This question is asked quite often by Christians who want to understand the Hebrew faith. It is based, however,
on an incorrect assumption. Namely, that every transgression makes one liable for blood atonement and without it, one cannot
be "right" with God.
Let's first understand that the Bible relegates blood sacrifices for sin to a very strict
set of criteria which rendered them a very rare thing in Temple times. These criteria are as follows:
1) The sin had to be accidental or performed out of ignorance.
2) The sin had to have been witnessed
by at least two qualified witnesses.
3) The offender had to be wealthy enough to afford an animal to sacrifice, otherwise
one would bring an offering of flour.
The sin sacrifice is for the individual that didn't know any better or simply made an honest
mistake. The blood sacrifice is only for those wealthy enough to afford it. So what about
the individual who knew he was doing wrong and did it anyway? There is no sacrifice for him. He has to
break his heart before Yahveh and truly repent of his evil. This is the only way he can be forgiven.
When King David sent Uriah to be killed in battle so he could take his wife, he knew what he was doing was
evil. When the prophet Natan rebuked David he fell down and broke his heart before Yah.
"Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Yahveh. Nathan replied, Yahveh
has taken away your sin." II Samuel 12:13 No sacrifice involved. Just a broken heart that Yah
can read like a book. This is Biblical atonement. It's simple and it is not beyond our reach as some would have us believe.
This still leaves us with the question of what to do with individuals (rare as they may be) who truly qualify
for and need a blood sacrifice. There is no Temple and no altar. What do they do today?
The answer, again, is very simple and we need look no further than the pages of our Bible. When Daniel and
the rest of the Jews were captive in Babylon, they had no Temple. What did they do? The Bible tells us that Daniel went
to the window of his house that faced Jerusalem and prayed toward the place of the Temple. Was this a practice that Daniel
invented on his own? Certainly not. He was following the instructions that came from King Solomon as he
prophesied at the dedication of the First Temple. Solomon told us that when we have no Temple, we are to turn to the land
of Israel, the City of Jerusalem and the Place of The Temple. We are to break our hearts and turn back to Yahveh and
He will forgive us.
"When they sin against you, for there is no one who does not sin, and you become
angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to his own land, far away or near; and if they have
a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their conquerors and
say, 'We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly'; and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul
in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city
you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their
plea, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed
against you, and cause their conquerors to show them mercy; for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought
out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace." I Kings 8:46-51
No sacrifice is needed for forgiveness here. What is needed is a changed heart and crying out toward the
place where the Almighty placed his name forever. Again, simple and doable if one has the right heart.
But what about the non-Israelite? Isn't he somehow left out of all this? Doesn't he need someone to break
down the wall of exclusivity that keeps him separated from the Elohim of Israel. This is what some would have us believe.
But it is not true, nor has it ever been.
Have a look at this same prophetic prayer given by King Solomon. What do we see in verses 41-43 of I
Kings 8?
"As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant
land because of your name, for men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm, when he comes
and prays toward this temple, then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that
all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I
have built bears your Name."
Here we see that the non-Jew does not need an intermediary to bring him closer to Yahveh because he
was never separated in the first place. Yahveh has always desired a relationship with all mankind if they would only
listen and come to Him. The way has always been there, as Moses said:
"Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your
reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, 'Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we
may obey it?' Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, 'Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so
we may obey it?' No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it." Deuteronomy
30:11-14
~ By Yoel Keren ~
