As I read through Leviticus, one of the things that hit me is the high cost of compliance to the regulations. To sacrifice an animal to atone for every sin would consume a lot of resources when a proper understanding of sin and righteousness has been internalized.
The good news is that 1 John 1:9 tells us that we can confess our sins to God and obtain forgiveness, not based on a sacrifice we have provided but one that has been provided for us by God. Jesus is that perfect sacrifice, once for all.
Perhaps we have lost something since the Temple has been destroyed. To bring an animal to the Temple and participate in the ritual killing reinforces the gravity of sin. We, if we are not careful (and under the influence of the Holy Spirit), can fall into the trap of not heeding Paul’s advice to Timothy to flee sin, thinking that it is easy to get forgiveness. Yet that forgiveness cost Jesus his life. It is a serious business.
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