The Law of Sacrifice: We Must Give Up to Get It Right
Have you ever stopped to think that the “laws of sacrifice” in the book of Leviticus illustrate the leadership principle we call the Law of Sacrifice? God lays out specific instructions regarding how his people are to offer sacrifices acceptable to him. He makes it abundantly clear that they must give up certain things in order to get right with him—and getting right with him is crucial in light of the big picture.
Cain and Abel made the first offerings recorded in the Bible. The early leaders of the Old Testament made sacrifices to God wherever they settled. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob built sacrificial altars. Noah offered sacrifices of thanksgiving after the flood. What did all these sacrifices mean, and how can a leader today apply the purposes of these sacrifices?
Offerings | Meaning | Leader’s Application |
Burnt Offering | Purging of sinful acts by the worshipper | A leader must pursue moral purity. |
Grain Offering | Giving the best from a person’s property | A leader must offer excellent effort and service. |
Peace Offering | Expressed praise to God and fellowship with others | A leader must commit to prioritize relationships. |
Sin (Guilt) Offering | To atone for sin when restitution was impossible | A leader must request forgiveness when wrong. |
Trespass Offering | Made for unintentional or lesser offenses | A leader must desire to maintain communication/momentum. |
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Planning: The Sacrifices Were Plans to Solve Problems
The fastest way to gain leadership is to solve problems. When Adam and Eve first sinned, it was God who initiated a plan for animal sacrifices to atone for sin. God saw the problem and God solved it. The Levitical directions for sacrifices were simply plans to solve sure-to-occur problems. Consider the biblical importance of planning:
1. God did it.
“Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass” (Isa 37:26).
2. Noah did it.
Noah received explicit instructions to build the ark. He finished its construction in 120 years, exactly as God told him. And the well-built ship withstood months of flooding.
3. Nehemiah did it.
Nehemiah developed long-range plans to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. He visualized the project, then planned for its construction. Israelites completed the work in 52 days.
4. David did it.
David made long-range plans to build the temple. God did not allow him to build it, but David did all the planning and secured the construction materials to get the job done.
5. Jesus told parables about it.
Jesus often spoke about the necessity of planning (Mt 7:24–27; Lk 14:28–32; 16:1–8).
How well do you plan? Remember, tomorrow’s production begins with today’s preparation.
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The Law of the Picture: Israel Models Leadership for the Nations
“Example is not the main thing influencing others,” said Albert Schweitzer. “It is the only thing.”
Leviticus 6–10 gives detailed instructions about how leaders are to implement sacrifices, how they are to be publicly ordained, and how they are to live a life of total obedience. Why all the fuss? Because example is the most important tool a leader possesses. People do what people see. Note a few of the areas God’s priests and leaders were to model:
1. Moral and ethical lifestyle
2. Proper appearance
3. Pure conscience
4. Excellence in fulfilling duties
5. Healthy relationships and restitution
6. Establishing proper priorities
7. Maintaining regulations and guidelines
8. Initiating forgiveness and atonement
Once Israel’s leaders had established model lifestyles, God called the entire nation to set an example for the rest of the world. The Hebrews were to model godly behavior for other nations!
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Aaron: The Cost and Expectation of Leadership
Aaron, like many leaders throughout history, received a divine calling. God chose Aaron and his sons to serve as Israel’s priests and charged them with carrying out rituals and sacrifices on behalf of all Israelites. Scripture gives meticulous detail to their ordination and calling. Their conduct was to be beyond reproach—and God made it crystal clear that failure to uphold his established guidelines would result in death.
Numerous accounts in the book of Leviticus demonstrate the high cost and expectation that goes with a holy calling to leadership positions. As the high priest, Aaron was the only one authorized to enter the Most Holy Place and appear before the very presence of God. The Lord set Aaron apart for his holy work.
Despite his high calling, Aaron struggled with his authority and later caved in to the depraved wishes of the people. He failed at a crucial juncture and led Israel in a pagan worship service, an abomination that led to the deaths of many Israelites. Aaron had been set apart for God’s service, but he chose to live and lead otherwise.
