Leviticus 1

Let’s review what Israel had been doing prior to the giving of the instructions found in the book of

Leviticus.

About ten weeks after their deliverance from Egypt, the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai (Ex. 19:1). There God declared His law and gave Moses the instructions for building the tabernacle. Moses erected the tabernacle on the first day of the first month of the second year of Israel’s liberation (40:17), so that what you read in Exodus 16—40 covers about nine months (see Num. 9:1–5).

The book of Numbers opens with a census being taken on the first day of the second month of the second year (Num. 1:1), which means that what’s recorded in Leviticus covers about one month. The tabernacle was ready for use, and now God gave the priests the instructions they needed for offering the various sacrifices.

Six basic offerings could be brought to the tabernacle altar. When worshippers wanted to express commitment to God, they brought the burnt offering, and possibly along with it the grain or meal (“meat,’’ ) offering and the drink offering (see Num. 15:1–10). These offerings speak of total dedication to the Lord. The fellowship (“peace,’’ ) offering has to do with communion with God, and the sin offering and the guilt (“trespass,’’ ) offerings deal with cleansing from God. Each of these offerings met a specific need in the life of the worshipper and also expressed some truth about the person and work of Jesus Christ, God’s perfect sacrifice.

The shedding of animal blood couldn’t change a person’s heart or take away sin (Heb. 10:1–4). However, God did state that the sins of the worshipper were forgiven (Lev. 4:20, 26, 31, 35; 5:10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7), and He did this on the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross (Heb. 10:5–14).

Like some people in churches today, Jewish worshippers could merely go through the motions at the altar, without putting their heart into it, but this meant that God had not truly forgiven them (Ps. 50:8–14; 61:16–17; Isa. 1:10–20; Mic. 6:6–8). God doesn’t want our sacrifices; He wants obedience from our hearts (1 Sam. 15:22).

The sacrifices described in Leviticus 1—7 remind us of the basic spiritual needs we have as God’s people: commitment to God, communion with God, and cleansing from God.

Commitment to God (1—2; 6:8–23) The burnt offering (1:1–17; 6:8–13) was the basic sacrifice that expressed devotion and dedication to the Lord. When we surrender ourselves to the Lord, we put “all on the altar’’ (1:9) and hold back nothing. The New Testament parallel is Romans 12:1–2, where God’s people are challenged to be living sacrifices, wholly yielded to the Lord.

The ritual of the offering was spelled out by the Lord and could not be varied. The sacrifice had to be a male animal from the herd (Lev. 1:3–10) or the flock (vv. 10–14), or it could be a bird (vv. 14–17); and the worshipper had to bring the sacrifice to the door of the tabernacle, where a fire was constantly burning on a brazen altar (6:13). The priest examined the sacrifice to make sure it was without blemish (22:20–24), for we must give our very best to the Lord (see Mal. 1:6–14). Jesus Christ was a sacrifice “without blemish and without spot’’ (1 Peter 1:19), who gave Himself in total dedication to God (John 10:17; Rom. 5:19; Heb. 10:10).

Except when birds were sacrificed, the offerer laid a hand on the sacrifice (Lev. 1:4), an action which symbolized two things: (1) the offerer’s identification with the sacrifice and (2) the transfer of something to the sacrifice. In the case of the burnt offering, the offerer was saying, “Just as this animal is wholly given to God on the altar, so I wholly give myself to the Lord.’’ With the sacrifices that involved the shedding of blood, the laying on of hands meant the worshipper was symbolically transferring sin and guilt to the animal who died in the place of the sinner. Even the burnt offering made atonement for the offerer (v. 4).

The offerer then killed the animal, and the priest caught the blood in a basin and sprinkled the blood on the sides of the altar (vv. 5, 11). The priest, not the offerer, killed the bird and its blood was drained out on the side of the altar, and its body burned in the fire on the altar (vv. 15–17). The dead body of the bull, lamb, or goat was dismembered, and the parts washed. Then all of it but the hide was laid in order on the wood and burned in the fire. The hide was given to the priest (7:8).

The significance of the offering is seen in the repetition of the phrases “before the Lord’’ and “unto the Lord,’’ which are found seven times in this first chapter of Leviticus (vv. 2–3, 5, 9, 13–14, 17). The transaction at the altar wasn’t between the offerer and his conscience, or the offerer and the nation, or even the offerer and the priest; it was between the offerer and the Lord. Had the worshipper taken the offering to one of the pagan temples, it might have pleased the heathen priest and his people, but it would not have brought the blessing of the Lord.

