Explore the Bible Lesson Preview November 5, 2017 Set Before Background: Leviticus 1:1-7:38 Lesson: Leviticus 1:3-9; 2:1-3; 3:1-5 Motivation: Believer s Study Bible calls Leviticus one of the most New Testament of the Old Testament books. It lays the foundation for understanding of atonement and holiness. Throughout the book, we ll see a foreshadowing of the Person and work of Christ. Examination: I. The Burnt Offering If his gift is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to bring an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting so that he may be accepted by the. 4 He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. 5 He is to slaughter the bull before the ; Aaron s sons the priests are to present the blood and sprinkle it on all sides of the altar that is at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 6 The n he must skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest will prepare a fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8 Aaron s sons the priests are to arrange the pieces, the head, and the suet on top of the burning wood on the altar. 9 The offerer must wash its entrails and shanks with water. Then the priest will burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the. 1 / 8
(1:3-9) A. Preeminent Of the five types of Levitical offerings in this study, the burnt offering is listed first because it best symbolized Christ s sacrifice (Heb. 9:14). The historical antecedents or blood sacrifice date to Adam/Eve (Gen. 3:21) Abel (Gen. 4:4), Noah (Gen. 8:20) and Abraham (Gen. 22:2ff cf. Lev. 17:11 Heb. 9:22). In the tabernacle and eventually the Temple, such a sacrifice was offered on the brazen altar, also called the burnt altar. B. Pervasive Everyone needs such a sacrifice (Rom. 3:23). Notice that three classes of sacrifice are given: bull (3-9), sheep/goat (10-13), fowl (14-17) depending on the financial ability of the owner. The latter offering of turtledoves or pigeons became known as the offering of the poor. (12:8) (Luke 1:47) It s noteworthy that Mary brought such an offering after the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:22-24). Such an offering shows the poverty of Mary as well as the fact that she considered herself a sinner. C. Peaceful Carnivorous animals were not allowed as sacrifices because they did not represent the Prince of Peace (Isa. 53:7). D. Pure unblemished (3) 2 Cor. 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us... Hebrews 4:15 but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin I Peter 1:18-19 Knowing you were not redeemed with corruptible things...but with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without blemish and without spot. 2 / 8
I John 3:5 He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 1. Possessed He must bring it (3) The Old Testament sacrifice required the worshipper to bring something of value to the altar. In the New Testament, we are asked to lay ourselves on the altar. (Romans 12:1) 2. Personal 4 He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. (4) Each worshipper was to feel the personal responsibility for sin. 3. Plentiful Then the priest will burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering (9) The entire animal (except for the skin (7:8) which was given to the priest) was laid on the altar. We sing the hymn Is your all on the altar? which symbolizes total consecration to God. 4. Pleasing a pleasing aroma to the (9) Paul alluded to aroma in 2 Corinthians 2:15-16, For to God we are the fragrance of Christ... Only through Christ s sacrifice can we be reconciled to God and found pleasing in His sight. II. The Grain Offering When anyone presents a grain offering as a gift to the, his gift must consist of fine flour. He is to pour olive oil on it, put frankincense on it, 2 and bring it to Aaron s sons the priests. The priest will take a handful of fine flour and oil from it, along with all its frankincense, and will burn this memorial portion of it on the altar, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the. 3 But the rest of the grain offering will belong to Aaron and his sons; it is the holiest part of the fire offerings to the 3 / 8
. (2:1-3) J. Vernon McGee (Thru the Bible, vol. 1, p. 329): The meal or food offering sets forth the humanity of Jesus in all His perfection s. His deity is not in view here. He was perfectly human, and He was the perfect human. God s goal for man is fulfilled in Jesus. He is the second man, but the last Adam. There will be no more Adams, but there will be some more men who are made just like Him. He is the last Adam, the Head of a new people. Humanity is added to, not substituted, for deity. (I Cor. 15:45; Heb. 10:5, 9-18) A. Ingredients Included (2:2) 1. fine flour Jesus called Himself the Bread of Life (John 6:35) 2. oil Jesus referred to anointing with the Holy Spirit (rather than oil Luke 4:18) 3. frankincense Just as this incense offered a fragrance when bruised or crushed, so Jesus poured out His life as an offering (Eph. 5:2) HCSB: p.172: 2:1 By the gr ain offering (or cereal offering) the worshiper acknowledged God as the source of provision and prosperity. The Hebrew word minchah has the general meaning of gift (cp. Gn 32:13) and could refer to grain or animal offering (Gn 4:3-5), or sacrifices in general (Is 19:21); it has the technical sense of grain offering in cultic texts. It was grain derived from wheat that produced a fine, white flour (Ex 29:2). This offering could be offered in raw, cooked, ground (into flour), and baked forms. Typically, it accompanied animal offerings (Lv 7:12-13; 14:20; Nm 28:4-15), but it could be presented independently (Lv 5:11; 7:12-14). For the very poor it was offered in place of a bird offering (5:11). The priests relied largely on grain offerings for their daily sustenance (2:3, 10). 4 / 8
