God Loves the Smell of Animal Sacrifice???
In accepting this claim, we are also to believe all the mind-numbing and absurd commandments, ordinances and instructions in the Bible on how to behave and prepare the tabernacle and other priestly accoutrements and rituals, including page after page concerning bloody sacrifices of various animals.
Indeed, what does the God of the cosmos convey to this chosen people? The cure for disease? Blueprints for the combustible engine—or, better yet, Tesla technology? A plan for a space station? The Almighty in his ultimate and infinite wisdom spends years repeating over and over again mind-numbing and grotesque details about the sacrifice of animals. Stone Age animal sacrifice designed to please his omnipotent nose!
Much of the Torah, especially Deuteronomy, constitutes a tedious set of detailed ordinances governing everyday life that would seem unfathomable for the Lord of the universe to be concerned with above all else.
GOD TO ABRAHAM RE SACRIFICING SON ISSAC
2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. Gen 22:2
King Manassah
6 And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 2 Kings 21:6
King Ahaz
2 but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made metal images for the Baals, 3 and ihe made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree. 2 Chron 28:2-4
People of Judah
35 They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, rto offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. Jer 32:35
King Solomon
7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. 8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.
Jephthah
11:30 And Jephthah made the following vow to Yhwh: “If You deliver the Ammonites into my hands, 11:31 then whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me on my safe return from the Ammonites shall be Yhwh’s and shall be offered by me as a burnt offering.” Judges 11:30-31
34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.” Judges 11:34-35
Passover Sacrifice
3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb[a] for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.
GOD INSTRUCTED SACRIFICE TO ABRAHAM
9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. Genesis 15:9-10
5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: Gen 12:5
19 Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings Lev 23:19
15 One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering: 16 One kid of the goats for a sin offering: Num 7:15
GOD NEEDED THAT SMELL AFTER THE FLOOD
20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour ... Gen 8:20-21
ABEL'S SACRIFICE
4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord whad regard for Abel and his offering, Gen 4:4
FOR THE SINS OF THE SON AND DAUGHTER
6 “And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest:”
7 “Who shall offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female.” Lev 12:6-7
TO REMOVE GUILT
6 And as a penalty they must bring to the priest, that is, to the Lord, their guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. 7 In this way the priest will make atonement for them before the Lord, and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty." Lev 6:6-7
LAWS OF OFFERING
8 The Lord said to Moses: 9 "Give Aaron and his sons this command: 'These are the regulations for the burnt offering: The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar. 10 The priest shall then put on his linen clothes, with linen undergarments next to his body, and shall remove the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar and place them beside the altar. 11 Then he is to take off these clothes and put on others, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean. 12 The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. 13 The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out. Lev 6:8-13
SIN OFFERING
24 The Lord said to Moses, 25 "Say to Aaron and his sons: 'These are the regulations for the sin offering: The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord in the place the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is most holy. 26 The priest who offers it shall eat it; it is to be eaten in the sanctuary area, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. 27 Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in the sanctuary area. 28 The clay pot the meat is cooked in must be broken; but if it is cooked in a bronze pot, the pot is to be scoured and rinsed with water. 29 Any male in a priest's family may eat it; it is most holy. 30 But any sin offering whose blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place must not be eaten; it must be burned up. Lev 24-30
BLOOD MAKES ATTONEMENT
11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. Lev 17:11
The Day of Atonement
16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, 2 and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to d will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. 3 But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for as for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for mAzazel.1 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.
11 “Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall kill the bull as a sin offering for himself. 12 And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the veil 13 and put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die. 14 And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side, and in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
15 “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. 16 Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. 17 No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. 18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. 19 And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel.
20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.
