“ ‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without defect. He shall offer it at the door of the Tent of Meeting, that he may be accepted before Yahweh. He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. He shall kill the bull before Yahweh. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
Show the surrounding paragraph
Leviticus 1:3-5 sits inside this longer paragraph.
“ ‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without defect. He shall offer it at the door of the Tent of Meeting, that he may be accepted before Yahweh. He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. He shall kill the bull before Yahweh. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the door of the Tent of Meeting. He shall skin the burnt offering, and cut it into pieces. The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay wood in order on the fire; and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall lay the pieces, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire which is on the altar; but he shall wash its innards and its legs with water. The priest shall burn all of it on the altar, for a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
Parallel Translations
-
“ ‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without defect. He shall offer it at the door of the Tent of Meeting, that he may be accepted before Yahweh.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
He shall kill the bull before Yahweh. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
-
If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.
And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Show all 3 translations
-
If his offering be a burnt-offering of the herd, he shall offer it a male without blemish; he shall bring it to the door of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD.
And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD; and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall present the blood, and dash the blood round about against the altar that is at the door of the tent of meeting.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Commandments (2)
The laws of the Torah, each cited and shown as a primary source.
Cross-references (109)
- Deuteronomy 15:21 (v3) If it has any defect—is lame or blind, or has any defect whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God.
- Hebrews 9:14 (v3) how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without defect to God, cleanse your conscience from…
- Leviticus 22:19-24 (v3) that you may be accepted, you shall offer a male without defect, of the bulls, of the sheep, or of the goats. But you shall not offer…
- Exodus 12:5 (v3) Your lamb shall be without defect, a male a year old. You shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats.
- Ephesians 5:27 (v3) that he might present the assembly to himself gloriously, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and…
Show all 100 cross-references
- Hebrews 10:8-10 (v3) Previously saying, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you didn’t desire, neither had pleasure in…
- Deuteronomy 17:1 (v3) You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or a sheep in which is a defect or anything evil; for that is an abomination to Yahweh…
- Hebrews 7:26 (v3) For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
- Genesis 22:8 (v3) Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they both went together.
- Ephesians 2:18 (v3) For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.
- 1 Peter 1:18-19 (v3) knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your…
- Deuteronomy 12:5-6 (v3) But to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, you shall seek his habitation, and you…
- Leviticus 6:9-13 (v3) “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the burnt offering: the burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all…
- John 1:36 (v3) and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
- Deuteronomy 12:13-14 (v3) Be careful that you don’t offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; but in the place which Yahweh chooses in one of your…
- Malachi 1:14 (v3) “But the deceiver is cursed, who has in his flock a male, and vows, and sacrifices to the Lord a defective thing; for I am a great King,”…
- 2 Corinthians 9:7 (v3) Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
- Leviticus 3:2 (vv4–5) He shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the Tent of Meeting. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall…
- Leviticus 3:8 (vv4–5) and he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it before the Tent of Meeting. Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood around…
- Genesis 22:13 (v3) Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and saw that behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Abraham went and took the…
- Exodus 24:5 (v3) He sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of cattle to Yahweh.
- Leviticus 1:11 (v5) He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before Yahweh. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.
- Leviticus 3:1 (v3) “ ‘If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings, if he offers it from the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without…
- Numbers 29:13 (v3) You shall offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh: thirteen young bulls, two rams, fourteen male…
- 2 Chronicles 29:23-24 (v4) They brought near the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly; and they laid their hands on them. Then the priests…
- Psalms 40:8 (v3) I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart.”
- Psalms 110:3 (v3) Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your power, in holy array. Out of the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your…
- Ezekiel 20:40 (v3) For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel,” says the Lord Yahweh, “there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall…
- Exodus 29:10 (v4) “You shall bring the bull before the Tent of Meeting; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull.
- Exodus 29:15 (v4) “You shall also take the one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram.
- Exodus 29:18 (v3) You shall burn the whole ram on the altar: it is a burnt offering to Yahweh; it is a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
- Exodus 29:42 (v3) It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the Tent of Meeting before Yahweh, where I will meet with…
- Exodus 32:6 (v3) They rose up early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink,…
- Leviticus 4:20 (v4) Thus shall he do with the bull; as he did with the bull of the sin offering, so shall he do with this; and the priest shall make atonement…
- Leviticus 4:26 (v4) All its fat he shall burn on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall make atonement for him…
- Numbers 29:8-11 (v3) but you shall offer a burnt offering to Yahweh for a pleasant aroma: one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old, all without…
- Isaiah 1:11 (v3) “What are the multitude of your sacrifices to me?”, says Yahweh. “I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed…
- Luke 1:35 (v3) The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one…
- John 10:9 (v3) I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture.
- Romans 12:1 (v4) Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your…
- Leviticus 3:13 (vv4–5) He shall lay his hand on its head, and kill it before the Tent of Meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood around on the…
- Genesis 8:20 (v3) Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and took of every clean animal, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
- Genesis 22:2 (v3) He said, “Now take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on…
- Exodus 29:19 (v4) “You shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram.
- Leviticus 4:15 (v4) The elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before Yahweh; and the bull shall be killed before Yahweh.
- Leviticus 4:31 (v4) All its fat he shall take away, like the fat is taken away from the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it on the altar…
- 2 Chronicles 35:11 (v5) They killed the Passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood which they received of their hand, and the Levites skinned them.
- Philippians 4:18 (v4) But I have all things and abound. I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things that came from you, a sweet-smelling fragrance,…
- Hebrews 12:24 (v5) to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better than that of Abel.
- 1 Peter 1:2 (v5) according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his…
- 1 John 2:2 (v4) And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
- Leviticus 4:4 (v4) He shall bring the bull to the door of the Tent of Meeting before Yahweh; and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull, and kill the…
- Leviticus 4:24 (v4) He shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before Yahweh. It is a sin…
- Leviticus 4:29 (v4) He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill the sin offering in the place of burnt offering.
- Leviticus 4:35 (v4) He shall remove all its fat, like the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest shall burn them on the…
- Leviticus 8:14 (v4) He brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering.
- Leviticus 8:22 (v4) He presented the other ram, the ram of consecration. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.
- Leviticus 9:7 (v4) Moses said to Aaron, “Draw near to the altar, and offer your sin offering, and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself, and…
- Leviticus 16:21 (v4) Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all…
- Leviticus 16:24 (v4) Then he shall bathe himself in water in a holy place, put on his garments, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering…
- Numbers 15:25 (v4) The priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and they shall be forgiven; for it was an error, and…
- Numbers 23:3 (v3) Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps Yahweh will come to meet me. Whatever he shows me I will tell…
- Numbers 23:10-11 (v3) Who can count the dust of Jacob, or count the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous! Let my last end be like his!”…
- Isaiah 56:7 (v4) I will bring these to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be…
- Zechariah 13:7 (v3) “Awake, sword, against my shepherd, and against the man who is close to me,” says Yahweh of Armies. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep…
- Exodus 29:4 (v3) You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall wash them with water.
- Exodus 29:16 (v5) You shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood, and sprinkle it around on the altar.
- Exodus 35:5 (v3) ‘Take from among you an offering to Yahweh. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as Yahweh’s offering: gold, silver, bronze,
- Leviticus 4:23 (v3) if his sin in which he has sinned is made known to him, he shall bring as his offering a goat, a male without defect.
- Leviticus 17:9 (v3) and doesn’t bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to Yahweh, that man shall be cut off from his people.
- Numbers 23:19 (v3) God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and…
- John 10:7 (v3) Jesus therefore said to them again, “Most certainly, I tell you, I am the sheep’s door.
- Romans 3:25 (v4) whom God sent to be an atoning sacrifice, through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of…
- Romans 5:11 (v4) Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
- 2 Corinthians 5:20-21 (v4) We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to…
- 2 Corinthians 8:12 (v3) For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you don’t have.
- Hebrews 10:4 (v4) For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins.
- Exodus 24:6-8 (v5) Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. He took the book of the covenant and…
- Exodus 35:21 (v3) They came, everyone whose heart stirred him up, and everyone whom his spirit made willing, and brought Yahweh’s offering for the work of…
- Exodus 35:29 (v3) The children of Israel brought a free will offering to Yahweh; every man and woman whose heart made them willing to bring for all the work,…
- Exodus 36:3 (v3) They received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, with which…
- Exodus 38:1 (v3) He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. It was square. Its length was five cubits, its width was five cubits, and its height…
- Leviticus 1:15 (v5) The priest shall bring it to the altar, and wring off its head, and burn it on the altar; and its blood shall be drained out on the side of…
- Leviticus 5:6 (v4) and he shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh for his sin which he has sinned: a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin…
- Leviticus 6:7 (v4) The priest shall make atonement for him before Yahweh, and he will be forgiven concerning whatever he does to become guilty.”
- Leviticus 7:16 (v3) “ ‘But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow, or a free will offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice. On…
- Leviticus 8:18 (v3) He presented the ram of the burnt offering. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.
- Leviticus 8:21 (v3) He washed the innards and the legs with water; and Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a pleasant aroma.…
- Leviticus 16:7 (v3) He shall take the two goats, and set them before Yahweh at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
- Leviticus 16:15 (v5) “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with his blood as he…
- Leviticus 17:4 (v3) and hasn’t brought it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to offer it as an offering to Yahweh before Yahweh’s tabernacle: blood shall be…
- Leviticus 22:21 (v4) Whoever offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh to accomplish a vow, or for a free will offering of the herd or of the flock, it…
- Leviticus 22:27 (v4) “When a bull, a sheep, or a goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother. From the eighth day on it shall be accepted for the…
- Numbers 8:12 (v4) “The Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt…
- Numbers 15:28 (v4) The priest shall make atonement for the soul who errs when he sins unwittingly before Yahweh. He shall make atonement for him; and he shall…
- Numbers 18:17 (v5) “But you shall not redeem the firstborn of a cow, or the firstborn of a sheep, or the firstborn of a goat. They are holy. You shall…
- Numbers 23:23-24 (v3) Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob; Neither is there any divination with Israel. Now it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘What…
- Numbers 25:13 (v4) It shall be to him, and to his offspring after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and made…
- 2 Chronicles 29:22-24 (v5) So they killed the bulls, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar. They killed the rams, and sprinkled the blood…
- Isaiah 52:15 (v5) so he will cleanse many nations. Kings will shut their mouths at him; for they will see that which had not been told them, and they will…
100 distinct cross-references across this passage (109 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv3–5 Meaning, within the court of the Tabernacle.
Meaning, within the court of the Tabernacle.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv3–5 Lev 1:3 If his offering [be] a burnt sacrifice…
Lev 1:3 If his offering [be] a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.
Ver. 3. Burnt sacrifice.] A whole burnt offering, {Heb 10:6} purporting whole Christ suffering for us, {Isa 53:12} and our sacrificing our whole selves to him as a "reasonable service." {Rom 12:1}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv3–5 A burnt sacrifice, strictly so called, was such as…
A burnt sacrifice, strictly so called, was such as was to be all burnt, the skin excepted, Lev 7:8; Gen 8:20; 1Ki 3:15. For Otherwise every sacrifice was burnt, more or less. The sacrifices did partly signify that the whole man, in whose stead the sacrifice was offered, was to be entirely and unreservedly offered or devoted to God’s service; and that the whole man did deserve to be utterly consumed, if God should deal severely with him; and directed us to serve the Lord with all singleness of heart, without self-ends, and to be ready to offer to God even such sacrifices or services wherein we ourselves should have no part nor benefit.
A male, as being more perfect than the female, Mal 1:14, and more truly representing Christ.
Read full note →
Without blemish; of which see Exo 29:1; Lev 23:22, &c.; to signify,
1. That God should be served with the best of every kind.
2. That man, represented by these sacrifices, should aim at all purity and perfection of heart and life, and that Christians should one day attain to it, Eph 5:27.
