In The Word
Read Leviticus 1
The Law of Burnt Offerings
1 Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When any man of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd or the flock. 3 If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord. 4 He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf. 5 He shall slay the young bull before the Lord; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall offer up the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 6 He shall then skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces.7 The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 8 Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head and the suet over the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. 9 Its entrails, however, and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall offer up in smoke all of it on the altar for a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord.
10 ‘But if his offering is from the flock, of the sheep or of the goats, for a burnt offering, he shall offer it a male without defect. 11 He shall slay it on the side of the altar northward before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. 12 He shall then cut it into its pieces with its head and its suet, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. 13 The entrails, however, and the legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall offer all of it, and offer it up in smoke on the altar; it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord.
14 ‘But if his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering from the turtledoves or from young pigeons. 15 The priest shall bring it to the altar, and wring off its head and offer it up in smoke on the altar; and its blood is to be drained out on the side of the altar. 16 He shall also take away its crop with its feathers and cast it beside the altar eastward, to the place of the ashes. 17 Then he shall tear it by its wings, but shall not sever it. And the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar on the wood which is on the fire; it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. Moses would then speak the Word of the Lord to the people. This time the Lord was instructing the people about bringing their offerings to Him. The people were to bring their offerings to the tent of meeting. The priests would then bring the offerings to the altar. The blood of the sacrifice would be the atonement made on behalf of the people. The offering by fire on the altar would then rise up as a soothing aroma to the Lord.
Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. It was necessary for the first-covenant copies of things to come first, but now we are under the new covenant. The blood that made atonement for us is not the blood of bulls or goats or sheep. Jesus Christ, our high priest, the Lamb of God, offered and sacrificed Himself to redeem us. His sacrifice was once and for all (Hebrews 9).
Today, if we truly know the Lord and have a personal relationship with Him, He speaks to us just like He did to Moses then. We have the opportunity to bring our tithes and offerings directly to God and place them on His altar in our local church. When we do that with a thankful heart of worship, a soothing aroma goes up to the Lord. I can imagine Him breathing that in and smiling and saying, “That is my beloved child in whom I am well pleased.”