It would appear that we humans spend so much time thinking, planning and doing for ourselves, we might be missing the significance of a death occurring on our behalf. Now that I have stated that, I am sure you are thinking in terms of any of our servicemen and women dying on the battlefield…for us. That would not be totally correct. Let’s take a look at the history of the people of Israel, God’s chosen.
The entire book of Genesis 22, it is the first time that God Almighty asks for a sacrifice of a life, which in the beginning it was to be the life of Abraham’s son Isaac. In the end it was a ram that was sacrificed, instead of his son, Isaac. Yet we see that from that time on, the sacrifice of an animal was for the sins of the people. Here is what bothers me: Most people will read about these sacrifices and never catch on that, either an animal or a person would be the sacrifice.
Leviticus 20:1-5 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not: Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.”
In the passage above we see that sacrificing a child to Molech was a very bad thing as far as the Lord God Almighty was concerned, and would be bad as well for you and me. The point is this: Something of value was to be a sacrifice. Something or someone, depending on who you were and where you were was to die.
I find it to be most disturbing to think in terms of anything or anyone or any animal to be killed for any reason and, yes, I do indeed enjoy a steak now and then (that is what I mean). I don’t think you want to be there as the slaughtered animal or person. Not just because of the gore, but what right or reason do we have for killing anything? And yes, I like a good roast beef or steak and barbecued ribs, so I am just as guilty as anyone.
The Israelites sacrificed bulls and rams and even lambs, though the unblemished Lamb was the pinnacle for the purpose of covering their sin, according to the Lord God. Yet I want you to think in terms of the animal. I am absolutely positive it did not choose to die and did not do so willingly. If you chose to sacrifice me there would some serious issues at hand, and I am sure the animals were just the same. In other words, I am asking you to look at this issue from a different perspective and most probably, one that is a little unsettling.
We have the ability to walk about a beautifully made and surgically clean…grocery store. We see the cuts of meat are individually wrapped for cleanliness, with bright lighting to be sure we have the most fresh cuts available. The point is this: We are not present at the killing and butchering of the animal, we do not need to see the fear in the animal’s eyes just before death. Whether or not we wish to see all of that, it is a fact. For our subsistence and health, an animal had to die and to die whether it wanted that or not. It is the same for the sacrifices by the people of Israel.
Having looked at this from this particular vantage point, we see that death is something very important, if not to you, then to the animal. A life is being snuffed out. Does this make any sense to you? And the second point is that there is fear involved and some pain, or maybe you have never been hunting.
Our way of life nowadays has made everything so clean and clinical, no fuss or muss for any of us. But the death is significant. Does the animal wish to die, to end its life? Of course not. Do you wish to die, for whatever reason? Of course not. Every being wants to maintain and enjoy life. It is this basic fact that I refer to. Life is precious to all, even to plants and trees or maybe you have never thought that deeply. Or it could be that this sort of thinking is not your cup of tea, so to speak? So what is this thing, the sacrifice of life?
It would be ridiculous to think of dying without any fear and I am sure you have at least thought of that before. You must admit, death changes everything and how it changes is anyone’s guess. Right? Jesus Christ, our God, Lord and Savior chose to come here to earth and be born as a human being. The entire idea was that Jesus Christ was sinless and there was only one purpose for HIS death…to cover our sin with HIS Blood.
So how significant was HIS death? Do you think there was any fear in HIS death or pain for that matter? I mean, we are talking about the Lord God Almighty coming to earth to DIE on a Roman cross… to provide us with salvation unto heaven. Do you have any idea the concern that Jesus might have felt for the severe beatings and torture, and then to be mailed to a wooden cross?
Or maybe you have not considered that Jesus Christ as God knew the majority of humanity would reject HIM and HIS gift of salvation. We are talking about God the Creator creating mankind and then allowing HIS creation to kill HIM! Can you see how mindboggling that is?
There is one thing for sure, no one wants to talk or think about their own death. It’s scary, right? And yet a born-again Christians should have NO fear whatsoever, because death will bring life in eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ; the Bible tells us that. In other words, it’s one thing to talk about that path and it is quite another to walk that path.” The problem is, at least in my mind, everyone and everything is going to die one day and there is NO escaping that fact.
Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
The apostle Paul stated this because he was talking about his death and then being with Jesus Christ (which he preferred), and yet he knew he needed to remain here to help you and me. Therefore, the purpose for life and death, here, needs to be for better reasons. As true followers of Jesus Christ we already know why we are here (or at least we should know). The very things we fear are the exact things we should be considering all the time; we need a better perspective and Jesus Christ fills that need. That said, life and death are not for you and me to FEAR.
These two areas are the whole enchilada of our existence. Then why do we spend so little time thinking of these? When we think of these things, according to the Word of God, we find that it is Jesus Christ…at the center of all of it. If we spent more time thinking about Jesus Christ, we would have less time to think on the foolish things of our little lives and less time considering “It’s all about ME.”
Do you think I’m wrong? Who loves Christmas? The presents should be for, who? The meals satisfy, who? Starting to catch on here? I hope so. This physical life here on earth is a short one at that. On the other hand, eternity is forever. Thus, if you think long and hard about it, you should realize one is better than the other. It does not require simple math or even being a genius, to figure out which one lasts longer
Yet… there are requirements for an eternity in heaven. Now the question is, how much time are you willing to spend to find out the truths in acquiring the best ending in eternity? If you’re too busy having fun to contemplate your eternity, then you will have the eternity you desire. If in fact, that contemplation does not include Jesus Christ, then you will have hell for eternity. Come on my friends! You already know, it’s one way or the other.
Looking at life from this perspective you are able to see that life is important to all, human or animal. Life is significant to you as an individual, thus the reason you strive for the things of this life… for yourself. And the reason you continually see yourself first and everyone or everything else second. And for one moment, you ought to see and understand just how significant your choice of heaven or hell really is…
Death comes for all. Only a select number in all of the history of mankind will not taste death, those in the Rapture. It sort of makes sense that we are living in the last days, that we take this accounting seriously.