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The Everlasting Gospel
Appendix D
(from pages 14, 16.)
Leviticus chapters 1, 2 and 3
In these chapters we are told of the personal sanctuary offerings required by the Spirit of God in the Old Testament. They are voluntary as to amount, quality, and time, but the manner of presenting them is laid down in the rules. They are NOT sin offerings; the four of those are dealt with in chapters 5, 6, and 7.
See Appendix E, page 61 onwards.***************
(Begin quote)Leviticus 1:
1
And the LORD called to Moses, and spoke to him out of the tabernacle of the congregation [the first apartment], saying, 2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, If any man of you bring an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd [as My first choice], and [or] of the flock.3
If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd [signifying a full dedication], let him offer a male without blemish [it represents the Son of God as well as himself]: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will [it is not compulsory] at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD [on the right hand side of the courtyard, on the side of the north]. 4 And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering [dedicating his new life]; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him [the word "atonement" has many shades of meaning. This one has nothing to do with sin].5
And he [the offerer] shall kill the bullock before the LORD:and the priests, Aaron's sons,
[who are the offerer’s helpers] shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the [brass] altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [it is not needed in this ceremony].6
And he [the offerer] shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces.7
And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: 8 and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: 9 but his inwards and his legs shall he [the offerer] wash in water [making his offering as perfect as possible]: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour to the LORD [it is all completely consumed, except for the skin].["And the priest that offers any man's burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has offered". Leviticus 7:8.]
10
[However] if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice [a cheaper dedication, showing a minor lack of understanding]; he shall bring it a male [a ram, not a lamb] without blemish. 11 And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar.12
And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest [as his helper] shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: 13 but he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice [completely consumed], an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour to the LORD.14
And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons [thus depicting a major ignorance of the sacrifice of the Son of God, who was represented by the male bullock or ram. It shows that he is trusting in the sacrifice of the Son of man, not that of the Son of God].15
And the priest shall bring it to the altar [and do ALL the work for him], and wring off his head, and burn it on the altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar: 16 and he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes [the rubbish heap]. 17 And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder [the offerer does not understand the difference between the Son of God’s sacrifice and the Son of man’s]. And the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, [still] of a sweet savour to the LORD [for at least the offerer came]. Back to page 14.***************
(End quote)
The daily "burnt" offering
Because the LORD knew that there would sincere worshippers who sometimes would not be able to make a personal visit to the sanctuary to offer a burnt offering of dedication, He arranged for a continual (24/7) offering from the church. Those who desired to make an offering in absentia could apply this sacrifice as if it was their own, no matter where they were in the world.
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(Begin quote)Exodus 29:
38
Now this is that which you [the church group] shall offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.39
The one lamb you shall offer in the morning [9am]; and the other lamb you shall offer at even [3pm].[Christ was nailed to the cross at 9am and died at 3pm.]
40
And with the one lamb [you shall add] a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil [representing the Spirit’s presence]; and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink offering [representing the possessions and the "Thank You" of the congregation].41
And the other lamb you shall offer at even [3pm], and shall do thereto according to the meat [flour] offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire to the LORD.[The morning lamb was kept burning until joined by the afternoon lamb, which in turn was kept burning until the next morning’s lamb. From time to time the lamb of the moment was joined by the freewill offerings from the local people.]
42
This shall be a continual burnt offering [24 hours, 7 days] throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there to you. 43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory.Numbers 28:
9
And on the [weekly] Sabbath day two lambs of the first year without spot, and two tenth deals of flour for a meat [flour] offering, mingled with oil, and the drink offering thereof. 10 This is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering [a double offering joined the single one on the Sabbath].***************
(End quote)The most important offering in the sanctuary service from God’s point of view was the daily offering of incense (prayer for others) at 9am and 3pm on the golden altar of intercession just in front of the veil of the most holy place.
The smoke from this altar ascended over the veil and reached God on a daily basis. (See Luke 1:8-9; Colossians 1:3 and Revelation 8:3-4.) It was at these times that the daily "burnt" and "meal" offering was renewed.
