The Washington herald., 1918-10-13

That the offering Of material things
as sacrifices to Deity dates from
Adamic days is attested in Genesis
t:3-5, wherein We read thai both Cain
and Abel made offerings unto the
Lord. The Biblical record shows that
the practice continued to and beyond
the Deluge. throughout the patri-
archsl and Mosaic dispensations
among the Semitic peoples. who were
distinguished as Jehovah worship
pcrs. Non-3criptural history is no
less definite in making the sacrifice
OF animals an essential feature of
pagan ceremonial. even in the earliest
times Of which we have account. That
Noah. Abraham. Jacob and other
pstriarchs and prophets builded affairs
and sacrificed thereon is admitted by
all to whom the Holy Bible Is
authoritative. and the Mosaic code
regulated the ordinance Of sacrifice
while silent as to its origin or even
its establishment in Israel.
That pagan sacrifices were orig
inslly in imitation Of the Semitic
practice Is probable, and indeed vir-
tuslly certain. though both may have
been derived from a common and, as
generally regarded, a prehistoric pat
Tern. L Ills NODGcp4Oh 10 AlO "AlAA
weakened by the corruptions and
denominations incident to heather
tdolatry, which reached the extreme
of atrocity in the immolation OF
human victims on the affairs Of de-
fficulent and sacrilege; for. without
the directing and restraining power
OF Divine revelation, unauthorized in
noyations and unholy extremes were
inevitable.
Israelitish sacrifces may be conyen-
tently classified as bloody and blood
: less, the former comprising all offer
trgs involving the ceremonial slaugh-
Ter Of animals, and the latter consist
ing in the offerings of vegetables or
their manufactured products. The
bloody sacrifices were early associated
with the idea Of expiation, or propi-
tiation for sin, the offerer, whether
an individual or the community as
whole. acknowledging guilt and craV-
ing Precipitation through the death OF
the animal made TO serve as proxy
for the human offender.
The animal victim intended for sacri-
fSial death had to be chosen in &C
coTdance with specific requirements.
Thus. it was to be of the class desig-
nated as clean, and within this class
only lOmeSllC CaIlle anu sncep anu
certain birds-pigeons and turtle
-soyes-were acceptable. Furthermore,
Il was essential that the selected ami
NAL be without physical defect or
bfenish; and thus all that were de-
formed. MANNED or diseased were sb-
so,utely excluded. Physical defects
were held as typical of spiritual blem-
ish, or sin: and then as now "GOD
CANNOT LOOK UPON SIN WITH
THE LEAST DEGREE OF ALLOW
ASCE.'
These requirements OF relative per-
fsction on the part Of the victim
were in consistent accord with the
fact that the slaughter of animals
as a priestly rite by Divine direction
was in prefigurement of the then fu-
ture sacrifice OF the Christ Himself,
whose atoning death would mark the
contamination of His ministry in
mortality. While the animal VIC
tinzs slain on IsraePs affairs FIG
URATIVELY bore the sins Of the
people, who. by their observance of
the ssc-ihcial rite. sought propitia-
ton for their ofenses, or reconcilia-
ton with God. from whom they had
BECOME estranged through transgres-
sion, Jesus Christ ACTUALLY bore
the burden of sin and provided a
way for a literal reconciliation of
siafu man to God The principal