3. The spotless and complete holiness of Christ, Heb 9:13,14; 1Pe 1:18,19; 2:22. Of his own voluntary will. According to this translation, the place speaks only of free-will offerings, or such as were not prescribed by God to be offered in course, but were offered at the pleasure and by the voluntary devotion of any person, either by way of supplication for any mercy which he needed or desired, or by way of thanksgiving for any favour or blessing received. But it may seem improper to restrain the rules here given to free will offerings, which were to be observed in other offerings also. And the Hebrew word is by the LXX. Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, and others, rendered to this purpose, for his acceptation, or that he may be accepted with God, or that God may be atoned, as it is Lev 1:4. And so this phrase is used Lev 23:11. At the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; in the court near to the door, where the altar stood, Lev 1:5. For here it was to be sacrificed, and here also the people might behold the oblation of it. And this further signified, that men could have no entrance, neither into the earthly tabernacle, the church, nor into the heavenly tabernacle of glory, but by Christ, who is the door, Joh 10:7,9, by whom alone we have access to God.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v3 If a man were rich and could afford it,…
If a man were rich and could afford it, it is supposed that he would bring his burnt-sacrifice, with which he designed to honour God, out of his herd of larger cattle. He that considers that God is the best that is will resolve to give him the best he has, else he gives him not the glory due unto his name. Now if a man determined to kill a bullock, not for an entertainment for his family and friends, but for a sacrifice to his God, these rules must be religiously observed: - 1. The beast to be offered must be a male, and without blemish, and the best he had in his pasture. Being designed purely for the honour of him that is infinitely perfect, it ought to be the most perfect in its kind. This signified the complete strength and purity that were in Christ the dying sacrifice, and the sincerity of heart and unblamableness of life that should be in Christians, who are presented to God as living sacrifices. But, literally, in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female; nor is any natural blemish in the body a bar to our acceptance with God, but only the moral defects and deformities introduced by sin into the soul. 2. The owner must offer it voluntarily. What is done in religion, so as to please God, must be done by no other constraint than that of love. God accepts the willing people and the cheerful giver. Ainsworth and others read it, not as the principle, but as the end of offering: "Let him offer it for his favourable acceptation before the Lord. Let him propose this to himself as his end in bringing his sacrifice, and let his eye be fixed steadily upon that end - that he may be accepted of the Lord." Those only shall find acceptance who sincerely desire and design it in all their religious services, Co2 5:9. 3. It must be offered at the door of the tabernacle, where the brazen altar of burnt-offerings stood, which sanctified the gift, and not elsewhere. He must offer it at the door, as one unworthy to enter, and acknowledging that there is no admission for a sinner into covenant and communion with God, but by sacrifice; but he must offer it at the tabernacle of the congregation, in token of his communion with the whole church of Israel even in this personal service. 4. The offerer must put his hand upon the head of his offering, Lev 1:4. "He must put both his hands," say the Jewish doctors, "with all his might, between the horns of the beast," signifying thereby, (1.) The transfer of all his right to, and interest in, the beast, to God, actually, and by a manual delivery, resigning it to his service. (2.) An acknowledgment that he deserved to die, and would have been willing to die if God had required it, for the serving of his honour, and the obtaining of his favour. (3.) A dependence upon the sacrifice, as an instituted type of the great sacrifice on which the iniquity of us all was to be laid. The mystical signification of the sacrifices, and especially this rite, some think the apostle means by the doctrine of laying on of hands (Heb 6:2), which typified evangelical faith. The offerer's putting his hand on the head of the offering was to signify his desire and hope that it might be accepted from him to make atonement for him. Though the burnt-offerings had not respect to any particular sin, as the sin-offering had, yet they were to make atonement for sin in general; and he that laid his hand on the head of a burnt-offering was to confess that he had left undone what he ought to have done and had done that which he ought not to have done, and to pray that, though he deserved to die himself, the death of his sacrifice might be accepted for the expiating of his guilt. 5. The sacrifice was to be killed by the priests of Levites, before the Lord, that is, in a devout religious manner, and with an eye to God and his honour. This signified that our Lord Jesus was to make his soul, or life, an offering for sin. Messiah the prince must be cut off as a sacrifice, but not for himself, Dan 9:26. It signified also that in Christians, who are living sacrifices, the brutal part must be mortified or killed, the flesh crucified with its corrupt affections and lusts and all the appetites of the mere animal life. 6. The priests were to sprinkle the blood upon the altar (Lev 1:5); for, the blood being the life, it was this that made atonement for the soul. This signified the direct and actual regard which our Lord Jesus had to the satisfaction of his Father's justice, and the securing of his injured honour, in the shedding of his blood; he offered himself without spot to God. It also signified the pacifying and purifying of our consciences by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ upon them by faith, Pe1 1:2; Heb 10:22. 7. The beast was to be flayed and decently cut up, and divided into its several joints or pieces, according to the art of the butcher; and then all the pieces, with the head and the fat (the legs and inwards being first washed), were to be burnt together upon the altar, Lev 1:6-9. "But to what purpose," would some say, "was this waste? Why should all this good meat, which might have been given to the poor, and have served their hungry families for food a great while, be burnt together to ashes?" So was the will of God; and it is not for us to object or to find fault with it. When it was burnt for the honour of God, in obedience to his command, and to signify spiritual blessings, it was really better bestowed, and better answered the end of its creation, than when it was used as food for man. We must never reckon that lost which is laid out for God. The burning of the sacrifice signified the sharp sufferings of Christ, and the devout affections with which, as a holy fire, Christians must offer up themselves their whole spirit, soul, and body, unto God. 8. This is said to be an offering of a sweet savour, or savour of rest, unto the Lord. The burning of flesh is unsavoury in itself; but this, as an act of obedience to a divine command, and a type of Christ, was well pleasing to God: he was reconciled to the offerer, and did himself take a complacency in that reconciliation. He rested, and was refreshed with these institutions of his grace, as, at first, with his works of creation (Exo 31:17), rejoicing therein, Psa 104:31. Christ's offering of himself to God is said to be of a sweet-smelling savour (Eph 5:2), and the spiritual sacrifices of Christians are said to be acceptable to God, through Christ, Pe1 2:5.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv3–5 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the…
If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd,.... So called, because consumed by fire, see Lev 6:9 even all of it except the skin, and therefore its name with the Greeks is "a whole burnt offering", as in Mar 12:33 its name in Hebrew is which comes from a word which signifies to "ascend" or "go up", because not only it was carried up to the altar by the priest, which was common to other sacrifices, but being burnt upon it, it ascended upwards in smoke and vapour; it was typical of Christ's dolorous sufferings and death, who therein sustained the fire of divine wrath, and his strength was dried up like a potsherd with it. Jarchi on Lev 1:1 says, there were in the burnt offerings mysteries of future things:
let him offer a male; and not a female, pointing at the Messiah's sex, and his strength and excellency, the child that was to be born, and the Son to be given, whose name should be Immanuel:
Read full note →
without blemish; or perfect, having no part wanting, nor any part superfluous, nor any spot upon it, see Lev 22:19 denoting the perfection of Christ as man, being in all things made like unto his brethren, and his having not the least stain or blemish of sin upon him, either original or actual, and so could, as he did, offer up himself without spot to God, Heb 2:17,
and he shall offer it of his own voluntary will; not forced or compelled to it, or with any reluctancy, but as a pure freewill offering; so our Lord Jesus Christ laid down his life of himself, and freely gave himself an offering and a sacrifice, and became cheerfully and readily obedient unto death:
at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the Lord; it was to be done openly and publicly, and in the presence of the Lord, to whom it was offered up; showing, that Christ's sacrifice would be offered up to God, against whom we have sinned, by which his law would be fulfilled, his justice satisfied, and wrath appeased, and that his death would be public and notorious; see Luk 24:18.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv3–4 Verse 3. Burnt-sacrifice] The most important of all the…
Verse 3. Burnt-sacrifice] The most important of all the sacrifices offered to God; called by the Septuagint ολοκαυτωμα, because it was wholly consumed, which was not the case in any other offering. See Clarke on Le 7:38.
His own voluntary will] לרצנו lirtsono, to gain himself acceptance before the Lord: in this way all the versions appear to have understood the original words, and the connection in which they stand obviously requires this meaning.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv3–5 Lev 1:3. If his offering be a burnt-sacrifice —…
Lev 1:3. If his offering be a burnt-sacrifice — This was called a holocaust by the Greeks, being wholly given to God and consumed upon his altar, the skin excepted, neither the priest nor offerer having any share of it, Lev 1:9, and 1Sa 7:9. It was the principal sacrifice, and is properly mentioned first, as being that which spoke most significantly the good-will of the offerer, and his enlargement of heart, 2Ch 29:31. These sacrifices signified that the whole man, in whose stead the sacrifice was offered, was to be entirely and unreservedly offered or devoted to God’s service; and that the whole man did deserve to be utterly consumed, if God should deal severely with him; and they direct us to serve the Lord with all singleness of heart, and to be ready to offer to God even those sacrifices or services wherein we ourselves have no part or benefit. A male — As being more perfect than the female, (Mal 1:14,) and more truly representing Christ. Without blemish — To signify, 1st, That God must be served with the best of every kind. 2d, That man, represented by those sacrifices, must aim at all perfection of heart and life, and that Christians would one day attain to it, Eph 5:27. 3d, The spotless and complete holiness of Christ. Of his own will — According to this translation, the place speaks only of free-will-offerings, or such as were not prescribed by God to be offered in course, but were offered by the voluntary devotion of any person, either by way of supplication for any mercy, or by way of thanksgiving for any blessing received. But it may seem improper to restrain the rules here given to free-will-offerings, which were to be observed in other offerings also. At the door — In the court near the door, where the altar stood, Lev 1:5. For here it was to be sacrificed, and here the people might behold the oblation of it. And this further signified, that men could have no entrance, neither into the earthly tabernacle, the church, nor into the heavenly tabernacle of glory, but by Christ, who is the door, (Joh 10:7; Joh 10:9,) by whom alone we have access to God.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv3–5 burnt - literally, that (offering) which ascends (as a…
burnt - literally, that (offering) which ascends (as a flame).
A male without blemish - Males were required in most offerings, since the stronger sex which takes precedence of the other. But females were allowed in peace-offerings Lev 3:1, Lev 3:6, and were expressly prescribed in the sin-offerings of the common people Lev 4:28, Lev 4:32; Lev 5:6.
Read full note →
At the door of the tabernacle of the congregation - Wherever these words occur, they should be rendered: “at the entrance of the tent of meeting.” The place denoted is that part of the court which was in front of the tabernacle, in which stood the brass altar and the laver, and where alone sacrifices could be offered. See Cut to Exo. 26.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv3–5 A holocaust. That is, a whole burnt-offering; (olocauston) so…
A holocaust. That is, a whole burnt-offering; (olocauston) so called, because the whole victim was consumed with fire; and given in such manner to God as wholly to evaporate, as it were, for his honour and glory; without having any part of it reserved for the use of man. The other sacrifices of the Old Testament were either offerings for sin, or peace-offerings: and these latter again were either offered in thanksgiving for blessing received, or by way of prayer for new favours or graces. So that sacrifices were then offered to God for four different ends or intentions, answerable to the different obligations which man has to God: 1. By way of adoration, homage, praise, and glory, due to his divine Majesty. 2. By way of thanksgiving for all benefits received from him. 3. By way of confessing and craving pardon for sins. 4. By way of prayer and petition for grace an relief in all necessities. In the New Law we have but one sacrifice, viz. that of the body and blood of Christ: but this one sacrifice of the New Testament perfectly answers all these four ends; and both priests and people, as often as it is celebrated, ought to join in offering it up for these four ends. (Challoner) (St. Augustine, City of God viii. 17.; St. Chrysostom in Psalm xcv.) --- We have an altar, (Hebrews xiii. 10,) on which the unbloody sacrifice is offered, (Matthew xxvi. 25,) as the blood of Christ was on the cross, Hebrews ix. 25. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv3–5 a burnt sacrifice--so called from its being wholly consumed…
a burnt sacrifice--so called from its being wholly consumed on the altar; no part of it was eaten either by the priests or the offerer. It was designed to propitiate the anger of God incurred by original sin, or by particular transgressions; and its entire combustion indicated the self-dedication of the offerer--his whole nature--his body and soul--as necessary to form a sacrifice acceptable to God (Rom 12:1; Phi 1:20). This was the most ancient as well as the most conspicuous mode of sacrifice.
a male without blemish--No animal was allowed to be offered that had any deformity or defect. Among the Egyptians, a minute inspection was made by the priest; and the bullock having been declared perfect, a certificate to that effect being fastened to its horns with wax, was sealed with his ring, and no other might be substituted. A similar process of examining the condition of the beasts brought as offerings, seems to have been adopted by the priests in Israel (Joh 6:27).