Yet the offering of incense has often been overshadowed in men’s minds by the sacrifices offered for sinful actions!
In another place of the Bible we find the rules associated with the offering of a "burnt" sacrifice.
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(Begin quote)Leviticus 6:
8
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 9 Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law [rules] of the burnt offering.It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night to the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it
[continually].10
And the priest shall put on his linen garment [his normal uniform], and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire has consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them [in a pan down on the ground] beside the altar. 11 And he shall put off his [religious] garments, and put on other garments [to walk through the camp], and carry forth the ashes without [outside] the camp to a clean place [a special rubbish place].12
And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it [in some part of the altar, for it was quite large]; it shall not be put out [while he does this]: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the [daily] burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings [when required].13
The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.***************
(End quote)An offering of flour was required with a "burnt" offering. This represented the offerer’s possessions, for he could not really offer his life without including all that he possessed of material things.
THE MEAT (MEAL) OFFERING
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(Begin quote)Leviticus 2:
1
And when any will offer a meat [flour] offering to the LORD,2
And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests: and he [the priest] shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and [a portion] of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour to the LORD.3
And the remnant of the meat [flour] offering shall be Aaron's and his sons':4
And if you bring an oblation of a meat [flour] offering baked in the oven [showing the use of your talent], it shall be unleavened cakes of fine [well-worked] flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.5
And if your oblation be a meat [flour] offering baked in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil. 6 You shall part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is [still] a meat [flour] offering [but showing a different talent].7
And if your oblation be a meat [flour] offering baked in the fryingpan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil.8
And you shall bring the meat [flour] offering that is made of these things to the LORD: and when it is presented to the priest, he shall bring it to the altar. 9 And the priest shall take from the meat [flour] offering a memorial [handful] thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour to the LORD. 10 And that which is left of the meat [flour] offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire [and is restricted to priests only].11
No meat [flour] offering, which you shall bring to the LORD, shall be made with leaven [with profit made from sinful actions]: for you shall burn no leaven, nor any honey [don’t try and sweeten the offering as bribe], in any offering of the LORD made by fire.12
As for the oblation of the firstfruits [which is NOT voluntary, Exodus 34:26], you shall offer them to the LORD [in the same way as the flour offering]: but they [the firstfruits] shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour [you shall give them to the priests to eat for they are not your GIFT, but a return of what I have given you].13
And every oblation [gift] of your meat [flour] offering shall you season with salt; neither shall you suffer the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your meat [flour] offering: with all your offerings you shall offer salt.[DA 439.2]
In the ritual service, salt was added to every sacrifice. This, like the offering of incense, signified that only the righteousness of Christ could make the service acceptable to God. Referring to this practice, Jesus said, "Every sacrifice shall be salted with salt". [Mark 9:49] "Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another". [Mark 9:50] All who would present themselves "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God" (Romans 12:1) must receive the saving salt, the righteousness of our Saviour. Then they become "the salt of the earth," restraining evil among men, as salt preserves from corruption. Matthew 5:13.]
14
And if you offer a meat [flour] offering of your firstfruits to the LORD,***************
(End quote)This offering also had rules of procedure which we learn from chapter six of Leviticus.
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(Begin quote)Leviticus 6:
14
And this is the law [rules] of the meat [flour] offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD, before the altar. 15 And he shall16
And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place [a special area]; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it [ritually].17
It shall not be baked with leaven [to increase its size]. I have given it to them [the priests] for their portion of My offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering. 18 All the [grown and anointed] males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of the LORD made by fire: every one that touches them shall be holy [an anointed one].19
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 20 This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons [the priests], which they shall offer to the LORD in the day when he is anointed [and on duty]; the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a meat [flour] offering perpetual, half of it in the morning, and half thereof at night [each priest made an offering as he came on duty].21
In a pan it shall be made with oil; and when it is baked, you shall bring it in: and the baked pieces of the meat [flour] offering shall you offer for a sweet savour to the LORD. 22 And the priest of his sons that is anointed in his stead shall offer it: it is a statute for ever to the LORD; it shall be wholly burnt.23
For every meat [flour] offering for the priest shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be eaten.***************
(End quote)This double offering of animal and flour also required a third offering in which the offerer was saying "Thank You" to his Saviour by sharing his goods with others. It is described below.
