There are seven types of offerings:



OLD TESTAMENT SURVEY

LECTURE 11

THE OFFERINGS I

Leviticus is closely connected with Exodus at its commencement, and with the Book of Numbers at its conclusion; but differs from those books in its general exclusion of historical narrative. The only historical portions are the accounts of the Consecration of the priests, with the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, and of the punishment of the blasphemer. A large portion of it is occupied with instructions for the service of the Sanctuary. (Barnes' Notes)

There are five types of offerings mentioned here:

1. Burnt 2. Sin 3. Trespass 4. Meat 5. Peace

There are 3 ‘animal’ sacrifices, and 2 ‘non-animal’ sacrifices.

The external distinction between the three classes of animal sacrifices may be thus broadly stated: The burnt-offering was wholly burned upon the altar; the sin-offering was in part burned on the altar, and in part, either given to the priests or burned outside the camp; and the peace-offering was shared between the altar, the priests, and the sacrificer. This formal difference is immediately connected with the distinctive meaning of each kind of sacrifice.

Five animals are named in the Law as suitable for sacrifice, the ox, the sheep, the goat, the dove and the pigeon.

The man who offered a private sacrifice led with his own hands the victim into the court of the sanctuary, and formally presented it to the priest in front of the tabernacle.

The regular place for slaughtering the animals for burnt-offerings, sin-offerings and trespass-offerings, was the north side of the altar. Tradition tells us that before the sacrificer laid his hand upon the head of the victim, it was bound by a cord to one of the rings fixed for the purpose on the north side of the altar, and that at the very instant when the words of the prayer, or confession, were ended, the fatal stroke was given.

The mode of killing appears not to have differed from that of slaughtering animals for food. The throat was cut while a priest or assistant held a bowl under the neck to receive the blood. The sacrificer, or his assistant, then flayed the victim and cut it into pieces, probably while the priest was engaged in disposing of the blood.

When the blood was disposed of, the skin removed, and the animal cut into pieces, the sacrificer, or his assistant, washed the entrails and feet. In the case of a burnt-offering, all the pieces were then taken to the altar and salted. Next, the priest piled the pieces on the altar, the hind limbs being probably put at the base of the pile, then the entrails and other viscera with the fat, then the fore limbs, with the head at the top.

The parts burned upon the altar of the peace-offering, the sin-offering and the trespass-offering, were the same in each case; and consisted of the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver.

The natural order of victims in the sacrificial service of the Law was, first the sin-offering, then the burnt-offering, and last the peace-offering. This answers to the spiritual process through which the worshipper had to pass. He had transgressed the Law, and he needed the atonement signified by the sin-offering: if his offering had been made in truth and sincerity, he could then offer himself to the Lord as an accepted person, as a sweet savor, in the burnt-offering, and in virtue of this acceptance, he could enjoy communion with the Lord and with his brethren in the peace-offering.

 

Here is a chart representing the typology of the offerings with Christ’s sacrifice:

|Trespass Offering |Christ paid for our sins in His death on the cross (Heb.10:12) |

|Sin Offering |Christ atoned for our fallen sin nature on the cross and satisfied the wrath of God |

| |(Isa.53:10-11; Heb.9:26) |

|Peace Offering |Christ made peace with God on the behalf of man and opened the way for true fellowship with |

| |God |

|Meat Offering |Christ gave Himself as a living sacrifice and shows us the way to be a living sacrifice for |

| |God (Rom.12:1) |

|Burnt Offering |Christ gave Himself entirely to God being fully consumed in His surrender and is our example|

| |in this |

Burnt Offering

1:1-5 And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,  2Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.  3If 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.  4And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. 5And 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.

The burnt offering was a complete sacrifice.  In all the other offerings, others (usually only the priests) were allowed to eat certain portions of the offered animal.  However, in the burnt offering, nothing was to be eaten by man.  It was all to be consumed on the altar as a gift to God.  We need to look at our sacrifice to God in the same way.  We need to give ourselves entirely to Him.  This is, after all, only our reasonable sacrifice (Rom.12:1). (Barnes’ Commentary)

This kind of offering was described as "that which goes up (to God)." It was termed "whole" (Lev 6:22) because the entire offering was to be burnt upon the altar. It was termed "continual" (Ex 29:38-42) to teach the nation of Israel that their sinfulness required a complete and continual atonement and consecration. This sacrifice, offered every morning and evening, pointed to Christ's atoning death for sinners (2 Cor 5:21) and His total consecration to God (Luke 2:49). The burnt offering spoke of Christ's passive obedience and His submission to the penalty required by man's sinfulness. It also refers to His perfect obedience to God's law by which He did for us what we are unable to do for ourselves. (Nelson’s Dictionary)

This sacrifice was given for the people at the New Moon, Passover, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets and Feast of Tabernacles. It was also given on the Great Day of Atonement. Also, it was given for the priests and Levites at their consecration, and for any sin of ‘ignorance’. (Smith’s Dictionary)

Meat Offering

2:1And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:  2And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD:

Meal offerings were prepared and presented to God as a meal, symbolically presenting the best fruits of human living to God to be consumed or used as He desired (Heb 10:5-10). A notable exception to this is that poor people could present meal offerings as sin offerings.

In the meal offering a person presented to God a vicarious consecration of the perfect life and total property of another (Christ). There is no ground in this offering for human boasting as though the offerer were received by God on the grounds of his own human effort. Rather, the recognition of the person's unworthiness is emphasized by the fact that meal offerings must always be accompanied by a whole burnt offering or a peace offering (Lev 2:1; Num 15:1-16). Both offerings were made to atone for man's sin. (Nelson’s Dictionary)

Peace Offering

3:1,2,16,17 And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD.  2And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. 16And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD's. 17It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.