The phrase “sweet savour’’ is used three times in this chapter (vv. 9, 13, 17) and eight times in chapters 1–3, and it means “a fragrant aroma.’’ Since God is spirit, He doesn’t have a body, but physical terms are used in Scripture to depict God’s actions and responses. In this case, God is pictured as smelling a fragrant aroma and being pleased with it (Gen. 8:21; Lev. 26:31). When Jesus died on the cross, His sacrifice was a “sweet-smelling fragrance’’ to the Lord (Eph. 5:2), and our offerings to God should follow that example (Phil. 4:18).

The “law of the burnt offering’’ is found in Leviticus 6:9–13. God instructed the priests to keep the fire burning on the altar, to remove the ashes from the altar, and then to take them to a clean place outside the camp. It’s likely that God originally ignited this fire when the priests were dedicated and began their ministry (9:24). Because the ashes were holy, they couldn’t be disposed of at the camp’s refuse heap, but had to be taken to a place that was ceremonially clean. Even the crop of the bird was put with the ashes (1:16) and not treated like rubbish.

The meal offering (2:1–16; 6:14–23; 7:9–10) could be presented at the altar in one of five forms: fine flour, oven-baked cakes, cakes baked in a pan, cakes baked in a frying pan (on a griddle), or crushed roasted heads of new grain. These cakes would resemble our modern baked pie crust or pizza dough. The officiating priest put only a portion of the offering on the altar— the “memorial portion’’ for the Lord—where it was consumed in the fire, and the rest of the offering went to the priests for their own personal use. Only the males in the family could eat it, and they had to do it in the holy place of the tabernacle (6:16, 18), and with unleavened bread (v. 17). The only meal offering that was not eaten was the one presented each morning and evening by the high priest’s son, who would succeed him in office (vv. 19–23). Twice a day, God reminded His priests that they should maintain purity and integrity as they served Him.

Since grain represents the fruit of our labor, the meal offering was one way for the Jews to dedicate to God that which He had enabled them to produce. The frankincense that was burned with the memorial portion represents prayer (Ps. 141:2; Rev. 5:8), a reminder of the petition “Give us this day our daily bread’’ (Matt. 6:11). But the meal offering was not presented alone; it accompanied one of the sacrifices that involved the shedding of blood. Our hard work can never purchase salvation or earn the blessing of God, for apart from the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin (Heb. 9:22). But those who have been saved by faith in the shed blood of Christ may dedicate to the Lord what He has enabled them to produce.

This offering represents Jesus Christ as the Bread of Life (John 6:32ff.), the perfect One who nourishes our inner person as we worship Him and ponder His Word. This explains why God laid down such strict conditions for the offerer to meet before the meal offering would be accepted. The offering had to be accompanied with oil (Lev. 2:1–2, 4, 6, 15), either poured on it or mingled with it, a picture of the Holy Spirit of God, who was given to Christ without measure (John 3:34). It also had to include salt (Lev. 2:13; Matt. 5:13), which speaks of our Lord’s purity of character. Jesus compared Himself to a grain of wheat (John 12:23–25), and He was crushed (“fine flour’’) and put through the furnace of suffering that He might save us from our sins.

Leaven (yeast) and honey were prohibited from being included in the meal offering (Lev. 2:11). The Jews would associate leaven with evil because of the Passover rules (Ex. 12:19–20; see Luke 12:1; 1 Cor. 5:8), and certainly there was no sin in Jesus Christ. Honey is the sweetest thing nature produces, but our Lord’s perfect character was divine and not from this world. The fact that yeast and honey both ferment may also be a factor.

The drink offering (Num. 15:1–13) is mentioned in Leviticus 23:13, 18, and 37; but its “laws’’ are not explained there. Like the meal offering, the drink offering was presented after the animal sacrifices had been put on the altar and was a required part of the sacrifice (see Num. 29:6, 11, 18–19, and so on). “The fourth part of a hin of wine’’ (15:5) would be about a quart of liquid. Neither the offerer nor the priest drank the wine, because all of it was poured out on the altar. Note that the more expensive sacrifices required a larger amount of wine for the drink offering.

The burnt offering, the meal offering, and the drink offering all represent dedication to God and commitment to Him and His work. The pouring out of the wine was a symbol of life being poured out in dedication to God. On the cross, Jesus was “poured out like water’’ (Ps. 22:14) and “poured out His life unto death’’ (Isa. 53: niv). Paul saw himself poured out like a drink offering on behalf of the Philippians, joining in their sacrifice (Phil. 2:17), and in the Roman prison, he was already “being poured out like a drink offering’’ (2 Tim. 4: niv) as he anticipated his martyrdom.