THE PEACE OFFERING
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(Begin quote)Leviticus 3:
1
And if his oblation [offering] be a sacrifice of peace offering [a "thank You" sacrifice], if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD.2
And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation [on the side of the north, the killing area]:3
And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire to the LORD; the fat that covers the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, 4 and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it [these portions] shall he take away [from the carcase]. 5 And Aaron's sons shall burn it [them] on the altar upon the [offerer’s] burnt sacrifice, which is [already] upon the wood that is on the fire: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour to the LORD.6
And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering to the LORD be of the flock; male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. 7 If he offer a lamb for his offering, then shall he offer it before the LORD. 8 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof round about upon the [brass] altar [it is not used].9
And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire to the LORD; the fat thereof, and the whole rump, it shall he take off hard by the backbone; and the fat that covers the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, 10 and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away. 11 And the priest shall burn it upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire to the LORD.12
And if his offering be a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD.17
It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that you eat neither fat nor blood [they are not good for you to eat].***************
(End quote)The reason for the final statement was because the remainder of the animal, after the "memorial" or "food of the offering" had been burnt on the altar, was to be eaten by the offerer! He would need plenty of help even for a sheep, let alone an ox, so he had to find others to share in his good fortune.
We are told the rules of this procedure in another place.
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(Begin quote)Leviticus 7:
11
And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer to the LORD.12
If he offer it for a thanksgiving [for a service rendered by God], then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving [the animal], unleavened cakes [signifying no known sin] mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. 13 Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread [signifying that he realises that he is not sinless] with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings [all this is to make a feast for the priests, the Levites, and his neighbours].14
And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for a heave offering to the LORD [a small portion lifted up in the air before the sanctuary door], and it shall be the priest's that sprinkles the blood of the peace offerings.15
And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning [there is to be no delay in appreciating the gift].16
But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering [and not in response to God’s gift], it shall be eaten the same day that he offers his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten: 17 but the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire. [He needs to have a religious party to ensure that it is all eaten.]18
And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed to him that offers it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eats of it shall bear his iniquity [for Christ was alive on the third day].19
And the flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof. 20 But the soul that eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain to the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people [for he has not discerned the body of the LORD in the sacrifice, 1 Corinthians 11:27 ].21
Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain to the LORD, even that soul shall be cut off from his people [we can only say "Thank You" with a clear conscience].22
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 23 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, You shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat. 24 And the fat of the beast that dies of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use: but you shall in no wise eat of it. 25 For whosoever eats the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, even the soul that eats it shall be cut off from his people [he’ll die by his own action].26
Moreover you shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. 27 Whatsoever soul it be that eats any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people [he’ll die before his time by his own choice of diet].28
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 29 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, He that offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to the LORD shall bring his oblation to the LORD of the sacrifice of his peace offerings. 30 His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before the LORD [lifted high and from side to side to dedicate it personally to God].31
And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons'.32
And the right shoulder shall you give to the priest for a heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings. [it was just lifted high and not waved] 33 He among the sons of Aaron, that offers the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part. 34 For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel.35
This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, in the day when He presented them to minister to the LORD in the priest's office [its their pay and can be used by their families]; 36 which the LORD commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that He anointed them, by a statute for ever throughout their generations.It is all summed up below:
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(Begin quote)Leviticus 7:
37
This is the law [rules] of the burnt offering, of the meat [flour] offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings; 38 which the LORD commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations to the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.***************
(End quote)All THREE of these offerings needed to be presented at the same time, for we cannot really offer our lives if we don’t include all we possess, and also say "Thank You for saving me". Then, to the animal flesh were added other items. Today, we can offer up prayers of praise to the LORD morning and evening at home, and think of Him as our High Priest in heaven, offering Him our lives and possessions to be used that day as He sees fit, asking what we can do to help Him in His work on earth.
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