Read full note →
at the door of the tabernacle--where stood the altar of burnt offering (Exo 40:6). Every other place was forbidden, under the highest penalty (Lev 17:4).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv3–5 3. Burnt sacrifice — The ‘olah is so called…
3. Burnt sacrifice — The ‘olah is so called because it ascends to heaven in the consuming flames. It should always be translated whole burnt offering. It is a holocaust, because the sacrifice was entirely consumed. It symbolizes the devotement of the entire man — soul, body, and spirit — to the service of God. Perfect love to him is more than all whole burnt offerings. Mar_12:33. As fire purifies what it does not consume, it typifies the Sanctifier consuming inward sin and cleansing the indestructible essence of the soul. See notes on Mat_3:11 and Act_2:3.
Every sacrifice was in part a burnt offering, because Jehovah’s special portion was consumed by fire, the symbol of his presence. For the occasions on which it was presented see Concluding Note, (2.)
Read full note →
Without blemish — Tamim, perfect. Defective sacrificial animals are described in chap. Lev_22:20-24, as the blind, broken, maimed, scabbed, having wens, or scurvy, parts lacking or superfluous; also the castrated, spoken of as cut, crushed, bruised, or broken. An animal was an imperfect offering under eight days old. Exo_22:30. What a sermon is this, preached morning and evening through the centuries, on the sinlessness of Jesus Christ, “the Lamb without blemish and without spot!” 1Pe_1:19.
Of his own voluntary will — Of his own free choice: “not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loveth” a willing offering.
At the door of the tabernacle — This precise spot is designated in order to prevent any secret idolatrous rites under the mask of the prescribed ritual. The prohibition of all other places for sacrifice was also a strong safeguard of the national unity. Another altar was a political secession. Jos_22:11-34.
Before the Lord — That is, to Jehovah. The rendering in the Authorized Version is sustained by some scholars. It is true that all burnt offerings, being chiefly self-dedicatory, must be purely voluntary. But the Hebrew is the same here as in Exo_28:38, and Lev_22:20-21, and is correctly rendered in the Authorized Version. But in Lev_19:5; Lev_22:19; Lev_22:29, the word is rendered “own will,” as it is here.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv3–5 (a) Bullock (3–9)
(a) Bullock (3–9)
3. a male without blemish] In the sacrificial system of the Hebrews, the male animal is regarded as of more value than the female. It is prescribed for the Burnt-Offering, and for the principal feasts (Exo_12:5; Numbers 28, 29), but for the Peace-Offering and some others (Lev_3:1, Lev_4:28-32) a female may be brought. In some countries females were spared for purposes of breeding, and for the value of their milk, and when offered were considered a more costly oblation; generally, however, males were preferred. For details, cp. Dillm. in loc. and Daremberg et Saglio, Dict. des Antiq. Gr. et Rom. Art. Sacrificium. The necessity for the victim being without blemish was recognised by nearly all nations who brought animal sacrifices. Cp. Lev_22:20 and Deu_15:21; Deu_17:1.
Read full note →
that he may be accepted] Here and in Lev_19:5, Lev_22:19; Lev_22:29 A.V. has translated of [at] his [your] own (voluntary) will, but Lev_22:20-21, Lev_23:11, Exo_28:38 are translated as in R.V. The rendering of R.V. is the correct one in all these passages, the Heb. (râẓôn) being the same in all. The word is used in connexion with the Burnt-Offering and the Peace-Offering but not in reference to the Sin-Offering. In Lev_1:4 and it shall be accepted for him, the verb of the same Heb. root is used. Cp. Isa_56:7; Isa_60:7; Jer_6:20.
Ch. Lev_1:3-17. The Burnt-Offering
For general remarks on the Burnt-Offering see on Lev_6:9. Three varieties may be brought, viz. (a) Bullock (Lev_1:3-9), (b) Sheep or Goat (Lev_1:10-13), (c) Fowls (Lev_1:14-17).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv3–5 (3) If his offering be a burnt sacrifice.—Having stated…
(3) If his offering be a burnt sacrifice.—Having stated what is meant by animals, the directions now treat upon the different kinds of the offerings them-selves. First in order comes the burnt offering, which is divided into burnt offering from the beeves (Lev_1:3-9), and burnt offering from the flock (Lev_1:10-13). The ox takes precedence because it is the more costly and more important sacrifice. It had to be without disease or blemish of any kind. To offer a defective sacrifice was an insult and a deception. Hence the exclamation of the prophet, “cursed be the deceiver which hath in his flock a male and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing” (i.e., an animal with a blemish), Mal_1:14. The offerer is to bring the animal to the entrance of the tent of meeting, as it should be rendered, that is, to the front of the Tabernacle where the brazen altar stood (Exo_40:6).
Of his own voluntary will.—The whole passage is better rendered, at the entrance of the tent of meeting shall he offer it, that he may be accepted before the Lord. (Comp. Exo_28:38; Lev_19:5; Lev_22:19-20; Lev_22:29; Lev_23:11.) This meaning is unmistakably set forth in Lev_22:19-21, where it is explicitly declared, “ye shall offer for your acceptance a male without blemish of the beeves, of the sheep or of the goats, but whatsoever hath a blemish that ye shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable for you.” It is to be remarked that the phrase “for your acceptance,” or “acceptable for you,” is only used in connection with burnt offerings and peace offerings, but never with sin offerings.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv3–5 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice. The Hebrew…
If his offering be a burnt sacrifice. The Hebrew term for "burnt sacrifice" is olah, meaning "that which ascends;" sometimes kaleel "whole offering," is found; (Deu_33:10) the LXX use the word olokautwma , "whole burnt offering." The conditions to be fulfilled by an Israelite who offered a burnt sacrifice were the following:
1. He must offer either
Read full note →
a. a young bull without blemish, or
b. a young ram, or
c. a young he-goat, or
d. a turtle-dove, or
e. a young pigeon.
2. In case it were a bull, ram, or goat, he must bring it to the door of the tabernacle, that is, the entrance of the court in front of the brazen altar and of the door of the holy place, and there after or present it.
3. In offering it he must place his hand firmly on its head, as a ceremonialact.
4. He must kill it, either himself or by the agency of a Levite.
5. He must flay it.
6. He must divide it into separate portions.
7. He must wash the intestines and legs.
Meantime the priests had their parts to do; they had
1. To catch the blood, to carry it to the altar, and to strike the inner sidesof the altar with it.
2. To arrange the fire on the altar.
3. To place upon the altar the head, and the fat, and the remainder of the animal, for consumption by the fro.
4. To sprinkle or place a meat offering upon them.
5. The next morning, still dressed in their priestly garments, to take the ashes off the altar, and to place them at the east of the altar. (Lev_6:10)
6. To carry them outside the camp to a clean place, the bearer being dressed in his ordinary costume. (Lev_6:11) There were, therefore, four essential parts in the ritual of the burnt offering the oblation of the victim (verses 3, 4), the immolation (verse 5), the oblation of the blood, representing the life (ibid. ), and the consumption (verse 9) the first two to be performed by the offerer, the third by the priest, the fourth by the fire representing the action of God. The moral lesson taught by the burnt offering was the necessity of self-surrender and of devotion to God, even to the extent of yielding up life and the very tenement of life. As the offerer could not give up his own life and body and still live, the life of an animal belonging to him, and valued by him, was substituted for his own; but he knew, and by laying his hand on its head showed that he knew, that it was his own life and his very self that was represented by the animal. The mystical lessons taught to those who could grasp them were
1. The doctrine of substitution or vicarious suffering.
2. The fact that without the shedding of blood there was no acceptance.
3. The need of One who, being very man, should be able to perform anaction of perfect surrender of his will and of his life. The fulfilment of the type is found in the perfect submission of Christ as man, throughout his ministry, and especially in the Garden of Gethsemane, and in the offering made by him, as Priest and willing Victim, of his life upon the altar of the cross. the burnt offering is to be without blemish, for had not the animal been perfect in its kind, it would not have served its moral, its mystical, or its typical purpose. The word amwmov , used by the LXX as equivalent to the Hebrew term, is applied to Christ in Heb_9:14 and 1Pe_1:19; and St. Paul teaches that it is the purpose of God that those who are adopted in Christ should also be "holy and without blemish". (Eph_1:4) A priest had to certify that the victim was free from all defects. He shall offer it of his own voluntary will should rather be translated, He shall offer it for his own acceptance. The animal, representing the offerer, was presented by the latter in order that he might be himself accepted by the Lord. This aspect of the offering is brought out more clearly by the minchah, or meat offering, which always accompanied the burnt offering. The place where the presentation took place was the door of the tabernacle, that is, the space immediately within the eastern entrance into the court of the tabernacle, immediately facing the brazen altar, which stood before the east end of the tabernacle, where was the door or entrance which led into the holy place. "The presenting of the victim at the entrance of the tabernacle was a symbol of the free will submitting itself to the Law of the Lord" (Clarke). Cf. Rom_12:1: "I beseech you that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Vers. 3-17. The burnt offering.
It was wholly consumed by the fire of God"s altar; nothing was left for the after consumption either of the offerer or even of God"s ministers, as in the other sacrifices.
I IT TYPIFIES THE ENTIRE SELF-SURRENDER OF CHRIST TO GOD.
1. In his eternal resolve to redeem by becoming man.
2. In the humility of his birth on earth.
3. In the silence in which his youth was spent.
4. In the narrow limits within which he confined his ministry.
5. In the victory won over his human will in the Garden of Gethsemane.
6. In his yielding his life to his Father on the cross.
II EXAMPLE HEREIN TO US.
1. We must surrender what is evil Bad habits, e.g. sloth, drunkenness. Bad affections, e.g. love of money, bodily indulgence. Bad passions, e.g. ill temper, pride.
2. We must surrender what God does not think fit to give us, though not in itself evil, such as Health Domestic happiness, Worldly success.
III THE CHRISTIAN TEMPER RESULTING FROM SELFSURRENDER.
1. Acquiescence in God"s will.
2. Cheerfulness in rendering that acquiescence.
3. Spiritual peace and happiness arising from the consciousness of having yielded our wilt to our Father"s will.
4. Love to the brethren. Cf. Eph_5:2: "Walk in love, as Christ also loved us, and gave himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.
Vers. 3-9. The burnt sacrifice of the herd.
Having given general instructions concerning the great business of sacrifice, the Most High descends to particulars, and here describes the burnt sacrifice of the herd. These particulars contain specific directions
I AS TO THE QUALITY OF THE VICTIM.
1. It must be a male.
(1) Females were not only admitted for burnt offerings under the patriarchal dispensation, but upon one memorable occasion even prescribed. (see Gen_15:9) The ceremonial distinction between male and female was not then, probably, so strongly defined as afterwards it became under the Law. Under the gospel it is abolished. (Gal_3:28)
(2) The male is the stronger animal; and the horns, in the ox, which are symbols of power, are more developed in the male. The male, therefore, would represent the excellence of strength.
(3) Thus Christ, as the "Power of God," would be preindicated. (1Co_1:24) By his sacrifice of himself he destroyed him that had the power of death, and became the "power of God unto salvation" to every believer. (Rom_1:16 1Co_1:18)
2. It must be without blemish.
(1) The rabbins reckon no less than fifty things, any one of which would, in their judgment, render an animal unfit for sacrifice; five in the ear, three in the eyelid, eight in the eye, etc.; but they trifle outrageously. Any obvious defect or redundancy of parts would mar it for sacrifice, and so would any disease by which it might be afflicted.
(2) This reminds us that Christ, who is accepted of God as our Sacrifice, is without deficiency or redundancy, weakness or malady. (1Pe_1:19) In everything perfect.
(3) We are further taught that the best should be given to God. The best thoughts; the best affections; the best gifts; the best service.
II As TO THE DUTY OF THE OFFERER.
1. With a view to procuring the acceptance of his offering.
(1) His gift must be offered freely. "He shall offer it of his own voluntary will." The sacrifice of himself, which Christ offered for us, was voluntary. (Gal_1:4 Gal_2:20 Eph_5:25 Tit_2:6, Tit_2:14) God expects the homage of the heart. (Joh_4:23, Joh_4:24)
(2) It must be offered at the door of the tabernacle. The altar was at the door. We enter the heavens through the blood of Jesus. (Heb_10:19-21) The Jewish sacrifices were never resumed after the destruction of their city and temple, for they hold it unlawful to sacrifice anywhere out of Jerusalem. Yet they will not see that the antitypes have come, and that the types are therefore no longer necessary.
