This article continues the Lectures on Leviticus by exploring the first of the major offerings: the Burnt Offering. While ancient Israelites offered physical animals, the modern believer offers a “spiritual burnt offering” through consistent worship and the keeping of the Sabbath. This study focuses on the specific requirements of the bull and what they reveal about the heart of a true worshipper.
I explained that today that broadly interpreted, the ‘burnt offering’ is to obey all the decrees of God. God gave Israelites many decrees that they should keep as the chosen people of God. They had to keep the Sabbath every week, and obey Feasts of Passover, of the Harvest, of Trumpets, and of Shelters and so on every year. God explained to them in detail when and how they should gather, what kind of sacrifices they should give to God, how they should keep all kinds of feasts in remembrance of God, and how they should remember and obey the promises of God. It was very important for the Israelites to observe the feasts and to give burnt offerings to God because it is the way of expressing their faith in the confession of the words, “I believe in the Living God and He is my God.”
Even before God gave His commandments through Moses, men of God built altars for burnt offerings wherever they went. No matter where he went, Abraham first built an altar for presenting burnt offerings in giving worship to God. Noah also gave the burnt offerings to God. When people kept the commands by giving burnt offerings, God accepted them as His people, and blessed and protected them. In this same way, children of God should still give the sacrifices of burnt offerings. But, today, how should we give the sacrifices of burnt offerings? The burnt offerings of today refer to all of the various worship services including the services of the biblical feasts.
Part of keeping the Sabbath is attending Sunday worship service. All other festivals in the Old Testament are included as one of the Sunday services. We also keep Easter, Feasts of the Harvests, Day of Thanksgiving. In addition, those services are accompanied by the partaking in Holy Communion. You, children of God, should understand once again how important the Sunday service is for you.
When we attend worship service on Sundays and keep the Sabbath holy, it is a proof that we are saved children of God and our soul and spirit belong to God. Furthermore, our lives will always be protected when we keep the Sabbath holy.
In these times of the New Testament, we can be led by the Holy Spirit once we have received the Holy Spirit. We can repent our sins and be forgiven, receive answers to our prayers, and we can communicate with God. But this is not all. It is through keeping the Lord’s Day holy you can continue to receive answers to your prayers and be forgiven of what you repent. How is this so? Suppose there is a man who is praying fervently for the answer to his problem. He wants to be healed of his disease. But he does not always attend the Sunday service. As a result, his prayer cannot be answered no matter how much he prays. If he does not keep the Sabbath, he cannot be saved.
Giving the sacrifice of burnt offering is the most basic duty of children of God and today the most basic aspect of offering the burnt offerings is keeping the Sabbath holy.
1. Burnt Offering of a Bull
“If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to offer a male without defect. He must present it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting so that it will be acceptable to the LORD.” (Leviticus 1:3-9)
1) Male bull without a defect
We will now see how to give burnt offerings to God in our modern worship beginning with the male bull.
God commands that you should give a male without defect as offerings when you give a bull. A male here symbolizes the heart of worshippers. In Leviticus it explains that God accepts the male offering before a female offering, though He sometimes accepts female offerings.
God created a man and a woman differently in their nature. Generally speaking, women are more tender, kind and exact in doing something than men. In contrast, men are to be strong, courageous, broad-minded and prudent. Men are also to be upright and unchanging in their temper and attitude. Women are more frail, more narrowly focused in their temper and temperament and are more likely to change their mind because of what they want or need.
Of course, these are generalities and not the case for everybody. The serpent approached Eve rather than Adam to tempt her to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Of course, it is also true that the serpent could not approach Adam easily because of Adam’s authority and dignity. But the serpent approached Eve because Eve had a closer relationship with the serpent and the serpent knew that Eve would be disturbed more easily by tempting words than Adam.
God accepted the male sacrifice more joyfully than female sacrifices because the nature of males was more upright and more unchanging than females. The nature of males indicates that you should go only toward God, love only God, and worship only Him. You are not to be tempted to love the world. You should keep the word of God without wavering to either the left or to the right. You are not change your mind nor incline toward anything, but strictly keep the word of God. You should not be deceived into loving the world. If you do have an unchanging heart, you will not be deceived!
You should be careful in understanding the spiritual meanings. God is not talking about the gender when He says He loves male more than females; He is talking about one’s inner heart. It is not that God loves males more than females unconditionally. In fact, there are men who are devious, shrewd and treacherous and there are women who have unchanging and steadfast hearts.
God surely loves women who have such an upright and beautiful heart rather than men who are changing and treacherous. It was a woman, Mary Magdalene, who was first to meet the resurrected Lord. Though there were many male disciples of Jesus, it was Mary Magdalene’s love for the Lord Jesus that was the greatest. Deborah became a powerful judge, surpassing many brave men. The love and the inner heart of Ruth, who served her mother-in-law wholeheartedly to the last, were greater than any other man. It is the same with Esther who saved the people of Israel.
