Laurie: Fear of the LORD

This morning in my quiet time, I was reading the first few chapters of Leviticus, and the Lord started speaking to my heart. I had always thought that the priests took the animals from the people and sacrificed them, and then their sins were forgiven. But here it said they (the people themselves) were to bring their animal and slaughter it, skin it, cut it into pieces, and wash its inner parts and legs with water. Then Aaron's sons would sprinkle its blood on the altar, build a fire and arrange the pieces and burn all of it, as an aroma pleasing to the LORD.

That really struck me. I used to think we'd be so poor if we lived back then, because as sinners we'd need to bring an animal every day for the priest to make a sacrifice for us. But now, Lord, You show me that I would have to kill that animal. I would have to cut its throat and hear its cries. As I thought about this today, I begin to see sin for what it really is.

"Horrible" isn't a bad enough word and yet we come to you day after day asking for forgiveness for the same sins. Animal after animal we would have had to kill. Are we really sorry? Or is it that we can just come and hand our sins to You, our High Priest and forget Your blood, forget Your innocence, forget Your crying out when we drove the spike through Your feet?

My hand did kill You!