In our last post, we talked about the drink offering, how it was instituted, and how it was used in the various types of sacrifices mentioned in Leviticus. This time, we will talk more about this interesting type of offering.

In Leviticus, we see this offering pointed toward God’s completion of what these sacrifices in Leviticus pointed toward. Matthew, in the New Testament, tells us, “And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Mt 26:27). Christ’s blood was a drink offering, meaning it was a completion of something which had been started earlier. His death was the completion of what the sacrifices in Leviticus pointed toward—i.e., the payment for mankind’s sin.

There is another interesting application for the drink offering. It was utilized in the fulfillment of a Nazarite vow (Nu 6:1-21). A Nazarite was a man or woman who separated themselves for a period of time from certain food and drink (did not drink wine or eat grapes), from dead bodies (even family members), and did not cut their hair. During this time of separation, they were considered holy to the Lord. When their vow was over, they brought their burnt offering, meal offering, peace offering, and drink offering to the tabernacle. His/her hair was shaved and offered with the peace offering. The shoulder of the peace offering and the cakes of the meal offering were waved before the Lord. Then, and only then, could the individual drink wine again.

This aspect of separation unto the Lord is also taught to us in the New Testament. God calls us to be separate: “…we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, go out from their midst, and be separate from them,’ says the Lord, ‘and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me,’ says the Lord Almighty” (2Co 6:16-18). The separation is to be from all earthly joy (the fruit of the vine), from sin and the result of sin (dead bodies), and is to last for our entire life here upon earth. The allowing of the hair to grow uncut speaks of subjection to the Lord (c.f. 1 Cor.11:2-16); thus, we are to be separated unto God. This again points to completion: after the period of separate, fellowship is restored.

The drink offering was also used in most feasts Israel held, as it was used whenever burnt, meal, and/or peace offerings were made (Nu 29). In Lv 23, three feats were called out specifically: First Fruit, Pentecost (Shavuot), Tabernacles (Sukkot). Each of these feasts pointed to a fulfillment or a completion of what God would do in Israel’s future.

Here is a table that shows how all the offerings were used in relation to each other and in relation to the various types of sacrifices and feasts:

As we have seen, all these sacrifices point to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the feasts point to future fulfillments of what Christ has done for us or will do for us in our future. While the following adage is simplistic, it is really true: The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed; the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. It is a testament to the continuity of the Bible and how it is a very dynamic book and not just a collection of stories. Isn’t our God marvelous?!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The drink offering is not one of the offerings mentioned in the first seven chapters of Leviticus where the other offerings are provided. It is mentioned in the twenty-eighth chapter of Numbers where God specified which offerings God required to be offered to him. This gives us the first clue as to what this offering is about. Lv 1-7 is about these offerings from man’s viewpoint. Nu 28 is about these offerings from God’s viewpoint. This offering must represent something from God’s perspective.

First, let’s go over some of the characteristics of this offering. It was made of strong wine (Nu 28:7). It was not to be diluted, which speaks of the purity and perfection of the offering, as well as of its preciousness (costlier than what was normally drank). All of it was poured out on the sacrifice: lamb (1/4 hin: ~2 pt); ram (1/3 hin: ~2½ pt); bull (1/2 hin: ~3¾ pt). From scripture, we find that wine is a symbol of joy for both man and God (Jd 9:13; Ps 104:15). It was to be instituted only after they dwelt in the Promised Land (Nu 15:1), and it was only offered with the “sweet savor” offerings (Nu 15:1-16): burnt offering, meal offering, peace offering. It was not used with a sin offering or guilt offering

Yet, this is not the first mention of the drink offering. It is first mentioned in relation to Jacob after his name was changed to Israel (Gn 35:14). When Jacob first left home and came to Bethel (Luz), he vowed: “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.” It is believed that Jacob’s life is prophetic of the time period called Jacob’s Trouble: Jacob had trials and turmoil, but God brought him back to his home, and to Bethel, in peace with Laban (his father-in-law), peace with Esau (his brother), and peace with God. This would seem to represent and symbolize the Millennium, or the Messiah’s future earthly kingdom here on earth. It was only after the completion did the drink offering get made.

