FRAMEWORKS:
Leviticus 1: The Burnt Offering
INTRODUCTION
TO THE OFFERINGS
Many
people are put off by the first seven chapters and their Offerings,
but actually it is quite simple: chapters 1 to 6 lay out the general
approach to these FIVE Offerings for the ordinary person presenting
their offering, and then chapters 6 & 7 are additional instructions
to the priests on how to go about presenting the offerings. All
Offerings except the Cereal offering consisted of young unblemished
animals. The Offerings are:
1.
The BURNT OFFERING
-
the very basic offering that anyone with a desire to simply
say thank you to God or please Him, the most second commonly mentioned
offering (59 times in Leviticus).
2.
The GRAIN or CEREAL OFFERING
-
often used with the Burnt Offering, part given to God, part retained
for the Priests, again for thanksgiving or to please God (35 times
in Leviticus)
3.
The FELLOWSHIP or PEACE OFFERING
-
considered as food offered to God to bless Him, a sharing in fellowship
and harmony, part burnt up as given to the Lord, and part eaten
by the Priests (29 times in Leviticus)
4.
The SIN OFFERING
-
to cover unintentional sin, for atonement before God, part burnt
up, part eaten by the Priests, the most commonly mentioned. (
62 times in Leviticus).
5.
GUILT OFFERINGS
-
for acknowledgment of specific guilt, part burnt up, part eaten
by the Priests (27 times in Leviticus)
Note
also that some offerings above will be referred to as FOOD OFFERINGS
(42 times in Leviticus), as with the burnt offering, in each case
as ‘food given to God' is implied. Sometimes part of the offerings
were waved before God and were thus also known as WAVE OFFERINGS
(14 times in Leviticus).
BREAKDOWN
OF CHAPTERS 1-7
1:1,2
|
Introduction
|
1:3-17
|
BURNT
OFFERING from herd (1:3-9), from flocks (1:10 -13) and from
birds (1:14 -17) |
2:1-16
|
GRAIN
OFFERING of flour (2:1-3), of cakes baked (2:4), of cakes
on a griddle (2:5,6), cooked in a pan (2:7) + general instructions
(2:8-16) |
3:1-16
|
FELLOWSHIP
OFFERING from herd (3:1-5), from sheep (3:6-11), and from
goats ( 3:12 -16) |
4:1-
5:13 |
SIN
OFFERING – Introduction (4:1,2), for a priest (4:3-12),
for the congregation (4:13-21), for a leader (4:22-26),
for an individual, ( 4:27-35) + 4 specific reasons for (5:1-4)
+ dealing with those things (5:5-13) |
5:14
- 6:7 |
GUILT
OFFERING – sins over holy things (5:14-16), sins over disobedience
(5:17 -19), and sins against neighbours (6:1-7) |
|
|
6:8-13
|
BURNT
OFFERING – Practicalities |
6:14-23
|
GRAIN
OFFERING – Practicalities |
6:24-29
|
SIN
OFFERING – Practicalities |
7:1-10
|
GUILT
OFFERING – Practicalities |
7:11-21
|
FELLOWSHIP
OFFERING – Practicalities |
7:22-27
|
Instruction
not to eat blood or fat |
7:28-36
|
Wave
Offering as part of Fellowship Offering |
7:37,38
|
Summary
of Chapters 1-7 |
FRAMEWORKS:
Leviticus 1: The Burnt Offering
Context:
1:3-17
|
BURNT
OFFERING |
2:1-16
|
GRAIN
OFFERING |
3:1-16
|
FELLOWSHIP
OFFERING |
4:1-
5:13 |
SIN
OFFERING |
5:14
- 6:7 |
GUILT
OFFERING |
v.1-2
Introduction
v.3-9
Burnt Offering: A Bull
v.10-13
Burnt Offering: A Ram
v.14-17
Burnt Offering: A Dove or a Pigeon
[Opening
Notes: Burnt Offerings were the very
basic offering that anyone with a desire to simply say thank you
to God or please Him, might bring. We might, before reading, note
the following:
•
It depended on how wealthy you
were and what you owned, bull, ram, bird.
•
It was an entirely voluntary
offering.
•
In each case each animal was
to be a male. Apart from possibly looking forward to one day Jesus
taking the role of all of the offerings, this is quite possibly
the Lord's grace in not allowing them to bring female animals
which, of course, would be the way herds & flocks would be
increased by their reproduction.