This sacrifice celebrated the covering of sin, forgiveness by God, and the restoration of a right and meaningful relationship with God and with life itself (Judg 20:26; 21:4).

There were three kinds of peace offerings: (1) thank offerings in response to an unsolicited special divine blessing; (2) votive (vowed) offerings in pursuit of making a request or pledge to God; and (3) freewill offerings spontaneously presented in worship and praise. (Nelson’s Dictionary)

Sin Offering

4:1-3,13-14,33-35  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  2Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:  3If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering. 13And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;  14When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation. 33And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering.  34And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar:  35And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace offerings; and the priest shall burn them upon the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the LORD: and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him.

This bloody offering, also known as a guilt offering, was presented for unintentional or intentional sins for which there was no possible restitution (Lev 4:5-13; 6:24-30). If the offering was not accompanied by repentance, divine forgiveness was withheld (Num 15:30). Expiation or covering (forgiveness) of sin was represented by the blood smeared on the horns of the altar of incense or burnt offering and poured out at the base of the altar.

The size (value) and gender of the beast offered depended on the rank of the offerer. The higher his post the more responsibility he bore. The penalty for all sin, death, was vicariously inflicted on the sacrificial animal. Guilt for the worshiper's sin was transferred symbolically to the animal through the laying on of the offerer's hands. (Nelson’s Dictionary)

Trespass Offering

5:14-16 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  15If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the LORD; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering.  16And he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him.

This was a bloody offering presented for unintentional or intentional sins of a lesser degree and for which the violator could make restitution (Lev 5:15). The sprinkling of the blood on the sides of the altar rather than on its horns gave further evidence that this offering addressed sins of a lesser degree. Special provisions were made for the poor by allowing less valuable offerings to be substituted in this kind of sacrifice.

The amount of restitution (money paid) was determined by the officiating priest. Restitution declared that the debt incurred was paid. Significantly, Christ was declared a trespass offering in Isa 53:10. He not only bore the sinner's penalty but made restitution, restoring the sinner to right standing with God. (Nelson’s Dictionary)

Wave & Heave Offering

7:28-30,31-32,37-38 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  29Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the LORD shall bring his oblation unto the LORD of the sacrifice of his peace offerings.  30His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before the LORD. 32And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings. 37This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings;  38Which the LORD commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.

This rite, together with that of "heaving" or "raising" the offering was an inseparable accompaniment of peace offerings. In such the right shoulder, considered the choicest part of the victim, was to be "heaved," and viewed as holy to the Lord, only eaten therefore by the priest: the breast was to be "waved," and eaten by the worshipper. In conjecturing the meaning of this rite, regard must be had that it was the accompaniment of peace offerings, which were witnesses to a ratified covenant --an established communion between God and man. (Smith’s Dictionary)

Some of the rabbis attach to the word ‘heave’ the meaning of elevation, and refer it to the heave offering, which consisted in presenting the offering by a motion up and down, distinguished from the wave offering, which consisted in a repeated movement in a horizontal direction, a "wave offering to the Lord as ruler of earth, a heave offering to the Lord as ruler of heaven." The right shoulder, which fell to the priests in presenting thank offerings, was called the heave shoulder (Lev 7:34; Num 6:20). The first fruits offered in harvest-time (Num 15:20,21) were heave offerings. (Easton’s Dictionary)

Aaron & Sons anointed

8:30 And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.

Thus, we find that the high priest himself must be sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice; and our blessed Lord, of whom Aaron was a type, was sprinkled with his own blood: 1. In his agony in the garden. 2. In his being crowned with thorns. 3. In the piercing of his hands and his feet. And, 4. In his side being pierced with the spear.

(Adam Clarke’s Commentary)

Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

The Lord accepts the sacrifices

9:22-24 And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

The offerings offered by Jesus Christ are what these all were pointing to; oh to understand how our response should be to all of this…just like theirs!

Nadab & Abihu

10:1-3 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.  2And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.  3Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.

It is amazing that this happened right after God’s fire came down (that evening). It would be a little different if it slowly progressed to something like this over a few years; these two young men had no business being in the ministry!

It is not stated what made their offering of incense "strange". Perhaps they used coals in their censers that came from elsewhere than the altar (cf. 16:12) or they may have offered at the wrong time of day (Ex 30:7-9). It may even be that they sought to go into the most holy place, and so usurped the prerogative of the high priest on the Day of Atonement (cf. Lev 16:12-13). The command prohibiting the priests from drinking "wine or other fermented drink" (10:9) may suggest that drunkenness was a possible factor in their sin. In any event, they acted contrary to God's will and their immediate Judgment by God was a dramatic example of what it meant to be "cut off from his people" (cf. Num 15:30). " (Bible Knowledge Commentary)

Our worship must be done exactly as proscribed by God; we must not do things the way we think will work best; we must not take shortcuts; we must not add the world’s ways in; for it will be no different in offense to God as what happened here.

Alcohol Prohibiton

10:8-11 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying,  9Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:  10And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;  11And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.

They were meeting before God’s presence; they were entering into the holy place. We Christians have that holy place within us where the Holy Spirit, God Almighty, is meeting with us; hence, we should not drink any alcoholic beverage. We need to put a difference between the holy and the unholy. God thought the drinking of alcohol to be a pretty serious sin…it brought about the death penalty! We shouldn’t take the ‘alcohol issue’ lightly.

From this passage, the abstaining from alcohol is directly associated with holiness; and the converse is true also, the association of alcohol and unholiness. If one wanted to be “somewhat unholy”, or “less than holy”, or not “fully holy”, then they would partake of alcohol.

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