Romans 11:22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God

Psalm 78:15-38 He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas;

he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.

But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High. They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved.

They spoke against God; they said, “Can God really spread a table in the wilderness?

True, he struck the rock, and water gushed out, streams flowed abundantly, but can he also give us bread? Can he supply meat for his people?”

When the Lord heard them, he was furious; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel, for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance.

Yet he gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens; he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven.

Human beings ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat. He rained meat down on them like dust, birds like sand on the seashore. He made them come down inside their camp, all around their tents.

They ate till they were gorged— he had given them what they craved.

But before they turned from what they craved, even while the food was still in their mouths, God’s anger rose against them; he put to death the sturdiest among them, cutting down the young men of Israel.

In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe. So he ended their days in futility and their years in terror.

Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again. They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.

But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant.

Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath.

God is holy AND God is gracious

Leviticus 1:1 The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting. He said,

2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When anyone among you brings an offering to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.

3 “‘If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you are to offer a male without defect. You must present it at the entrance to the tent of meeting so that it will be acceptable to the Lord.

4 You are to lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you.

5 You are to slaughter the young bull before the Lord, and then Aaron’s sons the priests shall bring the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

6 You are to skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces.

7 The sons of Aaron the priest are to put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire.

8 Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, including the head and the fat, on the wood that is burning on the altar.

9 You are to wash the internal organs and the legs with water, and the priest is to burn all of it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

10 “‘If the offering is a burnt offering from the flock … 14 “‘If the offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds …

… an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

3 Types of burnt offering: herd, flock, bird

Leviticus 5:11 If, however, they cannot afford two doves or two young pigeons, they are to bring as an offering for their sin a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour for an offering.

3 Types of burnt offering: herd, flock, bird

God is holy AND God is gracious

Genesis 22:12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him.

Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

Exodus 12:12 “On that night I will pass through and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment. I am the Lord

13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.

God is holy AND God is gracious

Isaiah 56:6 And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him,

all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant-

7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

God is holy AND God is gracious

John 2:13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

14In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.

“the market for birds rose so much that not even the poorer woman of the community could afford them.” (Jewish Mishna)

“Up until recently, the merchants had set up shop across the Kidron Valley on the slopes of the Mount of Olives.” Andreas Kostenberger Baker Commentary on John (2004)

15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.

16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”

18 Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

20 The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?”

21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body.

God is holy AND God is gracious

22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Philippians 4:18 I have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.

- God is holy & gracious - Christ is your sacrifice - He is calling you to be a living sacrifice