Communion with God (3; 7:11–38) There are several distinctive features about the peace offering or fellowship offering that should be noted. For one thing, the offerer could bring a female animal, something not permitted for the other animal sacrifices. If the offering was not in fulfillment of a vow, the sacrifice could have some defects and still be accepted (Lev. 22:23). After all, it was basically going to be used as food for the priests and the offerer’s family, and those defects wouldn’t matter.

That leads to our third distinctive feature: the fellowship offering is the only offering that was shared with the worshippers. After the priest had completed the sacrifice, a large portion of the meat went to him; the rest went to the offerer, who could then enjoy a feast with his family and friends. Since the Jews didn’t often slaughter their precious animals for meat, a dinner of beef or lamb would be a special occasion. At the dedication of the temple, Solomon sacrificed 142,000 peace offerings and the people feasted for two weeks (1 Kings 8:62–66).

In the East, to eat with people is to make them your friends and allies. It means the end of hostilities, as with Jacob and his father-in-law Laban (Gen. 31:54), or the sealing of friendship, as with Israel and Jethro and his people (Ex. 18:12). In the church today, the Lord’s Supper, or Eucharist, is a simple meal that shows the unity of God’s family (1 Cor. 10:16–18; 11:18–34). That’s why it’s called “the Communion.’’

The peace offering meal, however, meant more than the enjoyment of good food and fellowship with loved ones. It was also an expression of joyful thanksgiving that the worshipper was at peace with God and in communion with God. He might be giving thanks for some unexpected blessing God sent him (Lev. 7:11–15); or perhaps he had made a vow to God, and God had answered his prayers; or maybe he was just thankful to God for everything God did for him and wanted to let everybody know (vv. 16–18). The fellowship offering emphasized the fact that the forgiveness of sins resulted in communion with God and with God’s people.

Leviticus 7:11–38 lays down the conditions for the feast, what the people ate, what the priests ate, and what must be done with the leftovers. The blood and the fat were given to God and were never to be used as common food. (There are also good hygienic reasons for this rule.) Anybody who was defiled was forbidden to come to the feast and was “cut off’’ from their people (vv. 20–21, 25, 27; see 17:4, 9–10, 14; 18:29; 19:8; 20:3, 5–6, 17–18; 23:29). In the case of a Sabbathbreaker, being “cut off’’ meant death (Ex. 31:12–14; Num. 15:32–36), but we’re not sure every violation of the laws of the offerings was a capital crime. In some cases, “cut off from his people’’ could mean being sent “outside the camp’’ until the person followed God’s instructions for cleansing (Lev. 15).

On the cross, Jesus Christ purchased reconciliation with God (2 Cor. 5:16–21) and peace with God (Col. 1:20) for all who will trust Him, and we can have fellowship with God and other believers because of His shed blood (1 John 1:5–2:2). We “feast’’ on Christ when we feed on His Word and appropriate for ourselves all that He is to us and has done for us. Instead of bringing animals, we offer God “the sacrifice of thanksgiving’’ (Ps. 116:17) and “the sacrifice of praise’’ (Heb. 13:15), from pure hearts that are grateful for His mercies.

Cleansing from God (4—5; 6:1–7, 24—30; 7:1–10) The sin offering and the guilt (or trespass) offering were very much alike and were even governed by the same law (7:1–10). Generally speaking, the guilt offering was for individual sins that affected people and property and for which restitution could be made, while the sin offering focused on some violation of the law that was done without deliberate intent. The trespass offering emphasized the damage done to others by the offender, while the sin offering emphasized the offender’s guilt before God. The priest would examine the offender and determine which sacrifice was needed.

The repeated phrase “through ignorance’’ (4:2, 13, 22, 27; 5:15) means, not that the sinners were ignorant of the law, but that they were ignorant of having violated the law. They had become defiled or disobedient and didn’t realize it. However, ignorance doesn’t cancel guilt. “Though he wist it not, yet is he guilty’’ (v. 17; see vv. 1–5 for examples of the sins involved). Once their sin was known, it had to be confessed and dealt with. David used this same word when he prayed, “Cleanse thou me from secret faults’’ (Ps. 19:12), that is, “sins I don’t know about in my own life.’’

No sacrifice was provided for people who committed “high-handed’’ deliberate sins in the full light of the law of God (Num. 15:30–36). When David took Bathsheba and then had her husband murdered (2 Sam. 11—12), he sinned deliberately with his eyes wide open. Therefore, he knew that his only hope was the mercy of God (Ps. 51:1, 11, 16–17). Being king, he could have brought thousands of sacrifices, but they would not have been “sacrifices of righteousness’’ (v. 19).

