Are we set up for failure?  After reading Leviticus I was frustrated, deflated and sad.  I could never measure up to what you require.  We live in a world where all our actions translates into acceptance or rejection.

Now at that moment, I knew in my head, this conclusion was not right.  God does not set us up for failure!  Everything in me pleaded, “That is not  the character of God!”

But my heart ached because I didn’t understand.

 Why would God put all these laws in place and require us to slaughter all these animals so that we could be in right standing with him?  This looks like a setup. How could we possibly follow ALL of Gods laws?  Sacrificing these animals was messy business.  If you were a priest with unintentional sin, you had to sacrifice a bull.  If the community sinned- sacrifice a bull.  A leader- male goat. Common person- female goat.  And the details of what you do with the sacrifice were very specific and very gruesome.

These sacrifices were meant for unintentional sins- not even flat-out rebellious sin.

Reading all the laws made me sad and confused.  Doesn’t God love us?  Doesn’t he want us to succeed in serving him?

Let’s go back to the beginning, before Leviticus.  In Genesis 3:21, an animal had to be sacrificed to cover Adam and Eve with their pelts.  God looked at the little “fig leaf” covering Adam and Eve had and knew that was not going to work. Genesis 3:21 And the Lord God made clothing for the animal skins for Adam and his wife. This was the first sacrifice.

Cain and Abel gave sacrifices, Noah sacrificed, Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac until an angel had to stop Him and give him a ram to take Isaac’s place.

There is no way we can keep all the laws all the time.

So that got me thinking- OK, so what were the laws? Like, by the time Leviticus comes around, (about a month later after Exodus) what are the requirements? Was obeying his laws doable?

I began to read the laws.  Of course, the 10 commandments.  I think I could keep the 10 commandments on a daily basis. Exodus 20. With maybe a slip here or two like not honoring my father or mother or coveting my neighbor on occasion. 

Then there are the societal laws that He implemented about slaves, personal injury, theft, crop protection, personal property, seduction.  He lays down laws for Capital offenses with the penalty of death. Exodus 22:18. No second chances with that.  Laws protecting the vulnerable.  I’m pretty sure I could have adhered to those laws.

But could I have kept all of these laws 100% of the time?  Sadly.  No. 

God is Holy.  He lives in the Holy of Holies.  Because of Adam and Eve wanted to be like God, we are, by nature, full of sin.  Holiness cannot be around sin. 

Habakkuk 1:12-13 Are you not from eternity, Lord my God? My Holy One, you will not die. Lord, you appointed them to execute judgment; my Rock, you destined them to punish us. ¹³ Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.

1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him.

Isaiah 59:1- 4 Indeed, the Lord’s arm is not too weak to save, and his ear is not too deaf to hear. ² But your iniquities are separating you from your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not listen. ³ For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers, with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongues mutter injustice. ⁴ No one makes claims justly; no one pleads honestly.

Psalms 53:2-3 God looks down from heaven on the human race to see if there is one who is wise, one who seeks God.³ All have turned away; all alike have become corrupt. There is no one who does good, not even one.

He loves us so much, but we are unholy and He is holy.  He wanted to be with us but he had to figure out a way to make that happen.

Psalm 8:4-5 What is a human being that you remember him, a son of man that you look after him? ⁵ You made him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honor.

God loved us so much He had to devise a plan so that He could “dwell among them”. “Them” meaning us- Humans- Exodus 25:8 “They are to make a sanctuary for me so that I may dwell among them. ⁹ You must make it according to all that I show you—the pattern of the tabernacle as well as the pattern of all its furnishings.

The sacrifices were a bridge for Him to dwell among us.  Holy is holy and we would die if we were in his presence and not covered by a sacrifice. Exodus 33:19 He said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name ‘the Lord’ before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” ²⁰ But he added, “You cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live.”  The law was the law.  He was so specific about his laws, he wanted us to get it right.  He knew we couldn’t get it right and therefore had to create a system so that would cover us.  Antone for our missing the mark.