•
Although these killings may
appear gruesome to the modern reader, the fact was that this was
a farming community and farmers would regularly be killing beasts
for food.
•
Thus the owner did the killing
and then the priests played their part. Note it below.
•
Known as a ‘burnt offering'
because it was all burnt up on the bronze altar, no one shared
in any part of it, which did happen with some other offerings.
In
the chapters that follow, the reader should note that the word
‘sins' does not appear until chapter 4 in respect of the Sin Offering.
However the word ‘atonement' appears here in respect of the burnt
offering (1:4) and then in 4:20,26,31,35 in respect of the Sin
Offering
v.1-2
Introduction
v.1
The
Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting.
He said,
v.2
“Speak
to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When anyone among you brings
an offering to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from
either the herd or the flock.
[Notes:
These instructions were given by the Lord to Moses at
Mount Sinai – see 7:37,38. The text assumes a free-will offering
– “when” – but something that would become part of their worship
ritual. The assumption was that it would be from herd or flock
and the bird offering is only a concession to the poor.]
v.3-9
Burnt Offering: A Bull
v.3
“‘If
the offering is a burnt offering from the herd,
you are to offer a male without defect. You must present it at
the entrance to the tent of meeting so that it will be acceptable
to the Lord.
v.4
You
are to lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it
will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for
you.
v.5
You
are to slaughter the young bull before the Lord,
and then Aaron's sons the priests shall bring the blood and splash
it against the sides of the altar at the entrance to the tent
of meeting.
v.6
You
are to skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces.
v.7
The
sons of Aaron the priest are to put fire on the altar and arrange
wood on the fire.
v.8
Then
Aaron's sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, including the
head and the fat, on the wood that is burning on the altar.
v.9
You
are to wash the internal organs and the legs with water, and the
priest is to burn all of it on the altar. It is a burnt offering,
a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.
[Notes:
The young bull (a male ‘from the herd' v.3)
may be a free-will offering but is seen as making ‘atonement',
language of being made acceptable to a holy God, paying for their
own sin [in every person since the Fall]. It was brought to the
bronze altar outside the front of the tent and there killed and
its blood drained off.
The
priests [note Aaron's sons, not Aaron] splashed some of it on
the sides of the altar, figuratively associating the life of the
beast with the altar before it is cut up and entirely burnt, parts
of it being washed beforehand.
It
is also called a food offering and the imagery is off its roasting
smell ascending to please God who we so often view as ‘up there'.
Without
wanting to be cynical, if you are a farmer with herds, you don't
want a lot of bulls – cows yes, but bulls no! Thus it was much
easier for a farmer to part with ‘yet another' young bull! Atonement
is only mentioned in respect of the bull, and not the lesser offerings.]
v.10-13
Burnt Offering: A Ram
v.10
“‘If
the offering is a burnt offering from the flock ,
from either the sheep or the goats, you are to offer a male without
defect.
v.11
You
are to slaughter it at the north side of the altar before the
Lord, and Aaron's sons the priests shall splash its blood against
the sides of the altar.
v.12
You
are to cut it into pieces, and the priest shall arrange them,
including the head and the fat, on the wood that is burning on
the altar.
v.13
You
are to wash the internal organs and the legs with water, and the
priest is to bring all of them and burn them on the altar. It
is a burnt offering, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the
Lord.
[Notes:
Same as with the bull except using a ram instead.]
v.14-17
Burnt Offering: A Dove or a Pigeon
v.14
“‘If
the offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds
, you are to offer a dove or a young pigeon.
v.15
The
priest shall bring it to the altar, wring off the head and burn
it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out on the side of
the altar.
v.16
He
is to remove the crop and the feathers and throw them down east
of the altar where the ashes are.
v.17
He
shall tear it open by the wings, not dividing it completely, and
then the priest shall burn it on the wood that is burning on the
altar. It is a burnt offering, a food offering, an aroma pleasing
to the Lord.
[Notes:
This time, the poor person brings a bird and hands it
over to the priest to kill it, removing the crop (and food) and
feathers, then opening it up to be burnt.
In
addition we should note that the practicalities for the priests,
how to go about their part in this offering, are laid out in 6:8-13]