Welcome to 10 minute Bible Talks.

Where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work.

I'm Tanya Wilmoth. Maybe one time you started a Bible reading plan and made it all the way to Leviticus

until it just got too weird or detailed and you lost interest. Or maybe you've read all of Leviticus and you still made it to the other side.

Maybe you don't even know what Leviticus is or where it is in the Bible.

No matter where we are, the text sounds kind of like a technical

handbook for priests sometimes. But in the context of God's greater story, it's a

story of a God who desires to be close to his people and who wouldn't want to read a story like that.

Now because we're going to get into some strange stuff today regarding animals and sacrifices,

let's get a handle first on what's going on in context with this ancient

scripture. And then we're going to bring it to the present day. So among pagan

cultures of the time, animal sacrifice was common and it was kind of like I hope that God's finding the sacrifice

acceptable I hope this appeases them it was hopeful but it wasn't certain it was

deliberate but it wasn't relational. It had to be down over and over, and the

participant always wondered if the God would accept it this time or desire more.

So that's where we are culturally, but where are we

biblical? Well, in the story of Eden, animal sacrifice was also pretty

well understood. Adam and Eve were the first to send and the first to use

animal skins to cover themselves.

So God's story is a story of a holy God

who moves towards sinners and provides the way

for them to draw near to him.

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