Therefore, the drink offering deals with completion. It shows God’s joy for providing for the completion needed to reconcile mankind back to Himself:

Burnt offering – reconciliation of man’s sinful state – God provided

Meal (Grain) offering – our worship of Christ’s sinless life – God provided

Peace offering – our fellowship with God through Christ – God provided

Drink offering – representing the joy of God in providing for us

It was instituted only after God completed their journey into their Promised Land.

Their journey is a symbol of sanctification. The Israelites entering their Promised Land is a symbol of us one day entering the Messiah’s Millennial Kingdom (i.e., Christ’s 1000-year reign on the earth once he returns).

The drink offering was instituted as a symbol of completion and pointed to a future completion. This was done by God who takes joy in doing this for us.

Next time, we will look further at the drink offering and further at its symbolism. Stay tuned!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

We saw previously that the guilt offering had both a vertical as well as a horizontal application. We find something similar in the New Testament as well: “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Mt 5:23-24). You see, the guilt offering absolved the offender of all legal and moral debt. At the same time, the guilt offering restored favor to both God and to one’s fellow man.

The act of the guilt offering here in Leviticus is reiterated in other parts of scripture in how God wants us to handle guilt. The Bible states that our conscience must be correctly trained: acts done out of love leads to a good conscience (1Tm 1:3, 5); studying God’s word will help one know good from evil (Hb 5:11-12).

Of course, not all our sins will be known to us. How does that happen? Remember, sin is anything God deems as such. Therefore, one could sin out of ignorance. God knew that, and so God instituted a sacrifice for this. Since Christ’s sacrifice of himself was for all sin, then we can rest assured that Christ solves this for us as well. Confession is better than denial: confession through faith cleanses us (1Jn 1:9). When restitution is possible, we should do so. Restitution is what uniquely distinguished the guilt offering from the sin offering. Restitution brings healing and cancels the legal and moral debt on the horizontal level between one human being and another.

We need to learn this lesson and leave the guilt behind us. When all has been offered, what else is there to do? The moral and legal debt is paid. What more can one do? Nothing. Continuing to carry around guilt as baggage is not faith and violated the holiness of the guilt offering and the atonement of the priest. The same is true for us today.

Jesus Christ, our sin offering, is the eternal solution to our guilt: “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities” (Is 53:10-11).

The moral and legal debt is cancelled, but there is more: “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins, but when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,’ then he adds, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’ Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin” (Hb 10:10-18).

We often state that Christ took care of our sin problem. Yet, we need to remember that he also took care of our guilt problem as well. Doesn’t that make you want to rejoice and serve him with an even greater grateful heart? Leave it to God to think of everything. What a mighty God we serve!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

“The guilt offering is just like the sin offering; there is one law for them” (Lv 7:7) Although the offering was the same, the purpose was different. The sin offering restored one’s standing with God; the guilt offering did that, but also restored one’s standing with the one whom was sinned against. It was made for a specific sin (Lv 5:15-19).

If any of God’s commandments were broken, once a person realized it, he had to offer a guilt offering: “He shall also make restitution for what he has done amiss in the holy thing and shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest. And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering, and he shall be forgiven” (Lv 5:16). So, it seems the sacrifice was measured monetarily, and the offender added one-fifth its value, in shekels, to it and gave that to the priest.

Then, examples of sins against one’s neighbor were provided. If anyone committed extortion or deception through deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, robbing his neighbor, or finding something lost and lies about it, the offender had to restore what was taken and add one-fifth (20%) of its value (Lv 6:1-5). He then brought his guilt offering (ram without blemish – or its equivalent) to the priest. This made atonement for him, and he was then forgiven (Lv 6:6-7).

The guilt offering absolved the offender of all legal and moral debt, and it restored one’s favor to both God and to one’s fellow man. It seems God is always vertical as well as horizontal focused. Our relationship to Him is important, but so is our relationship to each other important to Him. He therefore expects us to consider both important as well.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The sin offering brings up an important question: what is sin? I think God defined it for the Israelites: “If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them…” (Lv 4:1; emphasis mine). And, since God does not change (Ml 3:6), it is still God’s definition. While this definition may not sit well with us today, it is the definition God himself put on it. Sin is anything God has commanded not to be done. It doesn’t matter if we can rationalize it. God’s definition still stands. Also, we see that sin may be either ignorant or willful; active or passive. This means we can sin even when we don’t intend to. Ignorance was not punished, but revelation of one’s ignorance required action.

