Sunday, February 8, 2009

Leviticus-Introduction

Introduction to Leviticus

Approaching God through Sacrifice


The Hebrew name for the Book of Leviticus is taken from the Hebrew words which open the book, wa-ayiqra, "and he called." The Greek Septuagint uses the title Leuitikon, meaning "that which pertains to the Levites." This title was given because so much of the book deals with the ministry of the Levite priesthood.



The book of Leviticus is a book about the rituals of WORSHIP and HOLINESS. In this, it is a continuation of the Law which is set forth in Exodus. Because Yahweh is now dwelling among His people in holiness, He provides prescriptions mediated through Moses for the people to remain in relationship with Him (e.g., through ritual and cleanliness).


In Genesis we see man ruined. In Exodus we see man redeemed. In Leviticus we see man at worship. Leviticus teaches God's people how they are to approach Him and live pleasing in His sight. Its central command is to "be HOLY."


Leviticus picks up with the presence of the Lord calling out to Moses from inside the Tabernacle (Exodus 40:36-38) and ends with the construction of the Tabernacle and the glory of the Lord moving into the Tabernacle. Leviticus tells us about the worship which takes place within that Tabernacle. There's no break as we move from Exodus to Leviticus. We're still at the base of Mt. Sinai.


Key verses:

Leviticus 19:2: “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

Leviticus 20:7-8: So set yourselves apart to be holy, for I am the Lord your God. Keep all my decrees by putting them into practice, for I am the Lord who makes you holy.


The word holiness is mentioned 152 times, the most of any book of the Bible.


Leviticus may be briefly summarized as follows:

1) The laws relating to sacrifice (1-7).

2) The consecration of the priests (8-10).

3) The laws relating to cleanness and uncleanness (11-15).

4) The Day of Atonement (16).

5) The laws relating to ritual and moral holiness (17-20).

6) The maintenance of the holiness of the priests (21-22).

7) The laws relating to times and seasons (23-25).



A Jewish perspective on the offerings - from Judaism 101 - Qorbanot: Sacrifices and Offerings: http://www.jewfaq.org/qorbanot.htm


"When did Jews stop offering sacrifices, and why?
For the most part, the practice of sacrifice stopped in the year 70 C.E., when the Roman army destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, the place where sacrifices were offered. The practice was briefly resumed during the Jewish War of 132-135 C.E., but was ended permanently after that war was lost. There were also a few communities that continued sacrifices for a while after that time.
We stopped offering sacrifices because we do not have a proper place to offer them. The Torah specifically commands us not to offer sacrifices wherever we feel like it; we are only permitted to offer sacrifices in the place that G-d has chosen for that purpose. Deuteronomy 12:13-14. It would be a sin to offer sacrifices in any other place, akin to stealing candles and wine to observe Shabbat.
The last place appointed by G-d for this purpose was the Temple in Jerusalem, but the Temple has been destroyed and a mosque has been erected in the place where it stood. Until G-d provides us with another place, we cannot offer sacrifices. There was at one time an opinion that in the absence of an assigned place, we could offer sacrifices anywhere. Based on that opinion, certain communities made their own sacrificial places. However, the majority ultimately ruled against this practice, and all sacrifice ceased.



"Orthodox Jews believe that when the messiah comes, a place will be provided for sacrificial purposes.


"How do Jews obtain forgiveness without sacrifices?
Forgiveness is obtained through repentance, prayer and good deeds.
In Jewish practice, prayer has taken the place of sacrifices. In accordance with the words of Hosea, we render instead of bullocks the offering of our lips (Hosea 14:3) (please note: the KJV translates this somewhat differently). While dedicating the Temple, King Solomon also indicated that prayer can be used to obtain forgiveness (I Kings 8:46-50). Our prayer services are in many ways designed to parallel the sacrificial practices. For example, we have an extra service on Shabbat, to parallel the extra Shabbat offering. As we shall see, the purposes for bringing sacrifice are very similar to the purposes for prayer.
It is important to note that in Judaism, sacrifice was never the exclusive means of obtaining forgiveness, was not in and of itself sufficient to obtain forgiveness, and in certain circumstances was not even effective to obtain forgiveness.


"Were sacrifices a symbol of the savior to come?
Not according to Judaism. Jews don't believe that people need supernatural salvation from sin (sincere repentance and good deeds are sufficient to obtain forgiveness; see above), and don't believe that sacrifice has anything to do with a savior or messiah.
Quite the contrary, some would say that the original institution of sacrifice had more to do with the Judaism's past than with its future. Rambam suggested that the entire sacrificial cult in Judaism was ordained as an accommodation of man's primitive desires.
Sacrifice is an ancient and universal human expression of religion. Sacrifice existed among the Hebrews long before the giving of the Torah. Cain and Abel offered sacrifices; Noah and his sons offered sacrifices, and so forth. When the laws of sacrifice were given to the Children of Israel in the Torah, the pre-existence of a system of sacrificial offering was understood, and sacrificial terminology was used without any explanation. The Torah, rather than creating the institution of sacrifice, carefully circumscribes and limits the practice, permitting it only in certain places, at certain times, in certain manners, by certain people, and for certain purposes. Rambam suggests that these limitations are designed to wean a primitive people away from the debased rites of their idolatrous neighbors.


