Leviticus Lesson #02

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Leviticus

September 21, 2015

Introduction

May 13, 2010

Leviticus Lesson#03

May 13, 2010

RETURN TO SYLLABUS

LEVITICUS 1
LEVITICUS 6:8-13
Lesson #02
THE BURNT OFFERING (Justification)

• Memory Verse: Eph 5:2
• Introduction to the Offerings:

• Man can know how to approach God because God has told us in His Word the way to come to Him.
• Read Joh 14:6
• Jesus tells us in this age of grace how we must come to God. We must come through Jesus Christ.
• In the Old Testament from the very beginning, God established the way to approach a Holy God.
• Read Gen 3:21
• Read Gen 4:3-4
• In these passages we see that God made the first animal sacrifice to cover man’s sin. It is here that God established the pattern of the shedding of the blood of animals to cover sin.
• Therefore, when Cain and Abel attempted to approach God, they already knew that they must bring an animal to sacrifice. However, Cain did not want to humble himself to his brother to obtain an animal. He therefore offered fruit.
• The Bible tells us that God had respect for Abel’s sacrifice but not for Cain’s. It was not the person God was rejecting but the sacrifice. In the same way, today. God does not reject the person but the sacrifice.
• When man came to God through the works of his own hands, like Cain, without the shedding of blood, sin was not covered. When sin is present, an unholy person cannot approach a Holy God. He must first deal with the problem of sin in his life.
• The burnt offering that we will study in this chapter is the same offering of Abel, Noah, and Abraham.
• This burnt offering is the first offering in the book of Leviticus, because it is the oldest offering and the most common.
• We are going to see that there are 5 specific offerings. Some of these five are voluntary and some are compulsory.
• A peculiar distinction:
• Some of these five offerings are called “sweet-savor offerings”. In other words they bless God and are pleasing to Him and are designed from God’s perspective. Your memory verse Eph 5:2 mentions this distinction in relation to God’s perspective of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
• Others of these five offerings are called “non-sweet savor offerings”. In other words they are designed from man’s perspective.
• The reason for this distinction is that God established the model by which we must approach him. That makes the offering compulsory if you want to approach God.
• However, the close nature of a relationship with God depends on the free will of the person. You decide how close you want to be to God. That makes it voluntary.
• We can say, then, that the Christian life is a cooperation between doing things God’s way and determining how close you want to be to Him.
• Leviticus has 5 offerings in this order:
• =1= The Burnt Offering: a voluntary offering of sweet smelling savor to God
• =2= The Meal Offering: a voluntary offering of sweet smelling savor to God
• =3= The Peace Offering: a voluntary offering of sweet smelling savor to God
• =4= The Sin Offering: a compulsory offering of non-sweet smelling savor because sin is not pleasant to God.
• =5= The Trespass Offering: a compulsory offering of non-sweet smelling savor because breaking God’s law does not please God.
• Notice that the first three are voluntary offerings and the last two are compulsory offerings.
• Notice that the sweet smelling offerings are voluntary and the non-sweet smelling offerings are compulsory.
• The order of the offerings in the book of Leviticus is the opposite of the way we come to God in this age of grace. For example:
• =1= We come to God first because we discover we have sinned and transgressed God’s laws. (the trespass offering) It is compulsory because we can come to God no other way.
• =2= Then we discover that we need to accept Christ as our personal sacrifice for sin. (the sin offering) It is compulsory because the sin nature separates man from God, and man must first deal with the sin nature before he can approach God.
• =3= It is after receiving Christ that He gives us peace with God and with man. (the peace offering) It is by our free will (voluntary) that we can enjoy as much of God’s peace as we want or need.
• =4= Because we have peace with God through Christ, we can have a close fellowship with God. (the meal offering) It is voluntary because the more we enjoy God’s peace, the more we will want to have a voluntary fellowship with Him.
• =5= Finally we come to discover the fullness of all that Christ purchased for us on the cross. (the burnt offering) It is by our own free will (voluntary) that we make the choice to learn more and more about Christ through His Word.
• Therefore, humanly speaking we experience the offerings backwards from the way they appear in Leviticus, but God sees them from the perspective of the book of Leviticus, and that is how we will study them.
• Read Lev 1:1-17 The Burnt Offering (Voluntary) (A sweet-smelling savor)
• This offering was used as an offering for the whole congregation of Israel. (Exo 29:42) It consisted of two lambs, one offered in the morning and the other offered in the evening.
• In the morning the priest changed into linen garments and prepared the fire that had been burning all night in the altar. He removed the old ashes from the altar, changed to his ordinary robes, and took the ashes outside the camp. On RETURN ing, he put on the linen garments and offered the morning lamb. He repeated all of this in the afternoon and offered the evening lamb.
• In this way this was called a continual sacrifice as the fires never went out. In the same way, Jesus’ sacrifice is a continual one that never loses its ability to atone for our sins no matter how far in time we get away from the day of the crucifixion.
• This offering is what God sees in Jesus Christ. Three times in this chapter it says that this offering was a sweet smell to God. (9, 13, 17)
• God’s call: (1)
• God calls all humans to come to Him and to have a personal relationship with Him. His call is true in the Old Testament and in this New Testament age of grace.
• Read 1Cor 1:22-24
• When God calls us to come to him, we are not to simply hear his call, but we must respond to Him.
• He expects us to respond to His call.
• He expects us to commit ourselves to God just as Jesus did.
• Who can approach God? (2)
• Verse 2 says, “if any man”. Therefore, anyone may approach God by his own free will, but He must come God’s prescribed way.
• Read Psa 15:1-2 asks the question, “who?” The answer to this question in the book of Leviticus is the one who is holy.
• The acceptable animals for this offering:
• =1= A bull (3)
• =2= A male sheep (10)
• =3= A male goat (10)
• =4= Doves (14)
• =5= Young pigeons (14)
• Notice that these animals are all domesticated animals. They were not to bring a wild animal or a carnivorous animal (one that eats flesh).
• Why do you think?
• The animals must be a personal possession because the animal represents man and his sin in some way.
• The animals had monetary value to the owner. Some of these animals cost more than others. A person voluntarily brings to God that which he values.
• THE PRINCIPLE: YOUR OFFERINGS TO GOD SHOULD BE A SACRIFICE TO PERSONALLY REPRESENT AND DEMONSTRATE YOUR LOVE FOR HIM.
• In the same way that God wanted animals that could be trained, God wants people that He can mold and train. He cannot mold rebellious people, violent people that do not want to be trained to become more like Christ.
• THE PRINCIPLE: A TEACHABLE SPIRIT IS IMPORTANT TO GOD.
• Specific Details verse by verse:
• We see that the animals represent man in some way. And in some details more specifically they represent Christ who became a man to identify himself with us.
• For example:
• When the Bible says that the animal must be a “male”, it refers to Christ, mighty to save, that became a man.

