Leviticus 4:13

Leviticus 4:13 says, And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty;  There are a lot of qualifiers in this statement, but it basically speaks of the entire nation of Israel inadvertently sinning against God by breaking His law stating that they were still guilty.  As soon as they realized this, instead of trying to hide it or justify it, they needed to repent and ask God's forgiveness.  Matthew Henry says it is possible for the church to sin by misinterpreting the laws of God, but if it does, then as soon as the members of the church realize this, they must repent and ask God's forgiveness.  Verse fourteen adds, When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation.  As stated, when the congregation became aware of this sin, even though it may have been inadvertent, they had to take responsibility for it.  We cannot simply excuse sin by claiming that we were unaware that we were sinning at the time it occurred, but if we as a group of God's people realize that we have been in error on any issue, we must turn to God and ask His forgiveness.  Then, they were to bring a sacrifice for their sins, but we today have the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for all our sins for all-time, so we simply have to acknowledge our sin and take responsibility for it and ask His forgiveness.  Verse fifteen continues, And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD.  The congregation was to bring a young bullock to the tabernacle, and the elders were to lay their hands on the head of the bullock and kill it.  The elders would represent the whole congregation of Israel, and today, certain preachers are seen as representing the whole congregation, though as followers of Christ we are all individually responsible for our relationship with God.  Verse sixteen states, And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock’s blood to the tabernacle of the congregation:  Then verse seventeen adds, And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the vail.  After the leaders, who represented the people, killed the bullock, the priest who was appointed, was to bring the blood and sprinkle it on the altar seven times before the veil.  We as followers of Christ are already forgiven when we accept the sacrifice of Christ for our sins, but when we sin we must still come to Him in repentance once again.  We cannot just claim that since our sins are forgiven that we no longer have to repent and ask forgiveness for our sins, even if they are inadvertent.  Verse eighteen continues, And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  Some of the blood was to be placed on the horns of the altar and some at the bottom of the altar before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  I believe this would represent a complete cleansing of the tabernacle, just as we are completely cleansed by the blood of Jesus today when we put our faith in Him.  Verse nineteen says, And he shall take all his fat from him, and burn it upon the altar.  Verse twenty adds, And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.  The priest was to treat the bullock as a sin offering and by doing so, it would bring atonement to the people of Israel.  Again, this was not for an individual's sin, but for the sin of the congregation, or nation.  As a congregation of believers today, if we realize that we have been wrong in our actions or attitudes concerning any particular issue, we must confess our sins and be restored by our faith in Christ, Whose blood cleanses all unrighteousness if we only ask Him to forgive us.  Verse twenty-one continues, And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and burn him as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin offering for the congregation.  The bullock was to be taken outside the camp and burned.  We must remove sin from the congregation today and at least figuratively speaking take it outside the camp of the congregation and burn it.  Verse twenty-two states, When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty;  Moses now dealt with the inadvertent sins of a leader instead of the whole congregation.  We need to pray that if our leaders sin today that it is inadvertent and not knowingly.  Verse twenty-three adds, Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish:  When the leader became aware of his sins, he was to bring a young goat without blemish to be sacrificed for his sins.  Verse twenty-four continues, And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD: it is a sin offering.  The leader was to place his hands on the head or the goat and kill it in the place of sacrifice before the LORD, because it was a sin sacrifice.  A leader today, especially in the church, must likewise repent and lay their sin at the altar of Christ when if they realize that they are guilty of an inadvertent sin,  Verse twenty-five says, And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering.  Once more, the priest was responsible for the actual spreading of the blood, just a Jesus is the One Who spreads His blood for everyone who comes to Him in faith today.  Jesus is our High Priest, and the only one who can bring us forgiveness.  Verse twenty-six adds, And he shall burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.  Once the priest had made the sacrifice for a peace offering, he would have made atonement of the sin and the leader would be forgiven.  We cannot just dismiss sin, even those that may be inadvertent, but must bring them to the cross and ask God's forgiveness to be restored to a right relationship with Him.  We do not lose our salvation, but we do lose our witness and closeness to God if we allow sin to go unrepented.   