In a word, such women fully gave their lives as burnt offerings acceptable to God. The male animal given as an offering indicates that we should worship and serve God with upright and determined heart. It doesn’t mean that God discriminates sons and daughters. I don’t want you to misunderstand God in this respect.
A burnt offering had to be a male animal without defect. You do not give defective or blemished gifts to a man in a high position. You will surely prepare the best things you can offer. For this reason, we should give the best as gifts to God the LORD of hosts. In other words, you should attend each worship service with the flawless heart.
With what kind of heart do you come before God when you attend worship service? Have you ever quarreled with anyone before the worship service? Are you wrathful or angry before attending each service? Do you frown because of your difficulties or physical discomfort during your worship service? I suppose you do not come to God with frowning! But, are you preoccupied in thinking other worldly things like your business. Do you become sleepy during that service? It is such an embarrassing thing to doze off before God, or if you have idle thoughts. Remember that God looks at your heart, and if you think of the worldly things, about making money, or about having fun with your friends, it’s not right.
There should be none of you who have idle thoughts or doze off during worship service. If you attend service with any of these distractions, you are not giving God unblemished offerings. God commands, “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks!” God is with you when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death. And He keeps His beloved children with His blazing eyes. He is the true Father of your spirit. Even if you have a difficult problem, it will be solved if you leave it to the almighty God. So if you have faith you can be joyful.
Moreover, when you come to worship God, you come to please Him, so how can you come with frowns on your faces and distracting thoughts? If you truly respect and love God, how can you have idle thoughts or doze off when you listen to His words? You should come with bright faces and happy open minds and be in thanksgiving that He has given you life and heaven and for His protection and blessings.
We should listen to the word of God, praise Him, and pray to Him with all our heart to please Him. This kind of worship will be burnt offering without defect, acceptable to God. Please lead this kind of Christian life.
In chapter 1 of Malachi, God reproached the Israelites that gave God offerings that had significant defects and despised the name of God. Malachi 1:8-9 says, “‘But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?’ says the LORD of hosts.” God does not accept defective offerings.
Where should you give the male offering without defect? It also says that you must present your offering at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting so that it will be acceptable to the LORD. You must present it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The Tent of Meeting refers to today’s sanctuary for worship services. In the Tent of Meeting, there were the Holy Place and the most holy place, the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies and entered just once a year.
People bring animals at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting as a burnt offering and priests put those animals on the altar and burn it before God. But today you do not give a burnt offering at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. Today, you can enter the Holy Place in the Tent of Meeting and you can worship God in the Holy of Holies. Hebrews 10:19-20 says, “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.” The curtain is His body.
When Jesus died, the curtain of the holy place was torn in two. Since then, in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit dwells in our heart when we believe in Jesus Christ. Our heart is the Holy Place where the Holy Spirit dwells and the Holy Spirit has communication with us in our heart.
Anyone can become a priest of God and come to God who is in the Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies) only if you believe in the name of the Lord. In Old Testament days they gave sacrifices to God at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting according to the law. But people of the New Testament can enter the Most Holy Place since they can now worship God directly with the heart.
2) Lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering
Let’s look at Leviticus verse 4. It says, “He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.”
When they laid the hand on the head of a bull given as an offering, their sins were forgiven. In other words, their sins were transferred to a bull given as an offering through the laying of the hands of the people who gave the animals. Basically sinners had to die because the wages of sin is death. But, instead the bull was killed because, through touching, their sins were transferred to that bull.
By the way, there was a case where the entire congregation committed a sin together. In fact, they should have laid their hands on the offering to transfer their sins to that offering. But the elder laid the hand on that offering on behalf of the congregation because they all could not touch that offering. This will be explained in more detail later.
Laying the hands has many spiritual meanings like blessing or sealing as well as transfer of sins. Jesus laid His hand on the head of people when He healed the sick or blessed the children. Jesus’ apostles laid hands on people for them to receive the Holy Spirit and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ministers lay their hands on offerings to God to seal them as God’s possession. Numbers chapter 27 shows that Moses laid his hand on the head of Joshua to hand over his authority to Joshua. When you receive an important title, hands are laid on your head. When we appoint elders, we lay hands on them, too.
Numbers 27:20 says, “You shall put some of your authority on him, in order that all the congregation of the sons of Israel may obey him.” Through laying hands, Moses’ authority was handed over to Joshua and Joshua was set apart from other people in Israel.
The reason why I lay my hands on your offerings and pray for blessings is done for the same purpose. Just as we seal something to indicate that it belongs to a particular person, we seal something to indicate that it belongs to God.