Scripture	Detail	Significance
Lev 1:3	“a male without blemish”	Jesus Christ, a man without sin. In this we see the perfections of Jesus Christ. (1Joh 3:5 1Pet 2:22 2Cor 5:21 Heb 7:26 Mat 3:17)
Lev 1:3	“of his own voluntary will”	Jesus Christ willingly gave His life. He was not a martyr. The non-believer comes to Christ willingly because of his desire to know God.
Lev 1:3	“at the door of the tabernacle”	There was one door to the tabernacle. Man must come to God in God’s prescribed way. That way is through Jesus Christ.
Lev 1:4	“put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering”	The person coming to God must transfer his sins to the innocent animal. In the same way today, we must transfer our sins to Jesus Christ to gain forgiveness by identifying ourselves personally with Christ. We do this when we receive Jesus into our hearts and ask God to forgive us based on Christ’s sacrifice.
Lev 1:4	“it shall be accepted”	Only through personal identification with Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross, are we now accepted into the presence of God and into the family of God as His children. This is the New Birth of John 3.
Lev 1:4	“to make atonement”	The word “atonement” means = to cover to make satisfaction or payment for an offense to make reconciliation. The blood of the animals only covered sin until Christ came. Through Jesus Christ, the sins of the sinner are forgiven because He paid the price of reconciliation.

• The Bullock

:

• In God’s perspective the bull represents Jesus Christ. He is the patient servant that we find in the book of Mark. (Heb 12:2-3)
• This is the most expensive of all the animals = Christ is the most valuable of all men.

Lev 1:5	“kill the bullock before the Lord and the priests”	It was God that planned the crucifixion before the foundation of the world and watched as it took place. (1Pet 1:19-20) It was God that watched with pleasure (a sweet smell) the crucifixion (Isa 53:10) It is not the life of Christ that saves us. It is His death.
Lev 1:5	“sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar”	The altar of burnt offering was just inside the tabernacle. It was the place of sacrifice. The cross of Jesus Christ was the place of His sacrifice for sin. His blood fell to the ground around the foot of the cross.
Lev 1:6	“cut it into pieces”	The offering must be totally consumed by the fire. To facilitate that, it was cut in pieces. Christ’s sacrifice was wholly acceptable to God. The life of Christ is open to examination by anyone.
Lev 1:7-8	“the priest shall put fire upon the altar”	Fire is a symbol of God’s holiness and purifying energy. (Heb 12:29) exemplified in God’s judgment, in the purity that God approves, and in the purification that God demands. The fire wholly consumes this offering = totally destroys sin.