The failure of a leader usually results in consequences far more grave than the fall of a non-leader. On the day Aaron failed, “about three thousand of the people died” (Ex 32:28). When leaders fail, followers pay the price.
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Aaron: God’s Call, People’s Confirmation
Aaron receives his ordination to the priesthood in Leviticus 8. By that time the people already recognized him as a leader, but now God gives him his divine calling. The Lord instructs Aaron to wear certain garments and accessories as an outward symbol of an inward call.
For the godly leader, the call of God becomes a personal foundation for ministry, a point of revelation. One dare not enter a spiritual position without a divine calling. God’s call is the first step for anyone who desires a spiritual leadership position.
The Call
Every call has two components: inward and outward. God’s hand on the person provides the inward component. Through it the person recognizes that he or she is supposed to occupy a leadership position. And the outward component? This comes when others confirm that God’s hand does indeed rest on the person. Only God anoints a person to lead and minister; at best, organizations merely recognize and agree with his anointing. A spiritual leader’s authority comes from God, not men.
The word “authorize” is derived from a Latin word which means “to increase or to grow.” Frank Damazio reminds us that the word “authorize” suggests the spiritual meanings of: a builder of spiritual buildings; a creator of spiritual families; a doer of spiritual deeds; an author of spiritual writings; a teacher of spiritual knowledge; a spiritual advisor of actions; a promoter of spiritual plans; a supporter of spiritual laws; a spiritual leader in public life; a model of spiritual conduct; a spiritual guardian of women and minors; and a champion of other’s spiritual welfare.
Your Response
A few signs often accompany God’s call of a person into vocational ministry. Romans 1:14–16 suggests some of these signs:
1. “I am eager” (a sense of passion and urgency about reaching people)
2. “I am obligated” (a feeling that one cannot do anything else vocationally)
3. “I am not ashamed” (a conviction to do what others may think illogical)
The Ordination
The word “ordain” comes from a Latin word that means to “set in order, to arrange, appoint or regulate.” To ordain someone means to officially appoint that person to an office and to regulate his or her ministry activities. True ordination does not precede ministry; it follows it. Only after a person exercises obvious spiritual influence, enabled by the Holy Spirit, is that individual ready to be ordained by humans. God calls, and the people confirm the call through ordination.
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Nadab and Abihu Break the Law of Solid Ground
God does not take it lightly when the leaders he calls disregard his commandments. When Nadab and Abihu broke God’s laws, they never recovered. God executed them on the spot.
Sounds harsh, you say? Consider this. Any movement in its infant stages must set a standard or pattern of operations. If God allowed compromise at the beginning, things would surely grow worse. The same principle came into play in the new church when God took the lives of Ananias and Sapphira (Ac 5:1–11).
Nadab and Abihu broke the Law of Solid Ground. As holy priests and trusted leaders, they were supposed to model obedience for the people. God could not permit them even the slightest renegade move, the smallest maverick act, for that would give permission for others to compromise as well. What was the sin of these leaders?
1. Independence: They acted presumptuously, apart from God’s leadership.
2. Impatience: They failed to wait on the Lord for direction.
3. Ignorance: They moved without knowledge of what God wanted.
4. Illegality: They acted contrary to God’s command.
5. Impulsivity: They did what they wanted, driven by ego, not submission.
6. Insensitivity: They paid no attention to God’s instruction.
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Character: God’s Call Must Be Taken Seriously
God takes seriously the issue of character. We see his concern repeatedly in Leviticus, from the sin of Aaron’s sons to his detailed instructions about clean and unclean food to the purification of a woman after childbirth.
While today we recognize some obvious medical and biological reasons for his precise directions, we can assume God intended through these texts to teach his leaders and his people an important lesson: Put “being” before “doing.” Get yourself right before you work on anything else.
