For the first time in my life, I’ve been spending significant time studying the book of Leviticus. You know, that book you and I have always avoided, except perhaps for annual reading plans? It’s all been fulfilled by Jesus, so we don’t need to know it very well, right?
Let me share just a few highlights of the beginning of my study.
Leviticus 1-7 lists the regulations for five types of sacrifice, each of which has a different focus. The first type is the “burnt offering” (Lev 1), and the thing that distinguishes the burnt offering is that it is the only sacrifice where the entire corpse of the animal is consumed in the altar’s fire. Every other sacrifice has some portion reserved for priest or people to cook and eat.
In addition, the burnt offering is not directly connected with sin. I have tended to flatten my understanding of Old Testament sacrifices to little more than substitutionary payment for sin. And yet, the first type of sacrifice, the bread and butter of the Mosaic system, is not a payment for sin. It is the sacrifice someone would offer when they simply want to draw near to God and express their loyalty or praise to him (“vows or freewill offerings” – Lev 22:18). The burnt offering simply makes it possible for people to draw near to God in worship, offering oneself completely, leaving nothing out.
So why does this matter? How an Israelite would offer their burnt offering matters to God. Unless it is offered in the prescribed way, it will not be acceptable, a pleasing aroma (Lev 1:3, 9, 13, 17). And when we dig into the mechanics of bringing a burnt offering, fascinating things seep from the text’s pores. Notice how all of the following theological language has its roots in the burnt offering of Leviticus 1:
- laying on of hands (Lev 1:4, 1 Tim 4:14)
- acceptable worship (Lev 1:4, Heb 12:28)
- atonement (Lev 1:4, Dan 9:24)
- sprinkling of blood (Lev 1:5, 1 Pet 1:2)
- washing with water (Lev 1:9, Eph 5:26)
- turning to smoke (Lev 1:9, Rev 19:3)
- consuming fire (Lev 1:9, Heb 12:29)
In addition, the metaphors “holy and acceptable (transformed) sacrifices” (Rom 12:1-2) and “fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God” (Phil 4:18) all likely draw their word pictures from the burnt offering (and perhaps a few other types of sacrifice).
How does it deepen your thinking about such texts, when you start to see that ordination (1 Tim 4:14), marriage (Eph 5:26), or ministry philanthropy (Phil 4:18) are New Testament applications of the regulations for the levitical burnt offering?
I’m delighted to discover how richly rewarding it is to gain greater familiarity with these sacrificial rituals and with the text of Leviticus. Perhaps this will encourage you to take a closer look at this oft-neglected book as well.
Thanks for writing this. I am doing a read-through plan and ended up spending a couple of hours a day in Leviticus for the 3 or so weeks I read it. It was a surprise to me, too, to realize that not all offerings were related to atonement for sin. I must admit that I haven’t thought about these offerings very much in relation to the New Testament, so I appreciate the reminder.
I used colored pencils to indicate the different types of offerings, and it really helped me to visualize what was being emphasized–coming closer to God, thanking God, atoning for sin, etc.)–at different times, and how. Here’s a picture from my blog if you’re interested: https://then-a-gentle-whisper.blogspot.com/2020/08/hard-work.html
A small correction. “Sacrifice of praise” is neither a metaphor nor related to the burnt offering. It was the standard Greek way to refer to the thank offering. In the LXX of Leviticus the thank offering is simply called “praise” (Lev. 7:12, 13, 15). It is used that way elsewhere in the Old Testament as well (2 Chron. 33:16; Psalm 49:14; cf. v. 23). The full phrase is found in Philo of Alexandria’s paraphrase of the sacrificial laws (Spec. Laws, 1.224). The author of Hebrews used a known term for the thank offering but redefined it for the new covenant community in 13:15-16 (note how he introduces his redefinition with “that is, the fruit of lips…”).
Thank you for this correction. I will remove mention of Heb 13:15 in the post above. This is very helpful. Thank you for pointing out those Septuagint references, which pretty clearly make the case.
Can you please explain further, however, why you say “sacrifice of praise” in Heb 13:15 is not a metaphor? How could it be otherwise, when one is not bringing an animal for a peace offering (which appears to be the case in Lev 7, etc.) but the fruit of lips?
A good question. A little background is necessary to answer it. Hebrews 1-10 shows that Christ’s self-offering takes care of the burnt offerings, sin and guilt offerings, and Day of Atonement offering. The three shared sacrifices of Leviticus 7 are missing. Those sacrifices have nothing to do with sin, ritual impurity, or atonement, so that should not surprise us. Nor are they ever required to be offered. They are also the one category of levitical sacrifice worshippers were permitted to eat. (The Passover was also eaten but is not properly a levitical but a lay sacrifice.) Because they are sanctified by the altar, the meat, bread, and cakes of the offering became holy foods thought to convey the sanctity of the altar and thereby benefit those who consumed them. That probably accounts for why Hannah was given a double portion in 1 Sam 1:5.
Hebrews 13:9 alludes to some kind of controversy regarding halakah (Jewish regulations) related to shared sacrifices. The author’s point is that we have an altar from which even the priests themselves are not permitted to eat, so readers shouldn’t get carried off with halakhic controversies concerning shared offerings or be concerned about losing out on the benefits eating them may convey. But that still doesn’t address the question of what new covenant believers are to do with the fact that these sacrifices are regulated by the OT but don’t seem to be abrogated by Jesus’ sacrifice for sin. What the author does in 13:15 is redefine the thank offering (and by synechdoche, all three shared sacrifices). Since the levitical cult is obsolete, growing old, and soon to pass away (8:13), in the new covenant the thank/praise offering continues as the fruit of lips confessing Christ’s name, doing good, and sharing with others. It is not a metaphor because the author really does mean for readers to do these things as thank/praise offerings.
The fact that Hebrews alludes to halackic controversy about shared offerings in 13:8-9 indicates the letter’s recipients lived in or near pre-70 Jerusalem. That is supported by the exhortation to go outside the camp in 13:13 where “camp” is the standard legal term for Jerusalem in Second Temple Jewish literature. If you’re interested in the details, I elaborate on that in the following book chapter: https://www.academia.edu/185248/_Rahab_Outside_the_Camp_
Repentance, seen in the acceptance of the sacrifice as an atonement.
One could not draw near to God then or now with a blasé view of one’s sinfulness.
This was a large part of the sacrificial system and was an accepted part of Jewish culture.