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"The Vacation Bible School lessons this year are GREAT!" my friend Leanne gushed, her eyes twinkling with excitement. As she started to explain the progression from one day to the next, I, too, became excited.
"I've never thought about it that way!" I said.
It was so simple, yet so profound.
Too good not to share.
It began in the beginning with the first sin. (Genesis 3) The story told how Adam and Eve disobeyed God and took the "forbidden fruit" causing them to become guilt ridden - and no longer in fellowship with God. It went on to explain the remedy of that guilt and shame - the covering. Not the one that they had made for themselves - which was completely inadequate. The one that God made for them. Blood had to be shed, the life of an animal to make a covering that was suitable. "The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:22NIV)
The next lesson was the exodus from Egypt. The children of Israel had been slaves for 400 years and now God was going to set them free by showing His great power. But in order for that to happen it would have to come at a price - it could not be easy. That price would be the lives of all of the first-born of the land. In order to prevent the loss of life, a sacrifice could be made for the whole family and the blood painted on the door post. (Exodus chapters 4-12) 
After that, the children learned about the Tabernacle and Temple and how offerings and sacrifices were made for the whole community, the nation of Israel, the Jews. Finally, the story of Jesus was told and how He died "for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit..." (1 Peter 3:18)
This sacrifice was for EVERYBODY!The LAST sacrifice - no more sacrifices have ever been required to cover our sin!
Each of the early sacrifices was meant to point to this one Great Sacrifice. To give us an idea of what was coming and to show us that the Thing that was coming would be greater than everything before Him.
Not only that, but each sacrifice was completely optional. Do this and be "cleansed...forgiven...brought to God..."
Or not.
It was their choice back then and it is our choice now.
What do you choose?
Matters of the Heart
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3 comments:
awesome! Thank you for sharing that progression--I'd never noticed it before =)
Ah ha, you must have had the same VBS we did. I thought the guys did a great job in explaining the sacrifices, and how when Jesus died it was for the whole world. Some of those thoughts were new to me as well. The last lesson about God never changing summed it all up so well. Through out the old covenant and the new covenant there must be a blood sacrifice. Now it is done once and for all. Even the connection with the hyssop being dipped to put the blood on the doorpost and the hyssop being dipped in vinegar and held up for Jesus to drink on the cross must have jarred the memories of the people watching that were there to celebrate passover. And the very hour that the lamb was to sacrificed in the temple was the very hour the Perfect Lamb was sacrificed and the veil in the temple torn from the top to the bottom. Access to the very throne of God is ours through His Son, the Lamb. Amen :)
Joy, that's what I said!
Marlene, you posted a photo on facebook of your grandkids at the Go Fish concert. They left you and came straight to us!
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