Offerings
Be Holy For I Am Holy • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Leviticus, the book where
The Holy God calls His people to be holy, and provides atonement through sacrifice for when they are not.
IF you read Lev 1-7 this week I suspect you were struck by the rigorous requirements of the offerings to make God’s people acceptable in His sight despite their sin.
Our sin is very serious
Our sin is not easily dealt with,
Our sin requires blood to be shed before God as just punishment.
And you were probably thinking your’re glad we no longer have to do such offerings today!
But that does not mean we shouldn’t take our sin and our worship or NT equivalent offerings to our Holy God seriously.
Heb 10 1-10
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.
The law - cannot make perfect those who draw near to worship.
Leviticus was part 1 of a 2 part plan of God’s to save a people for Himself.
PArt 1 would show us our sin and need for sacrfice,
Part 2 was the fulfilment of the law in the person of Jesus - for us.
First he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them’—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, ‘Here I am, I have come to do your will.’ He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Jesus is our once for all sacrificial offering to be right in God’s sight.
So, our desire to draw near to God in worship should not have changed.
For he is God - the One True God Almighty,
He has already saved the OT Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
He has already saved us from our sins through the once for all sacrifice of Jesus, if we today repent and believe in His name.
And so,
Our Lord God is worthy of worship,
For he is Holy and we are to be holy.
Are we determined to worship the One True God, are we too prepared to make equivalent sacrifices today?
Is he worth it? Look at all they did - and now consider all Christ has done. Is he worth it.
Let’s start with a quick tour through the sacrificial offerings of Leviticus 1-7
Firstly to get your bearings -
Lev 1:1-6:7 are instructions for the 5 main offering sacrifices observed by the OT Israelites.
and then in
Lev 6:8-7:38 the same 5 offerings are explained again, but with specific instructions for how the priests are to manage the offerings.
1 - Burnt Offering
1 - Burnt Offering
In Numbers 28 there is an expectation that burnt offerings were to happen every morning and evening.
They are the most common of all.
It had to be a male animal and without defect - only the best will do for God.
Best does not mean ‘most’ though.
Allowances were made for those with less wealth throughout the offerings in these chapters.
God is not interested in who can bring the ‘most’, but in who will bring their ‘best’.
Just as the poor widow in the NT brings her ‘only’ coin - but Jesus declares it to be of greater value than the rich who bring ‘more’ but it is not their ‘best’.
She gave the Lord her all.
The burnt offering is sometimes called the ‘whole’ or ‘acension’ offering because the Whole animal is burnt and ‘ascends to God’ -
And it is for the purpose of atonement.
You are to lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you.
The worshipper has a lot to do..
they slaughter the animal in such a way that the blood could be drained out,
skins it (as the hide was then given to the priest
chops the carcass into pieces;
and washes the unclean or dirty parts and organs so that the priest would not be defiled in handling them.
That is a messy and big job - hands on - and physical.
The priest then had the task of taking the blood and throwing it against the sides of the altar.
Why?
For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.
Finally, the priest took the pieces of the animal from the hands of the worshipper and arranged them on the altar, where the worshipper and his family watched them burn until all was consumed.
Atonement is a involved, messy and long process For them.
Before the slaughter takes place the worshipper was to place their hand on the head of the animal - symbolically transferring their sin or uncleanness onto the animal.
SO, what is atonement.
The original word in Hebrew had 2 meanings,
either meaning to make clean something that was unclean,
or as is most likely the case here,
to pay a ransom to avoid a deserved consequence.
In other-words -
the burnt offering avoids God’s angre on the worshipper - they are spared the penalty of sin.
Sin is serious,
punishment before a sinless and holy God is demanded - if He didn’t demand payment - he’d not be a God worth knowing,
and so life blood is shed - to atone.
The OT is full of examples
David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer on behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.
God’s wrath averted.
They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel. Therefore, the anger of the Lord has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes.
God’s wrath is felt - for they offered him no worship and sacrifices.
If you want to worship - to draw near to God - an atoning sacrifice must be brought to avert his angre - for He is Holy and we are not.
That is the whole point about an ‘aroma pleasing to the Lord’ - as we read repeatdly in these chapters.
It is not so much that God loves the smell of a good BBQ,
rather - when the sacrifices are brought with he right motive and way,
God is pleased - it is an acceptable sacrifice. His wrath is averted - They were atoned.
2 - Grain Offerings
2 - Grain Offerings
Just as the burnt offering is a voluntary offering to be brought whenever motivated to do so, so was the grain offerging.
In other words it’s motivated by love for and worship of God.
The grain offering was a way of honouring , revering, thanking and showing your allegiance to God.
Much like you might give gifts to your loved ones.
It was to be a mixture of grain, olive oil and spices, or it could even be baked into a loaf first.
This and all the following offerings also provided food for the Priests, who would take a share of them to live.
The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the food offerings presented to the Lord.
Psalm 96 captures this idea of honour as an offering.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.
And don’t skimp on your offerings to the Lord
Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.
Why salt? well it taste better but more so it preserves the bread. Might as well leave it out then as it’s going to be eaten or burnt that day!
No -
Bring your best to the Lord.
Don’t skimp on your wholehearted worship
Do we think like this today?
Do you bring your best To honour God?
3 - Fellowship Offerings
3 - Fellowship Offerings
There is some debate as to whether this is an offering to bring to God to make peace (have fellowship) with Him, or to get his blessing on making peace with other people.
