An acceptable sacrifice
Is human sacrifice acceptable to Yahweh?
Many people find the very thought of human sacrifice
appalling, and use their own thoughts and ideas on the matter to come to the conclusion that; The Eternal does not like or
want human sacrifices.
Lets look at two examples in the Tanakh of the sacrifice
of human life to help us gain a better understanding of the matter.
Deuteronomy 12:30-31
30guard yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them,
after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not
inquire about their mighty ones, saying, How did
these nations serve their mighty ones? And let me do so too. 31Do not do so to Yahweh your Elohim, for every abomination which Yahweh hates they have done to their
mighty ones, for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their mighty ones.
2Kings 16-18
16And they left all the commands of Yahweh their Elohim, and made for themselves a moulded image, two calves, and made
an Asherah and bowed themselves to all the host
of the heavens, and served Ba'al, 17and caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, and practised divination and sorcery, and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of Yahweh, to provoke Him. 18So Yahweh was very enraged with Yisrael, and removed them from His presence none was left but the tribe of Yehudah alone.
In both of these examples the Eternal Creator looked upon the human sacrifices
with disdain and contempt. Obviously these human sacrifices are evil in the sight of the Almighty. Is this the end of the
matter? Lets look a little deeper.
In the Apostolic writings we have a little different view of sacrifice.
Lets take a look.
Ephesians 5:1
Become,
then, imitators of Elohim as beloved children. 2And
walk in love, as Messiah also has
loved us, and gave Himself for us, a gift and an offering to Elohim for a sweet-
smelling fragrance.
Hebrews 10
For
the Torah, having a shadow of the good matters to come, and not the image itself of the matters, was never able to make perfect those who draw near with the same slaughter offerings which
they offer continually year by year. 2Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered? Because those who served, once cleansed, would
have had no more consciousness of sins. 3But in those offerings is a reminder of sins year by year. 4For it is impossible for blood
of bulls and
goats to take away sins. 5Therefore,
coming into the world, He says, Slaughtering and meal offering You did not desire, but
a body You have prepared for Me. 6In burnt offerings and offerings for sin You did not delight. 7Then I said, See, I come in the roll
of the book it has
been written concerning Me
to do Your desire, O Elohim. 8Saying
above, Slaughter and meal offering, and burnt offerings, and offerings for
sin You did not desire, nor delighted in, which are
offered according to the Torah, 9then He said, See, I come to do Your desire, O Elohim. He takes away the first
to establish the second. 10By that desire we have been set apart through the offering of the body of Yahshua Messiah once for all. 11And indeed every priest stands day by day doing service, and repeatedly offering the same
slaughter offerings which are never able to
take away sins. 12But He, having offered
one slaughter offering for
sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of Elohim,
13waiting from that time onward until
His enemies are
made a footstool for His feet. 14For
by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being set apart. 15And the Set-apart Spirit also witnesses to us, for after having said before, 16This is the covenant that I shall make with them after
those days, says Yahweh, giving
My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I shall write
them, 17and, Their sins and their lawlessnesses I shall remember no more. 18Now where there is
forgiveness of
these, there is no longer a slaughter offering for sin. 19So, brothers, having boldness to
enter into
the Set-apart Place by the blood of Yahshua, 20by a new and living way which He instituted for us, through
the veil, that is, His flesh, 21and having a High Priest over
the House
of Elohim,
It appears that the apostolic writings may disagree
with the Tanakh. Is that the case?
The examples of the Tanakh are of worshipers who are
sending their own children as sacrifices to the Eternal.
The examples of the apostolic writings are of self-sacrifice.
There is a tremendous difference in the offerings to Yahweh. Lets look at a couple of more verses on the matter.
Romans 12:1
I
call upon you, therefore, brothers, through the compassion of Elohim,
to present your bodies a living offering set-apart, well-pleasing to
Elohim your reasonable worship.
Revelatation 6
9And when He opened
the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the beings of those having been slain for the Word
of Elohim and for the witness which they held, 10and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Master, set-apart
and true,
until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? 11And there was given to each one
a white robe,
and they were told that they should rest a little while
longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and
their brothers, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
Animal and human offerings mean nothing to the Eternal in our world today. Yahshua has given
himself as the ultimate sacrifice for us. He gave his life willingly and lovingly to our wonderful Father.
What is acceptable today is that a person offers up his physical and spiritual life for the
Eternal. Becoming a martyr, by upholding the Eternals laws and Name. This is acceptable and welcomed.
Look back through history at all of the people who have given their lives to and for the Almighty.
Millions of people through time have given up their lives for their belief in the One True
Mighty One. More sacrifices are yet to come, and each will be a welcome offering to Yahweh.
Shalom in YHWH's Precious name
http://exodus_20az.tripod.com/shalom/
