Leviticus
When Jesus offered himself on the cross as the final sacrifice for the sins of humanity, he fulfilled everything God had intended when he had set up the system of animal sacrifices.
Jesus’ perfect, one-time self-sacrifice nullified the old sacrificial system. Because of his sacrifice Jesus has become our high priest, representing us before God the Father. He makes us clean from our sinful nature, imputing to us his own holiness and enabling us to approach God personally.
The New Testament tells us that Jesus is “holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26). God the Son has mediated a new covenant between God and People, and God alluded to this covenant in advance through the laws found in Leviticus.
While believers today are no longer bound by the strictures of the Old Testament law, we will do well to remember that we are still called to be holy as God is holy. (Leviticus 20:26)
- Why would the aroma of a sacrifice be important to God? (Leviticus 1:9)
- The writer probably drew from a human experience-the pleasant smell of cooking meat-to help us understand Gods pleasure with the intent behind an offering. A similar figure of speech is used in Ephesians 5:2 describing Jesus’ sacrifice as a fragrant offering, pleasing to God.
- After all other sacrifices, why was a Day of Atonement needed? (Leviticus 16:29-30)
- Sacrifices on the Day of Atonement cleansed the nation even of unknown transgressions. This solemn ceremony reminded the Israelites that their privileged access to God was threatened by sin. Later Jesus’ death became the final atonement for believers, making further sacrifices unnecessary (Hebrews 9:23-28)
Burnt Offerings
Every morning the priests made a burnt offering for the nations (Leviticus 1).
On the sabbath they offered double burnt offerings and on feasts days there were extra burnt offerings made.
In addition God’s people could voluntarily offer special burnt offerings to express their devotion to God.
This sacrifice was called a holocaust offering (from Hebrew words meaning “whole” and “burnt”.
The holocaust sacrifice had to be an unblemished male animal, and its blood sacrifice covered over the damage caused by sin in the life of the person making the offering.
The burnt offering provides us with a picture of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for our sin (Hebrews 9:12).
Made Holy Through his blood
Blood sacrifices always involved three elements (Leviticus 4).
First, the priest, as he presented the sacrifice, had to submit himself to what God wanted.
Second, the priest had to lay his hands on the animal to identify with its death.
Finally, the animal had to be put to death so that its blood could be then sprinkled in front of the curtain or on the atonement cover on the Day of Atonement.
Only the fat, the kidneys and part of the liver were burned on the alter; the rest of the carcass was burned outside the camp.
The New Testament shows us that Jesus suffered and died as the sacrifice for our sins (John 1:29; Romans 3:25; Ephesians 5:2).
Just as the high priest carried the animals blood into the Most Holy Place, so Jesus carried his own blood into God’s presence.
The bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp, and Jesus hung on a cross to die outside the city gate so that his people might be made holy (Hebrews 13:11-12)
Promises imprinted in the heart 