Leviticus 1
We begin a new book of the Bible today, but the narrative picks up where we left off in Exodus. The Israelites are still at the base of Mount Sinai, awaiting God to direct them on their next steps. As we read through the book of Leviticus, we will notice a major theme that focuses on “how God graciously provides a way for sinful, corrupt people to live in his holy presence…If Israel wants to live in God’s holy presence, they also need to become holy by dealing with their sin. That’s what the book of Leviticus is all about.”[i] In today’s reading, we read about one way in which God’s people would be set apart, and that is through the prescribed burnt offerings.
You may recall our brief discussion of the burnt offerings in Exodus 29, and how the premise behind this sacrifice has implications for us in the here and now. Specifically, the burnt offering was to be an animal:
· From one’s “livestock from the herd or from the flock” (v. 2). In other words, this offering was to come from what God had already provided to a person. It would cost them something.
· Without blemish (v. 3). God wouldn’t be pleased with anything less than someone’s best, and he certainly wasn’t going to accept a sacrifice from the lot of leftovers. The people’s best were to be given back to God.
· Given in relation to one’s abilities. God instructed the people to offer either a bull, a sheep, a goat, or a bird. He wasn’t going to be more satisfied with a larger sacrifice, but instead delighted to know His people were willing to give from their means.
· That bore the sins of the one giving. “He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him” (v. 4). In doing so, the person making the sacrifice transferred his guilt onto the animal, which was then sacrificed as an offering acceptable to God. The one offering the sacrifice could do nothing but receive the covering of sins that the animal’s blood and death provided. Sounds similar to our proper response to the Lamb of God’s atoning sacrifice on our behalf, does it not?
· Fully offered to God. David Guzik notes that “This reflects the heart behind the burnt offering. It was a desire to give everything to God, an ‘I surrender all’ attitude. When everything was burnt before the LORD on the altar, there was nothing held back.”[ii] Likewise, when we offer our lives to God, we are giving Him complete and total access to every facet of our lives (not just the parts that don’t mean as much to us).
When the people of Israel brought burnt offerings in this manner, the aroma was pleasing to the LORD (vv. 9, 13, 17). That affirmation reminds me of the parable of the talents that Jesus told in Matthew 25. When their faithfulness was revealed to their master, the two wise servants heard these encouraging words: “Well done, good and faithful servant…Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21). As we embrace Jesus’s finished work on our behalf (as the better fulfillment of the burnt offering), let us faithfully respond to God’s love, grace, and mercy by giving to God our very best—our very all—so that one day we will hear these words when we enter into the presence of our Master.
- - - - - -
Journal responses to the following prompts:
· Of the burnt offering’s purpose in serving as atonement for the person making the sacrifice, Charles Spurgeon says, “There are two ruling religions around us at this day, and they mainly differ in tense. The general religion of mankind is ‘Do,’ but the religion of a true Christian is ‘Done.’”[iii] Are you more prone to rest in Jesus’s accomplished work on your behalf or try to earn God’s favor by doing for Him?
· Have you faithfully responded to God’s love, grace, and mercy by giving your life to your Master to be used as He pleases?
[i] Bible Project (n.d.). The book of Leviticus. Retrieved March 30, 2026, from https://bibleproject.com/guides/book-of-leviticus/
[ii] Study Guide for Leviticus 1. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved March 31, 2026, from
https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/leviticus/leviticus-1.cfm
[iii] Putting the hand upon the head of the sacrifice. (1884, March 16). The Spurgeon Center for Biblical Preaching at Midwestern Seminary. Retrieved March 31, 2026, from
https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/putting-the-hand-upon-the-head-of-the-sacrifice/#flipbook/