Leviticus 1:1-17 NKJV
1 Now the Lord called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of the livestock—of the herd and of the flock.
3 ‘If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord. 4 Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. 5 He shall kill the bull before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 6 And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay the wood in order on the fire. 8 Then the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar; 9 but he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.
10 ‘If his offering is of the flocks—of the sheep or of the goats—as a burnt sacrifice, he shall bring a male without blemish. 11 He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. 12 And he shall cut it into its pieces, with its head and its fat; and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar; 13 but he shall wash the entrails and the legs with water. Then the priest shall bring it all and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.
14 ‘And if the burnt sacrifice of his offering to the Lord is of birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves or young pigeons. 15 The priest shall bring it to the altar, wring off its head, and burn it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out at the side of the altar. 16 And he shall remove its crop with its feathers and cast it beside the altar on the east side, into the place for ashes. 17 Then he shall split it at its wings, but shall not divide it completely; and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.
Leviticus may not seem like Christian devotional material since it deals primarily with the public and private worship life of Old Testament Israel. Christ has fulfilled not one, but all the regulations put forth by the Lord in Leviticus. It is precisely that reason Christians can use the material in Leviticus as devotional material. Every bit of it is a picture of Christ and His work for us. It is also a picture of the Christian life since St. Paul exhorts to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service (Rom 12:1). Seeing Christ’s work and our response in the legislation for ancient Israel’s worship makes this book an encouragement to faith and love.
Leviticus begins with the burnt offering. This offering was offered voluntarily by Israelites when they had great concern and wanted the Lord to deal favorably with them. The animal—whether from the herd or flock—was to be male and without blemish. The person offering it was to place his hand on the animal’s head as a sign that he offered it willingly, that he offered it as his substitute for his violations against Mosaic law, and that he looked forward to the Messiah. The priests slaughtered the animal, arranged its parts on the altar, and washed its innards before immolating it. The ritual for offering a bird was a bit different because of its smaller size. The burnt offering produced a sweet aroma to the Lord. The Lord accepted the sacrifice. He also accepted the person who brought the sacrifice and showed him His grace and favor.
This animal pictured the coming Christ, who would be born a male and without the blemish of sin, even the inward parts—His heart and mind—would be clean from sin. He offered Himself on the altar of the cross as the substitute for all mankind’s sins, so that God accepts all who trust His Son’s atoning death. By faith in Christ’s sacrifice, we have peace with God and access to Him in prayer. Enjoying God’s favor, we present ourselves as living sacrifices, hearts and minds cleansed by faith in Christ, dedicated to God’s service.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, help us to meditate on Your sacrifice for us through the picture of the burnt offering, that with sins forgiven, we voluntarily live as living sacrifices to You. Amen.