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Articles, Bible studies, and sermons that contain Leviticus 1:1:
Leviticus 1:1-4
Excerpted from: The Sacrifices of Leviticus (Part 2)This one is commonly called the burnt offering. Sometimes it is called the whole burnt offering. The reason the "whole" is added is because there are other offerings that are burned on the altar, but in this one only, the whole animal is burned on the altar. This offering represents Christ—or in parallel, us—completely, wholeheartedly devoted to God. This is what we are to strive for—completely, wholeheartedly devoted to God.
It has four things about it that make it distinctive from the others. It is the only one of the offerings that has all four of these together, so this makes it different.
1) It is a sweet savor to God, and what that indicates is that this offering is not given because of sin. There is no sin seen in this offering. If it was a sin offering, it would be repulsive to God.
2) It is offered for acceptance in the stead of the offerer. In other words, the animal represents the offerer.
3) A life was given. In the meal offering for example, no life was given. So that makes it different.
4) It was completely burned up. In the case of the meal offering, it was not completely burned up. In the case of the peace offering, it was not completely burned up. But in the case of the burnt offering—the whole burnt offering—every part of the animal was burned up, except for the blood, which was dashed around the altar.
There is an alternate translation to that phrase "of his own voluntary will" and it can be translated "for his acceptance." Later on when you are studying, you can look in Leviticus 23:11 and that exact same phrase is translated in the King James as "for his acceptance." It can also mean "in his stead." In other words, the offering is given in the stead of, and the place of the offerer. The offerer remains alive. The animal represents him. In this aspect, Christ becomes even more visible, and we fade into the background, but we are not entirely invisible, because every man's acceptance before God depends upon perfect righteousness. I will tell you, this is awesome, because we are not perfectly righteous, but yet we are accepted into God's presence even though we are literally not perfectly righteous. This is why I said Christ comes to the foreground, we fade into the background because we are accepted in terms of the burnt offering on the basis of the way Christ lived His life—not ours.
What Christ did helps explain the word atonement. See that in verse 4? Accepted for him, to make atonement for him." Now normally we think of this word in the sense of a covering for sin, but there is no sin seen in these offerings here. Rather, what we see is a perfectly lived life, totally devoted to God. So reaching the conclusion that he's talking about sin would be a wrong conclusion. It would be incorrect.
But there is a very logical and true explanation, and that is that the word atonement indicates making satisfaction. Is God only satisfied by death for sin? The answer to that is absolutely not. That is what this offering is teaching us. There is something that satisfies Him even more. He says He does not want to see the death of the wicked. That does not bring Him pleasure at all, and I am sure that in one sense the sacrifice of His Son did not please Him neither, because His Son became sin for us [II Corinthians 5:21], and so that was, as it were, the death of the wicked—all of them piled on His head. In one sense, there was nothing more abominable that ever got into this universe than that. But there is something that satisfies God, and that is meeting our duty. This atonement then is that Christ's life satisfied God's holy requirement, and so it covered, it gave Him satisfaction because that requirement was met. So there is no sin seen in this. This is not a sacrifice in which offended justice is satisfied. This is very important to understand this offering.
Back to Leviticus 1. No sin is seen in the burnt offering because that is not what this … . . .
Leviticus 1:1-4
Excerpted from: Knowing Christ (Part 2)I will just mention briefly that these sacrifices were voluntary, but what I want to get to at this point is in verse 4. Notice that the one bringing the offering (the animal) had to lay his hand on the beast. This was done to express identity of the offerer with the offering. The offering, whether it was a bullock, a goat, or a lamb, stood for and was looked upon as being identical with the offerer, so that they were one and the same. The animal merely substituted for the person. The giving up of the offering represented the surrender of the offer's life. That is the crux of verse 4. The offering represented the surrender of the offerer's life.
In the case of the burnt offering (whose instructions we are looking at there), it represented the offerer's surrendering himself wholly upon the altar of the Lord as a sweet smelling savor. It was sweet smelling because it was something that pleased God that the person do this.
Leviticus 1:1-13
Excerpted from: Preparing to Be a PriestDo you understand that what Jesus described is a whole burnt offering? The burnt offering of Leviticus 1:1-13 is describing the offering of an animal, but God expects you and me in the offering of a life lived completely—a life completely consumed in obedience to living God's way. There is nothing that will prepare us for the Kingdom of God to be both king and priest like following, with all of our being, Leviticus 1:1-13, and what that burnt offering means. Jesus did it. Jesus was a whole burnt offering to God.
ArticlesThe Offerings of Leviticus (Part Two): The Burnt Offering
SermonsOfferings (Part One)
Hebrews (Part Two): Who Was Jesus?
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