Leviticus 1
| 13for
until
the Law sin was in the world, but sin
is not imputed when
there is no law. Romans 5:13 |
Before the Law of Moses was given at Sinai, sin was not
imputed. Therefore, there were no "sin sacrifices." There were "gifts"
before the law. For example, Cain and Able offered gifts____
| 4By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. Hebrews 10:4 |
מִנְחָ֖ה
min·ḥāh
an offering ____Genesis
4:4__________
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a gift, tribute,
offering
Original Word: מִנְחָהTransliteration: minchah Phonetic Spelling: (min-khaw') Short Definition: offering
from an unused word Definition a gift, tribute, offering NASB Word Usage gift (5), gifts (2), meal offering (7), meal offerings (1), offering (152), offering* (1), offerings (14), present (12), sacrifice (3), tribute (14). gift, oblation, meat offering, present, sacrifice From an unused root meaning to apportion, i.e. Bestow; a
donation; euphemistically, tribute; specifically a sacrificial offering
(usually bloodless and voluntary) -- gift, oblation, (meat) offering,
present, sacrifice. |
Gift Sacrifices were usually
non-bloody. The Burnt Offering is technally not a gift___but a Sweet
Savor sacrifice and was here-before the law. (Genesis 22:
1-18). Therefore, the two most common forms of sacrifice
before the law were "gifts" and "sweet savor." The sin offering came
with the law. But, in our study of Levticus, the Burnt
Offering comes before the sin offering. The reason, where there is
perfect consecration there is no need for the sin offering.
The Burnt Offering/ or Holocaust Offering or the Offering of Consecration
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Original Word: עֹלָה Or mowlah {o-law'}; feminine active participle of a step or (collectively, stairs, as ascending); usually a holocaust (as going up in smoke) -- ascent, burnt offering (sacrifice), go up to.
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The Law of Burnt Offerings 1Then the LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, 2"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When any man of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd or the flock. 3'If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD. 4'He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf. 5'He shall slay the young bull before the LORD; and Aaron's sons the priests shall offer up the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 6'He shall then skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. 7'The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8'Then Aaron's sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head and the suet over the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. 9'Its entrails, however, and its legs he shall wash with water And the priest shall offer up in smoke all of it on the altar for a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD. 10'But if his offering is from the flock, of the sheep or of the goats, for a burnt offering, he shall offer it a male without defect. 11'He shall slay it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD, and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. 12'He shall then cut it into its pieces with its head and its suet, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. 13'The entrails, however, and the legs he shall wash with water. And 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 of a soothing aroma to the LORD. 14'But if his offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering from the turtledoves or from young pigeons. 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 also take away its crop with its feathers and cast it beside the altar eastward, to the place of the ashes. 17'Then he shall tear it by its wings, but shall not sever it And the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar on the wood which is on the fire; it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD.
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The Text: Genesis 22:1-18
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Genesis 22 The Offering of Isaac 1Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you." 3So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. 5Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you." 6Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." And he said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" 8Abraham said, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." So the two of them walked on together. 9Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 12He said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." 13Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. 14Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided." 15Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16and said, "By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18"In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."
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The
Burnt Offering, Leviticus 1:1-17 and Genesis 22:5ff
I want my life to be totally consumed in God's pleasure.
"Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about." Genesis 22:2
I. God asked Abraham to place Isaac on the altar and convert him into a sweet aroma that ascends to heaven knowing that all that would be left of Isaac were ashes, when finished.
A. What lesson was Abraham to learn from this?
1. God demands all
2. Even Abraham's work ( a three day trip).
B. "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then come back to you." Gen. 22:5b
1. It was an act of worship.
2. See Hebrews 11:19
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19He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. Hebrews 11:9__________________ |
C. Notice that God provided a substitute.
1. Isaac was a "Type"
2. Jesus becomes reality.
D. God wanted a living sacrifice and not a pile of ashes.
II. Most common of all Sacrifices
A. Notice the fire of Leviticus 6:9, 12, and 13.
1. Burnt offering fires were never to go out.
2. Worship is never to be sporadic or occasional.
1) The Hebrew word – Olah – Gr. Holocausto - means holocaust. Greek Below
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ὁλοκαύτωμα (holokautōma 3646) burnt-offering (from ὁλοκαυτόω (holokautoō) to burn the whole, spoken of sacrifices; and this, from ὅλος (holos 3650.[the whole], and καίω [kaiō 2545] to burn). A burnt-offering, the whole of which was burnt on the altar, and no part eaten by the priests. (In the lxx. the word answers to עלה, which is from עלה, to ascend, because it ascended in flame and smoke towards heaven, seeExo 10:25; 24:5, etc.) |
a.
Literally - that which ascends.
b. The whole animal is totally consumed for God, nothing is shared with others.
2) The flesh is not conceived as being destroyed or burned, but rather sent to God in a fuming or incense form. Parts of other sacrifices are consumed by the Priest and the worshiper and his family.