Leviticus 4:1

Leviticus 4:1 says,  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  We must always remember that these were God's laws and not those of Moses.  Matthew Henry says that this was probably at a later time than the time of the first two chapters.  God continues to speak to His people to guide them throughout their lifetime, and not just once and then that is it.  Verse two adds, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:  God now began to address non deliberate sin, those things that were against God's law when the person had no knowledge of that law.  Deliberate, willful sin, whether by commission or omission, is different than sinning when a person does not know the law and sins.  Being born into the nation of Israel did not automatically make a person knowledgeable of the laws of God, and there were many, many people who did not know God or His laws.  This did not make them not be responsible for obeying God, but they were given a way to restoration.  Jesus Christ is our way to restoration to God for all sins, those committed knowingly and those committed unwittingly.  Verse three continues, If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering.  The first provision was made for a priest who sinned but not deliberately.  The priests were but people and just as capable of sinning as anyone else.  We today as followers of Christ are a part of the priesthood of believers, and we are also just as capable of sinning as anyone else is, but hopefully if we do it will not be an actual act of defiance of God's law.  Still, if we do, we need to confess that sin and ask God's forgiveness, even when we know that we are already forgiven through our faith in Christ.  Verse four states, And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock’s head, and kill the bullock before the LORD.  The priest who was guilty of an unintentional transgression against the law of God was to bring a bullock before the congregation and lay his hands on its head and kill it before the LORD.  The people brought the sacrifice to the priest and he killed it, but in this case the sacrifice was for the priest himself, so he killed it himself.  As a part of the priesthood of believers through our faith in Christ today, we do not need to go through anyone else to find forgiveness for any of our sins but must go to God on our own for forgiveness.  Verse five adds, And the priest that is anointed shall take the bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation:  The priest that was anointed was to then take the blood of the bullock into the tabernacle of the congregation.  Jesus Christ is the Anointed Priest of all who believe in Him today, and by His blood we are forgiven.  Verse six continues, And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary.  The priest was to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the veil of the LORD.  The number seven was important in the Jewish community since it was said to represent completeness.  We know today that Christ shed His blood for us to bring us forgiveness once and for all-time, and this forgiveness is a complete forgiveness.  Verse seven says, And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  Verse eight adds, And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for the sin offering; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,  The next few verses are just instructions for how to sacrifice the bullocks.  Verse nine continues, And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away,  Verse ten states, As it was taken off from the bullock of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of the burnt offering.  These were specific instructions for how the sacrifice was to be made.  Verse eleven then adds,  And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung,  Verse twelve concludes. Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt.  The priest was to take the whole bullock to a specific place and burn it.  This was all to be done for the forgiveness of the sin of a priest.  There are no separate sacrifices for particular sins today, but we can only find forgiveness through the blood of Christ, which covers all sin for all time.

Leviticus 3:12

Leviticus 3:12 says, And if his offering be a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD.   Once again, the offering was of less value overall than some in material terms, but I believe this was a provision for those who were unable to give something that was of more material value.  I don't believe that those who were able to give a greater offering were to look for the lesser offering to give.  If we don't have much, we cannot give much, but we must give our best to God.  When it comes to our life, we cannot afford to hold back the best parts and give God the lesser parts.  We must give all that we are and all that we have to God, and if we do, then He will meet our every need.  Verse thirteen adds, And he shall lay his hand upon the head of it, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon the altar round about.  The way the goat was to be sacrificed was the same as the other, more expensive animals were sacrificed.  No matter how wealthy or poor we are materially in the world, we must all come to God the same way, and that is through the cross of Calvary.  Verse fourteen continues, And he shall offer thereof his offering, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,  Once more, there were specific instructions for the way the sacrifice was to be prepared.  We today must lay it all on the altar for God as well, and we must come to Him by His terms.  Verse fifteen states, And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.  Then verse sixteen adds, And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD’s.  As with all the sacrifices, the one making offering brought the sacrifice to the priest, and the priest presented the actual sacrifice to God.  Jesus is our High Priest, and we must present ourselves to Him and He makes the actual sacrifice to the heavenly Father through His shed blood.  Verse seventeen concludes, It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.  These rules of sacrifice were to apply for all generations, until the coming of Jesus Christ as the forever sacrifice for our sins.  There was also the restriction of eating no fat or blood, but we know that after the death of Christ that the dietary rules were no longer in effect, because as God told Peter, what God has made clean we are not to call unclean.  This is not to say that God's law changed, but that it was fulfilled through Jesus Christ.

Leviticus 3:1

Leviticus 3:1 says, And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD,  Peace offerings were to be from the herd, or cattle, and could be either male or female.  It to was to be without blemish, or in other words not some sickly or deformed bull or cow.  Though what we bring to God may change, He always expects us to bring the best that we have.  Verse two adds, And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.  The man making the sacrifice was to put his hands on the head of the sacrifice and kill it in front of the tabernacle and Aaron's sons the priests would sprinkle the blood around the altar.  Once more, the blood was to represent the bringing of peace, just as the blood of Jesus should bring us peace today.  Verse three continues, And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,  Certain portions of the animal were to be offered as a burned sacrifice.  Verse four states, And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.  Verse five adds, And Aaron’s sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is on the fire: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.  These specific parts were to be burned and they would be a sweet savor, or scent, to the LORD.  We must come to God on His terms, which is through the blood of Christ, and we must then present our lives to Him to be used as He sees fit, which will bring a sweet scent unto God.  Verse six continues, And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering unto the LORD be of the flock; male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. Once more it is stated that the sacrifice should be without blemish.  Sometimes God tells us things more than once to make sure that we understand what He is telling us is important.  Verse seven says, If he offer a lamb for his offering, then shall he offer it before the LORD.  There are now instructions for offering a lamb that would be without blemish.  Of course, Jesus is referred to as the Lamb of God, and He was certainly without blemish spiritually, and when we accept His sacrifice for our sins, then He makes us the same way.  Verse eight adds, And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof round about upon the altar.  The same instructions were to apply to the killing sacrifice and sprinkling of the blood as before. Verse nine continues, And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat thereof, and the whole rump, it shall he take off hard by the backbone; and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,  Verse ten states, And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by then flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.  Some of the inward parts of the animal that were to be burned differed from before, just as each individual today will differ in what he or she can offer to God.  Verse eleven adds, And the priest shall burn it upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire unto the LORD.  Once more, this was to be burned as an offering to the LORD.  This will be repeated several times in Leviticus, and I believe that it says to us today as followers of Christ that once we bring a sacrifice to God that it is His to do with as He sees fit.  All we can do is bring ourselves and the best that we have to God.