The Talmud states that in the age of the messiah (when there is no more sin), this will be the only class of offering that is brought to the Temple."



Themes of Leviticus:

* Sin is very, very serious and requires payment to God.

* The nature of God.

* The distinctive rules given to the Israelites to set them apart from other peoples.

* Five kinds of offerings are covered, in two main categories - praise/thanks to God and atonement for sins.


The Epistle to the Hebrews, which we just finished studying, lays down the principles upon which we are to interpret
Leviticus. The typical character of the ordinances is affirmed that the Tabernacle
was an "example and shadow of the heavenly things"; the sacrifices
prefigured "better sacrifices than these," even the one offering of
Him who "put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself"; and, that the
holy times and sabbatic seasons of the law were "a shadow of things to
come."


The sacrifices of Leviticus stood at the heart of the worship of God under the Old Covenant. The overall image we may retain from them may indeed be of an endless number of bulls, sheep, goats, and birds slaughtered and burned with profound solemnity on a smoking altar. However, there is absolutely no doubt that they prefigured the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in His death by crucifixion. Less understood is that they also foreshadowed the depth of His consecrated devotion to God and man in His life. Even less understood is how they demonstrate the life we also are to exemplify as living sacrifices.


Is not being living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, and not being conformed to this world but being transformed by the renewing of our minds into the image of Christ our Redeemer, to be at the center of our lives once we are redeemed (Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 4:13)?


The subject of the first seven chapters is sacrifice. Each of the five offerings has similarities and differences. The most common similarities are that in each offering there is an offering, an offerer, and a priest. We see Christ as offerer in His role as a human being, the One who became a man. We see Him as offering in His character and work as the victim. We see Him as priest in His relationship to us today; He is our High Priest.


Psalm 40:6-8: You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand— you don’t require burnt offerings or sin offerings. Then I said, “Look, I have come. As is written about me in the Scriptures: I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.”


Leviticus 17:11: for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.


Hebrews 9:22: In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.


LAWS OF OFFERINGS (LEVITICUS 1-7)


There are five specific types of offerings outlined in Leviticus chapters 1-7. In all cases, the offering was to be spotless and without blemish. Furthermore, it was always an animal which had been domesticated and raised by men. Wild animals were never used as offerings. The word for "offering" is corban. It comes from a root word meaning "to bring near." In New Testament times, it came to describe that which was given or dedicated to the Lord (Mark 7:11-12: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother. - KJV)


The priests presented the first three offerings listed below on
the brazen altar in the tabernacle courtyard. God saw the offerer as a worshiper as
well as a guilty sinner. The offering was to be without any blemish, which was
also true of the sin and trespass offerings. This indicated that the offerer was
presenting the best to God who is worthy of nothing less.


1. The Burnt Offering (1:1-17). The word used to describe the "burnt offering" is olah and is taken from the root verb meaning, "to go up" or "ascend." It is an offering of ascension. This referred to the fact that the entire offering was burned and "ascended to God." In Greek, "burnt offering" is holokautoma, from which we get the word "holocaust".



  • It was the foundational offering which allowed men to come into the presence of the Lord. For this reason, Leviticus 1:3 says that a man makes this offering "that he may be accepted before the Lord" and verse 4 adds that "it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf."

  • A life was offered upon the altar.

  • It was to be completely burnt (except the skin which was the priest's) upon the altar. This showed that man's duty to God was not in the mere giving up of a portion, but in the entire surrender of ALL.

    Romans 12:1: And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

     Ephesians 5:1-2: Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

  • Depending upon the financial status of the one making the offering, it could be comprised of a bull, a lamb, or a dove.

  • There is a difference between the word "atonement" in the Old Testament and the word "atonement" in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the word "atonement" comes from the Hebrew word kaphar, which means, "to cover." Now it was impossible that the blood of bulls or goats could put away our sin. They never put away sins for anybody. But they did make a covering for sin, so that the guilt of the person was covered, but it wasn't put away. So the word atonement in the Old Testament usage out of Hebrew, from the word kaphar is actually a covering.

