"God summons Moses and speaks to him at the tent of meeting. God tells him to instruct the Israelites about how to bring and prepare a burnt offering to the Lord to make atonement for sins."
10 ‘But if his offering is from the flock, of the sheep or of the goats, as a burnt offering, he shall offer a male without blemish. 11 He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. 12 He shall cut it into pieces, with its head and its fat, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. 13 But he shall wash the entrails and legs with water. The priest shall offer all of it, and offer it up in smoke on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.
14 ‘But if his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring turtledoves or young pigeons as his offering. 15 The priest shall bring it to the altar, and wring off its head, and offer it up in smoke on the altar; and its blood is to be drained out on the side of the altar. 16 He shall remove its [d]crop with its feathers and throw it next to the east side of the altar, in the place for ashes. 17 Then he shall tear it open by its wings, but shall not sever it. And the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.
Leviticus 1:2 In general, sons (children) of Israel or Israel or Israelites refers to all the people (males and females) of the various tribes descended from the twelve sons (Gen 35:23-26) of Jacob (later renamed Israel by God). In verses concerning things such as warfare or circumcision sons of Israel or Israel or Israelites usually refers only to the males. Tribes of ancient people were identified by the name of their founding ancestor. Therefore, this same general rule applies when referring to individual tribal groups, e.g. sons of Reuben, Reuben, Reubenites and so throughout.
Leviticus 1:4 By laying his hands on the head of the sacrifice the offerer identified himself with it and through its death it became an atonement or covering for his sin. Because the unblemished sacrifice “covered” his sin it placed the offerer in a right relationship with God, just as later under the new covenant the perfection and sacrifice of the Christ would cover the imperfection and sin of those who identified with Him and accepted Him as Savior.
Leviticus 1:16 An enlargement of the gullet that serves as a receptacle for food.
- WITHOUT BLEMISH. The epic journey of Moses and the Israelites with God in the wilderness continued in Leviticus. I wonder if the Book of Leviticus was named after the Levites/Tribe of Levi who were the priestly tribe. The Lord further instructed Moses and the children of Israel regarding the Tabernacle and what they needed to do for atonement of sins, and to obtain forgiveness and God's mercy. Without blemish, means without spot, wrinkles or even illness. This offering clearly represents or foreshadows Lord Jesus Christ, as the Perfect Lamb that is without blemish, fault, or any sin. He was the only One who can sacrifice and redeem us from all our sins.
After reading, I always check out the Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik (very helpful!):
a. When any one of you brings an offering: In the covenant God made with Israel at Mount Sinai, there were three major facets. The covenant included the law Israel had to obey, sacrifice to provide for breaking the law, and the choice of blessing or curse that would become the script for Israel's history.
i. The sacrificial system was an essential element of the Mosaic covenant, because it was impossible to live up to the requirements of the law. Sin was dealt with through sacrifice.
ii. This was not the beginning of God's sacrificial system. Adam knew of sacrifice (Genesis 3:21), as did Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:3-4), and Noah (Genesis 8:20-21).
iii. The idea of sacrifice to the gods was not unique to Israel. Other nations and cultures practiced sacrifice, often ultimately involving human sacrifice. The universality of sacrifice is evidence that the concept was know to man before the flood, and was carried to different cultures from the survivors of the flood in Noah's day.
b. Brings an offering to the LORD: Because sacrifice was already known to Israel, these instructions to the priests are not particularly new - they are mostly a clarification of a foundation that was already known to Israel through the traditions of their fathers.
i. God had a wise timing in bringing the law of the sacrifices at this time. Before the Tabernacle of Meeting was built, there was no one place of sacrifice, and the procedures for sacrifice couldn't really be codified. But now with the completion of the Tabernacle, Israel could bring their sacrifice to one place and follow the same procedures for each sacrifice.
ii. The fist seven chapters of Leviticus deal with personal, voluntary offerings. Chapters 1 through 5 are mostly instructions to the people who bring the offering, and chapters 6 and 7 are mostly instructions to the priests concerning offerings.
c. You shall bring an offering of the livestock - of the herd and of the flock: This means that an Israelite worshipper could not offer a "wild" animal. They could only bring domesticated livestock from their herds. This shows that an offering to God must cost something.
a. If his offering is a burnt sacrifice: The burnt offering, as its name implies, was completely burnt before the LORD. It was a total sacrifice. The burnt offering was a general offering of propitiation and consecration to God.
b. Let him offer a male: The animal offered had to be a male, because male animals were thought to be stronger and therefore more valuable.
c. Without blemish: The animal must not have any obvious defect. God would not accept a defective sacrifice. We have a tendency to always want to give God "second best" - if not our third or fourth best. Yet this principle shows that God would not receive sacrifice marked by defect.
iii. Jesus fulfilled this standard perfectly, being a sinless and pure sacrifice without blemish (John 8:29, 8:46, 14:30, and 15:10).
d. He shall offer it of his own free will: God did not want a coerced sacrifice. Each animal had to be freely offered. This illustrates the principle that God wants our hearts, freely given to Him.
a. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering: This was a clear picture of identification with the sacrificial victim. Through this symbol, the guilty one transferred his guilt to the sacrificial victim that would die for the sin of the offerer.
i. It was not enough that the victim merely died. The one receiving atonement had to actively identify himself with the sacrifice. In the same way, it is not enough to know that Jesus died for the sins of the world. The one who would receive His atonement must "reach out" and identify himself with Jesus.
b. He shall bring his offering of turtledoves or young pigeons: God would not accept any kind of bird, but He would accept turtledoves or young pigeons as sacrifices. The fact that God would accept a bull, a goat, a sheep, or a bird shows that God was more interested in the heart than in the actual animal being offered. If the sacrifice was made with the right heart, God accepted the poor man's bird as much as the rich man's bull.
i. At the same time, the sacrifice had to correspond with what one could afford. It was wrong for a rich man to only offer a bird as a burnt offering. Therefore, when God made His offering for sin, He gave the richest, most costly thing He could - Himself.
Reference and credits to https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Lev/Lev-1.cfm ©2013 David Guzik
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