(3) He must lay his hand upon its head. This action expressed,
(a) That the offerer confessed himself a sinner deserving to be sacrificed.
(b) That he ceremonially transferred his guilt to a substitute in anticipation of the Great Substitute promised who should truly bear the punishment of sin. (1Pe_2:24)
(c) That he trusted in the mercy of God through the vicarious sufferings of Messiah. (Dan_9:26)
2. With a view to the making an atonement for his sin. The direction is
(1) That he should kill the bullock "before the Lord." The Shechinah was there in the most holy place. The transaction is between the Lord and the soul of the sinner. In all worship we should realize the presence of the Lord.
(2) "He shall flay the burnt offering and cut it into his pieces." This operation was here performed, not by the priest, but by the offerer. In the time of the temple this was done by the priests, who were then more numerous and better skilled in the proper mode of doing it. For this service they claimed the skin. (Lev_7:8 2Ch_29:34)
(3) People and priests alike were concerned in the Great Sacrifice on Calvary. It was done with "wicked hands". (Act_2:23)
III As TO THE DUTY OF THE PRIESTS.
1. With respect to the blood.
(1) They were to sprinkle with it round about the altar. The altar upon which Jesus was offered was, in its more restricted sense, the hill of Calvary. On that hill his precious blood was literally sprinkled.
(2) The position of the altar is noted, viz. "by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation." In the wider sense the altar on which Jesus suffered was this planet, which is, as it were, the entrance or vestibule of the great temple of the universe, of which the heavens are the holy places. (see Heb_4:14)
2. With respect to the water.
(1) Water is one of the great purifiers in the kingdom of nature, and is therefore used as an emblem of the Holy Spirit, the Great Purifier in the kingdom of grace. (Joh_7:38, Joh_7:39) So a controversy about baptism with water is described as a "question about purifying". (Joh_3:25)
(2) With water the priest was to wash the inwards and the legs. The inwards were a type of the soul; and God requires "truth in the inward parts," in the "thoughts and intents of the heart." Every pollution, also, connected with our "walk and conversation" must be laved away. To express this truth Jesus washed his disciples" feet.
3. With respect to the fire.
(1) It was "put" upon the altar. This does not say that it was kindled by the priest. The fire was of God"s own kindling. (see Lev_9:24 Lev_10:1, Lev_10:2)
(2) It was, however, fed with fuel by the priests. Human agency cooperates with Divine even in the most sacred things. (Php_2:12, 13)
(3) The parts of the sacrifice were laid in order on the wood. The quarters were laid together in their relative positions. So with the head, the fat, and the inwards. Thus the whole animal was consumed. Our whole being should be offered to God in the flames of love. J.A.M. (Deu_6:5)
The burnt sacrifice.
The most ancient, that which represents all others. Notice
I THE MAIN PRINCIPLE REPRESENTED SELF-SURRENDER IN ORDER TO SELF-PRESERVATION THROUGH THE COVENANTED MERCY OF JEHOVAH. In this principle there are included these points:
1. Recognition of the supreme claim Of God.
2. Substitutionary surrender, a life for a life, the victim for the offerer.
3. Expiation of sin and acceptance, by the restoration of the covenant relations between God and man, proceeding from Divine love, but resting on the offering as representing a fulfilment on both sides of the contract God forgiving, man obeying.
4. The union of the two elements of blood and fire, i.e. , of atonement and purification, the negative holiness and the positive holiness, justification and sanctification, fulness of grace.
II DETAILS OF THE SACRIFICE. Verse 3. Of the herd a male without blemish." God must have our best. We must make our religious service a reality, putting into it our strongest faculties, best opportunities, counting all things but loss for Christ. Examples in the offerings of great faith. Nothing should be blemished in the house of God, in private religion, in acts of charity. "Thou God seest me." "Of his own voluntary will. Although a law, it is of no validity but as an appeal to the free heart of man. Anticipation of the gospel, the Law a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The highest state of life is when law is absorbed in the activity of the nature: we are likest God when we are by grace a law unto ourselves, "willing to do his will? "At the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord." Here are the three elements of religion recognized:
1. Publicity.
2. Fellowship.
3. Divine order.
Secret religion is a contradiction. The profession is part of the sacrifice. "Thy vows are upon me, O Lord. The congregation is a cloud of witnesses, both sustaining personal religion and supplying a constant test of sincerity. And whatever we do, we do before the Lord. His face we desire to seek, and in the light of his manifested favour we rejoice. There are special appointments which all true worshippers will honour: the sabbath, the Word, the congregation, the ordered life of the Christian Church. R.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv3–5 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice.
Lev_1:3
If his offering be a burnt sacrifice.
Read full note →
The burnt-offering
I. In its contrast to the other offerings.
1. It was a sweet savour offering; as such in perfect contrast with the sin-offerings. We are not here, therefore, to consider Christ as the sin-bearer, but as the man in perfectness meeting God in holiness. The thought here is not, God hath made Him to be sin for us, but rather, He loved us, and gave Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God of a sweet-smelling savour. Jesus, both in the burnt-offering and sin-offering, stood as our representative. When He obeyed, He obeyed for us: when He suffered, He suffered for us. But in the burnt-offering He appears for us, not as our sin-bearer, but as man offering to God something which is most precious to Him. We have here what we may in vain search for elsewhere: man giving to God what truly satisfies Him. We too often omit this thought when thinking of the offering of Jesus. We think of His death, but little of His life. We look but little into His ways. Yet it is His ways throughout His pilgrimage, even to the way He laid down His life, which God so delights in. Our views are so selfish and meagre. If we are saved, we seek no further. God, however, puts the burnt-offering first: for this was peculiarly His portion in Jesus. And just in proportion as a believer grows in grace, we shall find him turning intelligently to the Gospels; from them adding to the knowledge he has of the work of Jesus, greater knowledge of His ways and person; with earnest desire to know more of the Lord Himself, and how in all things He was a sweet savour to Jehovah.
2. But the burnt-offering was not only a sweet savour; it was also an offering for acceptance--that is, it was offered to God to secure the acceptance of the offerer. So we read--I give the more correct translation--he shall offer it for his acceptance. To understand this, we must recur for a moment to the position Christ occupied as offerer. He stood for man as man under the law, and, as under law, His acceptance depended on His perfectness. God had made man upright; but he had sought out many inventions. One dispensation after another had tried whether, under any circumstances, man could render himself acceptable to God. But age after age passed away: no son of Adam was found who could meet Gods standard. The law was mans last trial, whether, with a revelation of Gods mind, he could or would obey it. But this trial, like the others, ended in failure: there was none righteous, no, not one. How, then, was man to be reconciled to God? How could he be brought to meet Gods requirements? One way yet remained, and the Son of God accepted it. He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took the seed of Abraham; and in His person, once and for ever, man was reconciled to God. In effecting this, Jesus, as mans representative, took mans place, where He found, man, under law; and there, in obedience to the law, He offered, for His acceptance.
3. The third point peculiar to the burnt-offering was, that a life was offered on the altar (Lev_1:5), in this particular differing from the meat-offering. Life was that part in creation which from the beginning God claimed as His. As such--as being His claim on His creatures--it stands as an emblem for what we owe Him. What we owe to God is our duty to Him. And this, I doubt not, is the thought here intended. Of course, the offering here, as elsewhere, is the body of Jesus, that body which He took, and then gave for us: but in giving God a life, in contradistinction to offering Him corn or frankincense, the peculiar thought is the fulfilment of the first table of he Decalogue. Thus the life yielded is mans duty to God, and man here is seen perfectly giving it. Am I asked what man ever thus offered? I answer, None but One--the man Christ Jesus. He alone of all the sons of Adam in perfectness accomplished all mans duty to Godward; He in His own blessed and perfect righteousness met every claim God could make upon Him.
4. The fourth and last feature peculiar to the burnt-offering is, that it was wholly burnt on the altar. In this particular the burnt-offering differed from the meat and peace-offerings, in which a part only was burnt with fire; nor did it differ less from those offerings for sin, which, though wholly burnt, were not burnt upon the altar. The import of this distinction is manifest, and in exact keeping with the character of the offering. Mans duty to God is not the giving up of one faculty, but the entire surrender of all. So Christ sums up the First Commandment--all the mind, all the soul, all the affections. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. I cannot doubt that the type refers to this in speaking so particularly of the parts of the burnt-offering; for the head, the fat, the legs, the inwards, are all distinctly enumerated. The head is the well-known emblem of the thoughts; the legs the emblem of the walk; and the inwards the constant and familiar symbol of the feelings and affections of the heart. The meaning of the fat may not be quite so obvious, though here also Scripture helps us to the solution (Psa_17:10; Psa_92:14; Psa_119:70; Deu_32:15). It represents the energy not of one limb or faculty, but the general health and vigour of the whole. In Jesus these were all surrendered, and all without spot or blemish.
II. Its varieties, that is, the different measures of apprehension with which it may be seen. There were, then, three grades in the burnt-offering. It might be of the herd, or of the flock, or of fowls. These different grades gave rise to several varieties in the offering, the import of which we shall now consider.
1. The first difference is in the animal offered. We have in the first grade, a bullock; in the second, a lamb; in the third, a turtledove. Each of these animals, from their well-known character, presents us with a different thought respecting the offering. The bullock, strong to labour--for great increase is by the strength of the ox--suggests at once the thought of service, of patient, untiring labour. In the lamb we have another picture presented to us; here the thought is passive submission without a murmur; for the lamb is the figure constantly chosen to represent the submissive, uncomplaining character of Christs sufferings. The turtledove is different from either of these, and gives again another view of the offering of Jesus. In this class the thought of labour is lost sight of: the unmurmuring submission, too, of the lamb is wanting: the thought is rather simply one of mourning innocence; as it is written, We mourn like doves; and again, Be harmless as doves. It may be asked, What do we learn by the goat, which was sometimes offered in one of the lower grades of the burnt-offering? If I mistake not, this emblem suggests a thought of the sin-offering, reminding us of Christs offering as scape-goat.
2. A second distinction between the different grades of the burnt-offering is, that while in the first grade the parts are discriminated, in the last this peculiarity is omitted: the bird was killed, but not divided. In the case of the bullock and the lamb, it is noticed that the offering is cut into its pieces. Here the legs, the head, the fat, the inwards, are all distinctly noticed and enumerated. In the last case--that of the turtledove--it is otherwise: he shall not divide it asunder. The legs, the head, the inwards, as we have already seen, represent the walk, the thoughts, the feelings of Jesus. In the first grade these are all apprehended: they are all lost sight of in the last. These grades represent, as I have said, measures of apprehension. Where the measure of spiritual apprehension is large, a saint will see the offering dissected: his eyes will be turning constantly to see the walk, the mind, the affections of Jesus. He will now observe, what once he regarded not, how Jesus walked, how He thought, what were His feelings. On the other hand, where Jesus is but little apprehended all the details of His walk and feelings will be unseen.
3. A third distinction between the different grades of the burnt-offering is, that while in the first grade the offerer is seen to lay his hand on the offering, in the other grades this act is not observed. Not a few see Christ as offering for us without fully realising that His offering was Himself. They see that He gave up this thing or that; that He gave much for us, and that what He gave was most precious. But they do not really see that He gave Himself, that His own blessed person was what He offered. This is clearly seen in the first grade of the burnt-offering. It is lost sight of, or unobserved, in the other grades.
4. A fourth distinction, closely allied with the one just considered, is, that in the first class the offerer is seen to kill the victim--in the last the priest kills it. In fact, in the last class, the priest does nearly everything, the offerer is scarcely seen at all; whereas in the first class it is just the reverse, there are many particulars noted of theofferer. The import of this is at once obvious, when we see the distinction between the priest and offerer. The offerer, as I have already observed, sets Christ before us in His person. The priest represents Him in His official character, as the appointed Mediator between God and man. Where the identity between the offerer and offering is apprehended, the offerer is seen to kill the offering; that is, Christ is seen in His person, of His own will laying down His life; as it is written--No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of Myself. On the contrary, where the identity of the offering and offerer is unseen or disregarded, the priest is seen to kill the victim, that is, Christs death is seen as the work of the Mediator; and is connected with His official character as Priest, rather than with His person as the willing offerer. So with believers, where there is only a limited measure of apprehension, little is known of Christ save His office as Mediator: He Himself, His blessed person, is overlooked or but little seen. Such are the chief varieties of the burnt-offering: how full are they of instruction to the believer; how clearly do they mark the different apprehensions among saints respecting the work and person of our Lord! Some, however--I speak of believers--are content to know nothing of this; and they would rather not be told their ignorance. They can see but one truth--the Paschal lamb--and anything further they neither care nor wish for. (A. Jukes.)
