Leviticus 1-3

"Christ, Our Sacrifice"

Leviticus is about the sacrifices of Israel and it is about the holiness of Israel.

After setting forth the laws regarding the various sacrifices in chapters 1-7,

Leviticus covers the institution of the priesthood (8-10),

and then spends chapters 11-16 on the concept of uncleanness,

and chapters 17-27 on the practice of holiness.

While the book meanders a bit, and doesn't follow a neat structure,

the basic point comes across very clearly:

Without the sacrifices, holiness is impossible.

The corporate and individual sacrifices of Israel

form the foundation for their corporate and individual practice of holiness.

Tonight we are looking at the first three sacrifices:

the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the fellowship offering.

It is interesting to note that the meaning of these sacrifices are not defined.

The sin and trespass offerings in chapters 4-5 receive much clearer definition,

probably because the sin and trespass offerings

have no counterparts in the ancient world,

while the burnt, grain and fellowship offerings can be found in many ancient cultures.

The Israelites understood full well what a burnt offering was

-or what a fellowship offering meant.

There was no need for Moses to spell it out explicitly.

1:1-Yahweh spoke to Moses from the Tent of Meeting

The Pentateuch is a single volume divided into five books.

This follows immediately after Exodus 40,

where Moses finished the construction of the tabernacle.

For the first time, God is speaking to Moses from the tabernacle.

And the first thing God says is how to offer sacrifices.

This is not surprising.

The first thing God told Moses about in Exodus 20,

after giving the 10 Commandments,

was the law about how to construct altars.

The next five chapters give instructions to the Israelites regarding their obligations to bring sacrifices.

The general point in Leviticus 1:2 is that you must bring a sacrifice from your own flock or herd

-in other words, your offerings must make yourself poorer.

An offering must be a sacrifice

a wild animal is not acceptable

(Later God will allow for the poor to bring a dove or pigeon-versus 14-17)

But the point of the sacrifice is not merely providing food for God,

but to deal with sin and establish communion with God

There is an economic aspect of dealing with sin.

Holiness may require economic sacrifice.

You may not be able to maintain the standard of living you desire.

If you belong to God, then all that you have belongs to him as well.

Where are your priorities?

Look at what you spend your money on.

Look at what you spend your time doing.

Yahweh insisted that the sacrifice must come from their own flock or herd.

What does this show us?

God is beginning to teach Israel that the sacrifice cannot come from outside the camp.

It must be from within Israel that the sacrifice comes.

And the sacrifice must be brought to the priests (verse 5)

Other nations had priests-but Israel's priests were distinct;

they were not to be sorcerers or diviners.

They were solely charged with mediating between God and his people

through the sacrifice and law.

In Genesis the family head functioned as a priest (Gen 12:7-8; 13:18; etc.)

and in Exodus 24, Israel's young men served in that fashion (Ex. 24:5)

but now God has set apart the house of Aaron for priestly service (Ex. 28).

There is a gradual narrowing of the priesthood,

from the family head in Abraham to a specific tribe (Levites),

from a specific family (Aaron), to a single individual (Jesus).

And then, in Jesus, all who believe in him became a royal priesthood.

But Israel had to learn about the specific calling and function of the priest.

The priest's main task was to supervise the sacrificial system of Israel.

And the three basic offerings of Israel were

the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the peace offering.

1:3-9 Burnt Offerings from the Herd

1:3 The burnt offering was the foundation of the whole sacrificial system.

Notice that the whole animal is burnt.

Some have suggested that this is a symbol of the

"total subjection to the Lord of the person who brings it."

But that seems to miss the language of "food offering" in verse 9.

The entire animal is burnt which is a symbolic consumption of the food by God.

The scriptures NEVER suggest that God is hungry and needs to be fed.

Rather, the point is that God is the one who acts in the burnt offering.

God sent fire from heaven to consume the burnt offerings on several occasions:

The first time was in Leviticus 9:24,

when Aaron and his sons offered their first burnt offerings as priests.

This was repeated for David in 1 Chronicles 21:26

for Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:1

and for Elijah in 1 Kings 18:38

The ordinary burnt offering was designed to be a symbolic representation

of what God had done for Aaron, and what he would do in Jesus Christ.

God himself is the one who deals with sin.

This is why the Israelite must bring a male without blemish for the burnt offering.

God was demonstrating that the perfect sacrifice must be an unblemished male.

God is looking for a holy son who will be blameless and pure.

(cf. Heb 9:14 and 1 Peter 1:19)

1:4 The worshiper must "lay his hand on the head" of the burnt offering,

(This is more than just a touch, implies a leaning, or entrusting)

cf. Numb 8:10, 12; 27:18, 23; Dt 34:9

This is a transfer of spiritual qualities.

The sin of the worshiper is transferred to the animal.

Sin has contaminated the person, and must be cleansed, or washed.

The word "atonement" is generally related to the cleansing language.

It is often suggested that it is related to the word "to cover,"

and this is etymologically correct,

but when you look at how Leviticus uses the language of atonement

(especially in chapter 16, which deals with the Day of Atonement),

the point is that the Israelites must be cleansed from their sins.

God covers your sins, not simply by hiding them, or covering them up,

but by forgiving them-by cleansing them through the blood of the sacrifice.

1:5-7 The slaughter of the animal was not a priestly job, but that of the worshiper

until late in the period of the Kings. (Cf. 1 Samuel 2:13-15);

and especially 2 Chronicles 29:34,

where the priests skinned the animals under Hezekiah;

2 Chron 35:6-19 says that all Passover lambs

were slaughtered by the priests in the days of Josiah;

Also Ez. 44:11 has the priests slaughtering the burnt offerings

and sacrifices for the people

This change occurred as the temple courtyard became known as the court of the priests,

which was considered part of the Holy Place.

