Offerings

Leviticus 23:16-27 – Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits to the Lord. Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings—a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave offering, together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the Lord for the priest. On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly and do no regular work. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God.’” The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present a food offering to the Lord.’” The Lord said to Moses, “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present a food offering to the Lord.

Jeremiah 19:13 – The houses in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs to all the starry hosts and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’”

Application:

• ·         The kings of Judah had built pagan altars on the roof of the palace in Jerusalem. Worship of the sun, moon and stars was common in Judah throughout much of the later history of the monarchy.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

First Grain You Harvest

Leviticus 23:6-15 – On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. For seven days present a food offering to the Lord. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.’” The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb a year old without defect, together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with olive oil—a food offering presented to the Lord, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. “‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks.

Numbers 15:2-4 – “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘After you enter the land I am giving you as a home and you present to the Lord food offerings from the herd or the flock, as an aroma pleasing to the Lord—whether burnt offerings or sacrifices, for special vows or freewill offerings or festival offerings—then the person who brings an offering shall present to the Lord a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of olive oil.

Exodus 12:5 – The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.

Application:

• ·         The sins of Israel were manifold; they would be judged.
• ·         Jesus was like a lamb without blemish or defect.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Passover

Leviticus 23:4-5 – “‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times: The Lord’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.

Nahum 1:15 – Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your festivals, Judah, and fulfill your vows. No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed.

Exodus 12:11,21 – This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover…Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb.

Application:

• ·         Israel was to celebrate their festivals in the joy of their deliverance.
• ·         Passover was explained to mean that the Lord would “pass over” and not destroy the occupants of houses that were under the sign of the blood.
• ·         Jesus is our “Passover lamb”, sacrificed “once for all” for us.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Sabbath

Leviticus 23:1-3 – The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed festivals, the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies. “‘There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.

Exodus 20:9-10 – Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.

Hebrews 4:9-10 – There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.

Application:

• ·         The Sabbath was a sign of the covenant between God and Israel at Mount Sinai.
• ·         God’s rest may still be entered by faith in His Son.
• ·         I need to cease my efforts to gain salvation by my own works and rest in the finished work of Christ on the cross.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Keep My Commands

Leviticus 22:31-33 – “Keep my commands and follow them. I am the Lord. Do not profane my holy name, for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord, who made you holy and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord.”

Deuteronomy 4:2 – Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.

Psalm 105:43-45 – He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy; he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for—that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws. Praise the Lord.

Exodus 6:6 – “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.

Genesis 17:7 – I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

Application:

• ·         The revelation the Lord gives is sufficient. All of it must be obeyed and anything that contradicts it cannot be tolerated.
• ·         God’s redemptive work in fulfillment of His covenant promise has as its goal the creating of a people in the earth who conform their lives to His holy will.
• ·         The Lord’s acts include redemption and judgment.
• ·         “To be your God” is the heart of God’s covenant promise, repeated over and over in the Old Testament.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

That Same Day

Leviticus 22:22-30 – Do not offer to the Lord the blind, the injured or the maimed, or anything with warts or festering or running sores. Do not place any of these on the altar as a food offering presented to the Lord. You may, however, present as a freewill offering an ox or a sheep that is deformed or stunted, but it will not be accepted in fulfillment of a vow. You must not offer to the Lord an animal whose testicles are bruised, crushed, torn or cut. You must not do this in your own land, and you must not accept such animals from the hand of a foreigner and offer them as the food of your God. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and have defects.’” The Lord said to Moses, “When a calf, a lamb or a goat is born, it is to remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, it will be acceptable as a food offering presented to the Lord. Do not slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young on the same day. “When you sacrifice a thank offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. It must be eaten that same day; leave none of it till morning. I am the Lord.

Leviticus 3:1 – “‘If your offering is a fellowship offering, and you offer an animal from the herd, whether male or female, you are to present before the Lord an animal without defect.

Exodus 23:19 – “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Leviticus 11:44 – I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground.

Leviticus 7:16 – “‘If, however, their offering is the result of a vow or is a freewill offering, the sacrifice shall be eaten on the day they offer it, but anything left over may be eaten on the next day.

Application:

• ·         Two basic ideas are included in the fellowship offering: peace and fellowship.
• ·         The offering of firstfruits was an acknowledgment that the harvest was from the Lord and belonged wholly to Him
• ·         Israel was to be totally consecrated to God. Because of who God is and what He has done, His people must dedicate themselves fully to Him.
• ·         A vow was a solemn promise to offer a gift to God in response to a divine deliverance or blessing. Such vows often accompanied prayers for deliverance or blessing.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Fellowship Offering

Leviticus 22:18-21 – “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘If any of you—whether an Israelite or a foreigner residing in Israel—presents a gift for a burnt offering to the Lord, either to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, you must present a male without defect from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be accepted on your behalf. Do not bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf. When anyone brings from the herd or flock a fellowship offering to the Lord to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable.