The burnt-offering
I. Characteristics.
1. Perfect.
2. Voluntary.
3. Vicarious.
4. Slain by offerer himself.
5. Blood sprinkled.
6. Wholly consumed.
II. Features which distinguish it from the sin-offering.
1. Nothing is said of the voluntary character of the sin-offering. Does not this throw light on the agony and prayer of Christ in Gethsemane?
2. Only parts of the sin-offering were to be burnt on the altar of burnt-offering (Heb_4:11-12; Heb_13:11-13; 2Co_5:21). This explains the suffering of Christ and His cry on the cross--Eloi, &c.
III. To observe these distinctions important, as bearing upon their typical signification.
1. The Epistle to the Hebrews proves that Christ and His work are typified in the whole Mosaic ritual.
2. The one represents our Lord in His consecration to His Fathers will; the other, as its name indicates, represents Him as the sin-bearer.
(1) His consecration has in it the elements of voluntariness and completeness, and that it was of sweet savour unto Jehovah.
(2) As sin.bearer He is represented as not being permitted to suffer even within the camp. Lessons:
1. As a burnt-offering our Lord is to us an example in our consecration to God, which should be--
(1) Perfect in its sincerity.
(2) Cheerful in its spirit.
(3) Unreserved in its degree.
2. As a sin-offering our Lord teaches us how hateful sin was to Him; yet He endured its imputation, being made sin for us, that we might be made Gods righteousness in Him. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)
Significance of the burnt-offering
To be offered--
1. Orderly.
2. Openly.
3. Devoutly.
4. Cheerfully. (F. W. Brown.)
The burnt-offering
I. Consider the sort of victim required for this sacrifice: a bullock, or a sheep, or, in case of great poverty, a young pigeon or dove--the very purest, cleanest, and best of creatures--nothing else would answer. And even these had to be the finest and most desirable specimens. Pure and perfect as the bright world from which He came, Christ, our sacrifice, was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners--a Lamb without spot--the first, the purest, the gentlest, and the best in all the domain of the great God. He was the very Prince of creation, who knew no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.
II. Consider next what was done with the victim selected. If a bullock, the Divine command was, Kill it before the Lord, and flay it, and cut it into his pieces. If from the flock, the word was Kill it on the side of the altar northward, and cut it into his pieces. Who was to do this is not clearly specified. Any one, good or bad, priest or private, the worst or best, may become the executioner of the Divine sentence. When Jesus was made an offering for us, earth and hell joined in the infliction of the sacrificial stroke. If a bird, the word of the Lord was, Wring off his head, and pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cleave it with the wings. Fit picture this of the end which awaits the unforgiven, and of what actually befell the blessed Saviour who was once offered to bear the sins of many. The plucking and tearing off of the skin was to show how naked the sinner is, and how completely he is exposed to the fires of Divine wrath, and how unprotected Jesus was when He submitted to bear our sins in His own body on the tree. But in addition to this terrible mutilation, the victim was yet to be put upon the altar and burned. The command was, The priest shall burn all on the altar. And a particular method was also to be observed in this burning. First, the head and the loose fat were to be placed upon the fire; the head from without, and the fat from within. After that the legs and the entrails were to be given to the flames; the outward and the inward together. Man has a double nature; and in all Divine services, and under all Divine inflictions, both departments fare alike. We cannot give our bodies to God and reserve our hearts, nor serve Him in the spirit without bringing that service out into controlling influence over the flesh also. The whole man must go or nothing. Nor is the ultimate doom of sin a mere bodily suffering, or the mere consuming of the exterior members; nor yet mere mental woe and spiritual grief. As the Saviour says, it is the destruction of both body and soul in hell. Christ as our sacrifice, suffered not only in the outer man, but in His whole inner and outer nature conjoined.
III. Consider further what was to be effected by the presentation of this particular kind of sacrifice. If the man who brought it would lay his hand upon its head, and so acknowledge it as that by which he hoped and prayed and trusted to be forgiven, the Lord said it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. That is, the devoting of such a victim to death and fire was to answer as a substitute for the death and burning of the sinner himself. What a beautiful illustration of our reconciliation to God through the death of His Son!
IV. There yet remains one other particular to be noticed with regard to this atoning offering; and that is the perfect freedom with which any and every one might avail himself of its benefits. It was confined to no special time, and demanded no specific juncture of affairs. It was as free at one season as at another, and could be resorted to whenever any one felt himself moved in that way. If the worshipper could not bring a bullock, a sheep would answer. And if too poor to furnish either, a dove or pigeon was just as acceptable. There was no reason why any one should not come and share the benefits of a full expiation through the burnt-offering of atonement. All that a man wanted was the consent and determination of his own heart--the motion of his own voluntary will. Now this was not accidental. It was meant to set forth a great gospel truth. It tells of the perfect freeness with which one and all may be saved, if only there is the proper effort made. It was the lifting up of the voice of mercy even in that remote antiquity, crying, Come; whosoever will, let him come. (J. A. Seiss, D. D.)
The burnt-offering; or, the Father glorified
I. THE BURNT-OFFERING is placed first in order, when the Lord spake unto Moses out of the Tabernacle, teaching that the primary and grand object of Christs death was the glory of God. The burnt-offering may be said to answer to St. Johns Gospel, where this object is very prominent (see Joh_12:27-33; Joh_17:1-4).
1. Atonement, as expiation of guilt, is not the prominent thought in burnt-offering, yet it is seen there, verifying Heb_9:22; and the sprinkling of the blood testifies to the righteousness of God in accepting the worshipper whose worship--like all else--needs the atoning blood, being in itself not only worthless, but tainted with sin; and worship is one prominent feature of burnt-offering as regards man. Now look at details.
2. Male without blemish. That is, highest order of offering, whether of herd or flock (Lev_1:3; Lev_1:10). Nothing with slightest taint or blemish must be used to represent Christ.
II. Acceptance was another prominent characteristic of burnt-offering. It was presented that the offerer might be accepted (Lev_1:3). Lo! I come . . . to do Thy will, O God (Heb_10:7; Psa_40:7), were the words of Jesus. He presented Himself for acceptance; He was obedient unto death (Php_2:8). His sacrifice was that of devotion and service, as typified in this offering. Thus was the Father glorified in the death of His beloved Son I See, too, how Fathers love drawn forth because He laid down His life for sheep (Joh_10:11; Joh_10:17), in obedience to Fathers will (Joh_6:38-40). Thus the Fathers glory seen to be bound up in the salvation of sheep; and His acceptance of Jesus ensures theirs (Lev_1:4; Eph_1:6).
III. Hand upon head of burnt-offering further shows identification of offerer and offering. The word rendered put (verse 4) signifies to lean with whole weight, which implies full reliance, trust, and transfer, so to speak, of whole being to Him, who both amply met Gods claim to entire devotedness to Him and made atonement for His people, that is, covered their failures with His atoning merits and sacrifice. Believers are in Him (1Jn_5:20), and thus God sees and accepts them.
IV. Kill, flay cut into his pieces (verses 5, 6). Significant actions. Not only death, but all laid bare to be exposed to searching fire of Gods holiness, and testify to the perfections of His Christ, whether in part or whole. Believers should look into Christ, and study His perfections in every detail. There is also a rightly dividing the Word of truth (2Ti_2:15), which testifies of Jesus the living Word. Again, His pieces, typifying members of His body, are laid bare before God; all within revealed, i.e., naked and opened . . . (Heb_4:13), to the Searcher ex hearts (Psa_7:9; Luk_16:15); and He requires holiness within (1Pe_1:15-16).
V. the priests, Aarons sons (verses 5-8) represent the Church of God, the children (Heb_2:13), an holy priesthood (1Pe_2:5): here seen as worshipping saints, offering to God what most acceptable to Him.
1. They sprinkle the blood, showing ground of acceptable worship (1Pe_1:2).
2. They put fire, and lay all in order upon the altar. Christ, the Head, in His entirety, with His rich excellency (fat), offering Him self (voluntary act), through the eternal Spirit (fire), without spot to God (Heb_9:14). Many waters cannot quench love (Son_8:7), such as His, glowing With the fire of the Spirit, shown in zeal and devotion to the Father s will. And no work for God, no offering acceptable, except through the fire of the Spirit (Rom_8:4; Rom_8:8-10; Rom_8:14), sent from above to dwell in believers, and kindle in them flame of love and zeal, which again ascends to heaven.
VI. The washing of inwards and legs (verse 9) rendered the offering typically what Christ is inherently and intrinsically. Perfectly clean and pure, not only in outward walk, but inwardly also; in exact accordance with the requirements of a holy God. Truth, wisdom found in Him who was both (Psa_51:6; Psa_15:2; Joh_14:6; Pro_8:11; Pro_8:30; 1Co_1:24).
VII. The priest shall burn all (verse 13). The whole of the burnt-offering was to be consumed upon the altar, because exclusively for God. God requires whole-heartedness in His service; want of devotedness to God is sin; we offend if we keep back part for ourselves, or for the world, instead of presenting all to Him; and these failures, sins, shortcomings, are all met by the precious One in the burnt-offering.
VIII. The ashes carried forth from beside the altar testify to the completeness of the work finished on Calvary, and to Gods complete acceptance of the perfect Sacrifice, His own unspeakable gift (2Co_9:15) to man. The clean place without the camp (chaps. 1:16, 6:10, 11) points to the new tomb (Mat_27:58-66), where the body of Jesus was laid; and He--the risen One--then entered into heaven itself, now to appear . . . (Heb_9:24).
IX. a sweet savour unto the lord (verses 9, 13, 17). As such the continual burnt-offering ascended (Num_28:3-8); and so the fragrant merits of Christs one all-sufficient sacrifice. For Christ also hath . . . given Himself for.., a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour (Eph_5:2). Yes, Jesus, who is feasting the Fathers eyes and heart, is the one in whom He smells a sweet savour or savour of rest (Gen_8:21). (Lady Beau-jolois Dent.)
The burnt-offering
Concerning this offering we note--
I. The principle that acceptable worship must be in accordance with divine direction. Not now the blood of bulls and of goats, but the blood of Christ is the sacrifice by which we come to God (Heb_10:9-10). The was is as distinctly and definitely described under the new dispensation as under the old (Joh_14:6). True religion is a revealed way of approach to God.
II. Its special significance. Its Hebrew name means, an ascending. The first symbol by which men sought communion with God expressed a voluntary and entire dedication of themselves to Him. They declared, by it, their aspiration after Him; their desire to do His will; their self-surrender to Him. It was this devotion of soul that made the offering a sweet savour unto Him.
III. The relation of the burnt-offering to christian worship.
1. This offering suggests the holiness of God.
2. The spirit of acceptable Christian worship: Pure.
3. The character of the acceptable Christian worshipper: Constant self-devotion to God. (A. E. Dunning.)
The burnt-offering
The burnt-offering was one of what might be called the common law offerings of mankind. There were two of these at least--the slain and the burnt-offering. It is not always possible to distinguish these in the early history of sacrifices. The former was one in which slain beasts were laid upon the altar in token of mans fellowship with God; the latter was one where the animals were burned with fire as incense to Jehovah, expressive of mans dependence, obedience, and need of forgiveness. The burnt-offering was the most significant of all these earlier sacrifices, and probably included at times all the others. It is fitting for this reason, as well as for its superior importance, that it occupy the first place in the directions of the sacrificial code for Israel. The law of burnt-offerings was one which now became invested with the new sovereignty of a statute. It was not superseded in its significance or any of its associations, but some of these were emphasised. Branches grew out of the stalk which had its roots in the first sinners heart and the earliest race history.
