Leviticus
Wayne Mac Leod
A Devotional Look at God's Standard of Behaviour for the Old Testament Believer

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book excerpt

1 THE BURNT OFFERING Read Leviticus 1:1-17 Leviticus begins with an examination of the various sacrifices a Jewish believer could offer to the Lord. As we begin our study, God is speaking to Moses in the Tent of Meeting. As they spoke together that day God gave instructions to Moses about the various types of sacrifices the Jews were to make (verse 2). The requirements for these sacrifices and offerings came directly from God. The words and regulations contained in this book are not of human origin but from God Himself. While Moses spoke these words and wrote them down for the people, the true author of this book is God. These were His requirements for His people. In chapters 1-7 of the book of Leviticus we learn that there were five different types of offerings a Jewish believer could make to the Lord God; the burnt offering (Leviticus 1), the grain or cereal offering (Leviticus 2), the fellowship or peace offering (Leviticus 3), the sin offering (Leviticus 4:1-5:13) and the guilt offering (Leviticus 5:14-6:7). In this chapter we will examine what God told Moses about the burnt offering. Any animal offered as a burnt offering was to be a male without defect from the herd (verse 3). There are three important points we need to make here. First, the animal was to be from their herd. This means that it was going to cost something for the person who was offering the sacrifice. They could not offer a wild animal they had trapped. The only animal acceptable to God was one they had cared for themselves. David understood this when he was offered free oxen for a burnt offering in 2 Samuel 24:22-24. Listen to his words to Araunah in this passage: (22) Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever pleases him and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. (23) O king, Araunah gives all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the LORD your God accept you.” (24) But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. God expects that our offerings cost us something. Remember that He offered His Son to us at great cost. Although salvation is a free gift given to us by God, living in a relationship with Him can be costly. God expects that we be willing to take up our cross to follow Him. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24 (NIV) Sacrificial living is not an option. It was a requirement for every man and women in Israel. God taught Moses that the burnt offerings brought to the altars of Israel were to come as true sacrifices from His people. He expects that we have the same heart today. The second requirement for the burnt offering was that it be without defect. The Lord expected that His people bring the best they had to Him. They were bringing their gift to the Lord God. To offer a sick or injured animal they themselves could not use would be an insult the Lord God. He deserved the best they had. He still does. The third requirement of verse 3 is that the animal be a male without defect. We need to remember here that these sacrifices were symbolic of what was to come. Consider the phrase “male without defect.” The Lord Jesus came to this earth as a man. He lived a perfect life and died as a sacrificial lamb for our sin. The animal that was brought to the altar looked forward to the time when a perfect man would come to offer His life as a sacrifice for our sins. Notice also in verses 3-4 that the offering was to be brought to the Tabernacle. The person bringing the offering was to place his hands on the animal’s head so that it would be “accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.” By putting his hands on the animal’s head, the worshipper was identifying with the sacrifice that was to be made. He symbolically passed his guilt to the animal that was killed on his behalf. This is in reality a very powerful picture of what the Lord Jesus did for us. He took our sins on Himself and laid down His life as a sacrifice so that we could be forgiven and restored to a right relationship with the Father. If the animal being offered was a young bull, it was to be slaughtered and Aaron’s sons would catch the blood and sprinkle it against the sides of the altar (verse 5). The dead bull would then be skinned and cut into pieces (verse 6). Aaron and his sons would prepare a fire on the altar and arrange the various pieces that had been cut on the altar. In this particular form of offering everything was to be burnt, even the head and the fat (verse 8). The inner parts and the legs were to be washed with water possibly to remove any dung or uncleanness before being burnt. If all these requirements were observed the smell of this offering would rise to God as a pleasing aroma (verse 9). In other words, He would accept their offering. Notice that the aroma of this sacrifice was a “pleasing aroma” to the Lord. This tells us that the Lord delights in our sacrifices. Though we owe everything to God, He is not blind to the sacrifices we make for Him. In fact, our service and offerings rejoice His heart. This is in reality quite amazing to me...