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II. Origins of Worship

A. The First Priest

The Bible never explains sacrifice or its origins. But we see it in practice from the first pages of Scripture.

Adam and Eve's children offer sacrifices - Cain from the fruits of the earth, Abel from the firstlings of his flock (see Genesis 4:3-4). Noah, too, seems to have inherited a tradition of worship that includes burnt offerings of animals (see Genesis 7:2; 8:20).

Abraham, the father of the chosen people, responds to God's call by building an altar and offering sacrifices (see Genesis 15:8-10; 22:13). Throughout the early part of the Bible, Abraham's sons are frequently seen building altars and offering sacrifices (see Genesis 26:25; 35:1-7).

Of the sacrifices of Genesis, two are particularly important for our understanding of the Mass: that of the mysterious priest-king Melchizedek (see Genesis 14:18-20) and Abraham's in Genesis 22.

Melchizedek is the first priest mentioned in the Bible. He is a "priest of God Most High." He is also King of Salem, a land that would later be called "Jeru-salem," meaning "City of Peace" (see Psalm 76:2).

This combination of priest and king is rare in the Old Testament. But later we will see this designation applied to the royal son of David (see Psalm 110:4) and, in the New Testament, to Jesus (see Hebrews 7).

Melchizedek's sacrifice is also extraordinary in that it involved no animals. He offered bread and wine, as Jesus would at the Last Supper.

B. Offering the Beloved Son

Melchizedek's sacrifice concluded with the priestly blessing of Abraham. And Abraham would later return to Salem to make his own offering.

At the mountain of Moriah, a site that would later be identified with Jerusalem's Temple (see 2 Chronicles 3:1), Abraham is asked to sacrifice his only beloved son, Isaac.

As we will see in our next lesson, in the story of the "binding" of Isaac, the New Testament writers saw a foreshadowing God's offering of his only beloved Son on the Cross (seeGenesis 22:12,16; John 3:16).

Notice the language in the story told in Genesis 22. The words "his son" or "the boy" are used 11 times in 15 verses. The only words that Isaac speaks begin with the word, "Father." As if to drive home the point even further, the narrator of the story says, "Isaac spoke to his father..."

All of this will become even more important when we study our Lord's sacrifice in our next lesson.

C. Passover Sacrifice

It is clear that by the time of their captivity in Egypt, sacrifice was central to the Israelites' worship.

Moses' original request to Pharaoh was permission to travel into the desert "that we may offer sacrifice to the Lord, our God" (see Exodus 3:18; 5:3,8).

And sacrifice marks the pivotal moment in Israel's history - the Passover which precipitates the people's exodus from Egypt.

The Passover story (see Exodus 12:1-30) is the defining drama of the Old Testament. It is crucial to understanding both the Crucifixion and the memorial of that event, the Mass.

Notice an echo of the story of Abraham and Isaac. God calls Israel "my son, my first-born" (see Exodus 4:22). At the Passover, God instructed each family to take an unblemished lamb, kill it, and sprinkle its blood on the door post with a branch of hyssop. Then they were to eat the lamb's roasted flesh along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

God promised that if the Israelites did this their first-borns would be spared - He would "pass over" their houses when He came to strike down the first-borns of Egypt.

The sacrificial lamb died so that the first-born of the people - and God's first-born son, the nation of Israel - might live.

On the night of the first Passover, God fixed its observance as a "memorial feast" and a "perpetual institution" for future generations (see Exodus 12:14,24).

Moses commanded that the Passover memorial include a narrative recalling the reason for its institution - "When your children ask you, 'What does this rite of yours mean?' you shall reply, 'This is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt; when he struck down the Egyptians, he spared our houses.'" (seeExodus 12:26-27).

When the Israelites reach Mount Sinai, they ratify their covenant with God with sacrifice (see Exodus 24:3-8).

Moses builds an altar with twelve pillars and orders that young bulls be sacrificed and their blood put in large bowls and splashed atop the altar. Then he writes down the words and ordinances of God in a "book of the covenant" that he reads aloud to the people.

When the people vow to live according to the words of the book, Moses sprinkles the sacrificial blood on the people, saying "This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words of his." Following this, Moses and the elders eat a sacrificial meal in the presence of God.

This scene too will be important for our study of the Last Supper and the Mass.

Daily sacrifice was the defining characteristic of the Israelites' worship as they entered the Promised Land.

In fact, much of the Law or Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) is devoted to ritual laws and regulations that set out in precise detail the ways in which Israelites are to offer their sacrifices (see for example, Leviticus 7-9; Numbers 28; Deuteronomy 16).

Sacrifices were to be offered at the "tent of meeting" - the portable shrine that housed the Ark of the Covenant, the site of God's glorious presence (see Exodus 25:8-22; Joshua 3:8-11).

The Ark contained signs of God's covenant (see Hebrews 9:4) - the tablets of the 10 commandments (see Exodus 40:20), Aaron's priestly staff (see Numbers 17:10) and some of the manna upon which the Israelites fed in the desert (see Exodus 16:32-34).

The ordination of Aaron and his sons as Israel's priests, along with the beginning of the daily sacrifices, is a crucial juncture of the Old Testament.

At the tent of meeting, Aaron and Moses blessed the people and then made a sin offering, a burnt offering, and a peace offering, as prescribed by God. Then fire came forth from the Lord's presence and consumed the offering on the altar (see Leviticus 9:22-24; Exodus 29:38-42).

In the priestly offering of sacrifices, the goal of God's covenant is realized: "At the altar, I will meet the Israelites...I will dwell in the midst of the Israelites and will be their God" (seeExodus 29:43,45).

D. Temple of the King

When Israel becomes a kingdom under David and his son, Solomon, the Ark is given a permanent home in the Temple.

The Ark is restored to Jerusalem in joyous religious feast marked by the sacrificial offerings of seven bulls and seven rams and priestly blessings (see 1 Chronicles 15:1-16:3; 2 Samuel 6:11-19).

The Temple was built according to a divine blueprint (see 1 Chronicles 28:19). God told Solomon it was to be "My house of sacrifice" (see 2 Chronicles 7:12).

In a scene very similar to what we saw with the inauguration of the daily sacrifices, the dedication of the Temple was marked by fire from heaven coming down upon the altar and the people prostrating themselves in adoration (see 2 Chronicles 7:1-4). On that day, the king and the people offered 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep.

From that moment forward, Israel's sacrificial life was centered around the Temple.

Like his father, Solomon offered priestly sacrifices in accordance with Moses' laws (see 2 Chronicles 7:4; 8:12). Indeed, Israel's monarch was compared to the priest-king Melchizedek (see Psalm 110).

The Temple, according to tradition, was built in "Salem" where Melchizedek was high priest and king (see Psalm 76:3). It was also said to be built on same mount, Moriah, where Abraham had offered his son and where God had sworn His oath to save all the nations (see 2 Chronicles 3:1; Genesis 22:2,18).

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