I. The idea of self-surrender underlay the gift of the burnt-offering. Save on great occasions, like that of a dedication of the Tabernacle or Temple, this was a voluntary offering. As men were urged onward into clearly marked modes of worship they were not deprived of their upward look. Before there is expiation or justification there must be a relation of fellowship between man and his Maker. The burnt-offering was the best symbol of this confidential self-surrender because it was the sacrifice of a living thing. The blood was regarded as the vehicle of the life. When the Hebrew came of his own choice thus before the Lord he made an offering of himself.
II. The idea of expiation underlay the offering of the burnt sacrifice. The Israelite who came before the altar to make a burnt-offering laid his hand upon the victim in token of his desire to have it accepted as a sacrifice for sin. The great breaches of the moral law were not atoned for by any ceremonial under the Hebrew code. The most flagrant sins which were atoned for or covered by sacrifice were those of carelessness, and had reference to a breach of ceremonial law. Therefore we are justified in emphasising in the burnt-offering the idea of self-surrender. The expiation of the murderers sin must come from a sacrifice God should make in His own Son. The sinner took refuge with God in the hope of the holier offering and Mediator God should provide.
III. The acceptable sacrifice of the burnt-offering requires the mediatorial office. The worshipper has accepted the offices of Gods mediator. God has received mans trust, his surrender, his obedience. The spirit of Abraham with raised hand above his only son is that which must fill the heart of every true worshipper under the Mosaic dispensation. He accepts Gods offering as a sacrifice, whether made before the foundation of the world, at the Tabernacle altar, or on Calvary. Obedience is the best element man furnishes in the atonement. Obedience to the unseen God is the arrow of which faith is the bow-string. (W. R. Campbell.)
The gospel of the burnt-offering
I. The offerer was to bring it to the door of the tabernacle.
1. A voluntary act.
(1) Christ died willingly.
(2) So should we in all our services be a willing people.
2. This points every way to Christ as the cause of our acceptance with God. He is both Door and Tabernacle, Altar and Priest.
3. We are to see God in all oar services, in and by Jesus Christ.
4. We are to worship God in His Church.
II. The sinner that brought the sacrifice was to lay his hand upon the head of it. This ceremony relates to the confession of sin, and the translation of the guilt of it upon the sacrifice (Isa_53:4-5; 1Jn_1:7; 1Jn_1:9).
III. The sacrifice must be killed and slain, and that upon the north side of the altar.
1. The death of Christ (Dan_9:26; Isa_53:10).
2. Christ was killed in Jerusalem and Mount Sion, which was on the sides of the north.
IV. The blood was pourer forth at the foot of the altar, and sprinkled upon it round about.
1. Christs blood was shed (Isa_53:12; Mat_26:28).
2. Sprinkled (Heb_12:24; 1Pe_1:2).
V. The priest is to flay it, and cut it into its pieces.
1. This related in general to the sufferings of Christ (Mic_3:2-3; Psa_22:15-16).
2. As the sacrifice, being dead and slain, did leave a skin for clothing to the priest by whose hand he died, so Christ, our true sacrifice, who was led as a lamb to the slaughter, leaves a garment of righteousness to clothe believers with (Rom_13:14).
3. Whereas the sacrifice in this action was laid open, and the inward parts of it discovered to open view: so is Christ fully and openly discovered in the preaching of the gospel (Gal_3:1).
4. The skin of the sacrifice went to the priest. It was part of his maintenance (see Corinthians 9:13, 14).
VI. The pieces were to be salted (Lev_2:13; Mar_9:49).
1. This signifies the perpetuity of the covenant of grace.
2. Its wholesomeness.
VII. The legs and inwards must be washed. So the bodies of believers are said to be washed with pure water, and their hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.
VIII. The several parts of the offering must be laid upon the altar, and burnt with fire, till consumed. This is the fire of the justice and wrath of God from heaven, which seized upon Christ; and every part of Him was burnt: His head crowned with thorns, His side pierced with the spear, His hands and feet with nails, His whole body did sweat drops of blood, His soul was heavy unto death, yea, burnt to ashes, as it were, brought to the utmost extremity of misery. His saints also endure the fiery trial (1Pe_4:12).
IX. The ashes must be carried out of the camp into a clean place (Lev_6:10-11; see Heb_13:11-13). Christs crucified body was not buried within the city, but placed in a new sepulchre where never any man lay before (Joh_19:41). So the dead bodies of all His saints, when they are spent and consumed to ashes, are regarded and preserved in the dust by God as sacred relics, and He will raise them up again unto eternal life. Lessons:
1. See here the difference between Gods ceremonies and mens. Divine ceremonies are full of light and spirit; human ceremonies are full of darkness and vanity.
2. See the fierceness of the wrath of God against sin. It is nothing but death and blood and slaughter that will appease offended justice.
3. Direction under the guilt of sin what to do, and what course to take, to make atonement and reconciliation between God and thee. Go and bring your sacrifice to the Priest, and by Him unto God.
4. Unspeakable consolation unto them that have taken this course. (S. Mather.)
The burnt-offering
An offerer comes. Mark what he brings. If his offering be from the herd, it must be an unblemished male (Lev_1:3). It must be the choicest produce from his pastures--the primest flower from his fields. There must be strength in fullest vigour, and beauty without one alloy. Such are the properties required. The purport is distinct. Jesus is here. The victim chosen before worlds were framed is thus portrayed. Strength and perfection are main colours in His portrait. We next approach the chambers of the offerers heart. We read, He shall offer it of his own free will (Lev_1:3). There is no compulsion. There is no reluctance. His step is willingness. This is a picture of faiths happy actings. Its chariot-wheels move swiftly. It feels sins miserable need. It knows the value of redeeming blood. So it flies, with rapid wing, to plead it at the mercy-seat. The eager offerer puts his hand upon the victims head (Lev_1:4). Do any ask the meaning of this rite? It graphically shows a transfer. Some load oppresses, which is thus cast off. Some burden passes to anothers person. Here is again the happy work of faith. It brings all guilt, and heaps it on the Saviours head. One sin retained is misery now and hell at last. All must be pardoned by being brought to Christ. And He is waiting to receive. The victim, to which sins thus typically pass, must die (Lev_1:5). Can Jesus, who in reality receives our guilt, not lay down life? It cannot be. The holy Word stands sure: In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die (Gen_2:17). The sinners surety, then, cannot be spared. He gives His life to pay the debt--to satisfy the wrath--to bear the curse--to expiate the guilt. O my soul, Christ died is all your hope--your plea--your remedy--your life. Christ died opens your path to God. The victims blood is sprinkled round about upon the altar (Lev_1:5). The blood is evidence that life is paid. This token then is profusely scattered. The victim is next flayed (Lev_1:6). The skin is torn away. The sacrificing priest received this as his portion. Here is a picture of that heaven-pure robe, in which Christ decks each child of faith. His blood, indeed, removes all curse. But it is obedience, which merits all glory. Because He died, we live. Because He lived, we reign. The piercing knife divides the limbs. Members are torn from members, and all the parts, without, within, to which defilement usually adheres, are diligently washed (Lev_1:9). The type of Jesus must be clean. No shadow of impurity may darken it. The parts thus severed, and thus washed, are placed upon the altar. Consuming fire is brought. It preys on every limb. The raging flame devours, until this fuel is reduced to ashes (Lev_1:9). Let us now seek the truth, which echoes from this blazing pile. The Garden and the Cross unfold it. There Jesus presents Himself, laden with all the sins of all His chosen race. (Dean Law.)
The burnt-offering
If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male, without blemish. The essential glory and dignity of Christs Person form the basis of Christianity. He imparts that dignity and glory to everything He does, and to every office He sustains. We shall see, when we come to examine the other offerings, that a female was, in some cases, permitted; but that was only expressive of the imperfection which attached to the worshippers apprehension, and in nowise of any defect in the offering, inasmuch as it was unblemished in the one case, as well as in the other. Here, however, it was an offering of the very highest order, because it was Christ offering Himself to God. He shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord. The use of the word voluntary, here, brings out, with great clearness, the grand idea in the burnt-offering. It leads us to contemplate the Cross in an aspect which is not sufficiently apprehended. We are too apt to look upon the Cross merely as the place where the great question of sin was gone into and settled, between eternal Justice and the spotless Victim--as the place where our guilt was atoned for, and where Satan was gloriously vanquished. Eternal and universal praise to redeeming love the Cross was all this. But it was more than this. It was the place where Christs love to the Father was told out in language which only the Father could hear and understand. It is in the latter aspect that we have it typified, in the burnt-offering; and therefore it is that the word voluntary occurs. The guilty sinner, no doubt, finds in the Cross a Divine answer to the deepest and most earnest cravings of heart and conscience. The true believer finds in the Cross that which captivates every affection of his heart, and transfixes his whole moral being. The angels find in the Cross a theme for ceaseless admiration. All this is true; but there is that, in the Cross, which passes far beyond the loftiest conceptions of saints or angels; namely, the deep-toned devotion of the heart of the Son presented to, and appreciated by, the heart of the Father. This is the elevated aspect of the Cross, which is so strikingly shadowed forth in the burnt-offering. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted for him, to make atonement for him. The act of laying on of hands was expressive of full identification. By that significant act the offerer and the offering became one; and this oneness, in the case of the burnt-offering, secured for the offerer all the acceptableness of his offering. The application of this to Christ and the believer sets forth a truth of the most precious nature, and one largely developed in the New Testament; namely, the believers everlasting identification with, and acceptance in, Christ. As He is, so are we, in this world. We are in Him that is true (1Jn_4:17; 1Jn_5:20). Nothing, in any measure, short of this could avail. And he shall kill the bullock before the Lord: and the priests, Aarons sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation. It is most needful, in studying the doctrine of the burnt-offering, to bear in mind that the grand point set forth therein is not the meeting of the sinners need, but the presentation to God of that which was infinitely acceptable to Him. Christ, as foreshadowed by the burnt-offering, is not for the sinners conscience, but for the heart of God. Further, the Cross, in the burnt-offering, is not the exhibition of the exceeding hatefulness of sin, but of Christs unshaken and unshakable devotedness to the Father. Neither is it the scene of Gods outpoured wrath on Christ the Sin-bearer; but of the Fathers unmingled complacency in Christ, the voluntary and most fragrant sacrifice. Finally, atonement, as seen in the burnt-offering, is not merely commensurate with the claims of mans conscience, but with the intense desire of the heart of Christ, to carry out the will and establish the counsels of God--a desire which stopped not short of surrendering up His spotless, precious life, as a voluntary offering of sweet savour to God. The priests, Aarons sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation. Here we have a type of the Church, bringing the memorial of an accomplished sacrifice, and presenting it in the place of individual approach to God. But, we must remember, it is the blood of the burnt-offering, and not of the sin-offering. It is the Church, in the power of the Holy Ghost, entering into the stupendous thought of Christs accomplished devotedness to God, and not a convicted sinner, entering into the value of the blood of the Sin-bearer. And he shall flay the burnt-offering, and cut it into his pieces. The ceremonial act of flaying was peculiarly expressive. It was simply the removing of the outward covering, in order that what was within might be fully revealed. It was not sufficient that the offering should be, outwardly, without blemish, the hidden parts should be all disclosed, in order that every sinew and every joint might be seen. It was only in the case of the burnt-offering that this action was specially named. This is quite in character, and tends to set forth the depth of Christs devotedness to the Father. It was no mere surface-work with Him. The more the secrets of His inner life were disclosed, the more the depths of His being were explored, the more clearly was it made manifest that pure devotion to the will of His Father, and earnest desire for His glory, were the springs of action in the great Antitype of the burnt-offering. He was, most assuredly, a whole burnt-offering. And cut it into his pieces. This action presents a somewhat similar truth to that taught in the sweet incense beaten small (chap. 16.). The Holy Ghost delights to dwell upon the sweetness and fragrance of the sacrifice of Christ, not only as a whole, but also in all its minute details. Look at the burnt-offering, as a whole, and you see it without blemish. Look at it in all its parts, and you see it to be the same. Such was Christ; and as such He is shadowed forth in this important type. And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire. And the priests, Aarons sons, shall lay the parts, &c. This was a high position--high communion--a high order of priestly service--a striking type of the Church having fellowship with God, in reference to the perfect accomplishment of His will in the death of Christ. As convicted sinners we gaze on the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and behold therein that which meets all our need. The Cross, in this aspect of it, gives perfect peace to the conscience. But, then, as priests, as purged worshippers, as members of the priestly family, we can look at the Cross in another light, even as the grand consummation of Christs holy purpose to carry out, even unto death, the will of the Father. But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord. This action rendered the sacrifice, typically, what Christ was essentially, pure, both inwardly and outwardly pure. The members of His body perfectly obeyed and carried out the counsels of His devoted heart--that heart which only beat for God, and for His glory, in the salvation of men. Well, therefore, might the priest burn all on the altar. It was all typically pure, and all designed only as food for the altar of God. (C. H. Mackintosh.)