This is why he established the sacrifices.  He was so merciful he had to find a way to cover us, so we could be near.  His purpose was not trying to punish us, he was trying to cover us so we could have relationship with him. So he could dwell with us.  He had to find a way for us to be able to cover us when we worship him and obey him and serve him so we would not die because of the sin we inherently have in our beings.

In Exodus 24, God performs covenant ceremony with Israel to seal the deal. He instructs them on the specifics for the tabernacle where He can “dwell among them”.  Exodus 25-31 is the painstaking detail of what the tabernacle will need to be made of and how it is to be set up all the way down to the detail of what the priest should be wearing.

While Moses is getting all the detailed instructions, The Israelites have begged Aaron for a golden calf! Exodus 32.

They had just made covenant with God, and they went and built a golden calf when Moses was gone for just 40 days. We couldn’t hold out.  Not more than 40 days. I say we because, don’t for one minute think we are smarter or higher or better than the Israelites.  We are all sinners just the same.  Had we been there we would have been chanting in the crowd with them, “We want a golden calf!!” Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Here is the crazy thing.  He didn’t back out of the covenant.  He never backs out.  Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he might lie, or a son of man, that he might change his mind. Does he speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?

He had every right to back out of the deal because we broke the covenant before He had a chance to even right down the laws!  He still wanted to “dwell among them”!  Moses dropped the tablets because he was so mad about the golden calf, and later God had to rewrite the stones.  Moses had to go to bat for the Israelites and beg God not to destroy them all but, God was merciful and did not destroy them. Exodus 34:5-7 Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh.⁶ The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. ⁷ I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.
I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected— even children in the third and fourth generations.”

2-3 million people left Egypt and was in the wilderness when they demanded the golden calf.  Because of their full-on debauchery, the consequences were severe.  Levites were commanded to kill their brother, friends and neighbors because of the “golden calf” fiasco.   That ended up being about 3000 men. Exodus 32:27-28

With that many people left in the wilderness, the smell of burning animals must have constantly filled the air.  There must have been sacrifices around the clock and a bloody mess. I wonder if the smell reminded the Israelites of the commandments?  An incentive to keep our minds on the laws?  To remind us of how grotesque sin is? 

Based on this sacrificial system God created, how could anyone uphold all the laws?

But then I thought about Job.

(We should note that according to biblical scholars, Job lived before the Mosaic laws.  And it is understood that the tradition of sacrifices were established in Genesis and passed down from generation to generation.)

Back to Job.  The bible says that Job was a man of complete integrity; who feared God and turned away from evil. Job 1:1, He also sent for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them.  This was Job’s regular practice. Job1:5

So it was possible.  A part of serving God was the constant sacrifice of animals.  It was a part of Job’s life.  He serves God and one of his daily chores was burnt sacrifices to God.

God wasn’t trying to punish us.   HE DID NOT SET US UP FOR FAILURE.  The laws were not punitive. The law is meant to point out what sin is.

Galatians 3:19-21 Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. ²⁰ Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham. ²² But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe. ²³ Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. ²⁴ The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. ²⁵ But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, ²⁶ for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus. (NLT)

God did not set us up for failure.  His plan was all along to give his son as a sacrifice to redeem us all.  His plan was always there.

Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

And around 740 years after Exodus was written he reiterates his plan through the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 52:6-8 Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.” ⁷ How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” ⁸ The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion. (ESV)

I use to think that God was all judgement and Jesus was all forgiveness. 

God is made up of the trinity and therefore three in one.  They all have the same characteristics because they are all in one.  God the father is loving and righteous and forgiving.  Jesus is also loving, righteous and forgiving.  The holy spirit is loving righteous and forgiving.

Matthew 28:19-20 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Thank you Jesus, we are not set up for failure!

Here is what we are set up for: