Deuteronomy 21:23 His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

Yesterday I ended with scriptures that said the sacrifice of firstfruits would not be a burn offering. Here is a verse that is vital for understanding the necessity that Christ must be sacrificed on a tree. Because Jesus was sinless, the perfect lamb, without spot, something had to justify a curse to fall upon Him. This verse in Deuteronomy is the Word of God, a judgment that is placed on a situation and not the man’s life.

Men might find this unfair, but what God speaks cannot be undone. This verse is God’s justification of action which allows all our sins to be placed on Jesus during His crucifixion. The cross of Christ is our atoning sacrifice for sin and partaking of this sacrifice guarantees eternal life.

Genesis 3:22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

May this be sufficient to provide a linkage between Genesis 3:22, Deuteronomy 21:23 and Matthew 27:46.

Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

That is the moment our sins were placed upon Him, our atoning sacrifice.

Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

This blood sacrifice makes atonement for the soul, and is God’s sense of justice, His satisfaction. The literal translation of atonement is to cover, to conceal sin so as that it cannot be seen. It is an important distinction that the viewpoint is from above, to satisfy God.

The high priest sprinkled the blood by the horns of the mercy seat once a year. Only the high priest could do this. Jesus Christ is our high priest, only He can atone for our sins. There is much to be learned about this blood sacrifice but for this devotional I would like to focus on the issue of once.

Our God is eternal, time is meaningless to Him. We are not eternal. We are born, we die and each year we see a generation of sinners that are not covered because the atoning blood sacrifice is dead. We are in time and often forget our eternal God sees things from a different perspective. We focus on year and He focuses of once. One is the first number and we find over and over again within scriptures the issue of first.

Abel’s respected sacrifice was the firstlings in Genesis 4:4. Cain the firstborn of Eve was the first to commit murder. The mountain tops appeared in the receding waters of Noah’s flood on the first day of the month. Israel is the firstborn of the Lord, Exodus 4:22. All the firstborn that were not covered by the blood of the lamb died in the first Passover, Exodus 11:5.

Leviticus 2:12 As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the Lord: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour.

Jesus Christ God’s only begotten (firstborn) was not sacrificed as a burnt offering.