The burnt-offering
In the burnt-offering the atoning element of sacrifice fell into the background, though not wholly absent; there is no special manipulation of the blood, as in the sin-offering; all centres on the entire consumption of the sacrifice upon the altar, which was especially the altar of burnt-offering. The burnt-offering was, then, peculiarly the offering of worship. And the offerer was set forth as being a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. The principal burnt-offering under the law was the daily, or continual, burnt-offering (Exo_29:38-42; cf. Num_28:3-8, Lev_6:9-12). Nothing was ever allowed to interfere with this continual burnt-offering. The great national offering of Israel, says Archdeacon Freeman, the morning and evening lamb, was simply the ancient burnt-offering, or the Mosaic offering of private persons, lifted into a new sphere of power and activity. The directions given in the two eases are, as far as they go (cf. Num_28:1-31, with Lev_1:1-13)
, perfectly coincident; even to the quantity of flour, wine, and oil. Insomuch that the lofty powers wielded by the continual sacrifice might well seem at first sight unaccountable. But they are fully accounted for when we call to mind the august circumstances with which this particular offering was surrounded. These, joined to the direct command and promise of God in respect of it, render an abundant account of the transcendent powers which are ascribed to it. And though we might on some accounts rather have expected to find the ox or the ram selected, for their physical superiority and greater value, as the national and all-containing sacrifice, we easily perceive, from the standing-ground of the gospel, the superior fitness for this purpose of the feeblest, meekest, and most unresisting of creatures. At the same time, even as the Divine strength was made perfect in the weakness of Christ, so this outwardly simple and single sacrifice was seen, on occasion, to carry within it all that was noble and powerful in the sacrificial sphere. On each Sabbath it expanded into two lambs, offered morning and evening; at the new moons, and other feasts, it became seven lambs, two young bullocks, a ram, and a goat; on each day, during the Feast of Tabernacles, fourteen lambs, from eight to thirteen bullocks, two rams, and a goat, became, in a word, fat burnt sacrifices, with incense of rams, bullocks, and goats. By all these was manifested forth the might that was veiled under the meekness of the lamb . . . It is of the utmost importance thus to have pointed out the function and capacities of the ancient burnt-offering, because the sacrificial work of Christ is to so great a degree interpreted to us by it, and specially by that loftily empowered instance of it, the Mosaic continual sacrifice. To this is to be referred whatever is said in the New Testament, and in the Liturgies, of His giving Himself, as a most unspeakably acceptable gift to God; as discriminated either from His giving or delivering Himself over for suffering and death, to wicked men and powers of evil, which is more especially set forth by the sin-offering; or again, as distinguished from His giving Himself to man as the life of his soul, which was represented by the peace-offering. The continual burnt-offering represents also our Lords perpetual presentation of His sacrifice in heaven, that sacrifice which St. Athanasius calls a faithful sacrifice, one which remains and does not pass away. (E. F. Willis, M. A.)
The burnt-offering
The leading feature of the burnt-offering consisted in its being wholly consumed upon the altar. What have we here but a type of the preciousness of Jesus, as exhibited in His wholehearted devotedness, His entire consecration to the will and service of His Father? Is not His language in the fortieth Psalm, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O My God. Yea, Thy law is within My heart--precisely the language of the Burnt-Offering? Again, in John, I seek not My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. Who but Jesus could say, I do always those things that please Him? Isolated acts of devotedness we may and do see exhibited by many of His followers. But in the Man Christ Jesus we see one who through life, and in death could say, My meat and My drink is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work--One who loved and served the Lord His God with all His heart, His soul, His strength--One, therefore, who met in every respect the requirements of the type before us. Before the victim for the burnt-offering was placed upon the altar, it was flayed and cut into pieces, and the parts thereof, the head and feet, laid in order upon the wood. This was a testing process, and served to try the animals fitness for the sacrifice. Jesus was tried. Tried by man. Tried by Satan. Tried by God. His thoughts, the feelings of His heart, His words, His every act--all were laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom He had to do. Yet all bore the test. The minutest examination of His inner as well as His outer life failed to disclose aught but consisted with the purest and most perfect devotion to His Fathers will. He Himself could say, Thou hast proved Mine heart, Thou hast visited Me in the night, Thou hast tried Me and shalt find nothing. Whilst His Father from the excellent glory declared, Thou art My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. In other words, I rest in Thee and am satisfied. My holiness rests in Thee and is satisfied. My justice, My truth, all the essential attributes which I possess as Jehovah, all are satisfied. All My most righteous claims are met to the full. Thou art unto Me a perfect burnt-offering. A sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour. But not only was the burnt-offering one of a sweet-smelling savour to God, it was rich also in results towards the offerer. It stood in his stead. All its perfectness was regarded as if it had been his. In its acceptance he was accepted. So with Christs sacrifice (see Eph_5:2; Rom_5:19). (F. H. White.)
The burnt-offerings aptly commence the sacrificial laws
First, they were probably the oldest form of sacrifice. In the next place, they had the very widest application, and could be presented by any person without distinction, a point which is the more significant as the offerer, sharing the sacred functions with the priests, had to perform several important parts of the ceremony himself. And lastly, though originally designed to convey merely the worshippers awe and his unconditional surrender to the Divine supremacy, they were, in the Levitical code, invested with the character of atonement (Lev_1:4), and were not only commanded on specified occasions, but left to the spontaneous impulse of the heart that yearns for peace and for the expiation of sins known to the transgressor alone. They were therefore meant to serve the highest ends of an inward religion. Thus modified, they marked a decided progress in the path of spiritual faith; they were, in fact, the forerunners of the expiatory offerings which form the very crowning point of the sacrificial system, and beyond which, even at the very next step, the mind leaves the fetters of the ceremonial law and enters the purer regions of freedom and elevation. Hence the Levitical holocausts lead us to a time when the deeprooted tendencies towards pagan idolatry had been conquered, and the intellectual efforts of the more thoughtful and more gifted among the Hebrews had been rewarded by the establishment of a religious creed, which, however far removed from absolute truth, and however repugnant to the true attributes of the Deity and the requirements of philosophy and reason, at least permitted the exercise of noble and exalted humanity, and even facilitated, more than any of the preceding and most of the later systems of theology, an insight into the moral government of the world, and the higher aims of human existence. Thus the very beginning of the Book reveals unmistakably the time and purposes of its composition, and forms the first link in that great chain of evidence which leads to the most pregnant and most interesting historical results. (M. M. Kalisch, Ph. D.)
The burnt-offering
Here we are so accustomed to fall short of Gods glory, and failure in glorifying Him is so much regarded as the necessary law of our condition, that even believers find it difficult to look on failure in devotedness as sin--sin that needs atonement as much as their most dire transgressions. Even after we have owned the blood of the Paschal Lamb as delivering from the judgment due to our natural condition, and after we have recognised the necessity of the Holy One bearing the curse earned by our transgressions, we nevertheless fail to estimate the want of perfect devotedness as being positive sin; and hence the appreciation of our own condition, as well as of the grace that meets it, becomes proportionately enfeebled. In order to correct this error--an error fatal to all right apprehension of God, and our relation both to His holiness and to His grace--the first lesson given to us in the Tabernacle respects the whole burnt-offering. In other offerings part was sometimes given to the priest, sometimes to the offerer; but the burnt-offering was all (the skin only excepted) rendered to God, and all burnt upon His altar. In the burnt-offering, therefore, there was a distinct recognition of the righteous claim of God on the unreserved devotedness of His creatures; but it was also the confession that that claim was responded to by none. When an offerer presented a victim to be accepted in his room, the very act of substitution implied that the offerer acknowledged himself to be destitute of the qualifications which were found in his offering; otherwise substitution would not be needed, for the offerer would stand in his own integrity. There was the confession, too, that the absence of these qualifications involved guilt--guilt deserving death; for otherwise the offering would not have been substitutionally slain--killed before Jehovah; and lastly, there was the acknowledgment that because no unreserved devotedness had been found in him, he needed an offering to be wholly given in his stead as a sweet savour of rest before Jehovah. The burnt-offering therefore may be regarded as the type of Christ in respect of that full, unreserved devotedness of service which caused Him, as the servant of Jehovah, in all things to renounce Himself, and to render every energy, and every feeling, and finally His life itself, as a whole burnt-offering unto God. (B. W. Newton.)
Right use of the grace of the burnt-offering
To use aright the grace of the burnt-offering requires, whilst we remain in the flesh, continued watchfulness: else we may sit down under the shadow of its mercies and slumber. When protection in the earth was by the especial gift of God granted to Cain, the opportunities which that protection gave were instantly used by him against God. It may be said, what else could be expected from the unregenerate heart of Cain? But it must be remembered that unregenerate energies are still found in the flesh even of the regenerate. In our flesh no good thing dwelleth, but sin--essential sin--is there. The flesh lusteth against the spirit. And although the protection vouchsafed to Cain was a temporary mercy only, and although no burnt-offering spread the power of its acceptance over his guilty head, and therefore in him unregeneracy might be expected to work and to bring forth its proper fruits, yet what shall we say of another--him who is first mentioned in Scripture as standing by the side of a burnt-offering altar? Noah offered whole burnt-offerings, and the Lord smelled a sweet savour of rest and made a covenant of blessing, and under it Noah rested: but to what did he devote his energies? To planting a vineyard for himself and cherishing its fruits, till he drank the wine thereof and became drunken and dishonoured. Can there be any other result, when the Church, forgetting its high and separate calling, finds its chief present use of the grace of redemption, in trying to sanctify to itself mere earthly joys? It was otherwise with the Apostle Paul. Who knew, as he, the value of the burnt-offering and the joy of its acceptance? Yet to him, to live was Christ; and he laboured on till he could say, I have fought the good fight, I have kept the faith, I have finished my course with joy. And why this difference? It was because the apostle better understood that the only true place of blessing was the new creation. His soul followed, as it were, the offering to the place into which its sweet savour ascended--even above the heavens. (B. W. Newton.)
Inferior offerings permitted
One offerer might bring a bullock--another an offering from the flock--another only an offering of fowls. There was evidently much mercy in this provision; for if poverty, or even disinclination, prevented an Israelite from bringing the highest offering, he was permitted to bring a lesser, in order that he might not be deprived entirely of the blessings connected with the burnt-offering. Antitypically, there ought to be in believers sufficient enlargement of faith to form a proper conception of Christ as the burnt-offering; bat if this be wanting, there may be a more feeble power of faith, not without its value, which is able to apprehend partially. Such a character of faith is likely to be prevalent at an hour of general weakness like the present. The superior worth of the bullock, as contrasted with the lesser offerings, is doubtless the point chiefly to be rested on. But there seems a peculiar suitability in such a type as the bullock, when our minds are directed to Christ as the Servant of Jehovah. If we are to consider the strength, the patience, the submissiveness, which characterised His service, or the value of that service in result, the bullock is evidently a far fitter type than either the sheep or the dove. When the offering was from the flock, and yet more, when it was taken from the fowls, we find, as might be expected, the ceremonies indicating far less distinct and discriminative apprehension of the value of the burnt-offering than in the former case. A distinct recognition of Him and His perfections, to whom the offering was rendered, was most material. Accordingly, in offering the bullock the offerer presented it at the door of the Tabernacle of congregation before Jehovah, and killed it before Jehovah. Great prominency is thus given to Jehovah; but in this second case there is no such presentation before Jehovah, no laying the hand on the head of the victim, no mention of its being presented for acceptance or for atonement. It was killed also in a different place, not simply before Jehovah, but on the side of the altar northward before Jehovah. In the former case the offerer advanced to the door of the Tabernacle of congregation before Jehovah; as if recognising Him, and all His attributes in their totality; but in this second case he slew the victim, not in front of the altar, or at the altar, but on the side of the altar northward--indicating, apparently, that his attention was directed, not to the manner in which all the attributes of God were recognised by the altar, as it looked eastward and westward, northward and southward; but that it was fixed peculiarly on its relation to Jehovah in some of His attributes. To speak generally the deficiency in this second class of offerings may be described thus: An insufficient apprehension of Him to whom the offering is brought. Insufficient appreciation of the value of the offering itself, both in its life and in its death. Thoughts not sufficiently discriminative as regards the altar, and the qualities that attach to the offering as there burned. Seeing, then, it is the great object of these ceremonies to expand truth, and to give distinctness of apprehension, that object fails of being attained, just in proportion as there is deficiency of apprehension or confusion of thoughts that should be distinguished. This is still more manifest in the offering from the fowls. (B. W. Newton.)
