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.