• The altar of burnt offering is a type or prefigure of the cross where Jesus was sacrificed.
• The bull was totally burned with nothing left. Nothing of this animal was to be eaten by the priests or the person bringing this offering. = The act of forgiveness of sin is totally in the hands of God without any works from man.
• This is the reason it is a sweet smell to God. This offering is a type of Christ in His beauty and perfection. He gets all the glory for His plan of crucifixion established from the foundation of the world.
• The Sheep or the Goats:
• Sheep or goats are a slightly less expensive offering. In other words, an average person could afford this offering.
• Sheep represent humility, unresisting, self-surrender of Christ on the cross.
• Goats represent the person filled with sin. In this context the Burnt Offering represents Jesus Christ who was without sin. However he took on himself the sin of all men and became sin for us on the cross.(2Cor 5:21)
• We see some of the same phrases repeated:

Scripture	Detail	Significance
Lev 1:10	“male without blemish”	Christ without sin.
Lev 1:11	“kill it on the side of the altar northward”	Christ was sacrificed on the side of a cross. We do not know for sure but he probably faced north.
Lev 1:11	“before the Lord and the priests”	Christ was sacrificed publicly on the cross.
Lev 1:11	“sprinkle its blood round about the altar”	Christ’s blood fell to the foot of the cross.
Lev 1:12	“its head and its fat”	The head represents the authority, intelligence, or wisdom of Jesus Christ. The fat represents the abundant beauty and spiritual wealth of Christ.
Lev 1:13	“wash the inwards and the legs”	Washing with water represents cleansing from sin by the Word. Inwards = internal motives and affection. Those of Christ were perfect and without sin. Legs = one’s walk with the Lord. Christ’s walk on this earth was in perfect obedience with His Father, clean and without sin.

• The fowls (pigeons) or turtledoves (doves):
• This offering was the cheapest of the animals. God made provision for the poor that could not afford to bring a lamb goat, or bull. He could bring a dove or a young pigeon worth one penny.
• Doves and young pigeons are symbols of mourning, innocence and poverty.

Lev 1:15	“wring off its neck blood shall be wrung out at the side of the altar”	When Jesus’ side was pierced, the blood fell to the side of the cross.
Lev 1:16	“shall pluck away its crop with its feathers and cast it beside the altar on the east”	Christ emptied himself of His eternal glory and pride momentarily to humble Himself in identification with the poorest of humans. The “east” represents the presence of God and we are separated unto God and our sins are as far away as the east is from the west. (Psa 103:12)
Lev 1:17	“shall cleave it with the wings but shall not divide it ”	Jesus’ crucified body was not dismembered nor any bones broken in crucifixion.

• Read Lev 6:8-13 The Law for the priests concerning the Burnt Offering
• A continual burnt offering.
• The fire was never to go out on the Bronze Altar of Burnt Offering because Jesus Christ is a perpetual sacrifice for us forever.
• They offered this sacrifice on the altar every morning and every night with wood which represents Jesus Christ on the cross.
• The ashes were taken every day outside the camp because Jesus Christ died outside the city of Jerusalem.
• Review and Application:
• The Burnt Offering is a type of Jesus Christ and His person in commitment to the will of God:
• In the Hebrew, the Jews called this offering “olah” which means = that which ascends.
• The offering ascended up to God in the smoke and glorified God, just as Jesus ascended into heaven after the crucifixion.
• Therefore, this offering is what God sees in the obedience of His Son on the cross.
• He is the offering without sin in delight to do the Father’s will even to His death on the cross. (3)
• He is the atonement, the payment for sin, to bring reconciliation and justification. (4)
• He is our substitute with whom we must identify ourselves in order to approach God and gain acceptance. (4)
• Through His sacrifice, the sins of our lives come to the surface to be burned by the fire of God’s judgment and holiness when God judged sin on the cross. (7)
• He surrendered all of himself (a whole offering).
• Any person that wants to approach God is welcome to come, but He must come to God in the prescribed way, through Jesus Christ, the Burnt Offering, who justifies us before God.
• Every time the Old Testament believers performed this sacrifice, they were physically acting out the same spiritual truths of the crucifixion that we have discussed in this lesson.
• They did not realize what they were doing, but in obedience they were being God’s earthly model of New Testament truths.
• As New Testament believers, we must remember that sin separates man from God. We must be open to the conviction of the Holy Spirit that helps us to maintain our holiness and close relationship with God.

HOMEWORK
Leviticus 2
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of Lev 1
• Is there any sin that the Holy Spirit wants to cleanse from your life?
• Pray and ask for pardon through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
• Preparation for Lev 2
• Read Lev 2:1-16 The Meal Offering
• What are the three important ingredients in this offering? (1)
• If you know the significance of these items, write it here.
• What two items must not be included in this offering?
• If you know the significance of these items, write it here.
• How does John 6:51 relate to this offering?

Memory Verse: Joh 6:51