Leviticus 6:8-7:36 – Procedures for Handling Offerings

Substantial amounts of this article is taken from Mark Rooker’s Leviticus New American Commentary, 2000.

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Focus: role of priests, priesthood

• 6:8-9 – “give Aaron and his sons this command”
• 1 Cor. 9:13 – priests (like N.T. ministers) are maintained by the offerings

Outline

• Introductory formula – 6:8, 19, 24; 7:22, 28
• Legal formula – 6:9, 14, 25; 7:1, 11, 37
• Sections divide into 9 units: (1) 6:8-13; (2) 6:14-18; (3) 6:19-23; (4) 6:24-29; (5) 7:1-10; (6) 7:11-21; (7) 7:22-27; (8) 7:28-36; (9) 7:37-38

Voluntary Offerings	Involuntary Offerings
burnt offering grain offering peace offering	sin offering guilt offering

1. Burnt Offering

• Lev. 6:8-9 – maintaining flame, disposing ashes
  • supplements 1:6-9
• on altar all night (v.9) = darkness during crucifixion
• put on linen covering, put ashes beside altar (v. 10)
  • linen: “no sweat” in God’s presence, and a covering of our sinful flesh
  • ashes: eternal work
  • ashes removed to designated place = burnt offering is wholly God’s
• v. 11 – take off linen covering – work/sweat for Gentiles
  • carry ashes out of camp – Gentiles
  • to clean place – work of cross makes clean, and needed to be done by someone clean (Jesus)
• vv. 12-13 – eternal fire = God/hell (Heb. 12:29)
  • wood = humanity
  • fat = divinity/God’s glory
  • 6:8-9 – fire kept going from night until morning (Ex. 29:38-42; Deut. 4:24; Is. 10:14; 30:27; 31:9; 33:14; Heb. 12:29 (God is fire)
    • Ex. 29:39-41 – burnt offering was first and last of the day

2. Grain Offering

• Lev. 6:14 – in front of altar
• v. 15 – memorial portion: fine flour, oil, frankincense – burned
• v. 16 – priests eat unleavened, in holy place (in tent)
• v. 17 – most holy (like sin and guilt offerings)
• v. 18 – food for laborers (men), power to create holiness
• vv. 19-23 – grain offering for priests’ anointing:
  • v. 20 – 1/10 ephah fine flour = tithe/firstfruit (Ex. 16:36: omer = 1/10 ephah; omer = 1 person’s needs, cf. Ex. 16:16, 32-33)
  • v. 20 – ½ in morning, ½ in evening – order goes from light to dark (opposite of days mentioned in Gen. 1)
  • v. 21 – made with oil on griddle
  • v. 21 – well-mixed; in baked pieces – pleasing aroma to God
  • vv. 22-23 – priests couldn’t eat, because sacrifice was for them.  They only eat as mediators.  Christ’s resurrection was for God, first.
    • v. 22 – High Priest anointed offers it
    • v. 22 – statute forever to God (= applies to N.T., too)
    • wholly burned (for priest)

Lev. 6:24 – decisive break in its introduction:

• burnt and grain = voluntary offerings
• sin and guilt = involuntary offerings
• Jesus’ offering was both voluntary (“the Good Shepherd willingly lays down His life”) and involuntary (“not my will, but Yours”)

3. Sin Offering (Lev. 6:24-30)

• sin offering offered atop burnt offering = only through Jesus’ death (burnt offering) are unintentional sins forgiven
• sin offerings of herd are burned outside camp
  • sin offerings of flock are in view in this section
• if garments are stained with blood during offering, must be cleansed
  • perhaps like the blood guilt on all the hands of those who killed Jesus
  • it also shows how the blood itself makes things holy, and therefore they are cleansed through the blood
  • thus, we are guilty for killing Jesus, but by that same blood of His death we are cleansed – bless be the name of the Lord!
• break earthen vessel boiling it
  • scour and rinse bronze pot in water
• eaten by the priests who offer it, in the holy place/tabernacle
  • sin offerings of holy place, congregation, Day of Atonement could not be eaten by priests, because…
    • blood brought into Holy Place
    • See Lev. 10:17 – all others must be eaten

4. Guilt Offering (Lev. 7:1-10)

• Guilt offering descrip is different from sin offering in the following ways:
  • 7:2 – sprinkling of blood against altar
  • 7:5 – described as “offering made by fire”
• killed with burnt offering (type for Jesus’ death)
  • sides of altar–blood
    • altar = place of consecration
    • must approach altar from sides, thus we can only approach God and serve God through blood (sprinkled on every side)
• fat burned on altar
• eaten by priests (males)
• guilt offering is a type of sin offering
• 7:8 – priest could use/keep skin of burnt offering (type for covering of Jesus)
  • officiating priest had first rights to these benefits
    • 1 Chr 24; Lk. 1:8-9 – distribution of benefits among priests

