DCLM Daily Manna 29 October 2026: A Vicarious Death
KEY VERSE: “And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar” (Leviticus 1:11).
TEXT: LEVITICUS 1:10–17
And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish.
11 And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the Lord: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar.
12 And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:
13 But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.
14 And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the Lord be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons.
15 And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his head, and burn it on the altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar:
16 And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes:
17 And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.
READ OTHER DCLM DAILY DEVOTIONAL HERE
Glynn Simmons was wrongly convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1975. He was spared the electric chair two years later after the US Supreme Court temporarily halted executions. His sentence was changed from death to life imprisonment. Mr. Simmons was released from prison in July 2023 after he was declared innocent in the 1974 murder of Carolyn Sue Rogers. His is the longest known wrongful conviction in America. By this time, he had served a nearly 50-year vicarious sentence for the murder he didn’t commit. His sentence was vacated, after a court found that prosecutors had not turned over all evidence to defence lawyers, including that of a witness who had identified other suspects.
During the Levitical era, an animal had to be sacrificed in place of a sinning Israelite. There were different kinds of offerings, but the aspect covered in today’s text dwells on the burnt offering, where a bullock, a sheep, a goat or a fowl is vicariously killed. The blood is sprinkled around the altar and the remains are burnt as a burnt offering. The offering is described as “an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD” (Leviticus 1:17). This highlights the acceptance of the sacrifice, in place of the person being cleansed from sin and guilt.
We need to bear in mind that this provision was not perfect; otherwise it would not have been changed thereafter under the New Testament. The vicious cycle of sin and offerings continued till Christ died on the cross to “purge our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” The temporary arrangement of offering animals for sin in the Old Testament, typifies and foretells the eventual death of Jesus Christ, described in Scriptures as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). As we read through the subject of the Levitical sacrifices, some might find the incidents of animals being slaughtered on daily basis a little graphic. This should instead, make us see and feel the gravity of our sins. Sin is so odious in the sight of God that it requires the shedding of blood, before an atonement can be made and accepted. It is therefore incumbent on all those desirous of God’s pardon from sin and its consequences to take solace in the spotless blood of the Lamb of God.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: It’s Christ’s atoning blood that guarantees total forgiveness and full redemption.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Proverbs 24–26.
DCLM Daily Manna 29 October 2026
