Lectures on Leviticus (6) : The Burnt Offering of a Bird

This final installment on the Burnt Offering focuses on the sacrifice of birds—the offering of the poor. While the physical scale of the sacrifice is smaller, the spiritual demands on the heart remain absolute. We explore the unique procedures for the turtledove and young pigeon, and what they reveal about the “Light of the East” and the necessity of dying to self.

3. The Burnt Offering of a Bird (Leviticus 1:14-17)

Leviticus 1:14-17 “But if his offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering from the turtledoves or from young pigeons. The priest shall bring it to the altar, and wring off its head and offer it up in smoke on the altar; and its blood is to be drained out on the side of the altar. He shall also take away its crop with its feathers and cast it beside the altar eastward, to the place of the ashes. Then he shall tear it by its wings, but shall not sever it. And the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar on the wood which is on the fire; it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD.”

We can immediately see that the way to give burnt offering of a lamb or a goat is similar with that of a burnt offering of a young bull, but, a burnt offering of birds is quite different from other animals.

First, a priest brings a bird to the altar and wrings off the head. Its blood should be drained out on the side of the altar. Then, he removes the crop with its contents and throws it away to the east side of the altar. With its contents the internal organs are indicated.

Then, the priest tears it open by the wings, not severing it completely. After he removes the crop with its contents and tears it open by the wings, he burns it on the blazing wood on the altar. 

The greatest difference between a burnt offering of birds and burnt offering of a bull, a lamb or a goat is that a bird is significantly smaller. That’s why a priest just wrings the head off of a bird whereas he had to slaughter other animals with a knife.

A dove or a pigeon is even smaller than a chicken. If a priest slaughters such a small bird with a knife like when he slaughters a bull or a lamb, it appears awkward. That’s why a priest wrings the bird’s head off instead. In addition, it also includes the meaning of laying the hands on the head of a bird.

Other animals were slaughtered at the north side of the altar and its blood was sprinkled to all sides of the altar, but a pigeon was brought directly to the altar and was killed there. That was because the amount of its blood is small. If a bird is carried all the way from the north side to the altar, all its blood would be shed.

Actually, the blood had to be sprinkled on all four sides of the altar, but for a bird, the atoning was done by just dropping the blood at the side of the altar. Also, other animals were slaughtered, skinned, and were cut into pieces. However, if a bird is cut into pieces, it looks valueless as an offering. Even the worldly people, when they worship idols, use small offerings like chickens as a whole animal.

When a pigeon is offered to God, it was not cut it into pieces but just burned it as a whole. But before doing that they had to remove certain parts. Those parts being, as said in today’s verse 16, the crop with contents. The priest washed internal organs of a bull or a lamb and burnt them without throwing them away, but they removed the crop with contents from a young pigeon.

The crop and internal organs of a young pigeon were thrown away because they were not easy to wash. Throwing away the crop with the contents that were unclean had the same spiritual meaning as washing unclean parts of a bull or a lamb. This indicates that we wash our unclean heart and deeds with the word of God by worshiping in spirit and in truth.

The priest removed the crop with its contents and threw it to the east side of the altar, where the ashes were. Throwing it away to the east of the altar had a spiritual meaning. As Genesis 2:8 says, God placed the Garden in Eden and in the east. The entrance was also at the east. What is the spiritual meaning of the east? The east is the place filled with the lights.

But, what is the meaning in throwing the crop with its contents away to the east side of the altar?

It is done to symbolize that we should come to the Lord who is the Light, throwing away all kinds of unclean sins in giving burnt offerings to God. Even the sins that are unseen in darkness will be revealed in the light. In the same way, when you come to the Lord and reflect upon yourself in the Word of God, you can find your sins and evil that before you were not able to find.

Just as Ephesians 5:13 says, “But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light,” through the word of God, you can throw away all sins that are exposed in the light of the Lord, and become a child of light, not a child of darkness. It is in removing the crop with its contents and throwing it away to the east of the altar that indicates we used to dwell in darkness with unclean sins but we have cast off those sins and become a child of God who is light.

Verse 17 says, “Then he shall tear it by its wings, but shall not sever it.” The young pigeon was not to be severed completely. It was not cut into pieces because it is so small. They were just torn open by the wings which for birds, the wings are as important as life itself. To tear the pigeon open by the wings means that we should give up everything and offer even our life. That is what is symbolized by tearing the offering open by the wings. So, we should not only cast away all kinds of sins and evil but also devote and submit ourselves to the Lord without insisting on our self-righteousness and fleshly thoughts.

