March 19th | Deuteronomy 17

What is the difference between a McDonald’s cheeseburger and a burger from Five Guys? Well for one you might say the price! But when you eat one compared to the other, the Five Guys burger is clearly better! The size of the burger, the freshness and quality of the ingredients, and the taste is far superior. Both of them are classified as burgers, but one is the clear winner. 

In Deuteronomy 17, we see God tell the Israelites how to make sacrifices for their sins. Verse 1 says, 

“You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep in which is a blemish, any defect whatever, for that is an abomination to the Lord your God.” 

Why is the type of sacrifice important? Won’t any ox or sheep do? How different can they be? God wanted His people to know that sin was serious. Sacrifice was costly. They couldn’t pawn off their worst animals on God and find forgiveness. No, they had to bring their very best, without blemish, and sacrifice it to the Lord. Only the perfect sacrifice without blemish could bring the forgiveness they desired. 

However, the perfect ox or sheep could only do so much. The difference between an ox with blemish and one without was striking but they still needed something better. A sacrifice that would satisfy God’s wrath against sin for all time. In Hebrews 9 the writer talks about this better sacrifice. Verses 11 through 14 say, 

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” 

The better sacrifice was the blood of Jesus. Jesus was perfect, meaning he is far superior to an ox without blemish and any human that ever lived. He was perfect! That means the sacrifice of Christ is far superior and it accomplishes something much greater. No longer do we need to search for more sacrifices but this one sacrifice was enough!

Today, look to Jesus as something better in your life. Don’t seek to offer God your leftovers but give him your best because that is what he gave for you. Don’t feel condemned in your sin but experience the freedom of trusting in Jesus, the perfect sacrifice. There needs to be no more work, no more struggle, just belief in the perfect Christ who was slain for you. Rest in this Gospel truth today!