relation to him.
Lesson 5 The Day of Atonement. Leviticus 16:11-19
In this, our second lesson in Leviticus, we jump from chapter 1 to chapter 16. How these two chapters fit within the whole book is seen in this broad-brush outline:
I. Sacrificial Worship (1:1–7:38)
II. Ritual Ceremonies (8:1–10:20)
III. Purity vs. Impurity (11:1–15:33)
IV. Day of Atonement (16:1-34)
V. Holy Sacrifices (17:1-16)
VI. Community Holiness (18:1–20:27)
VII. Particularly Holy (21:1–27:34)
God established several feasts and holy days for the new nation of Israel. These are listed in Leviticus 23; Numbers 28–29; Deuteronomy 16; etc. In the book of Leviticus, the Day of Atonement takes center stage among them (compare Numbers 29:7-
11). Indeed, the writer of Leviticus devotes more than 4 percent of the entire book to that single day on the calendar of the ancient Israelites—the tenth day of the seventh month (Leviticus 16:29; 23:27). On the modern calendar, this equates to a day in late September or early October. If you’ve heard this day referred to as Yom Kippur, then you are learning to speak Hebrew!
Our printed text picks up with the Lord’s instruction on how Aaron, brother of Moses and the first high priest (Leviticus 16:2-5), was to discharge his duties when that sacred day came around each year.
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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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