Commentaries:
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Leviticus 1:9
During the preparations for the burning, the entrails and legs—representing our innermost being: the heart from which conduct springs; the viscera, our emotions; and the legs, our walk—must be cleansed with water before all is burned on the fire. The burnt offering is cleaned on the inside and then completely consumed.
Here is pictured the standard of devotion to God; this is what God is aiming His children toward due to our access to Him through Christ. We are to be a cleansed, total sacrifice. We are to withhold nothing; we are to give our all. This is the hardest of all the offerings God calls upon us to perform because, like the rich young ruler, we want to reserve things for ourselves. Whatever it is, it is like a child's security blanket, and we love it and do not want to let it go.
David understood sacrificing, which II Samuel 24:24 reveals:
Then the king said to Araunah. "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
The burnt offering is painful because it is costly. It is so costly because it costs us our life. This is what we give in exchange for the forgiveness of our sins! Jesus Himself says this in Luke 14:26: "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple."
Hebrews 5:7-8 informs us that Jesus Christ felt His sacrifices—not just His sacrifice on the stake, but also the multitude of sacrifices He made after emptying Himself of His godly prerogatives to live as a burnt offering for 33½ years.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Offerings of Leviticus (Part Nine): Conclusion (Part Two)Related Topics: Animal Sacrifices | Burnt Offering | Consumable Sacrifice | Offering, Burnt | Offerings | Offerings of Leviticus | Sacrifice | Sacrifice as Metaphor | Sacrifice, Total | Total Sacrifice
Leviticus 1:6-9
The imagery of each part of the animal teaches us the following: The head signifies one's thoughts and judgments; the fat, one's general health, energy, and strength; the entrails, one's emotions; and the legs, one's walk, the actual conduct of one's life. Again, the burnt offering indicates total surrender to God; nothing is held back; nothing is reserved for the self.
Jesus' life provides us with ample examples of His dedication. His first recorded words—at age twelve—appear in Luke 2:49, "I must be about My Father's business." In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus reveals what He is to accomplish in this work, and in John 4:34, He shows His attitude by saying, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." John 19:30 records His last words as a man, "It is finished." Through His offering of His entire life, His gift of total devotion, He accomplished what God sent Him to do. Psalm 49:10-20 vividly contrasts how the worldly expend their energies and what they produce and how those wholeheartedly devoted to God work and what they produce.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Offerings of Leviticus (Part Two): The Burnt OfferingRelated Topics: Biblical Imagery | Forms, Shadows, Symbols, and Types | Jesus Christ's Example | Jesus Christ's Life | Offering, Burnt
Leviticus 1:5-17
A comparison of the operations of the offerer and the priest on the offerings reveals distinctions in the varieties of the burnt offering. In Leviticus 1:5-17, we see that the bullock, sheep, and goat were cut up and washed with water, but the turtledove was not. It was split but not cut into pieces. This focuses mostly on the work of priest who assists in the offering because, even for those who would be quite capable of performing this function, the priest is still required to do it for them.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Offerings of Leviticus (Part Two): The Burnt OfferingRelated Topics: Animal Sacrifices | Bullock | Burnt Offering | Christ as Whole Burnt Offering | Function of Priest | Goat | Offering, Burnt | Priest, Function of | Priest, Responsibility of | Sheep | Turtledove | Work of the Priest
Leviticus 1:1-17
Leviticus 1 gives instruction on the whole burnt offering, which represents Christ's total devotion to God, revealing in broad strokes the ideal we are to strive for in our relationship with God. The burnt offering has four distinctive characteristics that set it apart from all others. To glean the most from it, it is essential that we remember that these characteristics all describe the same person but from different perspectives, much as the gospel accounts present four views of Christ, or as one would turn a piece of art or craftsmanship to inspect it from different angles. With each little turn, the viewer picks up a new feature that pleases or instructs.
The four distinctive characteristics are:
1. It is a sweet savor to God, given not because of sin but out of sincere and heartfelt devotion.
2. It is offered for acceptance in the stead of the offerer. The animal represents the offerer.
3. A life is given, representing total devotion in every area of life.
4. It is completely burned up, also representing total devotion but from a different angle: that it was truly carried out.
The animal was cut into four distinct parts, each signifying an aspect of Christ's character and life: The head represents His thoughts; the legs, His walk; the innards, His feelings; and the fat, His general vigor and health. Every part was put on the altar and totally consumed by the fire.
The variety of animals sacrificed as burnt offerings identify additional characteristics: The bullock typifies untiring labor in service to others; the lamb, uncomplaining submission even in suffering; the goat, strong-minded leadership; and the turtledove, humility, meekness, and mournful innocence.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Offerings of Leviticus (Part Three): The Meal OfferingRelated Topics: Bullock | Burnt Offering | Christ as Whole Burnt Offering | Christ's Sacrifice | Devotion to God | Goat as Metaphor | Lamb | Offering, Burnt | Offering, Sweet Smelling | Sacrifice, Sweet Smelling | Sacrifice, Total | Substitutionary Aspect of Christ's Death | Substitutionary Sacrifice | Sweet Savor | Total Sacrifice | Turtledove | Whole Burnt Offering
Leviticus 1:9
Regarding the priest washing the parts with water, Ephesians 5:26 immediately comes to mind. Paul teaches that we—the offering as well as the offerer—are washed by the water of God's Word. However, the emphasis in Leviticus 1:5-17 is primarily on the operations of the priest. We begin to see Christ's intercessory work in this imagery, indicating that everyone, regardless of his seeming capabilities, needs the outside help of our High Priest.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Offerings of Leviticus (Part Two): The Burnt OfferingRelated Topics: Christ as Bridge Between God and Us | Christ as High Priest | Function of Priest | Intercessory Work of Priest | Offering, Burnt | Washed by Water of God's Word | Word of GodOther Forerunner Commentary entries containing Leviticus 1:9:
Leviticus 1:5-17
Leviticus 1:9
Leviticus 1:13
Psalm 141:2
Psalm 141:2
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