Hebrews 9:14 – How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

1 Peter 1:18-19 – For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

Exodus 32:6 – So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

Leviticus 7:16 – “‘If, however, their offering is the result of a vow or is a freewill offering, the sacrifice shall be eaten on the day they offer it, but anything left over may be eaten on the next day.

Exodus 12:5 – The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.

Amos 4:5 – Burn leavened bread as a thank offering and brag about your freewill offerings—boast about them, you Israelites, for this is what you love to do,” declares the Sovereign Lord.

Leviticus 3:1 – “‘If your offering is a fellowship offering, and you offer an animal from the herd, whether male or female, you are to present before the Lord an animal without defect.

Application:

• ·         In the entirety of Christ’s being, He was unblemished, not just superficially.
• ·         The Old Testament sacrifices were types of Christ, depicting the ultimate and only effective sacrifice. Thus Christ is the Passover lamb, who takes away the sin of the world.
• ·         Israel tended toward idolatry.
• ·         A vow was a solemn promise to offer a gift to God in response to a divine deliverance or blessing. Such vows often accompanied prayers for deliverance or blessing.
• ·         Jesus was like a lamb without blemish or defect.
• ·         Israel loved the forms and rituals of religion but did not love what God loves—goodness, mercy, kindness, justice.
• ·         Two basic ideas are included in the fellowship offering: peace and fellowship.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Holy

Leviticus 22:9-19 – “‘The priests are to perform my service in such a way that they do not become guilty and die for treating it with contempt. I am the Lord, who makes them holy. “‘No one outside a priest’s family may eat the sacred offering, nor may the guest of a priest or his hired worker eat it. But if a priest buys a slave with money, or if slaves are born in his household, they may eat his food. If a priest’s daughter marries anyone other than a priest, she may not eat any of the sacred contributions. But if a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or is divorced, yet has no children, and she returns to live in her father’s household as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food. No unauthorized person, however, may eat it. “‘Anyone who eats a sacred offering by mistake must make restitution to the priest for the offering and add a fifth of the value to it. The priests must not desecrate the sacred offerings the Israelites present to the Lord by allowing them to eat the sacred offerings and so bring upon them guilt requiring payment. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.’” The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘If any of you—whether an Israelite or a foreigner residing in Israel—presents a gift for a burnt offering to the Lord, either to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, you must present a male without defect from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be accepted on your behalf.

Leviticus 11:44 – I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground.

Leviticus 7:16 – “‘If, however, their offering is the result of a vow or is a freewill offering, the sacrifice shall be eaten on the day they offer it, but anything left over may be eaten on the next day.

Application:

• ·         The laws of cleanness were the same for priests and people, but the penalties were far more severe for the priests, who had greater responsibility.
• ·         Israel’s holiness was to be expressed in every aspect of her life, to the extent that all of life had a certain ceremonial quality.
• ·         A vow was a solemn promise to offer a gift to God in response to a divine deliverance or blessing.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Die For Treating Them With Contempt

Leviticus 22:8-9 – He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, and so become unclean through it. I am the Lord. “‘The priests are to perform my service in such a way that they do not become guilty and die for treating it with contempt. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.

Leviticus 11:44 – I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground.

Leviticus 10:2 – So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

Application:

• ·         Israel’s holiness was to be expressed in every aspect of her life, to the extent that all of life had a certain ceremonial quality.
• ·         The laws of cleanness were the same for priests and people, but the penalties were far more severe for the priests, who had greater responsibility.
• ·         Nadab and Abihu died when a new era was being inaugurated. The new community had to be made aware that it existed for God, not vice versa.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Will Not Profane My Holy Name

Leviticus 21:17,22-22:7 – “Say to Aaron: ‘For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to offer the food of his God…He may eat the most holy food of his God, as well as the holy food; yet because of his defect, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary. I am the Lord, who makes them holy.’” So Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites. The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name. I am the Lord. “Say to them: ‘For the generations to come, if any of your descendants is ceremonially unclean and yet comes near the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate to the Lord, that person must be cut off from my presence. I am the Lord. “‘If a descendant of Aaron has a defiling skin disease or a bodily discharge, he may not eat the sacred offerings until he is cleansed. He will also be unclean if he touches something defiled by a corpse or by anyone who has an emission of semen, or if he touches any crawling thing that makes him unclean, or any person who makes him unclean, whatever the uncleanness may be. The one who touches any such thing will be unclean till evening. He must not eat any of the sacred offerings unless he has bathed himself with water. When the sun goes down, he will be clean, and after that he may eat the sacred offerings, for they are his food.

