Q3. Why is animal sacrifice repulsive to modern people? How much of this has to do with a city vs. a farming way of life?
I think the responses to the question have gone a little more into "city folk" bashing than I appreciate. I am from "the city." However, I do work very hard to put food on my table, and am not pampered or spoiled. I just have a different job than some who work on the farm. I might be willing to trade...
The thing is, there is a great difference between animal sacrifice and killing animals for food. I think that most of us, city folk or not, can apprecite that slaughtering an animal for a meal is messy business; but it is for OUR personal satisfaction. It is to fill our mouth up with flavors that we enjoy and our bellies up with food. (Contrary to some beliefs, we don't have to eat meat. We can survive just fine on vegetables and grain. Meat is a special pleasure that God only allowed after the flood.)
However, the idea that that same, messy, sinky awfulness involved in slaughtering animals for food is REQUIRED for a sacrifice to CLEANSE a person from thier sin? How can it be? Cleansing should be clean, shouldn't it? We we think of clean we think of newly fallen snow and crisp white sheets that smell fresh; we don't think of dark red blood and the awful smell of death.
Farmers do have an advantage in this area over us city folk. They deal with animals as product on a daily basis. They see the goodness that comes out of the yuck (newborn animals, clean milk, fresh meat, etc.). We (city folk) see animals more as members of the family and pets. We give our dogs baths so they don't smell, and take them to the vets to have their babies and to be "put down" when necessary. Therefore it may be more difficult for us to imagine that cleansing can come from animal sacrifice.
In the end, we are all "pampered." Because of Jesus, none of us have to get our hands dirty to have our hearts cleansed. That just sends chills down my spine - oh how I love HIM!!