God uses the sacraments to save us – but you can only receive that salvation by faith.
That’s important for thinking about what God is doing through the sacrificial system here in Exodus.
Because there were some in OT Israel who thought that the sacraments worked by themselves. Our Psalm of response (Psalm 50) was written to counteract that view.
God says in Psalm 50 that if you think that you can just go on living your life the way you want, and then bring a sacrifice to God to “make everything better,” then God will not accept your sacrifices.
God does not need your sacrifices. “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?”
Yes, Israel is supposed to bring offerings and sacrifices to the temple - but not because God needs them! What God desires is not the flesh of bulls or the blood of goats! What God desires is to dwell with his people.
Where all this is going is where the Word becomes flesh and dwells among us. God is doing all this in order to make humanity a holy dwelling place. The church is the holy temple - the holy dwelling place for God - so that God can dwell with his people forever.
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