23 “Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and shall take off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the Holy Place and shall leave them there. 24 And he shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his garments and come out and coffer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 And the fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar. 26 And he who lets the goat go to Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. 27 And the bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. Their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be burned up with fire. 28 And he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. Lev 16:1-28
Laws of Sacrifice from the 613 Commandments
| Laws of Slaughtering | ||
|---|---|---|
| 204 | To ritually slaughter an animal before eating it | Deut. 12:21 |
| 205 | Not to slaughter an animal and its offspring on the same day | Lev. 22:28 |
| 206 | To cover the blood (of a slaughtered beast or fowl) with earth | Lev. 17:13 |
| 207 | Not to take the mother bird from her children | Deut. 22:6 |
| 208 | To release the mother bird if she was taken from the nest | Deut. 22:7 |
| Laws of Restrictions Concerning Sacrifices | ||
|---|---|---|
| 336 | To offer only unblemished animals | Lev. 22:21 |
| 337 | Not to dedicate a blemished animal for the altar | Lev. 22:20 |
| 338 | Not to slaughter it | Lev. 22:22 |
| 339 | Not to sprinkle its blood | Lev. 22:24 |
| 340 | Not to burn its fat | Lev. 22:22 |
| 341 | Not to offer a temporarily blemished animal | Deut. 17:1 |
| 342 | Not to sacrifice blemished animals even if offered by non-Jews | Lev. 22:25 |
| 343 | Not to inflict wounds upon dedicated animals | Lev. 22:21 |
| 344 | To redeem dedicated animals which have become disqualified | Deut. 12:15 |
| 345 | To offer only animals which are at least eight days old | Lev. 22:27 |
| 346 | Not to offer animals bought with the wages of a harlot or the animal exchanged for a dog |
Deut. 23:19 |
| 347 | Not to burn honey or yeast on the altar | Lev. 2:11 |
| 348 | To salt all sacrifices | Lev. 2:13 |
| 349 | Not to omit the salt from sacrifices |
Lev. 2:13 |
| Laws of Sacrificial Procedure | ||
|---|---|---|
| 350 | Carry out the procedure of the burnt offering as prescribed in the Torah | Lev. 1:3 |
| 351 | Not to eat its meat | Deut. 12:17 |
| 352 | Carry out the procedure of the sin offering | Lev. 6:18 |
| 353 | Not to eat the meat of the inner sin offering | Lev. 6:23 |
| 354 | Not to decapitate a fowl brought as a sin offering | Lev. 5:8 |
| 355 | Carry out the procedure of the guilt offering | Lev. 7:1 |
| 356 | The Kohanim must eat the sacrificial meat in the Temple | Ex. 29:33 |
| 357 | The Kohanim must not eat the meat outside the Temple courtyard | Deut. 12:17 |
| 358 | A non-Kohen must not eat sacrificial meat | Ex. 29:33 |
| 359 | To follow the procedure of the peace offering | Lev. 7:11 |
| 360 | Not to eat the meat of minor sacrifices before sprinkling the blood | Deut. 12:17 |
| 361 | To bring meal offerings as prescribed in the Torah | Lev. 2:1 |
| 362 | Not to put oil on the meal offerings of wrongdoers | Lev. 5:11 |
| 363 | Not to put frankincense on the meal offerings of wrongdoers | Lev. 5:11 |
| 364 | Not to eat the meal offering of the High Priest | Lev. 6:16 |
| 365 | Not to bake a meal offering as leavened bread | Lev. 6:10 |
| 366 | The Kohanim must eat the remains of the meal offerings | Lev. 6:9 |
| 367 | To bring all avowed and freewill offerings to the Temple on the first subsequent festival | Deut. 12:5-6 |
| 368 | Not to withhold payment incurred by any vow | Deut. 23:22 |
| 369 | To offer all sacrifices in the Temple | Deut. 12:11 |
| 370 | To bring all sacrifices from outside Israel to the Temple | Deut. 12:26 |
| 371 | Not to slaughter sacrifices outside the courtyard | Lev. 17:4 |
| 372 | Not to offer any sacrifices outside the courtyard | Deut. 12:13 |