Kill it on the side of the altar northward
One obvious reason seems to be this--there was a necessity, for the sake of order, that there should be a separate place for killing the oxen and the sheep. No quarter of the heavens was sacred; and since, at other times, the sacrifice was presented on the east side, a variety like this answered the purpose of proclaiming that Jesus is offered to any soul in any nation, east or north, i.e., from east to west, north to south; His death is presented to the view of all, to be behoved by men as, soon as they see it. Look unto Me and be ye saved, all ends of the earth. (A. A. Bonar.)
The complete offering of self required by God
Give to God ourselves or nothing; and to give ourselves to Him is not His advantage bat ours. The philosopher said to his poor scholar, who told him he had nothing but himself to give: It is well, said he; and I will endeavour to give thee back to thyself better than I received thee. Thus doth God with us, and a Christian makes himself his daily sacrifice; he renews this gift of himself every day to God, and, receiving it every day bettered again, still he hath the more delight to give it, as being fitter for God the more it is sanctified by former sacrificing. Now that whereby we offer all other spiritual sacrifices, and even ourselves, is love. That is the holy fire that burns up all, sends up our prayers and our hearts and our whole selves, a whole burnt-offering to God. (Archbp. Leighton.)
Worthy offerings
There are some of the heathens that worship the sun for a god, and they would offer to the sun somewhat suitable; and therefore because they did so much admire at the swiftness of the motion of the sun, they would not offer a snail but a flying horse, a horse with wings. Now a horse is one of the swiftest creatures, and one of the strongest to continue in motion for a long time together; then, having added wings to the horse, they conceived he was suitable to be a sacrifice for the sun. So when we come to God to worship Him, to sanctify Him, to call upon His name, we must not bring the bare calves of our lips, but the fervency of our hearts; we must behave ourselves so as to give Him the glory that is fit for such a God to have. (J. Spencer.)
The best to be sacrificed
The Persian metal-workers will use little or no alloy with their gold, professing to despise, as base and beneath the name of gold, the metal alloyed with silver or copper employed by European and American jewellers, even though it be eighteen carats fine. Christ deserves the best of our best. (Sharpened Arrows.)
Hearty offerings
It is said of the Lacedaemonians, who were a poor and homely people, that they offered lean sacrifices to their gods; and that the Athenians who were a wise and wealthy people, offered fat and costly sacrifices; and yet in their wars the former always had the mastery over the latter. Whereupon they went to the oracle to know the reason why those should speed worst who gave most. The oracle returned this answer to them: That the Lacedaemonians were a people who gave their hearts to their gods, but that the Athenians only gave their gifts to their gods. Thus the heart without a gift is better than a gift without a heart. But both are desirable. (T. Secker.)
The motive in offering
There may be many things that move, and yet their motion is not an argument of life: a windmill, when the wind serveth, moveth, and moveth very nimbly too, yet this cannot be said to be a living creature; no, it moveth only by an external cause, by an artificial contrivance; it is so framed that when the wind sitteth in such or such a corner it will move, and so, having but an external motor and cause to move, and no inward principle--no soul within it to move it--it is an argument that it is no living creature. So it is also, if a man see another man move, and move very fast in those things which of themselves are the ways of God, you shall see him move as fast to hear a sermon as his neighbour doth, as forward and as hasty to thrust himself and bid himself a guest to the Lords table (when God hath not bid him) as any. Now the question is, What principle sets him at work? If it be an inward principle of life, out of a sincere affection and love to God and His ordinances that carrieth him to this, it argueth that man hath some life of grace; but if it be some wind that bloweth on him, the wind of state, the wind of law, the wind of danger, of penalty, the wind of fashion or custom, to do as his neighbours do: if these, or the like, be the things that draw him thither, this is no argument of life at all; it is a cheap thing, it is a counterfeit and dead piece of service. (J. Spencer.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v5 Lev_1:5-17; Lev_6:8-13
THE BURNT OFFERING (CONCLUDED)
Lev_1:5-17; Lev_6:8-13
Read full note →
AFTER the laying on of the hand, the next sacrificial act was-
THE KILLING OF THE VICTIM
"And he shall kill the bullock before the Lord." (Lev_1:5)
In the light of what has been already said, the significance of this killing, in a typical way, will be quite clear. For with the first sin, and again and again thereafter, God had denounced death as the penalty of sin. But here is a sinner who, in accord with a Divine command, brings before God a sacrificial victim, on whose head he lays his hand, on which he thus rests as he confesses his sins, and gives over the innocent victim to die instead of himself. Thus each of these sacrificial deaths, whether in the burnt offering, the peace offering, or the sin offering, brings ever before us the death in the sinners stead of that one Holy Victim who suffered for us, "the just for the unjust," and thus laid down His life, in accord with His own previously declared intention, "as a ransom for many."
In the sacrifices made by and for individuals, the victim was killed, except in the case of the turtledove or pigeon, by the offerer himself; but, very naturally, in the case of the national and public offerings, it was killed by the priest. As, in this latter case, it was impossible that all individual Israelites should unite in killing the victim, it is plain that the priest herein acted as the representative of the nation. Hence we may properly say that the fundamental thought of the ritual was this, that the victim should be killed by the offerer himself.
And by this ordinance we may well be reminded, first, how Israel, -for whose sake as a nation the antitypical Sacrifice was offered, -Israel itself became the executioner of the Victim; and, beyond that, how, in a deeper sense, every sinner must regard himself as truly causal of the Saviours death, in that, as is often truly said, our sins nailed Christ to His cross. But whether such a reference were intended in this law of the offering or not, the great, significant, outstanding fact remains, that as soon as the offerer, by his laying on of the hand, signified the transfer of the personal obligation to die for sin from himself to the sacrificial victim, then came at once upon that victim the penalty denounced against sin.
And the added words, "before the Lord," cast further light upon this, in that they remind us that the killing of the victim had reference to Jehovah, whose holy law the offerer, failing of that perfect consecration which the burnt offering symbolised, had failed to glorify and honour.
THE SPRINKLING OF BLOOD
"And Aarons sons, the priests, shall present the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is at the door of the tent of meeting." (Lev_1:5)
And now follows the fourth act in the ceremonial, the Sprinkling of the Blood. The offerers part is now done, and herewith the work of the priest begins. Even so must we, having laid the hand of faith upon the head of the substituted Lamb of God, now leave it to the heavenly Priest to act in our behalf with God.
The directions to the priest as to the use of the blood vary in the different offerings, according as the design is to give greater or less prominence to the idea of expiation. In the sin offering this has the foremost place. But in the burnt offering, as also in the peace offering, although the conception of atonement by blood was not absent, it was not the dominant conception of the sacrifice. Hence, while the sprinkling of blood by the priest could in no wise be omitted, it took in this case a subordinate place in the ritual. It was to be sprinkled only on the sides of the altar of burnt offering which stood in the outer court. We read (Lev_1:5): "Aarons sons, the priests, shall present the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is at the door of the tent of meeting."
It was in this sprinkling of the blood that the atoning work was completed. The altar had been appointed as a place of Jehovahs special presence; it had been designated as a place where God would come unto man to bless him. Thus, to present and sprinkle the blood upon the altar was symbolically to present the blood unto God. And the blood represented life, -the life of an innocent victim atoning for the sinner, because rendered upin the stead of his life. And the priests were to sprinkle the blood. So, while to bring and present the sacrifice of Christ, to lay the hand of faith upon His head, is our part, with this our duty ends. To sprinkle the blood, to use the blood God-ward for the remission of sin, this is the work alone of our heavenly Priest. We are then to leave that with Him.
Reserving a fuller exposition of the meaning of this sprinkling of blood for the exposition of the sin offering, in which it was the central act of the ritual, we pass on now to the burning of the sacrifice, which in this offering marked the culmination of its special symbolism.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv3–4 The burnt-offering
burnt-sacrifice
The burnt-offering
Read full note →
(1) typifies Christ offering Himself without spot to God in delight to do His Father’s will even in death.
(2) it is atoning because the believer has not had this delight in the will of God; and
(3) substitutionary (Lev 1:4) because Christ did it in the sinner’s stead. But the thought of penalty is not prominent.; Heb 9:11-14; Heb 10:5-7; Psa 40:6-8; Php 2:8. The emphatic words Lev 1:3-5 are "burnt-sacrifice," "voluntary," "it shall be accepted for him," and "atonement." The creatures acceptable for sacrifice are five:
(1) The bullock, or ox, typifies Christ as the patient and enduring Servant 1Co 9:9; 1Co 9:10; Heb 12:2; Heb 12:3 "obedient unto death"; Isa 52:13-15; Php 2:5-8. His offering in this character is substitutionary, for this we have not been.
(2) The sheep, or lamb, typifies Christ in unresisting self-surrender to the death of the cross Isa 53:7; Act 8:32-35.
(3) The goat typifies the sinner Mat 25:33 and, when used sacrificially, Christ, as "numbered with the transgressors"; Isa 53:12; Luk 23:33 and "made sin," and "a curse"; Gal 3:13; 2Co 5:21 as the sinner’s substitute.
(4,5) The turtle-dove or pigeon. Naturally a symbol of mourning innocency Isa 38:14; Isa 59:11; Mat 23:37; Heb 7:26 is associated with poverty in Lev 5:7 and speaks of Him who for our sakes become poor Luk 9:58 and whose pathway of poverty which began with laying aside "the form of God," ended in the sacrifice through which we became rich; 2Co 8:9; Php 2:6-8. The sacrifice of the poor Man becomes the poor man’s sacrifice. Luk 2:24. These grades of typical sacrifice test the measure of our apprehension of the varied aspects of Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross. The mature believer should see Christ crucified in all these aspects.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3, 5 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues telling Moses what the people must do so that their sacrifices will be acceptable to Yahweh.
Read full note →
If his offering ... he must offer
Here "his" and "he" refer to the person bringing an offering to Yahweh. It can be translated in the second person as it is in Leviticus 1:2. AT: "If your offering ... you must offer" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
so that it may be accepted before Yahweh
This can be stated in active form. AT: "so that Yahweh will accept it" (See: Active or Passive)
lay his hand on the head
This is a symbolic action that identifies the person with the animal he is offering. In this way the person is offering himself through the animal to Yahweh, so that God will forgive the person's sins when they kill the animal. (See: Symbolic Action)
then it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for himself
This can be stated in active form. AT: "then Yahweh will accept it in his place and forgive his sins" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
burnt offering
flocks
blemish
tent of meeting
Yahweh
atonement
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3–5 1:3-17 burnt offering (Hebrew ‘olah, “what goes up”): The…
1:3-17 burnt offering (Hebrew ‘olah, “what goes up”): The Hebrew word implies the ascent of the animal in flame and smoke. Except for its hide, given in payment to the officiating priest (7:8), this offering was burned completely on the altar (1:9). Its purpose was to satisfy God’s wrath against sin, ceremonially cleansing the worshiper and restoring him or her to fellowship with God (cp. Rom 3:25; 8:3; 2 Cor 5:18-21). The whole burnt offering occurs first in this list of offerings (Lev 1–7), providing a pattern for offerings that follow. It is the most common and most general atoning offering.
1:3 male with no defects: God allowed female and slightly deformed animals for certain types of non-atoning offerings (see 3:1; 4:27-31; 22:23), but not for the whole burnt offering. In the dry, brush-encrusted hills of southern Palestine, cattle were much more difficult to raise than sheep or goats. This meant a bull without defect was an animal of great value. Centuries later, the prophet Malachi confronted the people for offering sick and lame animals instead of those without defect (Mal 1:6-14).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.