5. Peace Offering (Lev. 7:11-21)

• A. Thanksgiving – eaten on day of offering
  • “thank” offering is same Hebrew word used for “confession” elsewhere.  When God is the object, it means “thanks”/”praise”, when humans are the object it means “confess”.  The word means to expose something, thus, the more God is exposed the more we thank/praise (He is only good), and the more we are exposed, the more we must confess (we are sinful)
  • cakes are to be given with peace offering (at least the thanksgiving offering)
  • eaten entirely on 1st day: Lev. 19:5-8; 22:30; Ex. 23:14-18; 34:25; Deut. 16:4 – also at 3 major feasts; Ex. 12:7-10 – time for Passover; Ex. 16:19 – time for manna in wilderness
• B. Vow – eaten 1-2 days, burned/tainted to eat 3rd day
• C. Freewill – eaten 1-2 days, burned/tainted to eat 3rd day 
• Just a thought…As has been said before, the difference in a thank-peace offering is that it is a direct response to some specific act initiated by God, seen especially when God intervenes in a matter and delivers His people (Ps. 50:14-15; 107:21-22; Jonah 2:10).  Because it is initiated by God, it makes sense that it would need to be eaten at the same time God “eats” (metaphorically) His portion of the Peace Offering (that is, the 1st day it is offered), and if it was eaten another day seems like you are not really sharing the meal with the Lord, so to speak (cf. Rev. 3:20).  Whereas the vow and freewill peace offerings are prompted by man’s action, and thus the celebration of “peace” is a celebration of peace with God (to be eaten the 1st day) and peace with other people (to be eaten the 2nd day).  If you eat the 3rd day or more, it is not out of celebration of peace but self-indulgence, like the peace offerings mentioned by the harlot in Prov. 7:14–“Today I fulfilled my vows, and I have food from my fellowship offering at home” (NIV).
• Hosea 6:2 – all offerings must be eaten before the 3rd day
  • Heb. indicates that punishment for eating later is against God, and must be punished by Him.
• Ps. 116:17-19 – Peace Offering may have later been accompanied with singing
• 7:19-21 – cf. 17:19
  • 7:19 – flesh touching uncleanness: burn, don’t eat; all clean may eat flesh (think of communion)
  • 7:20-21 – unclean who eat peace offering are cut off
    • note: you also become unclean when eating water creatures, birds of prey, etc.
    • 19 offenses involved being “cut off” – violating holy days, moral offenses, violating purity laws (eating blood, circumcision)
    • “cut off” – could only be meted out by God: e.g. childlessness; premature death
    • this shows there can NOT be true unity without righteousness
    • Rom. 1; Eph. 5:20; Phil. 4:6; Col. 4:2 – gratitude is proper response to God’s provisions
    • Lord’s Supper is akin to Peace Offering
      • 1 Cor. 11:27-32 – believer could not participate with unconfessed sin…like Israelite eating peace offering in state of uncleanness, Christian who eats in unworthy manner will be judged

Lev. 7:22-27

• 2 ways to be “cut off”:
  • 1. eat fat of sacrificial animals: fat=divine life; the best portion.
    • it’s possible that fat of non-sacrificial animal was eaten (?)
    • v. 24 – God’s general grace is present even in fall (e.g. we’re made in His image; His presence fills the earth).  But fat is ultimately for God to receive 
    • v. 25 – fat set aside to die is for God (-Jesus!)
  • 2. eat blood – life belonged only to God (cf. Lev. 17: Gen. 9:4-6)
    • vv. 26-27 – no blood — ever!

Lev. 7:28-36 –

• 7:28-30a–peace offering must be brought by own hands–we must be directly involved
• 7:30b–fat with breast=outflow of the heart
• offerer separates fat / breast and right thigh = priests’ portions (7:29-34)
• Aaron and sons receive breast – “we love because He first loved” “love the Lord with all…and [then] love your neighbor…”
• 7:32 – right thigh–strength
  • ministers of reconciliation are strengthened when peace is proclaimed and received– Matt. 10; Lk. 10
• priest who offers blood and fat–presents Jesus’ perfect human life and divine life
• wave offering – done wrong in 1 Sam. 2:15-17
  • “full time” service of God gets sustenance from His people (Matt. 10:10; 1 Cor. 9:7-14; 1 Tim. 5:18)
• vv. 35-36 – concludes section on “disposal of offerings”
  • v. 35 – from day they were presented to serve as priests–regeneration
  • v. 36 – “the day that He anointed them” (2 Cor. 1:21-22)

Lev. 7:37-38 – conclude Chs. 1-7

• instructions to people: 1:2-6:7
• instructions to priests: 6:8-7:36
• 7:37 – “inclusio” with beginning of book (1:1)
• 1 Cor. 14:40 – worship must be done in order
  • Passover = “seder” (means “order”)
    • had to be carried out prescribed way
• Recap: 1. burnt, 2. grain, 3. sin, 4. guilt, 5. ordination, 6. peace
• On Mt. Sinai (type for heaven), in the wilderness (type for earth) – sacrifices are given (type for Jesus’ mediation between heaven and earth: the ladder mentioned in John 1!)