Perhaps there’s an element of both, but the focus seems to be on unity with one another.
Why. becasue
The fat portions are burnt and offered to the Lord - but the rest is shared with those also present - like a bring and share meal.
They are to bring one of each kind as an offering, a contribution to the Lord; it belongs to the priest who splashes the blood of the fellowship offering against the altar. The meat of their fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered; they must leave none of it till morning.
We see one in action as Saul is made the first King of Israel in - 1 Sam 11 15
So all the people went to Gilgal and made Saul king in the presence of the Lord. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration.
It is amazing that..
We have peace with God and one another - only through sacrifice to the Lord.
4 - Sin Offering
4 - Sin Offering
These last 2 offerings are a little different - they are compulsory and to be brought whenever you become aware of your sin.
The sin offerings covers slightly different rules depending on who has sinned.
Whether it’s the high priest, or a tribal leader, or someone in the general community.
What’s interesting is that these are all accidental sins - or sins of omission - that people later realise to be sin - or they feel guilty about.
Lev 5 1-4 lists a few examples but are not meant to be exhaustive. here’s one..
‘ “If anyone sins because they do not speak up when they hear a public charge to testify regarding something they have seen or learned about, they will be held responsible.
it goes on to mention touching unclean animals, or someone who is bleeding, or with a skin disease, or failing to fulfil an oath you have made.
The point is that all of us will find we sin against God, very often without even meaning to or realising it.
But sin it still is!
It very tempting to think today that now we are saved by Jesus we don’t sin much - but the bible is clear we are depraved - our righteousness is in Christ alone,
and until he returns even our righteous acts will be like fit holy acts before God.
We need a blood sacrifice simple for being human!
This offering doesn’t though deal with our atonement in a ‘paying the price to avoid judgement’. sense.
This offering is cleansing us from impurity of our situation.
It makes the worshipper clean again from their natural daily often unintended failures.
For God cannot dwell among a people who are unclean - and if you remeber from last week, Leviticus marks th e point in history when God came down to dwell amount his people in the tabernacle.
So the people must be ‘clean’.
It’s important to also understand the idea of being unclean.
It is not always the same as sin.
Sin can make you unclean, but so can very normal things, such as child birth and skin disease.
Those things aren’t sinful - but to be in the presence of God we need to be cleansed of them.
Most likely becasue pain and blood at child birth and disease and so forth are all result of the fall of mankind.
They will not be present in eternity
So they cannot be in his presence - now.
This offering then is a cleaning from our natural state of sin - without which we remain dirty and fallen before God.
Do we pray for cleansing from our natural state and unintended sin?
Interestingly The word ‘unintentional’ comes from the root word meaning ‘to wander off’ like a sheep.
The well known Book of Common Prayer expresses this sin offering well,
‘We have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep, we have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts, we have left undone those things that we ought to have done and we have done those things that we ought not to have done’.
The final and very brief offering
5 - Guilt Offering
5 - Guilt Offering
This is relevant to sin that affects relationships with other people
- something has to be repaid to others - not just God.
It might be holy things (eating food reserved for the priests)
It might be against others property or reputation.
And the basic principles of sacrifice are the same as all the others so far- and it’s purpose is to be made right with God and with your neighbour again.
The difference is that there is a demand to repay what has been taken and as well as bringing the offering.
The wronged party is to be repaid in full and they are also to receive an extra 5th of it’s value added.
God’s people should love God and one another rightly - and sacrifice and repayment is required when we don’t.
So what can we learn from all that?
1 - Jesus is our Offering(s) to God
1 - Jesus is our Offering(s) to God
But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: ‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, “Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, my God.” ’
Jesus fulfils all of the OT offerings required.
All he did on the cross for us cannot be summed up in 1 offering - so God gave us 5 OT offerings to point towards the once for all sacrifice of Jesus.
And so He says ‘I am here’
I am the sacrifice and the repayment to God of all that is owed on our behalf.
Those burnt offerings - I am the one whose blood will truly atone.
He is our atonement - taking the wrath of God on himself so we don’t have to face it.
He shows God true thankfulness and allegiance - he is the grain offering.
He is the fellowship offering - around whose table we now gather and share the Lord’s Supper after his sacrifice.
He is the Sin offering purifying us from the fall of humanity, the pain and disease, the unintended sinfulness and wickedness of our hearts.
He is the guilt offering - repaying God the Father a fully and then some for the dept we owe Him.
Jesus is the all in all sacrifice for us before God.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished
There is one holy God who demands atoning sacrifice.
If you are not repenting and believing In Jesus - you need to - for he is the only true offering acceptable to God in OUr place.
2 - Our Life is our Offering to God
2 - Our Life is our Offering to God
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Having been atoned for fully by Jesus - we now belong to Him,
And so our whole lives are to be a ‘living sacrifice’ to the Lord.
Not to be saved/atoned, but because we are.
If you don’t awake daily to read God’s word and pray,
think daily of Him in your decisions,
spend your money with thankfulness and tithing,
talk to those you meet about the Gospel,
feel the guilt of your sin unintended or not,
live to please your saviour,
love your neighbour
well then come again to the once for all sacrifice And offer your body again.
Wholehearted minute by minute worship - drawing near to God is what we need -
for Jesus has done it all.
We are
To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.’
and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
As we strive to worship God rightly,
we are truly thankful.
What a saviour we have who atones and cleans us before God.
A once for all offering - Thank you Lord.
Pray