3)
The Hebrew words for - burn - Qatar and
saraph.
a. Qatar - used of the whole burnt offering.
Qatar fire ascends
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Original Word: קָטַר |
b. Saraph - used of the sin sacrifice outside the camp
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to burn Original
Word:
שָׂרַף |
4) Such fuming stands for the total consecration of the worshiper himself - obviously to God (Gen. 22:2ff).
a. Consecration to God is a prerequisite to all Israel's privileges and duties.
b. The burnt offering gave the spiritual Israelite the opportunity to say to God: as this animal is totally given to you and consumed for your pleasure, so I want myself to be totally consecrated to your honor and glory.
c. So that which happens physically to the animal is conceived as being the expression of the heart's desire of the worshiper.
Questions
1. Why is it called the burnt offering?
2. Give the two words for burnt and tell which one is used in the burnt offering.
3. Define the two Hebrew words for burnt.
4. When the whole burnt offering is offered, what happens to the sacrifice? What is the picture presented?
5. What does the sacrifice stand for in relation to the worshiper?
6. What is pictured as being the hearts desire of the worshiper?
7. What person do you know of in history who illustrated the whole burnt offering?
Things to Notice
The Altar with Horns__in Modern Day Israel
1. The altar in the tabernacle courtyard is most frequently called the altar of burnt offering - Lev. 4:7, 10, 25 etc.
2. This indicates the centrality of the burnt offering in the worship.
3. All other sacrifices were offered on this altar.
4. The Hebrew word for altar - Mizbeach - or to slay or slaughter.
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Original
Word:
מִזְבֵּ֫חַ |
5. The Burnt offering was the most important of the sacrifices, taking precedent over the sin and trespass offering.
6. The burnt offering was the most common sacrifice in Israel.
a. It could be offered voluntarily at any time by any man who was in fellowship with God.
b. God also demanded the continual burnt offering each morning and each evening (Exodus 29:38; Lev. 6:8-13).
c. It was the central act of worship during the feast days.
d. Even on the Day of Atonement when the Sin sacrifice is central, the burnt offering of the people and the priest is not ignored.
e. The burnt offering when offered at the same time with any sin offering or trespass offering is always presented last.
7. The burnt offering is the most God-ward and spiritual of all.
a. It recognizes God's right as our highest devotion.
b. It lays claim to the most undivided or our expressions of love and consecration.
8. Consecration is more important than atonement.
a. The sin, trespass and yon kippur sacrifices were of a lower and lessor position. They are for disobedience and not devotion.
b. Yet, they are not disparaged, they are Most Holy.
9. Burnt offerings are ancient -
a. Noah - Gen. 8:20
b. Abraham - Gen. 12:7-8, 13:4, Gen. 22:2 ff.
c. Peace and meal offerings were offered prior to the law's existence.
e. Sin, trespass. and atonement offerings are first enjoined in the law.
Question?
Why do you think that God prohibited a finely carved altar? See Exodus 20:25.
The Victim for the Sacrifice.
1. Sacrifices of the covenant.
a. Ox, sheep, goat, and pigeon.
b. These were all offered by Abraham in Gen. 15:9.
2. The Carnivora were excluded from all offerings. Must be Herbivora.
a. That which lives by the death of others could never be a type Christ.
b. Only clean beasts and fowl were allowed.
c. Israel could not offer as food for God that which they could not eat.
3. Further selection was made among the clean animals and birds.
a. Only domesticated animals allowed.
b. Nothing savage or untamed.
c. No animal taken of constraint to be used.
d. Must come free, unresisting, obedient, anti-type.
4. Normally, the animal was a male without blemish.
5. The Israelite learned that God claims the best we have.
The Ritual of the Burnt Offering
1. The Presentation or Pre-sent
A. The Animal belongs to YHWH
2. The Laying on of Hands
A. The laying on of hands is a confession of sins and asking God to accept a substitute. See Leviticus 24:14, Deut. 34:9, Numbers 8:10. In Leviticus 16, the goat is used in a symbolic transfer of the sins of the people. The word is "SAMAK" or to lean on.
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Original
Word:
סָמַך bear up, establish, uphold, lay, lean, lie hard, put, rest self, A
primitive
root; to prop (literally or figuratively); reflexively, to
lean upon or take hold of (in a favorable or unfavorable sense) -- bear
up, establish, (up-)hold, lay, lean, lie hard, put, rest self, set
self, stand fast, stay (self), sustain. Original Word: סָמַך bear up, establish, uphold, lay, lean, lie hard, put, rest self, A primitive root; to prop (literally or figuratively); reflexively, to lean upon or take hold of (in a favorable or unfavorable sense) -- bear up, establish, (up-)hold, lay, lean, lie hard, put, rest self, set self, stand fast, stay (self), sustain. |
B. In Hebrews 6:2, we are told that the "laying on of hands" was part of the "first principles."
C. So, this is a ceremony to symbolize the transfer or communication of some invisible act. In this case, it is clear that the transfer of guilt for sin is intended.
E. Verse 4 says: "And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement."
F. Hereby is seen the transfer of the obligation to die because of the sin or sins atoned for.
G. Now the sacrificial victim stands in place of the offender and is treated accordingly - as guilty.
H. Further illustration of this transfer is seen in the place of the first born of Israel.
a. Numbers 8:5-9 declares all the first born are mine says YHWH.
b. Instead of the first born of other tribes serving God as priests, the Levities are substituted.
I. In the ceremony of the Great Day of Atonement:
a. Lev. 16:21 - Aaron was to lay both hands on the head of Azazel - but not on the goat for YHWH.
b. Aaron confesses over the goat all the sins of Israel.
J. Through faith, we lay our hands on Christ, even today.
a. Atonement - in the root to cover from the Hebrew word Kaphar (see Gen. 6:14).
b. The thought suggests that between the sinner and the Holy One comes the guiltless victim or the innocent substitute.
3. The Slaying of the animal
A. The sinner slays his own substitute sacrifice. Thus, made to realize his responsibility in the death of the innocent.
B. By slaying the animal, the sinner agrees with God's judgment against his sin.
a. It is an admission that I am worthy of death.
b. He agrees that any creature with his sin must die.
c. The individual bringing the sacrifice is to slay the animal before the priest who makes the offering (Shahat).
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Original
Word:
שָׁחַט kill, offer, shoot out, slay, slaughter A primitive root; to slaughter (in sacrifice or massacre) -- kill, offer, shoot out, slay, slaughter.
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The throat of the animal must be cut. By slaying the victim, the worshiper can see the result of sin.
d. It is this direct contact with the death of the victim that is mentioned in Hebrews 10:1-5.
e. Every sinner today participates and even consents to the death of Christ.
f. He was the animal brought before the altar.
4. The Sprinkling of the Blood
A. Now it is time for the priest to work. He applies the blood as God demands.
1. The sinner has gone as far as he can.
2. The sinner must depend on the priest to act at this time:
a. According to how much prominence is given to expiation.
b. In the burnt offering and peace offering the idea of atonement is present but not the thrust behind the sacrifice.
3. For instance, in the sin offering the idea of blood and atonement is central, but secondary in the burnt offering.
B. Blood was sprinkled on the side of the altar of burnt offering.
1. This is the most inconspicuous use of blood in all the sacrifices.
2. Remember, the altar was the place where God promised to meet them and bless them (Exodus 20:24).
3. Sprinkling the blood was symbolic of directly presenting the blood to God.
4. The blood stood for life. Life then was required to atone for sin.
5. As in the Passover, God passes over where He sees the blood.
C. Remember the idea of personal responsibility. The worshiper himself kills the sacrifice.
5. Skinning and Dividing The Sacrifice Into Two Parts
Read Gen. 15:1-8, Jer. 34: 17-20; Ruth 1:17.
A. Lev. 7:8 - the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has offered (cf. II Chron. 29:34).
B. The Red Heifer was not skinned - the whole body with skin was consumed with fire - Num. 19:5.
C. The sacrifice is divided into two parts by the priest.
a. This is a covenant- making ritual
1. KARATH-BERITH (Hebrew means to cut a covenant. II Chron. 7:18; Hag. 2:5 the covenant is BERITH).
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Original
Word: כָּרַת A primitive root; to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication, to destroy or consume; specifically, to covenant (i.e. Make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces) -- be chewed, be con-(feder-)ate, covenant, cut (down, off), destroy, fail, feller, be freed, hew (down), make a league ((covenant)), X lose, perish, X utterly, X want.
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b. Gen. 15:9-10, 12-18 illustrates the cutting of a covenant concept.
c. See Jeremiah 34: 17-20, and Israel's covenant with YHWH.
d. The same idea is carried over in the book of Leviticus.
6. Stages Seven and Eight. The Inwards and Legs are washed and the Sacrificial Burning on the altar.
A. The Inwards and the legs are washed with water.
a. removes all that is unclean.
b. removes excess blood - blood cannot be burned on the altar. (The One exception is the Red Heifer, Num. 19:5).
B. The Sacrificial burning on the altar.
a. This is the central act of the sacrifice. "The priest shall burn as incense the whole on the altar for a burnt offering (Lev.1:9).
b. Anything laid on the altar was sanctified by God - Matt. 23: 16:22.
A review of the Steps
1) Presentation
2) Lays hand on head of animal
3) Slaying
4) Sprinkling blood
5) Skinning
6) Dividing the parts
7) Sacrificial burning
Provisions for the Poor Man
A. Two small doves or pigeons.
a. Two because they are too small to divide in half. One is placed on each side.
B. The heads are wrung by the priests.
C. Blood is drained on the side of the altar.
D. Feathers and inwards are removed and placed on the east side of the altar.
E. Wings are broken but not divided.
F. It then is fumed to God.
by Lane, Lesson Three
