Leviticus 1

Chapters 1-3 The Regular Pleasing Odour Offerings.

The offerings which are mainly intended to rise as a pleasing odour to Yahweh are first described ; the whole burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the peace sacrifices. While containing within them an important element of atonement, they also express dedication, worship, thanksgiving, tribute, a desire for fellowship with God, and the promise of obedience. These fall in line with the ancient offerings and sacrifices before Sinai, although being more extensive and more complicated.

We must not be too dogmatic about the differing significance of these sacrifices, as if we could limit them to one idea, for in all the animal sacrifices there was the presentation in one way or another of the blood to God, and the offering to Him of the fat along with the vital organs. The former sought atonement, the latter offered a pleasing odour to God. But we cannot doubt that each offering had its own special significance, and therefore its unique place within the system. And each presented an aspect of the greater offering, when our Lord Jesus Christ was offered up and sacrificed for us.

Chapter 1 The Whole Burnt Offering (‘olah - ‘that which ascends’).

We should note that in these first seven chapters the offerings and sacrifices described are seen mainly from the viewpoint of individual offerings and sacrifices rather than from that of communal ones. We are being shown the essence of each offering. But all the communal offerings and sacrifices are based on them. And in the end, for the Christian, a large part of their significance lies in the fact that, as the writer to the Hebrews especially made clear, they point forward to Jesus Christ’s offering of Himself on our behalf.

As we have seen in the introduction the whole burnt offering (‘olah) is the most ancient of sacrifices. We call it the ‘whole burnt offering’ because it was wholly offered up and burnt on the altar, (and it was sometimes actually called that - see Psalms 51:19), but its usual name (‘olah) means, ‘that which ascends’. The idea is of a total giving to Yahweh and it is seen as ascending up to Him in Heaven. It includes worship, thanksgiving for all His mercies, dedication, tribute and atonement, all that a man offered to God and sought from God. It was the basic sacrifice of the patriarchs. However while it is wholly offered up Leviticus 7:8 tells us that the priest who offers the whole burnt offering is allowed the skin for himself.

The whole burnt offering could be of a bull-ox, of sheep or goat, or of specific birds depending on the wealth and occupation of the offerer. These animals and birds were of especial value to a man as they would otherwise be eaten by him, or would provide clothing and milk for him. Thus they were sacrifices in more ways than one because the sacrificer was sacrificing the opportunity of he and his family eating them, and of them providing his family with clothing, and there was therefore a cost to offerings and sacrifices, especially those that were wholly consumed in the offering. And for a poor man to offer a bird may well have been far more costly to him than for a rich man when he offered a bullock. For him food was in short supply. Our first lesson is thus that what we give to God must not be without cost, for otherwise it will mean nothing to us, but that He does not demand from us what we cannot afford to provide. He does not demand too much.