Exodus 20:7 – “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

• ·         Like the sacrifices that had to be without defect, the priests were to typify Christ’s perfection.
• ·         Misuse of the name of the Lord is done by profaning God’s name—e.g., by swearing falsely by it, as on the witness stand in court.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Defect

Leviticus 21:11-21 – He must not enter a place where there is a dead body. He must not make himself unclean, even for his father or mother, nor leave the sanctuary of his God or desecrate it, because he has been dedicated by the anointing oil of his God. I am the Lord. “‘The woman he marries must be a virgin. He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by prostitution, but only a virgin from his own people, so that he will not defile his offspring among his people. I am the Lord, who makes him holy.’” The Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron: ‘For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to offer the food of his God. No man who has any defect may come near: no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed; no man with a crippled foot or hand, or who is a hunchback or a dwarf, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles. No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect is to come near to present the food offerings to the Lord. He has a defect; he must not come near to offer the food of his God.

Hebrews 9:14 – How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

Application:

• ·         Like the sacrifices that had to be without defect, the priests were to typify Christ’s perfection.
• ·         In the entirety of Christ’s being, He was unblemished, not just superficially.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

I...Am Holy

Leviticus 21:6-10,17 – They must be holy to their God and must not profane the name of their God. Because they present the food offerings to the Lord, the food of their God, they are to be holy. “‘They must not marry women defiled by prostitution or divorced from their husbands, because priests are holy to their God. Regard them as holy, because they offer up the food of your God. Consider them holy, because I the Lord am holy—I who make you holy. “‘If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire. “‘The high priest, the one among his brothers who has had the anointing oil poured on his head and who has been ordained to wear the priestly garments, must not let his hair become unkempt or tear his clothes…“Say to Aaron: ‘For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to offer the food of his God.

Leviticus 11:44 – I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground.

Exodus 29:7 – Take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head.

Application:

• ·         Like the sacrifices that had to be without defect, the priests were to typify Christ’s perfection.
• ·         Israel’s holiness was to be expressed in every aspect of her life, to the extent that all of life had a certain ceremonial quality.
• ·         Anointing the high priest symbolized spiritual endowment for serving God.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Cut Their Bodies

Leviticus 20:6,27-21:5 – “‘I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people. ..“‘A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.’” The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: ‘A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for any of his people who die, except for a close relative, such as his mother or father, his son or daughter, his brother, or an unmarried sister who is dependent on him since she has no husband—for her he may make himself unclean. He must not make himself unclean for people related to him by marriage, and so defile himself. “‘Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or cut their bodies.

Exodus 28:1 – “Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests.

Hebrews 11:19 – Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

Application:

• ·         Consulting a medium was no less a sin than being one. Only God was to be consulted—through either the priest or a prophet.
• ·         Priests offered gifts and sacrifices for sins and dealt gently with those who were ignorant and were going astray. Another important function of the priests was to read the law of Moses to the people and remind them of their covenant obligations.
• ·         So strong was Abraham’s faith that he actually believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead if necessary, an event that did occur figuratively when the substitute ram was provided.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Unclean And Clean Birds

Leviticus 20:23-26 – You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them. But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations. “‘You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds. Do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground—those that I have set apart as unclean for you. You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.

Leviticus 10:9-11 – “You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the tent of meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, so that you can distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean,  and so you can teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses.”

Joshua 24:19 – Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins.

Psalm 99:3 – Let them praise your great and awesome name—he is holy.

Application:

• ·         The distinction between what was holy and what was common was carefully maintained.
• ·         “You are not able to serve the Lord” were strong words to emphasize the danger of overconfidence.
• ·         As the Great King, our Lord ought to be shown the fear and honor that are His due.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Curses His Father Or Mother

Leviticus 20:8-10 – Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy. “‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head. “‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.

Exodus 20:12,14 – “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you…“You shall not commit adultery.

Ezekiel 18:13 – He lends at interest and takes a profit. Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he is to be put to death; his blood will be on his own head.

Application:

• ·         Honor means (1) prize highly, (2) care for, (3) show respect for, and (4) obey.
• ·         One who does detestable things is held responsible for his own sin.
• ·         Adultery is a sin against God as well as against the marriage partner.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Prostituting Themselves

Leviticus 20:4-7 - If the members of the community close their eyes when that man sacrifices one of his children to Molek and if they fail to put him to death, I myself will set my face against him and his family and will cut them off from their people together with all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molek. “‘I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people. “‘Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God.

Exodus 34:15 – “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.

Leviticus 11:44 – I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground.

Ephesians 1:4-6 – For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he^[a]predestined us for adoption to sonship^[b] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

1 Peter 1:15-16 – But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Application:

• ·         Consulting a medium was no less a sin than being one. Only God was to be consulted—through either the priest or a prophet.
• ·         Partaking of food sacrificed to a pagan deity invites compromise.
• ·         Israel was to be totally consecrated to God. Her holiness was to be expressed in every aspect of her life, to the extent that all of life had a certain ceremonial quality. Because of who God is and what He has done, His people must dedicate themselves fully to Him.
• ·         Holiness is the result—not the basis—of God’s choosing. It refers both to the holiness imparted to the believer because of Christ and to the believer’s personal sanctification.
• ·         To be holy is to be set apart—set apart from sin and impurity, and set apart to God.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV