The Altar of Incense, Altar of Burnt-Offering, and Laver from the Biblical Tabernacle; illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible.
It is no longer fashionable, in Christian circles, to study the book of Leviticus and this has meant that we are deprived of truth from the Bible which gives us a proper perspective on the person and the work of Jesus Christ. We are reflecting on the theme of koinonia and the five offerings which are described in the first chapters of Leviticus give us an insight into important lessons God wants to teach us.
The order in which the five different sacrifices or offerings are mentioned is highly significant. It starts with the burnt offering and ends with the guilt or trespass offering. This is the journey from God to mankind. The highest exercise of the human being is worship and this brings great pleasure to God. This is what is involved in the burnt offering. (Leviticus 2:3-17). We are closer to God when we willingly express our gratitude and praise to Him and we offer our lives to Him in submission and service.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. [Romans 12:1 ESV]
Of course, we all fail in this aspect of Christian life but we are able to identify ourselves with One whose whole life was completely dedicated to His Father in full and glad surrender.
The next offering presented to us is the grain or the meal offering (Leviticus 2) and this presents Jesus in the perfection of His character. He was perfect in every aspect. All humans have strengths and weaknesses but Jesus was the perfect example of a human being. The bread cakes offered to God were made from the finest of flour. There were no lumps or imperfections. Jesus was full of grace and truth. He showed compassion to those who were sinners without lowering His holy standards or compromising His perfect character. The incident described in John chapter 8 perfectly illustrates this perfect balance in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we read the Bible, we are presented with a high moral standard and it is easy for followers of Jesus to become judgmental and critical of others. Although Jesus was perfect in His character, he did not lose His compassion for those whom the Pharisees described as sinners. But the cake was baked in a hot oven and Jesus was subjected to the experience of the oven of God's wrath when He took my place and suffered what I should have suffered. He was made sin for us - that involved three hours of intense darkness when He endured divine anger against sin.
The third offering is in the middle. It is the peace offering or the fellowship offering (Leviticus 3). The work of Jesus the Son of God reconciled God and mankind. It brought us into a right relationship with God. We were enemies of God but, in His grace, we have become friends through the death of Jesus Christ.
[1] Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. [10] For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. [Romans 5:1, 10 ESV]
[13] But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. [Ephesians 2:13 ESV]
And now we come to the two offerings which deal with the major problem in the human condition - our sin. That might be the reason why we are not comfortable studying Leviticus because there are many references to our sin. Why are there two offerings dealing with sin? The sin offering (Leviticus 4:1 - 5:13) to our sinful state and natural condition - born in sin. We were born with a nature which loves our own way in rebellion to God. David laments about his sinful nature:
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. [Psalm 51:5 ESV]
Isaiah tells us that we are all wayward and disobedient.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - every one - to his own wat; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. [Isaiah 53:6 ESV]
This sin offering related to the community of Israel. It is described as a sin offering for the community (or assembly) - which is basically koinonia (Leviticus 4:21). Also we read: 'If a member of the community or assembly (koinonia) sins …. (Leviticus 4:27) So there are the two dimensions which we saw in 1 John 1:1-4. It is about sin blighting fellowship with God and also with each other.
The last offering is about our conduct towards God and towards each other - the Guilt or Trespass Offering (Leviticus 5: 13 - 6:7)
If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord by deceiving his neighbour [Leviticus 6:1] Notice that offending our neighbour is an offence to God. Sadly, we may sin against our neighbours in many ways - by being angry with them, by being untruthful to them, by gossiping about them, by coveting their property and so on. These actions and even thoughts are sin in the sight of God. The good news is that Jesus died so that our sins could be forgiven.
When a sinner such as I am is making the journey towards God, we approach the offerings from the other end of the list. We start with the guilt offering - we have offended God is word and deed and we have offended our neighbours. We move on to the sin offering which deals with the root cause of the problem - we were born in sin and we have inherited a sinful nature.
If we want to enjoy fellowship with God, we have to be reconciled to God - as we are by nature God's enemies. This is the Fellowship Offering. Then we reflect on the person of our Lord Jesus in the grain or meal offering. And lastly we engage in worship and service for God in the burnt offering.
This diagram illustrates the sinner's progress towards God.
| GOD | |
Bible Passage | Name of Offering | Significance |
Leviticus 1:3-17 | The Burnt Offering | Jesus' eagerness to do the will of God |
Leviticus 2 | The Grain or Meal Offering | The Character of the Lord Jesus - perfect balance |
Leviticus 3 | The Peace (Fellowship) Offering | The work of Jesus in reconciling God and mankind |
Leviticus 4:1 - 5:13 | The Sin Offering | Sin in general - the human, sinful condition |
Leviticus 5:14 - 6:7 | The Guilt or Trespass Offering | Sin in practice especially in relation to God and our neighbours |
| Mankind | |
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