Leviticus 2:9

Leviticus 2:9 says, And the priest shall take from the meat offering a memorial thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.  The priests were to take a portion of the sacrifice and burn it as an offering made by fire.  This would once again be a sweet savor, or scent, to the LORD.  This was not because God wanted the thing sacrificed, but because by sacrificing it in the way that God prescribed, they would show their obedience to Him.  God does not want what we can give Him today, because it is all His anyway, but He does want us to be willing to give everything to Him.  The only thing we can offer is our own sinful nature through our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse ten adds, And that which is left of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.  What was left was to belong to Aaron and his sons, but it was to be considered a thing most holy.  God allows us to use what is left over after we offer our tithes and offerings to Him, but we need to realize that if we are a Christian that what is left over is still a thing most holy, since we gave everything to God when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse eleven continuees, No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire.  The meat offering, or bread in this case, was to be unleavened.  In other words, it was simply to be as plain as possible.  God does not need our offerings to be ornate, but should be given in simplicity.  Verse twelve states, As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the LORD: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour.  First fruits were to be offered to God, but were not to be burned.  The first fruit that anyone can offer today is himself or herself, and then that person should offer the first of all that God blesses them with to Him, to be utilized for the work of His kingdom.  Verse thirteen adds, And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.  All the offerings were to be seasoned with salt.  This would have enhanced the flavor, but salt was also a preservative.  Verse fourteen continues, And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the LORD, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears.  Another of the first fruits was that of corn, and it was to be dried by the fire before being offered to God.  Verse fifteen says, And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon: it is a meat offering.  The corn was to have oil and frankincense put on it.  Verse sixteen adds, And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.  The priest was to burn a portion of the meat offering as a burnt offering to God.  We have it much easier today since we only have to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and live with Him as our Lord which the Holy Spirit enables us to do,

Leviticus 2:1

Leviticus 2:1 says, And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:  Though referred to as a meat offering, these next few verses actually refer to offerings of crops that had been made into flour.  Not everyone had flocks to make offerings from, but God made provision for them as well.  This was still a free offering of the best that the person had.  It is not the cost of the gift that we bring to God that is important, but the attitude with which we bring it.  It must be a free gift, and it should be the best that we have to offer.  Of course, as followers of Christ, we are to present ourselves as living sacrifices, and when we do we are to give the best of our life to God.  Verse two adds, And he shall bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD:  As with the other offerings, this offering was to be brought to the priests, Aaron's sons, and they were to offer it to God on the altar.  As Christians today, we present ourselves to Christ in faith, and He offers Himself as a sacrifice to God.  Verse three continues, And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire.  Anything left of the offering after it was offered to God would be the possession of the priests.  This was one way that God provided for the needs of the priests, but it did not mean that they could just offer the smallest amount possible and keep the rest for themselves.  Also, only the priests were to eat of the offering.  We today must give our best to God, and He will bless us by meeting our every need.  Verse four states, And if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering baken in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.  Then, there were instructions for how to prepare the offering.  We cannot decide how we are going to give to God outside of giving by His instructions in the Bible.  Verse five adds, And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil.  There were different ways to prepare this offering, but all ways were under the guidance of God.  There are different ways to reach the cross today, but we must all come in obedience to God through our faith in Christ.  Verse six continues, Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is a meat offering.  Again, there were specific instructions for giving this offering.  It was to be separated into pieces and covered with oil, I believe to make it more useable to the priests.  Verse seven says, And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in the fryingpan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil.  Again, there were different ways to prepare the offering.  Verse eight adds, And thou shalt bring the meat offering that is made of these things unto the LORD: and when it is presented unto the priest, he shall bring it unto the altar. The offerings were to be presented to God by the priests, just as our offering, which is our self, is to be presented to God by our high priest, Jesus Christ.

Leviticus 1:1

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.