Part 1 The Offerings in the Tabernacle - The Burnt Offering

Spare the rod and spoil the child - that is true.
But, beside the rod, keep an apple to give him when he has done well.
Martin Luther






Part 1 The Offerings in the Tabernacle: The Burnt Offering

There were five principal offerings in the tabernacle
and these were given to Moses from the erected tabernacle
at the foot of mount Sinai.
The Lord had filled the tabernacle
with his presence (Exodus 40:34-38).

The cloud settled upon and covered the outside of the tabernacle,
while on the inside it was filled with the glory of the Lord.

It was from here the Lord gave to Moses the 5 principle offerings
that were to be given.
This is recorded in Leviticus chapters 1 - 7,
they are listed in some detail in chapters 1 - 5 as follows : -

chapter 1 the Burnt offering
chapter 2 the Grain or meal offering
chapter 3 the Peace or Fellowship offering

chapter 4 the Sin offering
chapter 5 the Trespass or Guilt offering

The five offerings fall into two classifications;
the first three being offerings
given when in communion with God.
They are offerings of worship
and could be called sweet-savor offerings.

They were a sweet and pleasant fragrance to God
that gave him pleasure,
they speak of :
fellowship,
worship,
surrender,
acceptance,
and satisfaction.

Sweet-savor offerings were burnt within the camp
and were given freely, a freewill offering given to God.

The second two were given
for communion with God
and were a sacrifice for sin.

These were not the sweet smelling savor
because they spoke of sin and were obnoxious to God.

They were not burnt upon the altar of God
but outside the camp.

The believer came before God as a sinner,
confessing his sin and seeking forgiveness.

He was commanded by God to bring them to obtain pardon,
the sense of sin and guilt being prominent.

In addition to the detailed explanation given in chapters 1 - 5,
God then in chapters 6 & 7 changes the order,
to the order he requires them to be performed in.

The peace or fellowship offering
is taken from third place and positioned last.

It may be that God is saying to us that
the peace offering does not cause us to make
the sin or trespass sacrifices that gain communion with God
but rather comes from the consequence of communion with God.

We will deal with them in the order they were to be observed.

The Burnt Offering:
Leviticus 1:1-17
Note: the entirety of this Scripture
is included at the end of this study outline,
should you desire to read it first.

The name for the Burnt Offering in Hebrew was 'olleh',
meaning "ascending as smoke",
given because this sacrifice was to be wholly consumed
and to rise in smoke toward heaven.

There is also the poetic term 'kalil', meaning "complete" in Hebrew
(Deut 33:10, 1 Sam.7:9, Psa. 51:19)

or the Greek 'holokautoma' (Mark 12:33, Heb.10:6)
alluding to the fact that, with the exception of the skin or feathers,
it was "wholly and entirely consumed".

The offerings in other sacrifices
were only partially consumed upon the altar.

The description of the burnt offering is found in Leviticus 1:1-17
and we will look at the various verses
to understand the purpose of the offering.

verse 3 'from the herd', bullock
verse 10 'from the flock', sheep
verse 14 'of birds'. birds (doves & pigeons)

The offering was according to possession,
which it was thought denoted a man's standing in society
and before God.
If the social standing of the offerer was such that he owned a herd
then he should offer a bullock.
A lamb was not acceptable to God from him.

If, however, the offerer did not own a herd but did have a flock,
then his offering must be a sheep or a goat.

If neither a herd or a flock were owned,
then the offering should be a bird (turtledoves or pigeons).

The bird offering was made by Mary, the mother of Jesus,
at the time of her purification,
which indicates that Jesus was born of parents
who were poor and of low social standing.

These verses also show that the offering from the herd and the flock
had to be male and without defect,
reflecting Christ’s ultimate sacrifice.

But, the offering of birds in verse 14 placed no such gender condition
thereby allowing the poor to bring their offering.

The lesson here is that God expects each man to give to Him
according to his means,
in acknowledgement that it is God who has prospered him.

