Burnt Offerings All Go to the LORD
September 25, 2021
Commentary
Why were the regulations for each offering so detailed? God had a purpose in every command. He was teaching His people a completely new way of life. He wanted to cleanse them from the heathen practices they had learned in Egypt and restore them to true worship of Himself. These careful instructions helped keep Israel from returning to their old way and taught them to approach God with reverence and obedience.
The burnt offering was the basic sacrifice that expressed complete devotion and dedication to the Lord. When we surrender ourselves to God, we put our “all on the altar” and hold nothing back. The offering could not be changed according to personal preference. The sacrifice had to be a male animal from the flock (vv. 10–14) or a bird (vv. 15–17). The worshiper brought the sacrifice to the door of the tabernacle, where a fire was continually burning on the bronze altar (6:13). The priest made sure the animal was without blemish (22:20–24). In the same way, Jesus Christ became the perfect sacrifice for our sins, “without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19). His sacrifice reminds us that God deserves our complete and wholehearted devotion. It also teaches us that true worship is not partial, but requires our entire heart, mind, and life.
In the burnt offering, the worshiper was saying, “Just as this animal is completely given to God, I completely give myself to the Lord.” When the worshiper laid a hand on the sacrifice (1:4), it symbolized identification with the sacrifice and the transfer of something to it. The shedding of blood showed that a life was being given. The sacrifice pointed forward to Christ, who would give His life for sinners. Through this offering, God was teaching His people that true worship involves surrender, devotion, and giving ourselves completely to Him without holding anything back or keeping part of our lives for ourselves. It calls us to trust Him daily, obey His Word, and place our life into His hands.
Application
Am I truly giving God my whole heart, or am I holding something back? What area of my life have I not fully surrendered to Him? Am I approaching God with reverence and obedience? How can I trust Jesus’ sacrifice more deeply in each part of my day? What can I surrender to the Lord as an act of wholehearted worship?
Leviticus 1:1–17 (NET)
1 Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Meeting Tent: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When someone among you presents an offering to the Lord, you must present your offering from the domesticated animals, either from the herd or from the flock.
3 “‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd he must present it as a flawless male; he must present it at the entrance of the Meeting Tent for its acceptance before the Lord. 4 He must lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf. 5 Then the one presenting the offering must slaughter the bull before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, must present the blood and splash the blood against the sides of the altar, which is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. 6 Next, the one presenting the offering must skin the burnt offering and cut it into parts, 7 and the sons of Aaron, the priest, must put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8 Then the sons of Aaron, the priests, must arrange the parts with the head and the suet on the wood that is in the fire on the altar. 9 Finally, the one presenting the offering must wash its entrails and its legs in water and the priest must offer all of it up in smoke on the altar —it is a burnt offering, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord.
10 “‘If his offering is from the flock for a burnt offering —from the sheep or the goats—he must present a flawless male, 11 and must slaughter it on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, will splash its blood against the altar’s sides. 12 Next, the one presenting the offering must cut it into parts, with its head and its suet, and the priest must arrange them on the wood that is in the fire on the altar. 13 Then the one presenting the offering must wash the entrails and the legs in water, and the priest must present all of it and offer it up in smoke on the altar—it is a burnt offering, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord.
14 “‘If his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, he must present his offering from the turtledoves or from the young pigeons. 15 The priest must present it at the altar, pinch off its head and offer the head up in smoke on the altar, and its blood must be drained out against the side of the altar. 16 Then the priest must remove its entrails by cutting off its tail feathers, and throw them to the east side of the altar into the place of fatty ashes, 17 and tear it open by its wings without dividing it into two parts. Finally, the priest must offer it up in smoke on the altar on the wood which is in the fire—it is a burnt offering, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord.
What now means
I used to have problems getting my son to clean his room. I would insist that he, “Do it now,” and he would always agree to do so, but then he wouldn’t follow through; at least, not right way. After high school, he joined the Mar … Continue