Leviticus chapter 1

Burnt offerings. A bull. A sheep or goat. A turtledove or pigeon.

 


 

Note: Many people find it morally objectionable that a religion requires the killing of innocent animals.

 


 

BURNT OFFERINGS

 

VERSE 1. The LORD called to Moses, and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying,

The LORD. When rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, “LORD” or “GOD” is the translation of God’s Proper Name.

 

VERSE 2. “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When anyone of you offers an offering to the LORD, you shall offer your offering of the livestock, from the herd and from the flock.

When. This verse does not command people to make offerings to the LORD. Rather, it assumes that they will be doing so.

any one of you. Who is permitted to make an offering to the LORD? Anyone.

Nobody was forbidden. Neither gender nor popularity nor economic status could prohibit people from making an offering.

We Christians hold such a thing as an ideal. But we rarely live it out.

In practice, we exhibit great segregation. Women are kept from positions of power. Minorities are not welcome. Wealthy donate their way to positions of prominence.

Nonetheless, Paul admonishes us:

Galatians 3:28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Perhaps in some day in the distant future, we Christians will finally attain to what the Jewish people were already practicing, millennia ago.

from the herd and from the flock. This chapter describes three different sacrifices. In all three cases, an animal is to be killed.

  • Verse 5. A bull. You had to kill it yourself.
  • Verse 11. A sheep or goat. You had to kill it yourself.
  • Verse 15. A turtledove or pigeon. The priest killed it for you.

 

A BULL

 

VERSE 3. “ ‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without defect. He shall offer it at the door of the Tent of Meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD.

without defect. They could not offer wounded or sickly animals. Their sacrifice was costly.

offer it at the door of the Tent of Meeting. The individual was allowed to walk right up to the Tent of Meeting. It must have been a very exciting moment for them.

In our day, we too get to walk right up to the Holy of Holies. For us, that is Jesus Christ. There is nothing keeping us from him.

 

VERSE 4. He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

 

VERSE 5. He shall kill the bull before the LORD. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

He shall kill the bull. If you sacrificed a bull, you had to kill it yourself.

 

VERSE 6. He shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces.

 

VERSE 7. The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay wood in order on the fire;

 

VERSE 8. and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall lay the pieces, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire which is on the altar;

 

VERSE 9. but he shall wash its innards and its legs with water. The priest shall burn all of it on the altar, for a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to the LORD.

a pleasant aroma to the LORD. This sort of verbiage echoes throughout the Bible.

For example, in Philippians 4:18.

 

A SHEEP OR GOAT

 

VERSE 10. “ ‘If his offering is from the flock, from the sheep or from the goats, for a burnt offering, he shall offer a male without defect.

without defect. They could not offer wounded or sickly animals. Their sacrifice was costly.

 

VERSE 11. He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the LORD. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.

He shall kill it. If you sacrificed a sheep or goat, you had to kill it yourself.

 

VERSE 12. He shall cut it into its pieces, with its head and its fat. The priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is on the altar,

 

VERSE 13. but the innards and the legs he shall wash with water. The priest shall offer the whole, and burn it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to the LORD.

 

A TURTLEDOVE OR PIGEON

 

VERSE 14. “ ‘If his offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall offer his offering from turtledoves or of young pigeons.

In ancient times, after a woman gave birth, she was to bring an offering to the temple for her purification. Mary’s offering was that of a poor person. Read more »

 

VERSE 15. The priest shall bring it to the altar, and wring off its head, and burn it on the altar; and its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar;

and wring off its head. If you sacrificed a turtledove or pigeon, the priest killed it for you.

 

VERSE 16. and he shall take away its crop and its feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, in the place of the ashes.

 

VERSE 17. He shall tear it by its wings, but shall not divide it apart. The priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to the LORD.

 


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LEVITICUS

CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27

RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, The Scapegoat, Female Sacrificial Animals

Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.