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The sacrifices and offerings that God formally instituted
for the Israelites at Mount Sinai are complex in their individuality and the
interconnectedness. The general term translated “offering” or “oblation”
throughout the early chapters of Leviticus (and in Numbers and Deuteronomy) is
the Hebrew word “qorban” or “qurban” (Strong’s 7133), meaning literally
“something which is brought near the altar” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance). Each one of the five types of offerings enumerated in
Leviticus 1-7 has its own name or names which help to explain its specific purpose in the lives of the Israelites. (These names are, however, sometimes used more generally and sometimes overlap, which can make things confusing!)
When we think of the Levitical sacrifices, we tend to try to skip straight to the symbolism. While the symbolic meanings of the sacrifices is incredibly important, this may mean we miss some of the inherent lessons of the sacrifice in its historical
context. As modern-day Christians, it is vital for us to understand why and how
Christ offered Himself as the ultimate burnt offering, grain offering, peace
offering, sin offering, and trespass offering, and how He can be understood
simultaneously as both the offering and the priest. However, the Israelites as a nation didn’t understand the prophetic, symbolic nature of
the sacrifices. While they certainly had symbolic meaning in the mind of God
from the beginning, it is important to look at them also as the Israelites
would have, and understand what they learned and felt as a result of each of
the sacrifices.
The first three offerings discussed, the burnt offering,
grain offering, and peace offering, are similar in that they are described as
“sweet aroma” offerings. These offerings are described as voluntary, or
freewill, offerings, the focus of which was not the forgiveness of sin, but the worshiper’s relationship with his Creator. These offerings were frequently offered
together in times of celebration, national disaster, and on Feast days.
On the other hand, the sin offering and trespass offering (which are difficult
to cleanly distinguish and often appear to be used interchangeably) were involuntary.
They were required at certain times, including personal or national sin,
cleansing of an impurity, and on the Day of Atonement.
For each offering, we will discuss the composition of the
offering and how it was performed, the meaning and importance of the offering
to the Israelites, examples from the Bible of times when the offering was made,
and what lessons we can learn from it today.
If you have any thoughts, questions, or disagreements along the way, please comment! The more deeply I understand these ancient rituals, the more fascinated I am with the mind and the plan of God, and the more I want to talk about it with others.
