The Big Picture of the Bible: Chapter 07 God’s Love Provides Mercy

7 GOD’S LOVE PROVIDES MERCY Grace and Mercy Fortunately, God loves His creation and has decided to pay the price for us, even though it was undeserved-this is called grace (God gives us what we don’t deserve-life). This is also described as mercy (God doesn’t give us what we do deserve-death). How was His mercy shown in the Old Testament? By blood. The Bible could be said to drip blood if you squeezed it. The Bible is bloody due to the problem and price for sin. God, in His love and His mercy, allowed the price of life to be paid through an innocent representative. This was the purpose of animal sacrifice instituted in the Old Testament. God showed His mercy by allowing the innocent animal to pay the price of death owed by the sinner. We deserved God’s justice (death) but we received God’s mercy (life) instead. God showed His mercy by allowing an innocent animal to pay the judicial price of death owed by the sinner. Animal Sacrifice This provision (or atonement) for the judicial price of sin to be paid by an animal is described in detail in Leviticus 17.11: ”For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.” The life of the animal atones for (literally “covers”) or cleanses the sins of the sinner. In this manner the sinner “died” representatively or through the animal as a substitute. What was the result? The removal of sin. In Leviticus 16.30 this result is described as taking place on the Day of Atonement (the yearly sacrifice of animals): ”For it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD.” This demonstrates the concept of sanctification. To sanctify something is to make it holy and clean before the Lord. Thus by having one’s sins removed by animal sacrifice the sinner was made holy before God and the spiritual relationship could be restored (reconciliation). Continued by book author Kenneth W. Craig