“‘If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you are to offer a male without defect. You must present it at the entrance to the tent of meeting so that it will be acceptable to the Lord. You are to lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you. You are to slaughter the young bull before the Lord, and then Aaron’s sons the priests shall bring the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar at the entrance to the tent of meeting... The sons of Aaron the priest are to put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire.”

Leviticus 1:3-7

The burnt offering is the first of five sacrifices described in Leviticus. There are four facts worth noting about the rituals involved. First, there is the laying-on of hands (1:4). This practice conferred spiritual responsibility and/or blessing on the person involved. Here in Leviticus, responsibility for sin is placed on the sacrificial animals, perhaps anticipating how it was finally to be placed on the crucified Savior on our behalf. Second, and rather strangely, the internal organs and the legs are to be washed clean before being burned 1: 9). This, together with the fact that only spotless animals could be brought for sacrifice, highlights the fact that our holy God demands purity from his people. Third, blood had a special place in the ritual (Chapter 1 vv. 5, 11, 15), for ‘the life of the flesh is in the blood.’ Finally, although the priests, and sometimes the people who brought the offerings, can eat of other sacrifices, this one is dedicated to God in its entirety and so it is completely consumed by fire.

CLOSING PRAYER

Lord Jesus, I want to live my life for you—with no reservations, no distractions, with nothing standing in your place. I ask you to purify my heart; direct my thoughts and actions as I seek to live a life that is one of true worship.

(Edited from Encounter with God)