You receive the benediction after the Sunday Morning service or say the Lord’s Prayer after each service or prayer meeting for the same reason as the laying on of hands. Jesus taught us the Lord’s Prayer. So we confess that all worship services or prayer meetings are accepted by God through the Lord’s Prayer. We seal each worship service as acceptable to God confessing, “I worshiped you. I believe that you accepted this service joyfully and will bless me in spirit and body.”
That is why you must leave the sanctuary only after the benediction or the Lord’s Prayer is over. Only then will your service be accepted. But, people leave the sanctuary before the benediction is over because they have to do some voluntary work in dining hall or other duties, but you should not do that. You should make your worship acceptable to God. So, you should finish the service with the benediction or the Lord’s Prayer.
So you should not confess the Lord’s Prayer having idle thoughts nor consider it unimportant. You should not only think highly of the Lord’s Prayer but also remember that you make each worship service acceptable to God. So you have to say each and every word remembering the spiritual meaning of each word from the bottom of your heart. The benediction is the sign of blessings given to people who worship God in spirit and in truth and keep the Lord’s Day holy.
Leviticus chapter 9 says that the glory of God appeared when Aaron blessed people of Israel after giving God burnt and peace sacrifices according to the word of God. Leviticus 9:22-24 says, “Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he stepped down after making the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. Then fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.”
When we seal our service with the benediction, God shows the sign that He has joyfully accepted our worship. To keep the Sabbath holy is the proof that you belong to God in spirit. Thereby, God protects you for a week when you keep the Lord’s Day holy by attending and keeping the Sunday worship service and finishing that service with the benediction. Why does God protect you? It is because you worship God in spirit and in truth, the Father receives that worship, and because you are blessed through the benediction, God protects you. That is why we have to keep the Sabbath holy. It is the day for God the Father to bless us. God protects us so that no enemy devil and Satan will break in and you will not encounter any trials.
3) Slaughter a young bull
Leviticus 1:4 says this about it, “He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.” And, in the following verse 5 it says, “He shall slay the young bull before the LORD; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall offer up the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting.”
The entire process from the laying of their hands on the animal to its slaughtering was done not by the priests but people who gave that animal. By the way, the offering was a young bull. At first God told them to give just a male bull, but later He specified it as a young bull. God rejoices in a little young bull more than a grown bull.
What is the reason? A young bull has not yet mated and is pure. It is gentle and lovable like an innocent child. God rejoices at the offering of the young bull that wants to come before God with the heart of a little child. God told them just a bull as the offering at first, and then He indicated that it was to be a male bull without defect, and finally a young bull. Each of the three has its own spiritual meaning. When you understand each spiritual meaning, you can give the perfect offering that pleases God.
Briefly, in many parts of the world, a bull carries heavy loads and gives many good things to men without doing evil to us. A bull plows the field and men can eat its meat. All these things are spiritually associated with the Savior Jesus. A bull without defect refers to the attitude. It is the attitude with which you should attend the worship service. It should be with the attitude of an unchanging heart and with joy and thanksgiving. Next, a young bull indicates that you should attend the service with the heart of a child who is pure and innocent.
Matthew 18:3 says, “And [Jesus] said, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.’”
So, what does it mean to “become like little children”?
It does not mean that you should become childish and mischievous. It means that you should become spiritually as a child. That is, you should spiritually resemble the character of goodness of the child.
Above all, spiritual children are simple in nature.
A child’s simple nature neither seeks its own benefit nor thinks according to a sinful mind of its own. They obey the word of God as it is. If the Word says, “Get rid of your sin,” they obey. If the Word says, “Do good deeds,” they do it.
Next, spiritual children are pure.
Unlike adults, whose hearts are stained with sins, they are able to respond sensitively to goodness or evil.
They rejoice at the sight of the works of God, but dislike what is evil to the point of shivering or crying. So they do not take even a little bit of evil but only goodness. Spiritually children are not arrogant. They neither insist their own righteousness nor have fleshly thoughts while they listen to the word of God. They accept the word of God and obey it with a humble and meek heart. So, we will enter the kingdom of heaven and be beloved by God when we become like children spiritually. We should attend services with the heart of spiritual children. This is what is meant by giving the ‘young bull’ as a burnt offering.
Next, verse 5 says, “He shall slay the young bull before the LORD; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall offer up the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting.” They slaughtered a young bull on behalf of their own lives. They could receive the grace of God only when they killed a young bull as a sacrifice. In the same way, we can receive the grace of the Lord when we die every day in spirit. So, please spiritually die diligently. Please do not say without knowing the spiritual meaning, “I attend church and now they tell me to die. Why should I die?”
1 Corinthians 15:31 says, “I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.” It was Paul’s glory that he died everyday. If we keep on dying and casting off evil in the same way the Apostle Paul did, we will someday enter into spirit, and accomplish the whole spirit.