Leviticus 01

Note: This is a technical book, so pray for discipline. This book will teach you the depths of atonement, which was Christ's greatest work.

Introduction to the Sacrificial Regulations

1:1 Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Meeting Tent:  

Jehovah began meeting Moses at the Tabernacle tent. He gave Moses instructions on sacrificial regulations. All of these sacrifices point to Christ. There are many commentators who spiritualize these passages to find many types of Christ through different aspects of these rituals. Proper hermeneutics is to take the Scriptures literally. It is not a type of Christ unless the Holy Spirit identifies it as a type somewhere else in Scripture. Otherwise, the reader will receive many different human speculations. Therefore, this commentary will stay away from typology unless it is mentioned in Scripture as such. 

1:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When someone among you presents an offering to the Lord, you must present your offering from the domesticated animals, either from the herd or from the flock. 

How evil is sin in the eyes of a righteous God? For man to understand the concept of sin,  man must slit the throat of an innocent pet lamb and pour its blood upon the mercy seat of the Holy of Holies. This would be similar to a person today slitting the throat of his favorite pet and pouring its blood upon a chair which was dedicated to God. This was a bloody and disgusting mess. People would vomit and be repulsed at the site of their favorite innocent lamb being sacrificed for a sin that the person committed. This was a graphic picture of what sin was like to a holy God.

Burnt Offering Regulations: Animal from the Herd

1:3 “ ‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd he must present it as a flawless male; he must present it at the entrance of the Meeting Tent for its acceptance before the Lord. 

God gave Moses very detailed instructions on how the Israelites were to deal with their sin. A burnt offering must be a male bull with no flaws on it. God only accepts the best of the flock. The male bull was to be offered at the entrance of the tabernacle tent. 

1:4 He must lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf. 

The priest laid his hand upon the head of the burnt offering. The priest was symbolically transferring his sin to the innocent and flawless lamb.

1:5 Then the one presenting the offering must slaughter the bull before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, must present the blood and splash the blood against the sides of the altar which is at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. 

The one who made the offering was to slaughter the bull before Jehovah and the sons of Aaron. They poured the blood into a container. They splashed the blood on the sides of the altar and at the entrance of the tabernacle tent.

1:6 Next, the one presenting the offering must skin the burnt offering and cut it into parts, 

The one who made the offering was to skin the bull.

1:7 and the sons of Aaron, the priest, must put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 

The priests would light the altar with wood and fire.

1:8 Then the sons of Aaron, the priests, must arrange the parts with the head and the suet on the wood that is in the fire on the altar. 

The priests would arrange the parts of the burnt offering upon the altar.

1:9 Finally, the one presenting the offering must wash its entrails and its legs in water and the priest must offer all of it up in smoke on the altar—it is a burnt offering, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord.  

The one who made the offering was to wash its body parts. The priest offered the bull on the altar. The burnt offering smells good to Jehovah, because it temporarily covered the sins of the offerer.

Animal from the Flock

1:10 “ ‘If his offering is from the flock for a burnt offering—from the sheep or the goats—he must present a flawless male,  

If the offerer decided to choose the burnt offering from his own flock of sheep or goats, then it must be a flawless male. God has high expectations. He accepts only the best.

1:11 and must slaughter it on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, will splash its blood against the altar’s sides. 

The offerer must slaughter the burnt offering on the north side of the altar before Jehovah and the priests. He is to splash the blood against the sides of the altar.

1:12 Next, the one presenting the offering must cut it into parts, with its head and its suet, and the priest must arrange them on the wood which is in the fire, on the altar. 

The offerer was to butcher the burnt offering. The priest was to arrange the offering on the wood.

1:13 Then the one presenting the offering must wash the entrails and the legs in water, and the priest must present all of it and offer it up in smoke on the altar—it is a burnt offering, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord.  

The offerer washed the body parts of the offering. The priest presented all of the offering to Jehovah. The priest placed the offering on the wood. The smell of the burnt offering was good to Jehovah.

From the Birds

1:14 “ ‘If his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering from the birds, he must present his offering from the turtledoves or from the young pigeons. 

If one could not afford a bull, goat, or lamb, then they could offer a bird. This was the offering of Joseph and Mary. Jesus was born from a family of poverty.

1:15 The priest must present it at the altar, pinch off its head and offer the head up in smoke on the altar, and its blood must be drained out against the side of the altar. 

The priest would pinch off the head of the bird and offer it upon the altar. The blood was drained on the side of the altar. Sin is a terrible, disgusting, and messy part of one's life.

1:16 Then the priest must remove its entrails by cutting off its tail feathers, and throw them to the east side of the altar into the place of fatty ashes, 

The priest would throw some of the body parts to the east side of the altar where fatty ashes were stored and later burnt outside of the camp.

1:17 and tear it open by its wings without dividing it into two parts. Finally, the priest must offer it up in smoke on the altar on the wood which is in the fire—it is a burnt offering, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord. 

The priest tore off the wing of the bird. He offered the bird to Jehovah as a burnt offering. The smell was sweet to Jehovah.