Why was this so important to God? Sin results in defilement. God stated there were sins which Israel committed which were said to defile the people, the land, and even the dwelling place of God: sexual immorality (Lv 18:24-30); bloodshed (Nu 35:29-34); occult practices (Lv 19:31; 20:6); infant sacrifice (Lv 20:1-5); divorce (Jr 3:1); false worship (Jr 16:18). These are things we still commit today. We may have tweaked them and made them more sophisticated, but we still commit them. God still sees them as sin.

Sin is exceedingly costly. The people had to sacrifice their livelihood and be dependent upon God for their survival. Bob Deffinbaugh, Community Bible Chapel, Richardson, TX, made the following statement: “When you think of what it would cost an Israelite who wished to maintain his walk with God, it would have been a religion almost too costly to be able to afford. No wonder God promised to prosper this people greatly!” If this practice of worship was still in existence today, would people even dare obey it?

The only solution for the guilt of sin was blood atonement. Sin led to guilt which led to blood sacrifice. By offering fat and sprinkling blood and then destroying the rest, God made it clear it was the blood that made atonement. The death of Christ, who died once and for all, has made atonement for man’s sin, and assures forgiveness.

Ignorance is not bliss. Bob Deffinbaugh also stated the following, “The Israelites were held accountable for the sins they committed ignorantly. Many contemporary Christians seem to think that if they don’t study their Bibles, if they don’t familiarize themselves with the standards and principles God has given in the Bible, they will not be responsible for their sins committed in ignorance. Not so! The Sin Offering strongly suggests that we had better become careful students of the revealed Word of God, for it is disobedience to His word that constitutes sin.” And as was already stated, we don’t define sin, God does.

So, what’s the answer? What is our hope? Christ is our answer. “But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hb 9:11-14).

In addition, Peter tells us the following: “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’ Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed form the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with this previous blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified them, and so your faith and hope are in God” (1Pt 1:13-21).

Although God hates sin, he loves us. That is why he paved the way for us. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. We just have to accept. Will you? Take that leap of faith. Your only regret will only be why you didn’t do it even earlier.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

I guess it’s pretty self-explanatory what a sin offering was for. Yet, since everyone sins, everyone’s sin had to be atoned for—including the priests. This offering was made when one sinned unintentionally, and it was made for a specific sin.

When priests unintentionally sinned, it brought guilt to all the people. When such occurred, the priest was to bring a young bull without blemish (Lv 4:3-12). A bull was one of the more expensive and precious livestock. The priest would lay his hands on the animal for atonement and then slaughter it. The blood of the bull was sprinkled before the veil in the Holy Place of the tabernacle. Blood was then placed on the horns of the Altar of Incense, and the remainder of the blood was poured at the base of the Brazen Altar outside the tabernacle. The fat of the animal was then offered on the Brazen Altar. The remainder of the animal was taken outside the camp to the ash heap and burned to ashes on a wood fire. This was symbolic of how sins were dealt with by God. The sin was symbolically transferred to a valuable animal whose blood atoned for their relationship to God, for their prayers to God, and then offered to God. Once the animal was completely consumed, nothing of the sin was left remaining.

When the congregation sinned unintentionally, they, too, were to bring a young bull without blemish (Lv 4:13-21). The elders (one from each of the twelve clans or tribes) would lay their hands on the head of the animal for atonement and then slaughter it. Again, this shows how they were intimately involved with the sacrifice. The blood of the bull was sprinkled before the veil in the Holy Place of the tabernacle and placed on the horns of the Altar of Incense. The remainder of the blood was poured at the base of the Brazen Altar, the fat offered, and the remainder of the animal taken outside the camp to the ash heap and burned to ashes on a wood fire.

When a leader of the people sinned unintentionally, he would bring a male goat without defect (Lv 4:22-26). He would lay his hands on the head of animal for atonement and then slaughter it himself. The priest would then place the blood on the horns of the Brazen Altar while the remainder of the blood was poured at its base. The fat of the animal was offered. Both the priest and his male family members could eat the remainder within the courtyard of the tabernacle.