  • An additional burnt offering was to be offered up each Sabbath day (Numbers 28:9-10). Also, at the beginning of each month (Numbers 28:11), at the celebration of Passover on the 14th day of the 1st month (Numbers 28:16), along with new grain offering at Feast of Weeks (Numbers 28:27), at the feast of trumpets, on sacred day in the 7th month (Numbers 29), and for the celebration of the new moon (Numbers 29:6).

  • The first “burnt offering” specifically mentioned in the Bible was offered by Noah after the flood waters had subsided, at which time he offered “burnt offerings” of all the clean animals (Genesis 8:20). God instructed Abraham to offer up Isaac as a “burnt offering” (Genesis), and so the ram which God in Isaac’s place was offered by Abraham as a burnt offering (Genesis 22:13). When Moses told Pharaoh that Israel must take their cattle with them into the wilderness to worship their God, it was because they needed them to offer burnt offerings (Exodus 10:25-26). Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, offered a burnt offering to God in Exodus chapter 18:12. The Israelites offered up burnt offerings in conjunction with their meeting with God and receiving His covenant on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 20:24; 24:5).

  • After the offerer had laid his hands on the victim, he killed it (except in the case of birds, which the priest killed). The guilty person leans his hands upon the head of the animal and then says “I deserve to die instead of this innocent animal, but the LORD mercifully accepts the death of this innocent one in my stead.” When God sees the shed blood or ascending smoke of the sacrifice, He "covers" the sinner's sin.

  • This was a freewill offering that was consumed entirely by the fire on the altar. The sacrificial victim must be an animal or a bird that is without defect. As the animal is slaughtered, the priest catches its blood in a pan and sprinkles it on the altar.

  • The priest sprinkled the blood round about upon the altar, and, the whole of the animal was burnt as a sweet savour on the altar. It made atonement for the offerer, who found acceptance in its value.

  • It is also important to note that the fire on the altar was never to go out: Leviticus 6:13

  • God's Portion: All that is burned.

  • Priest's Portion: Skins (7:8)

  • Symbolism: Christ was offered up for us. John 10:14-17: “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again.

  • 1:1-9: Whole Burnt Offerings from the Herd (a bull-ox).

  • 1:10-13: Whole Burnt Offerings from the Flock.

  • 1:14-17: Whole-Burnt Offerings from the Birds.


2. The Grain (Meal) Offering (2:1-16). Hebrew: Minchah, from 'a present, gift, oblation.'





  • It was made up of flour, oil, and incense.

  • Honey was forbidden; instead frankincense was used. This is because honey would eventually turn sour (leaven was also forbidden); but frankincense received its highest degree of fragrance after it had been burned.

  • It was to be seasoned with salt - the picture of preservation (2:13).

  • Only a part of the flour and of the oil but all the frankincense was burnt upon the altar, as a sweet savour unto Jehovah: the rest was food for the priest and his sons, not his daughters.

  • The freewill meal offering appears to have been acceptable only when offered with the
    burnt offering    . This indicated that one's works were acceptable to God only when
    they accompanied the offerer's consecration of himself to God.

  • In this offering, they would take fine flour, mix it with oil and frankincense, and make up a dough that they would put on the fire to more or less bake unto the Lord. Now, these things speak man's works. I am bringing flour, mixing it with oil. Where did I get the flour? I had to till the soil. I had to plant the seed. I had to harvest the seed. I had to thresh the seed. I had to grind the seed into flour itself. And so it was the work of my hands. I picked the olives and put them in the olive press and got the oil. It was the work of my hands. So I am offering to God in the offering, in the meal offering, I am offering to God my service, dedicating the work of my hands unto God, giving unto God my service. And thus this meal offering again was a sweet smelling savor. "Here it is, Lord, my service. I'm giving now my labor unto you. I am offering you myself as a servant to do your work."

  • Purpose: Worship toward God. Described as a sweet-smelling aroma to the Lord.

  • God's Portion: All except when it is first fruits.

  • Priest's Portion: Remainder (6:16-18).

  • Symbolism: This is a picture of the One who became our "Bread of Life" and who was anointed with the "Oil" of the Holy Spirit.

    John 6:48-51: Yes, I am the bread of life! Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died.0 Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”


3. Peace (Fellowship) Offering (3:1-17). Hebrew: Shelem, from 'to be whole, complete,' to be at peace, in friendship with any one.



  • In this freewill offering, the offerer laid his hands on the head of the offering and killed it. The blood was sprinkled round about the altar.

  • All the fat, the two kidneys, and the sac above the liver were burnt upon the altar, an offering made by fire of a sweet savour unto the Lord.

  • The breast of the offering was waved for a wave offering, and was then food for Aaron and his sons and daughters. The right shoulder was a heave offering, and was for the offering priest.

  • The offerer and his friends also ate of the offering on the same day; or, if it were a vow or a voluntary offering, it might be eaten on the second day. What remained was burnt with fire: indicating that communion to be real must be fresh, and not too far separated from the work of the altar.