The sin offering (4:1—5:13; 6:24–30) had to be brought to the Lord no matter who the sinner was, and the higher the sinner’s position in the nation, the more expensive the sacrifice. The greater the privilege, the greater the responsibility and the consequences. If the high priest sinned, he had to bring a young bullock (Lev. 4:1–12). If the whole congregation sinned, they also had to bring a bullock (vv. 13–22). A ruler brought a male kid of the goats (vv. 22–26), while one of the “common people’’ (“a member of the community,’’ ) brought a female kid of the goats or a female lamb (vv. 27–35). A poor person could bring a dove or a pigeon, and a very poor person could bring a nonbloody sacrifice of fine flour (5:7–13).

Whatever animal was brought, the offender had to identify with the sacrifice by laying hands on it. When the whole nation sinned, it was the elders who did this (4:15), for as leaders, they were responsible before God to oversee the spiritual life of the people. The animal was slain, and the blood presented to God. In the case of the high priest and the nation, some of the blood was sprinkled before the veil and applied to the horns of the altar of incense in the holy place, and the rest was poured out at the base of the altar. This reminded the nation that the sins of leaders had far greater consequences. The blood of the sacrifices brought by the leaders or the common people was applied to the horns of the brazen altar at the door of the tabernacle.

Note that while the fat of the sacrifice was burned on the altar, the body of the sacrifice was burned in a clean place outside the camp (vv. 8–12, 21). Why? For one thing, it made a distinction between the sin offering and the burnt offering so that the worshippers wouldn’t be confused as they watched. But even more, it reminded the people that the sins of the high priest and the whole congregation would pollute the whole camp; and the sin offering was too holy to remain in an unholy camp. Finally, according to Hebrews 13:10–13, this was a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ who died “outside the city gate … outside the camp’’ as our sin offering (vv. 12–13 niv).

The result of this ritual was forgiveness (Lev. 4:20, 26, 31, 35; see 5:10, 13; 6:7). As I mentioned before, even though the sacrifice of animals can’t take away sin or change the human heart, the sacrifices pointed to the perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ (Heb. 10:1–15). He is our sin offering (Isa. 53:4–6, 12; Matt. 26:28; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24).

The trespass offering (5:14—6:17; 7:1–10) was needed for two kinds of sins: sins against “the holy things of the Lord’’ (5:15) and against one’s neighbor (6:1–7). The first category included offenses that involved sacrifices to God, vows, celebration of the special days, and so on, while examples of the second category are given in verses 2–3.

The ritual involved the sinner confessing the sin (Num. 5:7), restoring the property involved or its equivalent in money, paying a fine equivalent to 20 percent of the value of the damaged property, and sacrificing a ram to the Lord (Lev. 5:15, 18). The priest valued the ram to make sure of its worth, lest the offender try to atone for his or her sins by giving the Lord something cheap. The restitution and fine were first given to the priest so he would know it was permissible to offer the sacrifice (6:10). If the offended party wasn’t available to receive the property or money, then it could be paid to one of the relatives; if no relative was available, it remained with the priest (Num. 5:5–10).

The trespass offering illustrates the solemn fact that it is a very costly thing for people to commit sin and for God to cleanse sin. Our sins hurt God and hurt others. True repentance will always bring with it a desire for restitution. We will want to make things right with God and with those whom we’ve sinned against. Forgiveness comes only because of the death of an innocent substitute. The passage in Isaiah 53: states clearly that when Jesus died on the cross, God made His Son “a guilt offering’’ (niv). The penalty we should have paid, He paid for us!

We haven’t been able to probe into the details of these offerings, but what we have studied should make us realize the awfulness of sin, the seriousness of confession and restitution, the graciousness of God in forgiving those who trust Jesus Christ, and the marvelous love of our Savior in His willingness to die for undeserving people like us.

Jesus provides all that we need. He is our burnt offering, and we must yield ourselves wholly to Him. He is our meal offering, the seed crushed and put through the fire, that we might have the bread of life, and we must feed upon Him. He is our drink offering who poured Himself out in sacrifice and service, and we must pour ourselves out for Him and for others. He is our fellowship offering, making life a joyful feast instead of a painful famine. He is our sin offering and our guilt offering, for He bore our sins on His body (1 Peter 2:24) and paid the full price for our sins (1:18–19).

The nation of Israel had to offer six different sacrifices in order to have a right relationship with God, but Jesus Christ “offered one sacrifice for sins forever’’ (Heb. 10:12) and took care of our sin problem completely.

Do you believe that Jesus Christ died for all your sins and paid your full debt? Can you say with Mary, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior’’ (Luke 1:46–47 nkjv)? If not, then trust Him today; if you have trusted Him, share the good news with others.

“Your faith has saved you,’’ Jesus said to a repentant sinner. “Go in peace’’ (Luke 7: nkjv).

What wonderful words to hear!