Today I started the Book of Leviticus, which is basically the “rule book” of the Old Testament. I have already been warned that there are not very many good stories like in the previous two. Moreover, “it is filled with the advice and regulations on how to live a holy life and how to worship God.” It is believed that Moses was the author, writing sometime after the giving of the Law.
“The central message is that God is holy and he requires his people to be holy. The book also shows that God graciously provides atonement for sin through the shedding of blood.”
Leviticus Introduction
This book starts out with the people of Israel being at the foot of Mount Sinai. The glory of the Lord has filled the tabernacle and God tells Moses to instruct the priests with all the rules. Today’s reading focused on sacrifices.
Being a scholar, or someone who enjoys research and studying, (must be the teacher in me), I am enjoying how this book is set up so far. Each topic is in bold and the information is explained in each section. I wish I had started with this book, because many of the questions I had are already being answered here.
Laws for Burnt Offerings
-If the offering is a burnt offering, it shall be a male without blemish. It had to be a male because of its greater value and was possibly thought to represent vigor and fertility.
-Bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to be accepted by the Lord.
-The offerer shall place his hand on the head of the offering, and it shall be accepted and used as atonement for him. As in all offerings, the offerer was to lay his hand on the head of the animal to express identification between himself and the animal, whose death would be accepted for atonement.
-Then the animal would be killed before the Lord.
-Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall bring the blood and throw it against the sides of the altar that is at the entrance of the tent.
-Then they would butcher it into specific pieces and certain things were done with each.
-The priest would burn it on the altar, as a burnt offering, a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
The wealthy offered bulls from the herd, the “average” individual offered sheep and goats from the flocks, and the poor offered birds like turtledoves and pigeons
Laws for Grain Offerings
-Any offering of grain must be of fine flour.
-Must pour oil on it and put frankincense on it and take it to the priests.
-The priest would take a handful of flour and burn it as a memorial portion on the alter, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
-The rest of the grain offering would be for Aaron and his sons.
-When the offering was brought baked, it had to be unleavened loaves of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers smeared with oil.
-No grain offering shall be made with leaven or honey. Honey was forbidden on the alter, perhaps because of its use in brewing beer, though some suggest that it was because of its use in Canaanite cultic practice.
-All grain offerings should be seasoned with salt. Salt was a sign of the covenant. In ancient times salt was often costly and a valuable part of the diet. Perhaps this is why it was used as a covenant sign and was required for sacrifices.
This was the only bloodless offering, but was meant to accompany a burnt offering, sin offering, and fellowship offering.
Laws for Peace Offerings
-Similar to a burnt offering, in that the animal must be without blemish…
-Lay hand on its head…
-Kill it at the entrance of the tent…
-Aaron’s sons would throw the blood against the sides of the altar…
-Offer different pieces of the animal for different things…
“All fat is the Lord’s and shall be a statute forever, throughout generations, in all the dwelling places, you eat neither fat nor blood.”
Two basic ideas are used in this offering: peace and fellowship. The offering perhaps symbolized peace between God and man as well as the inward peace that resulted.
The fellowship offering was the only sacrifice of which the offerer might eat a part. Fellowship was involved because the offerer, on the basis of sacrifice, had fellowship with God and with the priest, who also ate part of the offering.
Laws for Sin Offerings
-If anyone sins unintentionally, especially the anointed priest bringing guilt on the people, in any of the Lord’s commandments, then they shall offer a bull as a sin offering.
-Bring the bull to the entrance of the tent, and lay hand on its head…
-Kill the bull before the Lord…
-The anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the tent of meeting.
-The priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle part of the blood seven times (symbolic of perfection and completeness) before the Lord in front of the veil of the sanctuary.
-The priest shall put some of the blood on the four horns of the altar (symbols of the atoning power of the sin offering) of fragrant incense before the Lord.
-All the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering.
-The bull would be butchered with each piece having a specific purpose and plan for it.
If the entire congregation unintentionally sins and they recognize their guilt, then they must offer a bull for a sin offering.
When a leader sins unintentionally he shall bring a male goat as a burnt offering.
If anyone of the common people sin unintentionally and realized his guilt, they may offer a female goat or lamb as a burnt offering.
I am beginning to understand that the price of atonement, or forgiveness, is blood, and that’s why they have all these offerings. What I can’t wrap my head around is what they did with all the blood when they were finished…
Did they water the place down to wash it away, or just keep piling more and more onto the altar? Wouldn’t it start to smell and have bugs and stuff coming around? I mean, yuck!
Also, it doesn’t sound like they even ate most of the stuff that was sacrificed. What a waste. I would think that God would want all creatures to coexist and “work together,” as in a “circle of life” thought.
This may be difficult for me to understand, because in my brain if you’re going to kill livestock it is because you’re going to eat it. So, the people of Israel sacrificing for the Lord and for atonement I get, but it just seems like a waste of that creature if you hardly eat any of it.
I also wonder, maybe it was answered and I missed it, who kills the animal? Is it the offerer or the priest? As morbid as it is, I’m also questioning how it was killed. It all sounds very sad and cruel to me.