When a member of the community sinned unintentionally, they would bring either a female goat or female lamb without defect (Lv 4:27-35). They would lay their hands on the head of animal for atonement and then slaughter it themselves. The priest would place blood on the horns of the Brazen Altar, the remainder of the blood poured at its base, and the fat offered on the Brazen Altar. The priest and his male family members could eat the remainder within the courtyard of the tabernacle.

So, what happened with the sin was not unintentional? The sin not forgiven (Lv 5:1). Also, if someone did not speak up about what they knew about someone accused, they would be held responsible, and a sin offering would not be accepted. A defiant sin was not forgiven, and they would lose their inheritance (Nu 15:27-31).

There were several sins mentioned that would be forgiven (Lv 5:2-4): realizing one unknowingly touched something unclean, or someone thoughtlessly took an oath. They had to confess their specific sin (Lv 5:5). Once the sin was recognized, specific requirements were dictated (Lv 5:6-13). The offender was to bring either a female lamb or goat, or, if they were poor, they were to bring two doves or two pigeons: one for a sin offering; the other for a burnt offering. The sin offering was made first (the head of the bird was wrung from its neck, blood splattered against the side of the Brazen Altar; the remainder drained at the base of the Brazen Altar). The other bird was offered as a burnt offering as previously described. If they could afford neither of these types of offerings, they were to bring one-tenth ephah (3½ lbs) of the finest flour (this required extreme effort on their part to make flour this fine). It could not contain olive oil or incense. The memorial part was offered on the altar; the rest of the offering belonged to the priest.

Some interesting facts were then provided about this type of offering (Lv 6:24-30). Whatever touched the flesh of the sacrifice became holy. Blood on any garment had to be washed in the sanctuary area. A clay pot cooking the meat had to be destroyed. A bronze pot cooking the meat had to be scoured and rinsed with water. As previously noted, only the flesh from the sin offering which did not require blood to be sprinkled in the Holy Place could be eaten by the priest; otherwise, the rest of the sacrifice had to be taken outside the camp and burned to ashes.

In summary, the sin offering was to be made for a specific sin and had to be made as soon as possible once the sin was identified. This type of offering was made only for sins which were unintentional. The offering made for sin which caused the congregation to sin was treated differently from the offering made for one’s individual sin, and the one making the offering received none of the sacrifice for consumption.

That brings us to the real question: what was the purpose of all of this? Stay tuned for the next post which will address this question and then explore what it means for us today.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Although God supplied a lot of detail about the peace offering, this type of offering was not something totally new to the Israelites. The people had been making such offerings before. We find the people were making these types of sacrifices in open fields (Lv 17:5), they made such offerings to goat idols (Lv 17:7), and even to a golden calf (Ex 32:4-6). The penalty imposed by God of one losing their inheritance was to make the people stop this practice and bring these sacrifices instead to God as a peace, or fellowship, offering (Lv 17:5, 9). God wanted to redirect their devotion to him.

It is not known how early such a sacrifice was offered. Yet, the sacrifice of Cain and Abel may have been a peace, or fellowship, offering: “…and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions” (Gn 4:4). This was the part of the animal also offered to God as a peace offering.

Why did God institute this type of sacrifice and its penalty? He was breaking a chain of wrongdoing and re-establishing a new meaning to the sacrifices they were making. He wanted their worship, praise, and fellowship. Therefore, he instituted that no meal of meat could be made without turning it into a peace offering. It would then help the people remember that all they have comes from him and that God alone is their sustainer.

So, what does that mean for us today? This type of sacrifice pointed toward the one to come who would become our peace offering. Christ is our peace offering. How do we know this? The peace offering established a bond between the one making the offering and God. The meal was offered and eaten in God’s presence—to fellowship with him. It became a way for the Israelites to realize that God’s favor rested on them.

Ep 2:13-18: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in the flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”

The meal represents intimacy with those you share a meal with. God was offering that to Israel and is offering that to us today. How awesome that the God of the universe wants to have such an intimate connection with us. Do you crave that level of intimacy with him? He’s offering it to you. You just have to accept it. Christ is the way. Just speak to him. He’s there.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The third type of sacrifice mentioned in Leviticus is the Peace Offering – sometimes also called Fellowship Offering. Three options were given for this type of sacrifice: it had to be an animal from the herd (i.e., cattle) (Lv 3:1), or an animal from the flock (i.e., sheep) (Lv 3:6), or a goat (Lv 3:12). It could be either male or female but had to be without defect (Lv 3:1, 6). The other interesting thing here is that the one making the offering was intimately involved in the sacrifice. First, he placed his hand on the animal’s head (Lv 3:2, 8, 13) as a symbol of transferring his sins, or those of his family, to the animal. Then he had to slaughter the animal in front of the tabernacle (Lv 3:2, 8, 13). This was not the duty of the priest, but the one making the offering. As I said, the one making the offering was intimately involved. Then, the priest splashed the animal’s blood against the sides of the altar (Lv 3:2, 8, 13). The animal’s internal organs, fat, long lobe of its liver, and its kidneys were offered on the altar (Lv 3:3-4, 9-10, 14-15).

To honor this type of sacrifice, there were several prohibitions which were instituted: the people were not to eat any fat or any blood (Lv 3:17; 7:26; 17:12) because that was the part of the animal being offered to God; a foreigner living in the land could not eat blood (Lv 17:12) because the land was tied to Israel and its covenant with God (Ex 6:4, 8); anytime game was caught, the blood had to be drained and covered with dirt (Lv 17:13), and anyone found eating blood would lose their inheritance (Lv 7:27) because God had decreed blood to be holy (Gn 9:4, 6) and would pollute the land of their covenant (Nu 35:33) as well as being the source of redemption (Hb 9:22).

There were several things that made this offering unique. The reason for the offering could be for expressing thankfulness (Lv 7:12), because of a vow (Lv 7:16), or given as a freewill offering (Lv 7:16). This type of offering was mandatory only at Pentecost (Lv 23:19) and for fulfilling a Nazarite vow (Nu 6:13-20), which was a vow of dedication to God for a specific period of time.

When this offering was made, several things were made with it: a thick loaf made with fine flour and olive oil, but without yeast (Lv 7:12), or thin loaves made without yeast, but brushed with olive oil (Lv 7:12), or a thick loaf made with yeast (Lv 7:13). The thick loaves then belonged to the priest making the sacrifice (Lv 7:14), the one making the offering would wave the breast before the Lord and give it to the high priest and his sons (Lv 7:30-31) while the right thigh was given to the priest making the sacrifice (Lv 7:32). The remainder of the animal was for the one making the offering and his family (Dt 27:7).

God wanted the people to take this offering very seriously, even if it was for the most part voluntary. If offered for thanksgiving, the meat had to be eaten that day with nothing left over until the next (Lv 7:15). If offered for a vow or as a freewill offering, it could be eaten the second day, but not the third; it had to then be burned (Lv 7:17-18). Violators of this requirement would lose the acceptance of their offering by God (Lv 7:18). Anyone who was unclean and partook of a peace/fellowship offering lost their inheritance (Lv 7:20). All sacrifices had to be brought to the tabernacle. They could not be offered elsewhere; the consequence was also losing one’s inheritance (Lv 17:3-4).

For us today, some of the requirements seem rather strange. We will go into this aspect next time and see why God had some of these requirements for the Israelites and what it can mean for us today. I hope you join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In this post, we’ll look at applications to the grain offering which was discussed in my previous post. It certainly had meaning for the Israelites in their day and has meaning for us today as well.

Once Israel reached Canaan, God’s promised land to them, they would go from being a nomadic people traveling from place to place and never settling down to actually becoming settlers with houses and land. Rather than having to always buy grain, they would now grow it. They would be dependent upon God for their grain. In the past, the Nile watered their fields. Now it would be rain which was controlled by God. We, too, are dependent upon God for our day-to-day provisions (Mt 6:11; Ja 4:13-16).

Israel would be dependent upon God’s spiritual necessities as well. “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Dt 8:3). Their blessings were now dependent upon their obedience to God (Dt 28:1-6).

For us today, Christ is a type of Grain Offering. He stated he was the true bread from heaven which gives life to the entire world (Jn 6:32-33), he is the “bread of life” (Jn 6:35), and he was the bread which came from heaven (Jn 6:42). He stated, “Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (Jn 6:51).

In my previous post, we talked about the grain offering having a “memorial part” which was placed on the altar, and a “most holy part” which was given to the priest. Christ was both the “memorial part” by offering himself to die on the cross for us, as well as the “most holy part” by us partaking of him—by identifying with him through receiving His Holy Spirit and becoming like him as we mature in the faith, a process of sanctification.

The grain offering was one of the types of offerings to sustain the priests. Likewise, our financial offerings sustain our pastors. Paul told us, “Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel” (1Co 9:13-14).

The grain offering also demonstrates the principle of sequence. The burnt offering was first: to atone for an individual’s sinful state and to symbolize that the one making the offering was offering themselves to God. That applies to us today also. Second, the grain offering was an act of worship. We can add nothing to our atonement sacrifice because it is not based upon what we do; yet, we can add to our worship and have more freedom in how we do it. We come to God as we are; there is nothing we can do to make ourselves presentable to Him. Only after we come can the Holy Spirit make improvements in our lives. He promises that we, too, can have the mind of Christ (1Co 2:16). Pretty neat promise, isn’t it? What about you? Want to be more like Him. Will you offering your grain offering to Him today and begin a remarkable journey of growth with mind changing potential?

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The second type of sacrifice mentioned in Leviticus is the grain offering. It was made and presented in one of three ways: fine flour with olive oil and frankincense presented uncooked (Lv 2:1); baked in the oven (Lv 2:4); or baked on a griddle (Lv 2:5). Since grain itself was in short supply in the desert, this grain was likely that reserved for seed; therefore, it was considered very precious, and the one making the offering was really depending upon God for their future provision. When baked, the fine flour mixed with olive oil was made into loaves or as unleavened wafers smeared with oil. When made on a griddle, the unleavened cakes made from fine flour and olive oil were broken into pieces with more olive oil poured over them.

The flour was stated to be “fine flour.” This means one had to spend a lot of time to make the flour fine, as it would typically be course due to the amount of work it took to grind the grain by hand. Extra special effort was made for this type of sacrifice to God. Again, they were offering their very best.

The one making the offering would take a handful (called the memorial portion) and the priest would burn it on the altar (Lv 2:2). The remainder (called the most holy part) was then given to the priests to use for their own consumption (Lv 2:3).

There were elements which were prohibited in this type of sacrifice (Lv 2:11): leaven and honey. Yeast (leaven) and honey symbolically represented corruption: leaven typically represented sin, and honey likely equated to self-gratification or pleasure. Sometimes, unleavened bread was symbolic of God’s deliverance (Dt 16:4). While such a gift with yeast and honey could be presented to the priest (separate from offering) during firstfruits, it could not be used as an offering placed upon the altar.

There was a special element required for this type of sacrifice (Lv 2:13): salt. Salt was used since it sealed the covenant (Lv 2:13; Nu 18:19; 2Ch 13:5) as it likely represented the preservation and longevity of the covenant, two major characteristics of salt. It was also used as a flavoring agent (perhaps as a benefit to the priests). Salt symbolically represented the longevity of the Mosaic Covenant, which was dependent upon their obedience to God (Dt 28).

In some ways, the grain offering was similar to the burnt offering. It had to be of the highest quality (Lv 2:1): fine flour was difficult to produce and took a lot of time, olive oil in the desert was in short supply, and frankincense was very expensive. The grain offering was also offered by fire, and both produced a soothing aroma to the Lord (Lv 2:2). Often these two sacrifices were carried out together, as the grain offering was to follow the burnt offering (Nu 28:4-5; Jd 13:19).

Yet, the grain offering was also very different from the burnt offering. The burnt offering was an animal sacrifice, while the grain offering was a vegetable sacrifice composed of either wheat or barley. Because this offering had no blood, it was not for atonement. It was a form of worship as the one making the offering had some say in the offering: the one making the offering could choose the type of grain and how it was presented. It was a way of thanking God for sustaining them – giving them “their daily bread,” and grain was likely scarcer than animals as it would have to be taken from their seed reserves. In addition, in this sacrifice only a portion of it was offered on the altar whereas in the burnt offering, the entire animal was sacrificed with none of it going to the one making the offering or to the priest, except for the hide (Lv 7:8). Here, in this offering, the majority of the grain offering was used to sustain the priests (Nu 18:9).

In our next post, we will look at the application of this type of sacrifice. I hope you join us.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Burnt offerings, while not uncommon to Israel, had special meaning and application for the Israelites as dictated by God. As stated in a previous post, this was one of the most common types of sacrifices, and they already had some understanding about this type of sacrifice. So, what did they understand? They were able to draw upon the experience from several more notable ancestors.

