kinds of sacrifices there were (“sin” offerings, “guilt” offerings, “burnt” offerings, “wave” offerings, and so forth—all of these are discussed in the Torah), how they were performed, and how they actually “worked.” 4 One thing, however, appears clear. Some of the sacrifices that were to be offered by Israelite priests in the designated holy place (for example, the ancient Tabernacle; or later, after the days of Solomon, in the Jewish Temple) were made as an atonement for sin. That is, when people either collectively or individually had violated God’s law, and thereby fallen out of his favor, God had provided a way forthem to make restitution: by offering a sacrifice. The basic idea behind this form of sacrifice is that there is a punishment (i.e., divine suffering) appointed for those who violate God’s will; when the appropriate sacrifice is offered, this punishment is rescinded.
This appears clearly to be the case for what Leviticus calls “burnt offerings” (“it shall be acceptable on your behalf as atonement for you”; Lev. 1:4; cf. Job 1:5); for “sin” offerings (“thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for the sin that you have committed, and you shall be forgiven”; Lev. 4:35); and for the “guilt” offering (“the priest shall make atonement on your behalf with the ram of the guilt offering, and you shall be forgiven”; Lev. 5:16).
Because sin brings horrible judgment in the manifestation of God’s wrath, this wrath needs to be averted. It is averted by the proper sacrifice of an animal. It is not clear, as I’ve said, how the sacrifice actually “works.” Does the animal substitute for the human being, who now no longer needs to be slaughtered because the animal has been? (See Gen. 22:1–14.) Or is some other, more complicated logic at work? 5 Whatever the answer to the question of mechanics, the Israelite temple cult was focused on sacrifice as a way of restoring a lost relationship with God, broken by disobedience. Thus, the classical view of suffering—disobedience leads to punishment—lay at the very heart of the ancient Israelite religion.
Eventually within the history of Israel this notion that one being (an animal) could be a sacrifice for another (a human being) took on symbolic proportions. This, as we will see, was to become very important for early Christians, whose understanding of the death of Jesus was sometimes expressed as the “perfect” sacrifice for sins (see Hebrews 9–10 in the New Testament). It is important to realize, however, that Christians did not invent the idea that the suffering of one could lead to the forgiveness of another. This idea was rooted in ancient Israel itself, as seen in particular in the writings of a prophet active in the years after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. Because the writings of this prophet were later combined (onthe same scroll) with those of Isaiah of Jerusalem, who lived 150 years or so earlier, he is commonly known as Second Isaiah. 6
Substitutionary Sacrifice in Second Isaiah
Historians have used several sources in the Hebrew Bible (2 Kings 25; Jer. 52) to reconstruct how the southern kingdom of Judah fell to the Babylonians. 7 Torn between the competing demands of the Egyptian empire to the south and the Babylonian empire to the northeast, the Judean king Zedekiah made a fateful decision to align himself with the former. The Babylonian armies under King Nebuchadrezzar marched against Judah and laid siege to Jerusalem for eighteen months, causing severe hardship and starvation in the city. Eventually the walls were breached, the opposition killed, and the holy Temple (built by Solomon some four hundred years earlier) destroyed. Zedekiah tried to escape but was captured: Nebuchadrezzar had the king’s sons slaughtered before his eyes, then gouged out his eyes and led him back as a captive to Babylon. Many of the elite members of Jerusalem’s aristocracy were led off to
This appears clearly to be the case for what Leviticus calls “burnt offerings” (“it shall be acceptable on your behalf as atonement for you”; Lev. 1:4; cf. Job 1:5); for “sin” offerings (“thus the priest shall make atonement on your behalf for the sin that you have committed, and you shall be forgiven”; Lev. 4:35); and for the “guilt” offering (“the priest shall make atonement on your behalf with the ram of the guilt offering, and you shall be forgiven”; Lev. 5:16).
Because sin brings horrible judgment in the manifestation of God’s wrath, this wrath needs to be averted. It is averted by the proper sacrifice of an animal. It is not clear, as I’ve said, how the sacrifice actually “works.” Does the animal substitute for the human being, who now no longer needs to be slaughtered because the animal has been? (See Gen. 22:1–14.) Or is some other, more complicated logic at work? 5 Whatever the answer to the question of mechanics, the Israelite temple cult was focused on sacrifice as a way of restoring a lost relationship with God, broken by disobedience. Thus, the classical view of suffering—disobedience leads to punishment—lay at the very heart of the ancient Israelite religion.
Eventually within the history of Israel this notion that one being (an animal) could be a sacrifice for another (a human being) took on symbolic proportions. This, as we will see, was to become very important for early Christians, whose understanding of the death of Jesus was sometimes expressed as the “perfect” sacrifice for sins (see Hebrews 9–10 in the New Testament). It is important to realize, however, that Christians did not invent the idea that the suffering of one could lead to the forgiveness of another. This idea was rooted in ancient Israel itself, as seen in particular in the writings of a prophet active in the years after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. Because the writings of this prophet were later combined (onthe same scroll) with those of Isaiah of Jerusalem, who lived 150 years or so earlier, he is commonly known as Second Isaiah. 6
Substitutionary Sacrifice in Second Isaiah
Historians have used several sources in the Hebrew Bible (2 Kings 25; Jer. 52) to reconstruct how the southern kingdom of Judah fell to the Babylonians. 7 Torn between the competing demands of the Egyptian empire to the south and the Babylonian empire to the northeast, the Judean king Zedekiah made a fateful decision to align himself with the former. The Babylonian armies under King Nebuchadrezzar marched against Judah and laid siege to Jerusalem for eighteen months, causing severe hardship and starvation in the city. Eventually the walls were breached, the opposition killed, and the holy Temple (built by Solomon some four hundred years earlier) destroyed. Zedekiah tried to escape but was captured: Nebuchadrezzar had the king’s sons slaughtered before his eyes, then gouged out his eyes and led him back as a captive to Babylon. Many of the elite members of Jerusalem’s aristocracy were led off to
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