“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.” (Isaiah 55:6 ESV)
1st Baptist Church, Rome NY
Genesis
Genesis was truly the book of beginnings- from the beginning of time to the calling out of Abraham that signaled the beginning of the Hebrew people.
Right from the first passage we get an idea of what Genesis is about:
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Gen 1:1-2)
Genesis has a clear purpose and sounds like it’s going to tell a story.
Right from the first passage we get an idea of what Genesis is about:
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Gen 1:1-2)
Genesis has a clear purpose and sounds like it’s going to tell a story.
Exodus
Exodus continues the story from Genesis and tells of the first Passover and of the crossing of the Red Sea.
Once again we get a sense from the opening of Exodus that the story is continuing:
“Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” (Ex 1:8-10)
Once again we get a sense from the opening of Exodus that the story is continuing:
“Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” (Ex 1:8-10)
Leviticus
Many Christians start to get discouraged as they are reading through the end of Exodus where it has the dimensions of the Tabernacle.
This is a very tedious read and appears to have no bearing on the overall story of the Hebrew people.
Then they start to read Leviticus:
It is really a let down to most who are expecting a continuation of the narrative but instead find all kinds of regulations about offerings.
This is very hard for many readers to get past so they just skip Leviticus all together.
This is a very tedious read and appears to have no bearing on the overall story of the Hebrew people.
Then they start to read Leviticus:
It is really a let down to most who are expecting a continuation of the narrative but instead find all kinds of regulations about offerings.
This is very hard for many readers to get past so they just skip Leviticus all together.
Leviticus the third book of the Bible.
Time period of this book: The Israelites were in the wilderness after crossing the Red Sea on their exit out of Egypt. They had built the Tabernacle and were on their way to the Promised Land.
Many people mistake Leviticus as a “Law” book. What does Leviticus mean?
The Levites were the priestly tribe of Israel and thus anything “Levitical” had to do with priests. Therefore Leviticus is the book of priests.
What is the purpose?
The book’s purpose is to outline the proper way for the Israelites to worship.
Time period of this book: The Israelites were in the wilderness after crossing the Red Sea on their exit out of Egypt. They had built the Tabernacle and were on their way to the Promised Land.
Many people mistake Leviticus as a “Law” book. What does Leviticus mean?
The Levites were the priestly tribe of Israel and thus anything “Levitical” had to do with priests. Therefore Leviticus is the book of priests.
What is the purpose?
The book’s purpose is to outline the proper way for the Israelites to worship.
Leviticus Chapters 1-7
The first seven chapters of Leviticus talk about the five different types of offerings that would be used in Tabernacle worship.
1) Burnt Offering,
2) Grain Offering,
3) Peace Offering,
4) Sin Offering,
5) Guilt Offering
A few things to consider:
1) Burnt Offering,
2) Grain Offering,
3) Peace Offering,
4) Sin Offering,
5) Guilt Offering
A few things to consider:
Anytime there is sin it breaks communion with the Lord because Yahweh cannot coincide with sin.
The only way to atone for sin was the shedding of blood- we see this in Genesis when the animal needed to be slaughtered to make clothes for Adam and Eve (They had sinned and now were naked so to cover them up an animal needed to be sacrificed).
The sacrifice of blood for the atonement of sin was not the only way to worship (thankfully) and some offerings were just that- offerings.
Think of sacrifices more as gifts to Yahweh where he would in turn repay them back his gift of life.
The only way to atone for sin was the shedding of blood- we see this in Genesis when the animal needed to be slaughtered to make clothes for Adam and Eve (They had sinned and now were naked so to cover them up an animal needed to be sacrificed).
The sacrifice of blood for the atonement of sin was not the only way to worship (thankfully) and some offerings were just that- offerings.
Think of sacrifices more as gifts to Yahweh where he would in turn repay them back his gift of life.
Burnt Offering
The Altar used for burnt offerings was the first thing that a worshipper saw when they walked into the Tabernacle outer court.
A burnt offering was used as atonement for sin and was brought voluntarily to the priest. The one bringing the sacrifice would place their hand on the animal (symbolic of the animal taking their place) before the sinner killed the animal.
The priest would gather the blood and sprinkle it around before burning the entire animal on the altar and thus giving the whole life to Yahweh.
The only thing not burned was the skin which went to the priests.
A burnt offering was used as atonement for sin and was brought voluntarily to the priest. The one bringing the sacrifice would place their hand on the animal (symbolic of the animal taking their place) before the sinner killed the animal.
The priest would gather the blood and sprinkle it around before burning the entire animal on the altar and thus giving the whole life to Yahweh.
The only thing not burned was the skin which went to the priests.
Grain Offering
A voluntary offering of praise.
No animals or blood required.
Brought from the abundance of the harvest as a gift to Yahweh.
A small, unleavened cake was made that had a pinch of salt in it. A small piece was broken off and burned while the rest was given to the priests to eat.
Think of this as a thanksgiving offering to Yahweh for his providing food for the family.
No animals or blood required.
Brought from the abundance of the harvest as a gift to Yahweh.
A small, unleavened cake was made that had a pinch of salt in it. A small piece was broken off and burned while the rest was given to the priests to eat.
Think of this as a thanksgiving offering to Yahweh for his providing food for the family.
Peace Offering
Another voluntary sacrifice, this one was supposed to be made in conjunction with an unexpected blessing.
A cow, lamb, goat, or bull was brought to the priest and the worshipper would lay their hand on the animal’s head. The animal would be slaughtered and the priests would sprinkle blood around the altar.
Only the internal organs would be burned on the altar and the priest would receive the breast and right thigh while the worshipper would receive the rest of the meat to go home and celebrate.
A cow, lamb, goat, or bull was brought to the priest and the worshipper would lay their hand on the animal’s head. The animal would be slaughtered and the priests would sprinkle blood around the altar.
Only the internal organs would be burned on the altar and the priest would receive the breast and right thigh while the worshipper would receive the rest of the meat to go home and celebrate.
Sin Offering
—A purification offering designed to purify the sanctuary from sin that was committed unintentionally. If a priest had sinned they had to bring a bull for sacrifice.
—The sinner placed their hand on the animal before slaughter and the blood was sprinkled seven times on the curtain leading to the Holy of Holies, some was spread on the horns of the incense altar, and the rest was poured outside by the burnt offering altar.
—Internal organs were burned while the rest of the animal was taken outside the camp and burned (signifying the sin being outside the camp).
—The sinner placed their hand on the animal before slaughter and the blood was sprinkled seven times on the curtain leading to the Holy of Holies, some was spread on the horns of the incense altar, and the rest was poured outside by the burnt offering altar.
—Internal organs were burned while the rest of the animal was taken outside the camp and burned (signifying the sin being outside the camp).
Guilt Offering
Anyone who took something that wasn’t theirs repaid the person in full plus 20 percent and then brought a ram for this sacrifice.
The guilty placed their hand on the ram, then slaughtered it. The blood was sprinkled around the altar and the internal organs were burned. The rest of the meat went to the priests.
Thus we have the five types of sacrifices that made up the sacrificial system.
The guilty placed their hand on the ram, then slaughtered it. The blood was sprinkled around the altar and the internal organs were burned. The rest of the meat went to the priests.
Thus we have the five types of sacrifices that made up the sacrificial system.