2 February | Teens

WHAT WAS THE MEANING OF THE SIN OFFERINGS?

«when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a young bull for the sin, and bring it before the tabernacle of meeting. » Leviticus 4: 14

The sin offerings that God asked the people of Israel to make, described in today's verses, were super important. Imagine that whenever someone did something wrong, unwittingly or unintentionally, they had to bring an animal, such as a lamb or a goat, to be sacrificed. This was a way of saying “sorry” to God for the mistake he had made.

This sacrifice showed two important things: first, that doing something wrong has serious consequences; and second, that God was willing to forgive and cleanse this mistake; but it was necessary to recognize the mistake and want to go back to doing what was right. It was as if the animal was the new culprit for the mistake, allowing the person to start over, “clean” from what they had done.

But the amazing thing about it all is that these sacrifices were a hint, a spoiler of what Jesus would do for all of us. Jesus is like this perfect lamb who was sacrificed once and for all, so that all who believe in Him will be forgiven of their mistakes, not just the accidental ones, but all of them! This shows how much God loves us and wants to be close to us.

Take Action

Try to remember a mistake you made and apologize. Write about how it felt to be forgiven. Remember, Jesus always forgives us, and that's an amazing gift from God to us!