Exodus 29:18 - Exposition

Thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar . This became the general law of the burnt-offering (Le Exodus 1:9 , Exodus 1:13 , Exodus 1:17 ). It indicated that self-sacrifice was wholly acceptable to God; whereas in sin-offerings there was a taint of evil which rendered all but certain parts of the victim unacceptable ( Exodus 29:14 ). A sweet savour. This is not to be understood in the coarse sense in which heathen writers used similar expressions, meaning by them (as it would seem) that the gods were really pleased with the odour of sacrifices. No candid mind can ascribe to the Hebrews such anthropomorphism. Evidently no more is meant than that the offering would be pleasing to God. See Genesis 8:21 ; Le Genesis 1:9 , Genesis 1:13 , Genesis 1:17 , etc.