  • In the Burnt Offering and the Grain Offering, the Lord and the Priest had a portion, but not the one making the offering.

  • This signified communion with God. When you sit at a table and eat with someone, it signifies that you are at peace with him. Christ has become our peace offering. In Him both God and man find common food. Eating together had great significance in the ancient Near East.
    People who ate a ritual meal together were committing themselves to one another
    in a strong bond of loyalty. Eating together also symbolized fellowship. In this
    sacrifice the offerer fed on the same offering he had made to God.

  • Jacob and Laban offered a peace offering when they made their treaty (Genesis 31). It was required to make offerings while making a vow of one's life to God and thanking Him with praise while free-will offerings were voluntary.

  • Purpose: Worship toward God. Described as a soothing or sweet-smelling aroma to the Lord.

  • God's Portion: All that is burned.

  • Priest's Portion: Breast & right shoulder (7:31-32).

  • Symbolism: Jesus has a ministry of reconciliation to bring us back to God.


4. Sin (Purification) Offering (4:1-5:13). The Hebrew term for this type of offering is chatat, from the word chayt, meaning "missing the mark." A chatat could only be offered for unintentional sins committed through carelessness, not for intentional, malicious sins. Note that there is no explicit sacrifice for deliberate, intentional, and willful sins against the LORD, but instead punishment by an early death.



  • The first three offerings were freewill offerings offered as acts of worship. This required offering is made for atonement for sin.

  • This and the trespass offering stand apart from all the other offerings. In the burnt offering and the peace offering the offerer came as a worshipper, and by the imposition of hands became identified with the acceptability and acceptance of the victim: whereas in the sin offering the victim was identified with the sin of the offerer.

  • The first three offerings were burnt upon the altar in the compound of the Tabernacle. This offering is burnt on the bare earth outside the camp. This is a picture of Jesus who was crucified outside of Jerusalem.

    Hebrews 13:12: So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood.)

  • The Day of Atonement stands alone — the blood of the sin offering being taken then into the holy of holies, and sprinkled on and before the mercy seat. Atonement had to be made according to the requirement of the nature and majesty of God's throne. This type was repeated yearly to maintain the relationship of the people with God, because the tabernacle remained among them in the midst of their uncleanness. Atonement was also made for the holy place and the altar: all were reconciled by the blood of the sin offering, and on the ground of the same blood the sins of the people were administratively borne away into a land not inhabited.

  • Purpose: Sacrifice for Sin.

  • God's Portion: Fat burned outside the camp.

  • Priest's Portion: Only eaten by the priest if it has not entered the Tabernacle (6:30).

  • Symbolism: Sin is not permitted into the presence of God. But Jesus died "outside the camp" (Hebrews 13:11-13).


5. Guilt (Trespass) Offering (5:14-6:7). Hebrew: Asham, from 'to be guilty.'



  • This required offering is the only one which is NOT described as a sweet-smelling aroma (even the Sin Offering is so described in Leviticus 4:31).

  • This offering is closely aligned to the sin offering; and yet there are a few subtle differences.

  • While the sins which call for the Sin Offering are only mentioned in a general sense, there are a number of specific offenses which mandate a Guilt Offering.

  • A part of the Guilt Offering includes a financial recompense to the party that was wronged (6:5). Thus, the Guilt Offering included the principle of restitution. The trespass offering was an offering of money for sins of ignorance connected with fraud. For example if someone unintentionally cheated another out of money or property, his sacrifice was to be equal to the amount taken, plus one-fifth to the priest and to the one offended. Reparation is evidence of true repentance.

  • Purpose: Sacrifice for Sin.

  • God's Portion: Fat, kidneys & liver.

  • Priest's Portion: Eaten by males in priest's family.

  • Symbolism: Sin requires death.


Jesus offered His own body up to be the perfect Sacrifice for sins. By His shed blood we are given complete atonement before God. The Levitical system of animal sacrifices, including the elaborate Yom Kippur ritual, was meant to foreshadow the true and abiding Sacrifice of Christ as the means of our reconciliation with God. The Old Covenant provides a shadow of the substance revealed in the New Covenant. If the old covenant had been sufficient to provide a permanent solution to the problem of our sin, there never would have been need for a new covenant to supersede it (Hebrews 8:7).


Under the old covenant, sacrifices merely “covered” sins, but under the new covenant, these sins are taken entirely away (Hebrews 7:27, 9:12, 9:25-28). There is no more need for continual sacrifices, since Christ provided the once-and-for-all sacrifice for all of our sins (Hebrews 9:11-14; 9:24-28; 10:11-20).


Hebrews 9:24-28: For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice. And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.



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