Far too often we jump to mechanics, methods and techniques. We put style ahead of substance. We focus on charisma but neglect character. The following axioms beckon us to put our character first:
1. We are given our gifts, but we must develop our character.
2. Our character earns the trust of others.
3. Only good character gives lasting success with people.
4. Sound character communicates credibility and consistency.
5. Our gifts can take us further than our character can sustain us.
6. Our character colors our perspective.
7. Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.
8. We cannot rise above the limitations of our character.
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Have you noticed that rules, regulations and laws often bring out the human tendency to ask, “But why?”
Sometimes the Lord gives the reasons behind his laws, as he does near the end of Leviticus 15. Here God says he gave the people various ceremonial laws in order to “keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place, which is among them” (Lev 15:31).
It may seem odd to us that God demonstrated such concern over personal cleanliness, but could it be that God knows something we don’t? If Moses harped on one thing, it was this: Be sure to obey your God (whether you understand the why or not).
Many of our problems arise from ignoring God’s Word when we don’t think its instructions make sense. Moses tells us the rules and regulations God gave to his people not only kept them clean—make that holy—before him, but they also protected them from discomfort, sickness and untimely death.
In some ways, the law can be seen as God solving a problem before it ever occurs. Moses reminds us that God always knows what is best—best for us and best for our relationship with him.
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Israel: Raising a Higher Standard
God calls his people to live at a standard higher than the unbelievers who surround them. In Leviticus 18–20, God reviews his higher standards regarding relationships, religion and the rights and responsibilities of community members. In the subsequent chapter, he reviews an even higher standard for Israel’s leaders, the priests.
Why these higher standards? God intended Israel to be a light and a standard for the rest of the world, and Israel’s leaders to be a light and a standard for the Jewish nation. God expects the same of us today. Why must we be faithful in keeping a higher standard than the rest of the world?
1. To be like God.
2. To qualify us for ministry.
3. To guarantee God’s blessing on our life.
4. To prepare us for leadership tomorrow.
5. To receive God’s reward for faithfulness.
And what characterizes those who choose to pursue life at God’s higher standard?
1. They adopt godly values.
2. They care for the interests of others.
3. They live with integrity.
4. They keep their word.
5. They develop their gifts and potential.
6. They manage time and money well.
7. They pass on to others what they have received.
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The Year of Jubilee: A Time to Rest and Sharpen the Ax
Ever hear of the sabbath year or the Year of Jubilee? Those are the delightful topics of Leviticus 25. The first occurred every seven years, while the second was to take place every fifty years.
These special years called for special behavior. God’s people were to stop their usual labor, alter their daily routines, and change their normal existence. Consider a few lessons leaders can learn from these special sabbaths:
1. They gave the people a time of rest (v. 5). God said these special years were seasons for resting the land and their lives.
2. They gave the people an opportunity for redemption (vv. 10, 24). Every Israelite could return to ancestral lands and redeem them, just as God did with them.
3. They gave the people time for reflection (v. 12). The Jubilee Year was to be holy, recognized as a gift from the Lord.
4. They gave the people time for reward and repair (vv. 18–19). As a reward for obedience, God would supply abundant food and time to sharpen the ax.
5. They gave the people time for relationships (vv. 35–46). Everyone was to prioritize people over material gain.
6. They gave the people a time to refocus (v. 55). God reminds his people that they are his servants and he is their Lord.
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Sowing and Reaping: Decisions and Consequences
Leadership, like life, is the sum total of the decisions we make.
Every decision has consequences. We decide how we will respond to people. We decide how large to make a budget for promotion and marketing. We decide whom to hire. We decide which values are worth going to the mat for.
Toward the end of Leviticus, God lists the blessings he offers to those who obey him and the punishment they’ll receive for disobedience. God, the Ultimate Leader, clearly outlines the consequences for his people’s choices.
Leaders who fail to make good decisions . . .
1. Lack commitment.
2. Suffer from a scattered focus.
3. Look for excuses.
4. Forget the big picture.
5. Go public with private thoughts.
6. Adopt the motto, “That’s good enough.”
7. Don’t take God’s direction seriously.
8. Behave inconsistently.
9. Create poor relationships.
10. Avoid change.
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