1 Corinthians 15:31 says, “I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.” Our old self, the one who used to live in untruths and evil, must die daily because we are now children of God. When a priest burned the bird offering in the fire of the altar after he removed the crop with its contents and tore it open by the wings, it was a burnt offering made by fire and pleasing to the LORD like other animals. Whether you give as a burnt offering of a young bull, a lamb, a goat or a young pigeon, you must have the same heart toward God although there is a difference in the kind of offering and its procedure.

The burnt offering should always be given to God with all your heart, mind, and soul so that it can be acceptable to God. It is the same today. John 4:24 says, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” God does not see whether you are rich, poor, educated, or uneducated. He only measures whether you worship Him with all your heart and soul and give Him a living sacrifice in the Holy Spirit within the given circumstances of your life.

To determine the acceptability of your burnt offering, reflect on a few questions about the offering you are making: Are you giving God a living sacrifice each time you worship Him? Do you bring an offering without defect with all your heart and mind? Do you worship God with joy and gratitude without worldly cares and anxiety? Do you prepare for each service with a holy and godly heart and listen to the message in the Holy Spirit without having idle thoughts? Do you keep the message deep in your heart and pray fervently to throw away your sins like washing away unclean things with water? If you have worshiped God with the fullness of the Holy Spirit in each service, the evidences will be demonstrated in your life. Because your sins are forgiven, the enemy Satan and the devil leave your home, business and working place. They have no place and no influence there. All kinds of troubles and trials go away and all problems are solved. Above all else, your soul will be prosperous.  

There are reasons why you do not receive the answers to prayers or blessings in your life. There are reasons for financial difficulty, illness and misfortune. So many people are healed after listening to God’s word only once, but why are some other people not healed with many prayers? The problem lies in their heart.

If their heart does not change and if they truly love God passionately, they will try to please God above all else. But, all to often, such is not the case. The individual, a member of the family, their fame, their wealth or their possessions come before God. However, with an unchanging heart and true love of God, the Holy Spirit works powerfully within you, evils and sins are thrown away day by day, and you become a man of spirit quickly.

I explained how to give a burnt offering according to procedures and the spiritual meaning found in Leviticus Chapter 1. The most complicated and important things about how to give sacrifices have already been explained. Therefore, you will easily understand the grain offering, peace offering, sin offering and guilt offering. But, before we go into grain offering, you must remember one more thing about the burnt offering.

I said that the burnt offering refers to keeping the Sabbath holy by attending Sunday service. Then, are other services like Wednesday service or Friday all-night service not burnt offerings? In a broad sense, these worship services are burnt offerings, too. It is said that giving a burnt offering indicates obeying all the decrees of God. By obeying the commands and decrees of God, we accept God as our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are forgiven of our sins and through this, we receive protection and blessings of God. By the way, burnt offerings were not only given on the Sabbath and at special feasts, but also every morning and early evening.

The priest had to keep the fire on the altar day and night, and they gave burnt offerings every morning and every sunset. It symbolized the people of Israel were not cut off from the communication with God and it prevented them from forsaking God. Similarly, we must give burnt offerings to God continually, all the days of our lives. The most fundamental thing in giving the burnt offering is keeping the Sabbath holy. The clearest evidence that we believe in Jesus Christ and obey the commands of God is keeping the Sabbath holy. If we keep the Lord’s Day holy, we will naturally attend other worship services and give God the whole tithe. We will learn and obey all the words of 66 books of the Bible. You should remember other services like Wednesday service and Friday all-night service and giving your life as a living sacrifice each being a burnt offering in a broad sense. But the most important thing in the giving of a burnt offering is to keep the Sabbath holy by attending the Sunday service in spirit and truth.

Giving thanks offerings or offerings for building the sanctuary are included in burnt offerings because they are offered in worship services. In fact, there were many other offerings like grain offering, peace offering, sin offering, and guilt offering. All these are included in burnt offerings in a spiritual sense. 

It was because only when they were acknowledged as God’s people by giving burnt offerings could giving other offerings be meaningful, too.

In Leviticus 6:13 God commanded, “Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not to go out,” and that burnt offerings must be given continuously every morning and at each sunset. What God the Creator wants is not the meat of the burnt offering. The reason why God commanded burnt offerings to be given is because He wanted the people to have communication with God in spirit every moment by giving burnt offerings continuously. I hope you will bear this fact in your mind and have that fellowship with God every moment.

Also, I hope that you will worship God with all your heart and soul, keep the Sabbath holy, dwell in God throughout the year, and offer pleasing aroma to God every morning and sunset.

By doing so, God will remember you and bless you wherever you may go.

Therefore, I pray in the name of our High Priest Jesus Christ that you will give a perfect burnt offering to God with your inner heart, so that your life will be filled with God’s grace and love every day!