Leviticus 1:1 says, And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, God called to Moses out of the tabernacle of the congregation. I believe that God still speaks to His people today as we are gathered together ro worship Him. Of course, He speaks to us to other times as well, but I believe that preachers and teachers must especially have God talking to them. Verse two adds, Speak 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. God began to give Moses instructions concerning offerings, specifying that it mut cattle of the flock. Of course, the only offering thar we can offer God today that really matters is ourself. Verse three continues, If 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. The offering was to be a male without blemish and was to be offered willing. Of course, we cannot offer ourselves without blemish to God, which is why it was necessary for Jesus Christ to offer Himself in our place, since He alone is the only person to ever live without blemish. Verse four states, And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. God said when the person offering the sacrifice put his hand 0on the head of the burnt offering, it would be accepted as atonement for that person. Of course, the only way we cn have atonement today is by accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. Verse five adds, And 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 bullock was to be killed before the LORD, and the priests, Aaron’s sons, were to bring the blood and sprinkle it on the altar by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. The sacrifice was to be made so that all could see, and when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord today, it should be don so that all can see. Verse six says, And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. Verse seven adds, And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: They offering was to be cut in small pieces and Aaron, the priest, was to put it on the fire. We today can only accept the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for forgiveness of sin. Verse eight states, And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: Aaron’s sons were to lay the head and the fat of the bullock in that order on the wood that was on the fire of the altar. God still expects us to follow His directions in the order that He gives them to us today. Verse, nine adds, But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord. The innards and the legs were to be washed and offered as a burnt sacrifice to God, which would be a sweet savor to the LORD. Of course, I don’t believe God really was just wanting to smell the aroma of the sacrifice but was wanting to see the obedience of the people in obeying His commands. There is nothing that we can offer God today that He needs, except ourselves.
Leviticus 1:10 says, And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish. Provision was made for more than one type of sacrifice, I believe because not all the people could afford to offer the same thing. Of course, today, we have one sacrifice for all our sins and that is Jesus Christ, and everyone can afford His sacrifice, because it is free. Verse eleven says, And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar. There were specific instructions for sacrificing the sheep or goat as well. We must always come to God on His terms and not on our own. We are to always offer the best that we have to God. Verse twelve adds, And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: The instructions for the sacrificing of the animal were the same. The sacrifice of Christ on the cross is the same for all individuals. We can only come to salvation by accepting Christ's sacrifice on the cross, which actually applied to those who had lived in this time as well. We can only come in obedience to God's call. Verse thirteen continues, But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. As before, the burnt offering was to bring a sweet savor to the LORD. Verse fourteen states, And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons. There was even another provision for the animal that was to be sacrificed, and this time it was for birds. I don't believe that this means that those who were able to offer the more costly sacrifices were supposed to sacrifice the less costly sacrifices. This was a provision those who could not offer anymore. We today can offer no less than our self on the altar of God through the blood of Christ. Verse fifteen adds, And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his head, and burn it on the altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar: In all the sacrifices, the sacrifice was to be offered through the priest, and when we offer ourselves to God today it must be through Christ, our high priest. Verse sixteen continues, And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes: Not all of the sacrifice was to be burned this time, since the crop and feathers were to be placed by the altar. Then verse seventeen concludes, And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. The wings were to be cut off, but the rest of the bird was to be burned whole. The sacrificial system of the Jews is hard to understand at times, but it was all spelled out by God's instruction to Moses. Some would make salvation a complicated thing today, but it is all very simple and dictated by God, and that is that we give ourselves to God by faith in Christ. This is God's salvation plan, and the only one available.
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