Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 1:3-9

3 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord.

4 And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

5 And he shall kill the bullock before the Lord: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

6 And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces.

7 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire:

8 And the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:

9 But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.

The first sacrifice described in Leviticus is a burnt offering. We heard about this kind of offering in the second half of Exodus. The description given here largely follows the pattern of that earlier record, though it provides a few new details.

First, we now know that a bullock was also an acceptable animal for the burnt offering, previously we only knew of a ram. Secondly, we learned that the offering must be an unblemished male. The significance of being unblemished is clear, one was to offer to God from the very best of his flocks.

As for being male, obviously one healthy male is able to impregnate many healthy females. Many shepherds might even have a couple dozen females for each one male. The other males would be destined for slaughter or sold as beasts of burden. Thus, to offer a male is to offer your root of life, or your personal food, or your strength of labor. Excellent symbols for the burnt sacrifice, which stood for committing one’s life and efforts to God.

I have updated our table of sacrifices with this new information, marking the new portions in bold. I have realized that this table will probably get quite large, so I will only post the most relevant portion of it here in these daily posts, but the entire table can be viewed at any time over here.

SacrificeEligible animalsStepsExplanation
Burnt offeringRam, BullockGiving our life to God’s purposes
Male, without blemishGive our very best
Hands placed on head, slaughteredAnimal takes the place of us
Blood sprinkled around altarOur life is sprinkled over God’s work
Cut in pieces, and washedEach part of us measured and made clean
The whole thing burned on the altarOur lives consumed in service to God
Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Leviticus 1:1-2

1 And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.

There are quite a few offerings described in the Bible, and their symbolism and meaning can be cryptic in our modern culture. But we already saw three types of offerings at the end of Exodus and were able to find some insights on the symbolism there. If you need a refresher, here are links to each offering that was discussed:

Sin offering
Burnt offering
Consecration offering, part one
Consecration offering, part two
Daily offering

With so many offerings, it can be hard to keep separate in the mind all their different parts and purposes. Thus, as an aid to our study, I am introducing a table that we will fill out as we go, providing a clear record of each sacrifice, the rituals surrounding it, and the possible meanings that each of those might have. Hopefully this will allow us to see any repeating patterns, and to build up the grammar of sacrifice.

For now, I will populate the table with the sacrifices we already saw at the end of Exodus, then we will expand upon it with the information gained in tomorrow’s verses.

SacrificeEligible animalsStepsExplanation
Sin offeringBullockSacrifice of sin
Hands placed on head, slaughteredAnimal takes the place of us
Blood placed on horns of the altarA heartfelt plea to the Lord for mercy
Fat and kidneys burned on altarCleansing our behavior and desire
Skin, dung, and flesh burned beyond the campThe sinful behavior purged out of us
Burnt offeringRamGiving our life to God’s purposes
Hands placed on head, slaughteredAnimal takes the place of us
Blood sprinkled around altarOur life is sprinkled over God’s work
Cut in pieces, and washedEach part of us measured and made clean
The whole thing burned on the altarOur lives consumed in service to God
Consecration offeringRamGod and the priests sharing His portion
Hands placed on head, slaughteredAnimal takes the place of us
Blood placed on tip of ear, thumb, and toeReceiving the word, work, and path of God
Blood mixed with oil and sprinkled on personGod’s spirit given to us
Wave and Heave offeringsRam, bread, oilPart of the Consecration offering
Loaves of bread and fat, kidney, shoulder, rump, and kidneys of ram waved in the air, then burnedUs participating in the work with the Lord, and Him receiving His portion of it
Shoulder and breast of ram are also waved and heaved on the shoulders, then given to us to eatUs participating in the work with the Lord, and us receiving our portion of it
Daily offeringLamb, flour, wine, oilRegular, daily renewal of all prior covenants
All parts offered on the altar, presumably burnedGiving our time, energy, and effort for regular communion and recommitment to the Lord
Posted on by Abe Austin

Continuing With Leviticus

Just over six months ago I finished my study of Exodus. At the time, I said I was going to share some essays and small thoughts. I estimated this would go for a couple weeks, which was clearly a great underestimation! I think part of why I spent so much longer exploring other topics is the rapid and dramatic changes that have been happening world, prompting me to delve into the spiritual questions I saw attached to those changes.

Now, though, I do want to get back to my scripture study. As before, I intend to cover a small batch of verses at a time, going chapter-by-chapter through the entire book of Leviticus. I’m sure that I will periodically do one-off studies in between chapters as well, whenever a particular question or thought is weighing on me.

You can go back to read my full summary of Exodus, but I’ll take just a moment here to re-establish context.

Genesis was dedicated to laying the core patterns of the world, distilling eternal truths in legendary and dramatic manifestations. Exodus was the bridge from the supernatural world to the natural, bringing those core patterns to everyday existence.

Of course, Exodus still had its fair share of miracles and supernatural wonders, but it also made the way that people related to the Lord ritualistic and common. We followed an everyday people who passed through relatable phases of tragedy, rebellion, and repentance. The book concluded with them finally being ready to enter covenant with the Lord, and to receive Him in their midst via the tabernacle and regular, daily ritual. That tabernacle and all of its instruments were made at the end of the book, and the Lord accepted it all.

Now, in Leviticus, we will hear in greater detail all the laws and rituals of that tabernacle. We will hear all the different sacrifices to be made, and when they need to be done, and in what way. This book is therefore a narrower slice of the word of God, a sort of instruction manual for priests. We, of course, will look for the symbolism in every instruction and ritual, to see how it points to each of us in our daily lives.

I hope to see you tomorrow when we begin.