Frankincense, a white resin of pleasant fragrance, was widely valued in the ancient world (Mt 2:11). Tabernacle worship required its pure form in the incense for anointing (Ex 30:34) and the bread loaves (Lv 24:7). Although frankincense typically accompanied grain offerings, it was specifically prohibited in cases of offerings for sin and jealousy (5:11; Nm 5:15). Its association with joy may explain its customary use (Sg 3:6; 4:14; Is 60:6; Jr 17:26). B. Ingredients Prohibited (2:11) Yeast and honey may have been associated with pagan sacrifices. Leaven consistently represents evil. (Mark 8:15, 1 Corinthians 5:8) III. The Fellowship Offering If his offering is a fellowship sacrifice, and he is presenting an animal from the herd, whether male or female, he must present one without blemish before the Lo rd. 2 He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Then Aaron s sons the priests will sprinkle the blood on all sides of the altar. 3 He will present part of the fellowship sacrifice as a fire offering to the : the fat surrounding the entrails, all the fat that is on the entrails, 4 and the two kidneys with the fat on them at the loins; he will also remove the fatty lobe of the liver with the kidneys. 5 Aaron s sons will burn it on the altar along with the burnt offering that is on the burning wood, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the. (3: 1-5) A. Fellowship HCSB: p. 173: 3:1 The three kinds of fellowship offerings were thanksgiving, votive, and freewill (7: 1-21). The fellowship offering signified communion between the worshiper and God (9:18, 21; 23:19; Nm 6:18) because it was the only sacrifice in which the worshiper ate the shared meal with the priests (Lv 7:31-35). Guests of the offerer including his household, Levites, and the poor were part of the communal meal (Dt 12:7, 12, 5 / 8
18; 26:12-13; Ps 22:25-26). Shared meals characterized the life of the early church (Ac 2:46). That the daily burnt offering preceded the fellowship offering conveyed the importance of atonement as the basis for fellowship with God (Lv 3:5; 6:12), which Christ provided for the church (Rm 5:1; 1 Jn 1:3). Because the fellowship offering required a valuable contribution by the worshiper, it is also vital for fellowship with Christ (Php 3:10; 2 Tm 1:8; 1 Pt 4:13). B. Fat HCSB: p. 173: 3:3-4 The rationale for restricting the fat is not stated, except that the fat was the prerogative of God (Is 43:24; Ezk 44:7). The fat was considered the best part of an animal (Gn 4:4; 45:18; Is 34:6) and was associated with robust power (2 Sm 1:22; Is 10:27). Fat was especially associated with the fellowship offering (1 Kg 8:64; 2 Ch 7:7). Figuratively, the kidneys conveyed a person s feelings and inner thoughts (often parallels Heart, Ps 73:21), and both the liver and kidneys were vital to physical life (Jb 16:13; Pr 7:23). IV. Lessons in Worship (Chapters 4-7) A. Worship Results in a Desire for Purity (4:1-5:13) These verses detail the sin offerings, a substitutionary atonement for sin and thus a type of Christ s sacrifice as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). B. Worship Involves Confession and Repentance (5:14-6:7) The trespass or guilt offering is offered when sin results in harm and restitution is appropriate. Zacchaeus is an example (Luke 19). As we confess sin and seek repentance we should explore ways of providing restitution. C. Worship Leaders and Worshippers Are Responsible to God (6:8-7:38) The emphasis in these verses is upon the priest as servant to the. Instructions are very specific and often repeated; we should understand that worship is not about our preferences but about God'. 1. God Wants Total Consecration...the fire of the altar is kept burning... (6:9) When the tabernacle was not in transit, the fire of the altar was kept burning continually demonstrating the total consecration of Israel to God. 6 / 8
2. God Wants Death to Self the priest is to put on his linen robe and linen undergarments (6:10) J. Vernon McGee: The flesh must be covered totally, God is teaching that He cannot accept the Works of the Flesh. (p. 349) (Gal. 2:20; Gen. 3:7) 3. God Wants Worship to Involve Giving This is the offering that Aaron and his sons must present to the... (6:20) Not only were the worshipers to tithe, but also each minister (priest) had that responsibility as well. 4. God Wants Total Dedication But no sin offering may be eaten if its blood has been brought into the tent of meeting, to make atonement in the holy place; it must be burned up. (6:30) The priesthood was sustained physically through the consumption of parts of various sacrifices. However, the sin offering involving blood was special and reserved for God because it was a type of Christ s sacrifice. 5. God Wants Trust in His Salvation (7:12-13) The unleavened bread of verse 12 was a thanksgiving offering acknowledging God s plan of atonement. The leavened bread of 13 was a thanksgiving offering acknowledging the worshipper s participation (although sinful) in worship. Application: 1. The sacrificial system was a foreshadowing of Christ s ultimate sacrifice once and for all. (Hebrews 10:1-10) 2. Worship practices presented in the Law provide a glimpse into God s priorities. 3. Worship leaders are responsible to represent these priorities. 7 / 8
Leader Pack Item 8: Chart: Jewish Sacrifices; Item 14: Poster: Leviticus 16:30 Biblical Illustrator p. 29 The Message and Purpose of the Book of Leviticus Notes: **You may access David s Lesson Preview in MP3 format at: www.hfbcbiblestudy.or g ; Dates: 8/30 11/15 Midlink on Wednesdays; 10/31 Light the Night; 11/2 Staff Appreciation @ Hunt; 11/5 MIYCO; 11/9 Veteran s Day; 11/11 Summit Hoedown; 11/12 Preschool DTW Luncheon; 11/19 Christmas Store Collection Day; 11/23-24 Thanksgiving Holiday, Offices Closed; 11/30 Women s Christmas Event @ Loop; 12/2 Deacon s Christmas Party; 12/12 FFEL Christmas Sing-a-long; 12/24 Christmas Eve Services 2, 4 & 6pm; 12/25-26 Christmas Holiday, offices closed. 8 / 8