Leviticus 1:1-17 - Perfect Unblemished Sacrifice is Required

Leviticus 1:1-17

The Burnt Offering

1 Now the LORD called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of the livestock—of the herd and of the flock.

3 ‘If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD. 4 Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. 5 He shall kill the bull before the LORD; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 6 And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay the wood in order on the fire. 8 Then the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar; 9 but he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.

10 ‘If his offering is of the flocks—of the sheep or of the goats—as a burnt sacrifice, he shall bring a male without blemish. 11 He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the LORD; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. 12 And he shall cut it into its pieces, with its head and its fat; and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar; 13 but he shall wash the entrails and the legs with water. Then the priest shall bring it all and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.

14 ‘And if the burnt sacrifice of his offering to the LORD is of birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves or young pigeons. 15 The priest shall bring it to the altar, wring off its head, and burn it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out at the side of the altar. 16 And he shall remove its crop with its feathers and cast it beside the altar on the east side, into the place for ashes. 17 Then he shall split it at its wings, but shall not divide it completely; and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.

Leviticus is said to focus on the worship and walk of the nation of God where Israel was established as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Leviticus therefore shows how God’s people are to fulfill their priestly calling.  According to Nelson Publishers, the Hebrew title is Wayyiqra, “And He Called.” The Talmud refers to Leviticus as the “Law of the Priests,” and the “Law of the Offerings.” The Greek title appearing in the Septuagint is Leuitikon, “That Which Pertains to the Levites.” From this word, the Latin Vulgate derived its name Leviticus which was adopted as the English title, but it is more than just about the Levitical priesthood.   What we see in this first chapter then is a clarification and command on proper sacrifices for the priests to administer in worship as a holy people.  The burnt offerings had to be as perfect as outwardly possible to atone for sin and offered from one’s own free will from the heart. This shows us the pattern that required the Messiah Jesus to offer Himself as the only perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 10,14) and perfect high priest to offer that atonement because He is the divine God in the person of the only Son of the Most High who can alone make a complete and lasting sacrifice (Hebrews 9:12, 13-14) for sin.  The pattern for the Levitical priesthood was intricate in the details of preparing and offering the sacrifices which had to be repeated over and over since there was no perfect unblemished animal and no perfect sinless priest to offer to a holy God; the only perfect one was God’s Son (Hebrews 9:23-24, 24-26), the perfect unblemished (1 Peter 1:19) Lamb of God (Genesis 22:8, John 1:29)!  A perfect unblemished sacrifice is required at the hand of a sinlessly perfect priest who must therefore be divine and not sinful as we and all creation (Genesis 3:17, Romans 8:20-21) are, having been marred by the original sin of Eve and Adam.  No other sacrifice can appease the most holy LORD as a sweet aroma of life but Jesus Christ who offered Himself as the perfect unblemished Lamb by His own hand as our eternal and perfect High Priest.  We no longer need the old Levitical priesthood nor the ineffective system of animal sacrifices.  It is finished!