Scripture: Leviticus 1:1-9
Then the Lord called to Moses and said to him from the meeting tent, 2 Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When any of you present a livestock offering to the Lord, you can present it from either the herd or the flock.
3 If the offering is an entirely burned offering from the herd, you must present a flawless male, bringing it to the meeting tent’s entrance for its acceptance before the Lord. 4 You must press your hand on the head of the entirely burned offering so that it will be accepted for you, to make reconciliation for you. 5 Then you will slaughter the bull before the Lord. Aaron’s sons the priests will present the blood and toss it against every side of the altar at the meeting tent’s entrance. 6 Then the entirely burned offering will be skinned and cut up into pieces. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest will light the altar and lay wood on the fire. 8 Then Aaron’s sons the priests will arrange the pieces, the head, and the fat on the wood that is on the altar fire, 9 but the animal’s insides and lower legs must be washed with water. The priest will then completely burn all of it on the altar as an entirely burned offering, a food gift[b] of soothing smell to the Lord.
Theme- Symbols matter yet if we do not think about their meaning they become hindrances
Questions
- It seems strange that Leviticus opens with dialogue, why is background information not given?
- What is the purpose of the burnt offering and why are we not told the purpose in the text?
- Why does Leviticus 1 list three different possible animals to use for this sacrifice?
Helpful Information
The opening phrase of Leviticus is somewhat strange and may be dependent on following the conclusion of Exodus as if it is the continuation of the scene. But since Leviticus is a standalone book the effect is to set this conversation outside time and space, as if when God speaks time and place no longer matter.
The word for burnt offering olah (from the word meaning “to ascend) is the root of the word holocaust.
The three animals listed for sacrifice in Leviticus 1 ensure each person can participate in the sacrifice no matter how poor.
Blood is a symbol of life, draining the blood is a sign the worshiper does not have authority over the animal’s life.
Individuals being allowed to bring personal sacrifices is a sign that God is approachable and that anyone may do so provided they do so in a pure manner.
The Hebrew word for sacrifice means “to bring near” highlighting how the sacrifice connects God and the worshiper.
Unlike the surrounding cultures, Israelite worship shows no evidence that the sacrifice was meant as food for God. Further, unlike other cultures Israelite sacrifices were conducted in silence with no accompanying prayers or magic spells and the worshiper, not the priest, performed the bulk of the ritual. The priest was only responsible for maintaining the altar and burning the sacrifice.
For additional background check out my video here
Reflection
The Hebrew word for sacrifice is korban (see Mark 7) which comes from the root “to bring near”; but the English word “sacrifice” comes from the Latin word sacrificium, which means to set apart. Just from seeing the Hebrew, English, and Latin set next to each other we can see each culture approaches the animal on the altar differently. Simply in how we identify the purpose of the animal we create an important meaning for it as a symbol. The English/Latin word emphasizes the animal leaving the person’s possession and becoming something other, something for God’s special use. The Hebrew word, by contrast, emphasizes how the animal is a mediator to bring the person into near contact with God. Comparing these words helps us to understand and important reality about our worship and that is our worship is a combination of culturally significant acts that are designed to help give meaning to our world, and when we understand the meaning these symbols are powerful tools which God uses to draw us into relationship with God. But when we lose sight of the meaning of these acts of worship then we simply carry on the act without it having the ability to bring us into God’s presence.
At first glance it might appear that God is dictating proper worship to the Israelite community by creating various sacrifices, but a careful reading of Leviticus tells a different story. Verse 3 begins with a conditional clause if (or when) you bring… The implication of the text is that the Israelite community was already worshiping God with this sacrifice. What Leviticus 1 is doing is placing guidelines on Israel’s worship, we can picture God saying, “You want to worship with this sacrifice, that’s great here is how to make sure your worship is its best.” God is not telling the Israelite community what to do, but helping them to give the most meaning to their worship so they can connect to God. Israel had created a system to help connect people with God and God honored that system, enshrining it in their legal code.
What the regulations on sacrifice reveals is the importance of maintaining the focus of the symbols that bring us close to God. As the scholar Jacob Milgrom observes:
Anthropology has taught us that when a society wishes to express and preserve its basic values, it ensconces them in rituals. How logical! Words fall from our lips like the dead leaves of autumn, but rituals endure with repetition. They are visual and participatory. They embed themselves in memory at a young age, reinforced with each enactment.
Jacob Milgrom, A Continental Commentary: Leviticus: A Book of Ritual and Ethics p 1.
We see in the rituals instituted in Leviticus that the Israelites valued God as the holy and pure author of their society. Yet this God wanted them to share in fellowship with the Divine presence and so made a way for the people to not simply worship from a distance but to enter God’s own personal space
We, like Israel, construct modes of worship that are full of symbol, whether it is raising hands in song or prayer, or kneeling when taking communion, there are actions that help us add meaning to the words we use. These actions are important to our worship as symbols of our desire to commune with God. But it is jest as important for us to reflect on the purpose, the meaning of these rituals. Animal sacrifice would not be a valuable mode of worship for us today, not simply because of the work of Jesus, but also because it has no value as a ritual. The actions of sacrifice would not lead us into the expectation that God is present to commune with us. Instead, our rituals and symbols must help us connect with God as individuals and a community. It is therefore important for Christians as communities of faith to think about the rituals in their worship and reflect on the meaning of these rituals so we can better use them to lead us into God’s presence. We can be assured that God desires to meet with us and will indulge our means of worship if we will only allow the meaning of the worship to wash over us.
Saints & Idiots 
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