From Noah’s burnt offering experience (Gn 8:20-22), Israelites saw that the burnt offering was a means of avoiding God’s wrath and of obtaining God’s favor. God’s blessing did not come from their good deeds, but by their burnt offering, i.e., their pledge and dedication to God. From Abraham, willing to offer up Isaac as a burnt offering (Gn 22), the Israelites understood the promise of the Abrahamic Covenant (Gn. 12:1-3) involved the death and resurrection of one of Abraham’s offspring. The ram Abraham offered died in the place of Isaac – a picture of what was to occur in their future when Christ, their Messiah, would come. While the second point is very clear to us, it likely was not to the Israelites of that day. Yet, they clearly understood the first point.

So, what does all of this mean for us today? We need to understand and recognize that Christ was the fulfillment of the burnt offering these Israelites made. Several scriptures point to this fact: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29); Christ was the final and complete archetype as He died “once for all” (Hb 9:12, 26; 10:10). Yet, faith is still the requirement. The burnt offering symbolized the Old Testament saint’s faith in God’s provision for his sins, and for his access to God. The burnt offering symbolized the Old Testament saint’s faith in God, and his intention to love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love his neighbor as himself (Dt 6:5).

This type of offering is important for us to understand as it will also be a part of our future once Christ returns. A burnt offering will be made every morning on the altar by the priests (Ek 46:13). People of the land (likely meaning Israel) will provide a percentage of their flocks to the Prince for burnt offerings and other offerings (Ek 45:15-16). The Prince will offer burnt offerings on New Moons, Sabbaths, and Feasts (Ek 45:17). People throughout the world who accept the Lord as the Hope of their future will be brought to him as an offering (Is 66:20), likely symbolically representative of a burnt offering.

Yet, in spite of all of the regulations around the sacrifice, it was never about the act of the sacrifice itself: “With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Mi 6:6-8).

So, what is our sacrifice today? Consider this verse: “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Hb 13:15-16).

Let’s summarize what we have learned about the burnt offering:

It was for man’s depravity (his sinful state). This sacrifice was almost always needed in order to approach God for any reason. We can only approach God because of Christ becoming our burnt offering to offer himself for our depravity.

It was a principle of particularity. God was very particular in how man would approach Him. We can only come to God through Jesus Christ: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6).

It was a principle of acceptance of God. Most self-help books tell how a person should accept themselves, while the burnt offering was all about making a person right with God. Scripture states it is a better goal to hear, “Well done my good and faithful servant” (Mt 25:21).

It was a principle of atonement through the shedding of blood. The sinful state of man requires the shedding of innocent blood: without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Hb 9:22). Why blood? Maybe because God breathed into man a breath of life (Gn 2:7). Oxygen is what we breathe, and blood cells carry the oxygen; so, blood represented life. Perhaps that is why eating blood was prohibited (Lv 17:10).

It was a principle of identification. The one making the offering had to identify with the animal, understand he was bringing his best to represent him, and symbolically transfer his sin to the animal which is then worthy of death. We, today, identify with Christ who bore our sin and died for our sin.

It was a principle of sacrifice. Neither the one making the offering nor the priest benefited from this type of sacrifice. What was gained was a statement of devotion to God. We, too, are to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to him (Ro 12:1-2).

Hopefully, you see that the acts of these ancient Israelites have meaning for us today. Certainly, we can offer a sacrifice of praise to the One who has bestowed life to us and given us an eternal hope. Can you do that today?

A major resource for this post and others like it regarding Leviticus was the research done by Bob Deffinbaugh posted on Bible.org.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The first offering we come to in Leviticus is the burnt offering. Yet, this is not the first time we see such an offering in the Bible. It actually originated in Genesis and was first mentioned by Noah when he offered burnt offerings of clean animals (Gn 8:20). Yet, this offering was likely first shown to Adam, since their clothes came from animals (Gn 3:21) which were likely from the animal hides from a burnt offering as the animal skin was the only thing not consumed in a burnt offering (Lv 7:8).

