Once Israel had been
redeemed by God to be a “holy” or separated people, they were responsible to live
a life free from “sin.” Anyone who falls short, or
“misses the mark,” needs to be forgiven of those “sins.”
Forgiveness of
Our Sins
What exactly is the
process by which our sins are forgiven?
In Israel during
Temple times, there was a sacrificial system by which someone who had
unintentionally sinned could be forgiven.
Leviticus 4:26
26 And he shall
burn all his fat upon the alter, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings:
and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and
it shall be forgiven him.
But how does this
match with what is written in Hebrews 10:4?
4 It is not
possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins
The writer of
Hebrews knew the scriptures in the Torah that clearly state that when someone
who had sinned brought a sacrifice to the Temple, his sins were forgiven. He,
however, also knew that it was not the blood of an animal that forgave the sin,
because if a person could not afford an animal sacrifice even a meal offering
was sufficient.
There were also
other ways to be “cleansed” from sin. One was to go into a ritual bath called a
“mikvah.” We read about this practice in the book of Mark.