It is worth pointing out that something as significant in Old Testament worship

as who actually kills the animal changed over time.

We do not have a record of God commanding this change,

but God certainly approved of it, as the prophet Ezekiel declares in 44:11.

This suggests that the church does indeed have some discretion

in the circumstances of worship and government

(as our Confession says: there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.-Confession 1.6)

Aaron's sons would then arrange the pieces of the burnt offering on the altar.

The fire hearth was 25 square cubits (probably around 400 square feet-Ex 38:1),

so there was lots of room for sacrifices

The arrangement of the pieces on the altar is reminiscent of a meal,

which then God would consume by fire.

Not because God is hungry, but because God alone can deal with sin.

He must consume the burnt offering,

and its smoke is considered a "pleasing aroma to Yahweh."

When God smells the sacrifice,

he is pleased that Israel has drawn near to him,

and trusted him for their salvation.

1:10-13 Burnt Offerings from the Flock

These verses set forth the same provisions in the case of bringing a male sheep or goat.

1:14-17 Burnt Offerings of Birds

Doves and pigeons were the domesticated birds of the day.

A poor Israelite might have no herd or flock, but he could at least afford a bird.

Notice that in all these burnt offerings, the entire animal must be burned.

This reflects the divine monergism of salvation.

God alone can save.

God alone can deal with sin.

Further, notice what happens to the blood: it is poured out on the side of the altar.

As God had said in Genesis 9:4,

the life is in the blood.

Israel must learn that it is only through blood sacrifice that atonement can be made.

But blood is not required for all offerings.

2:1-16 The Grain Offering

2:1-3 refers to a grain offering of flour mixed with oil and incense.

Grain offerings accompanied burnt offerings in the daily sacrifices (Numb 28:3-8)

and at the feast days (Lev. 23:12-13), ordinations, thanksgivings, etc.

We often focus so much on the bloody sacrifices that we forget about the grain offering.

What was the point of the grain offering?

Unlike the burnt offering, the grain offering has two participants:

part was burnt and part was eaten by Aaron and his sons.

It is referred to as "a most holy part of the LORD's food offerings." (verse 3)

There is a movement in the sacrifices,

from God alone partaking in the burnt offering,

to God and the priests in the grain offering,

to God and the worshiper in the peace offering.

You could put it crassly and say that this offering was designed to keep the priests fed.

Or you could say it more accurately and say that this offering

was designed to remind the Israelites of their need

for a mediator who could bring peace with God.

Verses 4-13 explain that cooked grain was also acceptable,

so long as it remained without yeast, because fermentation suggested decay.

Honey was also forbidden, because it might cause fermentation.

But all grain offerings must be seasoned with salt

Indeed, verse 13 gives a very strong warning (read)

The "salt of the covenant" refers to the fellowship between the people and the priests.

In Numbers 18:19 the priests are told that they have no inheritance in the land,

but that the sacrifices will be their food.

This is said to be a "covenant of salt."

Salt was an important part of table fellowship.

To eat salt together was a sign of friendship,

and so a "covenant of salt" speaks of a covenant between Israel and their priests

that the priests would mediate the blessings of redemption,

even as the people would provide food for the priests.

Verses 14-16 then explain how to bring a grain offering as a part of the firstfruits;

Since God is the owner of the land, this was a sort of rent.

Even as a tenant would bring the landowner the firstfruits of the harvest,

so Israel must bring the firstfruits of the harvest to God,

sharing in the goodness of the harvest with the priests and Levites.

Thirdly, then, we turn to the Peace Offering

3:1-17 The Fellowship Offering

Yahweh here is portrayed as a host who gives his people a portion of the animal.

The people may partake of the fellowship, or peace, offering, because sin has been dealt with.

3:1 Vulgate and LXX uses "peace offering"

or (for LXX outside of Samuel-Kings) "salvation offering"

But it is best described as a fellowship offering, a continual renewal of the covenant

In contrast to the burnt offering, either a male or a female animal could be used.

The death of the animal and the sprinkling of the blood is here not a matter of dealing with sin,

but of fellowship-communion through the lifeblood of the animal.

The peace offering reflects the closeness of the bond (covenant) between God and his people.

There are strong connections with the ritual for the burnt offering (with which it was always connected),

which demonstrates that fellowship always follows atonement.

In verses 12-16a there is an additional reference to the goat,

which may refer to the female goat (the word can mean female goat or both).

Finally, in 3:16b-17 we are told that all the fat belongs to Yahweh.

Israel was forbidden to eat fat or blood.

We've looked briefly at the blood,

but why the fat?

This is not a reference to the fat that comes with the meat,

but to the internal fat-the fat connected to the entrails, kidney, liver, etc.

These were considered delicacies,

but they were to be devoted to God.

He received the best portion.

So we end where we began.

The sacrifice is costly.

You cannot worship God without paying a price for it.

But you cannot have your sins forgiven, or have peace with God, without the sacrifice.

Jesus Christ is our burnt offering,

our grain offering,

and our peace offering.

He is the one who endured the fire of God's wrath,

bearing our sins in his body on the cross.

He is the bread of life,

the true bread from heaven that provided spiritual nourishment for his priests.

And he is the covenant meal,

unless we eat of his flesh and drink of his blood,

we have no life in us.

Let us pray.