There are other places where burnt offerings are mentioned prior to Leviticus: Abraham was told to offer Isaac as a burnt offering (Gn 22); Moses told Pharaoh that the Israelites needed to go into the desert to offer burnt offerings to God (Ex 10:25-26); Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, offered a burnt offering to God (Ex 18); when the Israelites made a golden calf, they also offered burnt offerings (Ex 32).

We see, then, that burnt offerings were not necessarily a new offering God commanded to Israel. Yet, he did add His requirements to them. It could be offered in two ways: a personalized offering by an individual (Lv 1:2), and only males were allowed to make this offering—likely on behalf of their whole family (Jb 1:5); or as an offering for the community as a whole and done on their behalf by the priest. A burnt offering was made on behalf of the congregation in the morning and in the evening (Ex 29:38-42; Nu 28:3, 6; 2Ch 2:4). An additional burnt offering was offered every Sabbath (Nu 28:9-10), at the beginning of each month (i.e., every new moon; Nu 28:11), at the celebration of Passover on the 14th day of the 1st month (Nu 28:16), along with the grain offering at the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot; Nu 28:26) and offered on the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah; Nu 29:1).

Burnt offerings were also often offered in conjunction with other sacrifices: guilt offering (Lv 5:7, 10, 17-18); sin offering (Lv 5:7; 6:25; 9:2-3, 7; 12:6, 8); freewill offering (Lv 22:18), with the sheaf offering at Feast of Firstfruits (Lv 23:12), and with the new grain offering on Shavuot (Lv 23:15-22). It was also required for various cleansing rituals: cleansing of a woman’s uncleanness as a result of child-bearing (sin and burnt offering required; Lv 12:6-8); cleansing of a leper (Lv 14:19-20); cleansing of a man with a discharge (with a sin offering; Lv 15:14-15); cleansing of a woman with an abnormal discharge (with a sin offering; Lv 15:30); cleansing of a Nazarite who was unintentionally defiled by contact with a dead body (Nu 6:11, 14); purification of the congregations when the congregation unwittingly failed to observe one of God’s commands, and was thereby defiled (Nu 15:22-26); purification and consecration of Aaron (Lv 16:3, 5, 24) as well as all the Levites (Nu 8:12).

One of the unique characteristics about this offering was that it was totally consumed. Other offerings allowed either the priest or the one making the offering to partake of the offering, but not this one. As stated previously, only the hide could be kept by the priest (Lv 7:8).

It is interesting that the word for offering in Hebrew was “corban” (Lv 1:2). This gives a little insight into the corruption of the New Testament priests when they allowed and/or encouraged people to “corbanize” their possessions (Mk 7:11). They were essentially saying a person’s possessions were a burnt offering to the Lord and were, therefore, more important than taking care of their family. This practice went again part of God’s commandments to Israel where they were commanded to honor their father and mother (Ex 20:12; Lv 19:3; Dt 5:16).

God also expected His instructions about burnt offerings to be taken seriously. Not taking a burnt offering or sacrifice to the tabernacle would lead to a person no longer having an inheritance (Lv 17:9). Nadab and Abihu, priests and sons of Aaron, were killed for not following sacrificial protocol (Lv 10).

Yet, God also considered the ability of a person or family in what they were able to offer. God allowed three types of animals to be offered as a burnt offering: offerings from the herd (i.e., bull; Lv 1:3-9); offerings from the flock (a sheep or a goat; Lv 1:10-13); offerings of birds (turtledoves or pigeons; Lv 1:14-17). Being poor was a basis for reduction in sacrifice demanded by God (Lv 14:21-22, 31).

Still, God did have specific requirements around these animals to be used as a burnt offering. The animal had to be of the highest quality. Unless a bird was offered, the animal from the herd or flock had to be male, and the animal had to be young (i.e., it was at its prime reproductive status). This made the one giving the offering dependent upon God for further provision and prosperity.

The offering was a very personal experience. The one providing the offering laid his hand on the head of the animal—symbolically transferring sins to the animal, not specific sins, but sinfulness in general. The one providing the offering was also the one who killed the animal. This was very up close and personal, wasn’t it? The priest then took the blood and sprinkled it before the altar and prepared the animal for sacrifice. This offering served as the atonement for the overall sinful state of the person/family/community.

In a future post we’ll consider what the Israelites really understood about this sacrifice and what it means for us today. So, stay tuned!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens