lingwith guilt: The sinner brings a small lamb, pure and spotless. He walks through Israel’s encamp-mentand knows that friends, relatives, and strangers know where he’s going. He’s going to thetabernacle to slit this animal’s throat. He’s driven there by a sin that’s gnawing at his bones— he hasto make it right. At the tabernacle, he waits with others who have brought sin offerings. He watchesas the priests perform their ancient ritual. Then a priest approaches, and it’s his turn. He places hishand on the lamb’s head and confesses his sin, trying not to look in the animal’s trusting eyes. Quicklyhe lifts its head. There’s a swift flash of the knife. Dark blood spurts out on the ground. The lambkicks once and falls limp. Priestly assistants then take the carcass toward the large altar. They drain theblood into a trench at its base. Then they place the slain animal on the grating and flames begin toconsume it. As black smoke curls up toward a perfect blue sky, he feels rescued. This spotlesssacrifice points to a divine forgiveness.That’s what happened at the Hebrew tabernacle, at the altar of burnt offering. Aside from the sad factthat sin brings death (Romans 6:23 & James 1:15), note two beautiful things in this God-ordained service:1. People were accepting responsibility for their wrong doing. They were facing up to it squarely,confessing it. No denials, no excuses. People today often deny their faults or try to excuse theirsins. The most fundamental truth about human guilt is that we can never escape it till we accept it.That’s why people brought their lambs to the temple. They were accepting their guilt.2. But they were also acknowledging something else—the fact that they couldn’t atone for their sin.They couldn’t really make up for it or erase their guilt by performance. Slaying that spotless lambwas an act of faith—faith that anothe...