{The widow’s offering Mark 12:41-44}

“And He sat down opposite the treasury
and saw how the crowd was casting money into the treasury.
Many rich [people] were throwing in large sums.
And a widow who was poverty-stricken came and put in two copper mites [the smallest of coins], which together make half of a cent.
And He called His disciples [to Him] and said to them,
Truly and surely I tell you, this widow, [she who is] poverty-stricken,
has put in more than all those contributing to the treasury.
For they all threw in out of their abundance;
but she, out of her deep poverty, has put in everything that she had—
[even] all she had on which to live.”
Mark 12:41-44 Amplified Bible

God will not accept inferior offerings.
Genesis 4:4 -5 says that

"Abel brought fat portions
from some of the firstborn of his flock.
The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,

but on Cain and his offering
he did not look with favor."

Yet God does not expect from His people
gifts, service, or anything
that they do not possess.

Credit card offerings?
When people give beyond their means…
It might be faith like the widows two copper mites.
It might be pride – people wanting to be seen of men.
God knows the thoughts and intents of the heart

Our responsibilities are measured
according to our blessing in God,
not more than we have,
not less than we have,
but always the best of what we have, without defect.

Men today often give God
the things he does not want,
or what he no longer needs.
The worn out or unfashionable clothes
The unwanted furniture
Old children’s toys… etc.
.
Many set out to make our fortune,
or gain that which the world offers,
and only then give the remaining years to the Lords service.

No one is suggesting that God won't or can't use those years,
But God asks for the firstfruits not the leftovers.

God desires that which is of costs to us,
not for that which is paltry (Malachi 1:7-8).

“By offering polluted food upon My altar.
And you ask, How have we polluted it and profaned You?
By thinking that the table of the Lord is contemptible
and may be despised.
When you [priests] offer blind [animals] for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil?
Present such a thing [a blind or lame or sick animal]
now to your governor
[in payment of your taxes, and see what will happen].
Will he be pleased with you?
Or will he receive you graciously?
says the Lord of hosts” Malachi 1:7-8 Amplified Bible

Leviticus 1:3 also tells us that the one who brought the offering
brought his sacrifice to the entrance to the court to present it,
as an individual - a special act of worship.

“If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd,
he shall offer a male without blemish;
he shall offer it at the door of the Tent of Meeting,
that he may be accepted before the Lord.”
Leviticus 1:3 Amplified Bible

The burnt offering was given
for the whole of Israel
regularly every morning and evening (Exodus.29:38-42).

Each Sabbath, double
that of the daily offering (Num.28:9).

At the new moon,
the three great festivals,
three great Pentateuchal (Pen·ta·teu·chal)
[Of or relating to the first five books of the Old Testament] festivals
Feast of Passover (Pesach) and Unleavened Bread (Mazzot):
Feast of Weeks (Pentecost or Shavuot):
Feast of Booths (Tabernacles or Sukkoth):
the day of atonement
and the feast of trumpets.

Special Burnt offerings were made
for the consecration of priests (Exodus,29:15),
at the purification of women (Lev.12:6),
at the cleansing of lepers (Lev.14:19),
the removal of other ceremonial uncleanness (Lev.15:15),
and on the accidental breach of the Nazarite vow,
or the conclusion of the Nazarite vow (Num.6:11).

While the freewill burnt offering
was given on any solemn occasion e.g.
the dedication of the tabernacle (Num. chapter 7)
and of the temple (1 Kings 8:64).

Verse 4 tells us that the one who offered the sacrifice
laid his hands upon the sacrifice as
a means of identification with the animal.

Abraham and Isaaac

“And He said, Do not lay your hand on the lad
or do anything to him;
for now I know that you fear and revere God,
since you have not held back from Me
or begrudged giving Me your son, your only son.
Then Abraham looked up and glanced around,
and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram
and offered it up for a burnt offering
and an ascending sacrifice instead of his son!”
Genesis 22:12-13 Amplified Bible
Note
he took the ram (laid hands on the ram)
and offered it as a sacrifice – a scapegoat.

The animals acceptance (without blemish)
meant the acceptability of the believer,
it was an act of worship,
the believer presented himself before Jehovah
as a worshipper, desirous of being accepted.

The words 'to make atonement for him'
mean literally
'to place a covering over him'
causing him to be acceptable.

Verse 5 says that the believer had to kill the sacrifice,
no one did it for him, he did it himself.

Our identification with the animal
and its death
is like a laying down our lives, (death to self will)
complete submission of our will to Gods
that we may worship him.


The priests would sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice
against the sides or at the base of the altar.

