“The Burnt Offering”
[Leviticus 1:1-17]
February 17, 2010 Second Reformed Church
Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of Lent – a forty day period (not including Sundays) in which we reflect upon our sin and the desperateness of our condition apart from Jesus. It is a time when we put off bad habits and take on good practices.
During this season, if the Lord is willing, we plan to look at the first eight chapters of the book of Leviticus – looking to see what they tell us about humanity and about the Work of Jesus and Who He is. The opening chapters of Leviticus explain the types of offerings that God gave to the nation of Israel when they were at the foot of Mount Sinai. These are offerings which are part of the Ceremonial Law and are no longer for us to practice because they were fulfilled in Jesus.
The book of Leviticus opens with the laws for the Burnt Offering. Let us notice five “movements” in the sacrifice:
First, the Burnt Offering must be brought by one of the people, not the priest – “when any one of you brings an offering to the Lord.” The priest did not provide the offering, the person who wanted to make the offering voluntarily brought it to the Tabernacle – and then the Temple. There is an acknowledgment that the relationship between God and humans has been broken, and it is not the place of the priest to make it right. In fact, as a mere human being, the priest could not atone – reconcile – anyone to God.
Let us notice the mercy of God: God required that an animal be brought for the burnt offering, but God allowed for the fact that there are people who could not afford a bull. So, there are instructions for the sacrifice of a bull, for those who could afford a bull, for a goat, or, for the very poor, a turtledove or a pigeon. It was more important that the sacrifice be made, than that it be a bull. So God allowed for the substitution of a few different animals based on one’s income. In that, we see God’s Mercy.
The two non-negotiables about the animals were that the animal be a male and that the animal be without blemish – that it have not physical defect or injury. The people in the days of Malachi tried to get away with offering God the injured, sick, and deformed animals, and God was outraged: “But you say, ‘What weariness is this,’ and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and you bring this as your offering Shall I accept this from your hand? Says the Lord. Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am the great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations” (Malachi 1:13-14, ESV).
Second, when the animal was brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting the person bringing the sacrifice would lay his or her hands on the head of the animal. This was more than just touching of the head of the animal – the words suggest a leaning heavily upon the head – symbolically transferring the person’s sin – designating the animal as the victim through which the person would receive atonement – reconciliation – with God.
Third, we see that it was not the priest, but the person bringing the sacrifice who killed the bull or the goat by slitting its throat. (The priest wrung the heads off the birds, but it is not clear why that was.) This was the final act of responsibility by the person bringing the sacrifice – the person must come freely, the sacrifice must be male and without blemish, and blood must be shed by the person seeking atonement – to be reconciled with God. It was at this point – through the shedding of the blood that atonement – reconciliation – was made. It was neither the person bringing the sacrifice, nor the priest who caused atonement to occur. Atonement was made through the blood.
In the fourth movement, the priest took over. The priest collected the blood that drained from the animal and then threw the blood on the altar, offering it to God – opening the way of approach to God through the blood. Then the priest removed the skin from the animal and completely dismembered it. Then he cleaned the intestines and legs – so even the natural filth was removed from the offering. And then the whole animal was reassembled and arranged on the altar.
In the final movement, the entire animal was burned on the holy altar at the door of the tent of meeting. Unlike the other offerings we will look at, the whole animal was burned and the whole animal was burned on the holy altar there in there doorway to the house of God. In this we see the symbolic acceptance of the offering to God. We read it is “a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.” Now, of course God doesn’t eat; God is a Spirit. This expression symbolizes God’s acceptance of the victim of the sacrifice for the reconciliation of the person who brought the sacrifice to God.
The Burnt Offering showed that complete consecration is necessary to become right with God. In order to receive atonement, perfect obedience was necessary. Through the sinless, perfect animal being sacrificed and completely devoted to and consumed by fire, the person bringing the animal could be made right with God – for the moment.
Can we see how this offering has been fulfilled in Jesus in a perfect and everlasting way?
Jesus’ Sacrifice was voluntary; He gave Himself as the Sacrifice of Atonement for all who will believe. So Jesus came to give Himself as the Sacrifice, submitting Himself in all obedience to His Father, and took upon Himself our sin, allowing His Blood to be shed by sinners:
Jesus said, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38, ESV).
And, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39b, ESV).
Jesus said, “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord, I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father” (John 10:17-18, ESV).
“Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.’ Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written in the scroll of the book.’ When he said, ‘You have nether desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and burnt offerings and sin offerings’ (these are offered according to the law), then he added, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will.’ He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:5-10, ESV).
Again we are told, “...Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even to death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5b-8, ESV).
“And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2, ESV).
In order for Jesus to fulfill the Burnt Offering, He had to be without blemish, and we are told:
“Yet we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15, ESV).
Jesus freely received the laying of our sin upon Him:
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes, we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5, ESV).
Through Jesus voluntarily submitting to all that the Father required, being the One, Perfect Sacrifice, completely consecrated to God, without sin, freely taking on Himself our sin and suffering God’s Wrath for it on the cross, He has made atonement – reconciled us to God:
“For through [Jesus Christ] we both have access in one Spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2:18, ESV).
“In [Jesus Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7, ESV).
“But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1:7, ESV).
Now that Jesus has fulfilled the Burnt Offering and made atonement for all who will believe through His Perfect Obedience to God the Father, He has given us God the Holy Spirit that we might be perfected and made holy like Him:
Paul wrote, “...Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25b-27, ESV).
And, “For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:13-14, ESV).
We being the Lenten season today with Ash Wednesday, and we are even symbolically anointed with ashes to symbolize that we are sinners in need of a Savior. We cannot save ourselves; we can only be saved by One Who lived a life of perfect obedience and gave Himself to pay the debt for our sin.
As we go through this season, let us remember that we are sinners, but let us not be overwhelmed by that fact. Let us acknowledge and give thanks, instead, that God knew that the Burnt Offering would never be enough, and came to earth Himself, to fulfill the Burnt Offering and to secure Atonement for us by Himself. Let us praise God and rejoice in Him and what He has done for us.
And then let us do all we can, by the Power of God the Holy Spirit Who lives in us, to put off our sin – to run from sin and to run to Jesus – to take the way of escape that He always provides, rather than giving in to sin, and let us learn all that the Father would have us do and do those things – not for our salvation, but in thanks to God. Let us live lives of thanksgiving by learning all we can about God and doing those things He has called us to do.
Let us begin again today to live lives of complete devotion to God and our Lord Jesus Christ Who reconciled us to God through the Sacrifice of His Perfect Life.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we have tried to make it on our own, but we know that it is futile, we are all sinners in need of a Savior – someone outside of ourselves that lived a Perfect Life under Your Law. We thank You for sending Your Son and for the Sacrifice He made to save us. Be glorified in our lives. Make us useful and use us to Your Glory. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
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