The sprinkling of Blood
was like pouring out of life
The Word states that the life is in the blood.

Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness
“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood;
and without shedding of blood is no remission.”
Hebrews 9:22

Leviticus 1:6, has the believer skinning and cutting it into pieces.
The skin being the only part of the animal that wasn't burnt,
the skin being a memorial of the death of the sacrifice.

The skin provided him with a covering,
a robe of righteousness,

reminding us that God had to kill an animal
to clothe Adam and Eve
with it's skin covering their sin.

The skin was kept by the priests as their portion,
the offer of atonement was not within the physical covering
but with the spiritual covering
and the sense that God had provided everything.

Jesus is our High Priest

We see Christ's sacrifice
as clothing us with righteousness
and that he takes away our sin
that we may enter God's presence to worship him.

In Leviticus 1:7-9 the Word depicts
the priests preparing the altar
and they placed on it the head and the fat.
The believer washes the inner parts and the legs with water
before the pieces were placed on the altar by the priests
so that it was all burnt.

The inspection meant there was no outward blemish
the washing showed there was no inward blemish.

Christ was scrutinized both outwardly and inwardly
by man and God respectively.
Man could find no fault in him
and God could see no fault in him.

The different parts described in these verses (7-9)
represent and indicate
the fullness or completeness of the sacrifice:
The Head - represents the mind and the intellect
The Inwards - represents the will and emotions
The Legs - indicate walk
which represent conduct and lifestyle
The Fat - represents health and virility (life).

It says the offering was by fire,
remember the animal was provided by God,
for it was given in proportion to His provision,

but the fire was also from God being originally kindled by Him.

It was an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

The symbolism of the ceremony sets forth
Christ offering himself without defect to God
in performing the divine will with Joy,
even to the point of death.

The offering is a sweet savor,
so called because they deal with
Christ in His own perfection
and in His perfect devotion to the Father's will.

They are in contrast to the non-sweet savor offerings
which typify Christ as carrying the sinner's transgressions.

The whole burnt offering is both
atoning
the acceptableness or merit of the offering
passed to the believer,
and he is accepted by God
because of Christ’s offering pure and free of all blemishes.

Atonement:
The word atonement carries with it the idea
of the just, holy, righteous side of God’s mature being satisfied.
God's law required death as the penalty for sin.
When God saw the death of the innocent sacrifice,
he was satisfied that the demands of his law had been carried out.
Sacrificing an animal on an altar did not take away the sin.
Man was still sinful.
The sacrifice only pictured what was necessary
for sin to be forgiven — death and shedding of blood.
The blood provided an atonement or covering for sin
The sacrifice pointed to the one and only sacrifice that could remove sin
The perfect sacrifice of the Lamb of God Jesus Christ.
and substitutionary,

Christ dies in the believers stead.

Leviticus 1:1-17 Amplified Bible:

1 The Lord called to Moses out of the Tent of Meeting, and said to him,
2Say to the Israelites, When any man of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of [domestic] animals from the herd or from the flock.
3If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it at the door of the Tent of Meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord.
4And he shall lay [both] his hands upon the head of the burnt offering [transferring symbolically his guilt to the victim], and it shall be an acceptable atonement for him.
5The man shall kill the young bull before the Lord, and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall present the blood and dash [it] round about upon the altar that is at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
6And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces.
7And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and lay wood in order on the fire;
8And Aaron's sons the priests shall lay the pieces, the head and the fat, in order on the wood on the fire on the altar.
9But its entrails and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall burn all of it on the altar for a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a sweet and satisfying odor to the Lord.
10And if the man's offering is of the flock, from the sheep or the goats, for a burnt offering, he shall offer a male without blemish.
11And he shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and Aaron's sons the priests shall dash its blood round about against the altar.
12And [the man] shall cut it into pieces, with its head and its fat, and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire on the altar.
13But he shall wash the entrails and legs with water. The priest shall offer all of it and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a sweet and satisfying fragrance to the Lord.
14And if the offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then [the man] shall bring turtledoves or young pigeons.
15And 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 the altar.

16And he shall take away its crop with its feathers and cast it beside the altar on the east side, in the place for ashes.
17And he shall split it open [holding it] by its wings, but shall not cut it in two. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire; it is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a sweet and satisfying odor to the Lord.

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