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Leviticus 1

the third book of moses, called leviticus
Moses · c. 1445 BC
Chapter the First
And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, 
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. 
If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD. 
And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. 
And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 
And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. 
And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: 
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: 
But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. 
And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish. 
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. 
And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: 
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, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. 
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. 
And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, 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: 
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: 
And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: 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, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. 
HOW TO USE
PROVISIONIST · DISPENSATIONAL · PRE-TRIBULATIONAL
Chuck Smith · C2000 · 1979 to 1985
Leviticus 1-10
Tape C2032 · 1:22:35
Chuck Smith · C3000 · 1985 to 1999
Leviticus 1-5
Tape C3038 · 40:59

Chuck Smith on Leviticus 1

Verse by verse, the C2000, 1979 to 1985 and C3000, 1985 to 1999 series. Permission granted by The Word For Today.

C2000 · 1979 to 1985

Chapter introduction

As we get into Leviticus we get into the various offerings and the method by which they were to be offered unto the Lord. It is getting into a system that is very foreign to us, because it is a covenant that has now been set aside, that God might establish a better covenant with us. This covenant of the sacrifice of the animals could never make anything perfect, but all it could do is to point ahead to that sacrifice that was to be offered, whereby we could be brought into full perfection before the Lord.

Paul tells the Ephesians that they are to be followers of God as dear children. "Walk in love as Christ also hath loved us and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor." (Ephesians 5:2) So Christ was more than just our sin offering; He was also the sweet savor offering.

Now, the offerings that were given to the Lord were divided into the sweet savor offerings and the sin offerings. There were three basic sweet savor offerings and we will be talking about these in more detail, but there was the burnt offering, which was the consecration. There was the meal offering, which is translated in your Bibles "meat," but it should be meal offering because it was made of fine flour and oil, and that was a sacrifice of service unto God. And then there was the peace offering, which was the fellowship and communion with God. Those were the sweet savor offerings. Then we had the two sin offerings: one, the sin offering and the other the trespass offering. And we will be noting the difference in those two as we move through the text.

It is important to notice that in verse three of Leviticus chapter one that any sacrifice or offering that you offered unto the Lord had to be of one's own voluntary will. Man exercised his own free will when he left fellowship with God. It is necessary that man exercise his own free will to return to fellowship with God. So the own voluntary will is something that God required. God does not force you to love Him. God does not force you to serve Him. God does not force you to give to Him. It must be something of your own voluntary will.

And in the sacrifices, when it was an animal sacrifice, there was always the laying of your hand upon the sacrifice before the slaying of it. And that laying of your hand upon the sacrifice, the head of the sacrifice, was in essence a transference of yourself, so that the animal was dying in your stead. In the case of the sin or trespass offering it was the laying of your hand upon the head of the animal in order that your guilt and your sin might be transferred onto the animal, and thus, it was slain for your sins. In the case of the burnt offering, your consecration again the laying on of hand was the symbolizing of the animal is taking my place as a complete offering unto God, a total consecration unto Him.

Verse 4

The word atonement in verse four, the later portion there,

to make atonement for him (1:4).

It is important that we distinguish between the word "atonement" in the Old Testament and the word "atonement" in the New Testament. For in the Old Testament the word "atonement" comes from the Hebrew word kaphar, which means, "to cover." Now it was impossible that the blood of bulls or goats could put away our sin. They never put away sins for anybody. But they did make a covering for sin, so that the guilt of the person was covered, but it wasn't put away. So the word atonement in the Old Testament usage out of Hebrew, from the word kaphar is actually a covering. And kaphar, you can think of the cover. Actually our word "cover" comes pretty much from it. A kaphar for the sins, a covering.

In the New Testament through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our sins were put away by His sacrifice once and for all. So the new covenant that God has established through Jesus Christ is far superior, as you get into the old covenant here and all of the various sacrifices. How grateful we should be for that sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us whereby this old relationship with God is no longer valid, but has been invalidated by the new covenant in Jesus Christ.

The purpose of all of the sacrifices, the purpose of the covenant was that God might establish a basis, whereby you can have fellowship with Him. When God created man, it was in the heart and mind of God to create man, in order that God might fellowship with man. But in order to fellowship, and the word means "oneness," in order for me to have a oneness with God, I must be obedient to the will of God.

The Bible says, "can two walk together except they be agreed?"(Amos 3:3) Can I really walk with God unless I am in agreement? I cannot have real fellowship with God unless I am in agreement with God. And so God creating man for the purpose of fellowship, that fellowship with God was broken early there in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed the commandment of God. And with the entrance of sin there came a broken fellowship with God. Now man alienated from God, God sought to restore him to fellowship. But the law of God had been violated. And God said, "the soul that sinneth, it shall surely die. In the day that thou eatest thereof," God said, "thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:17) So here is the law that is broken and the penalty that is there hanging.

And for God to restore man into fellowship with Him something had to be done about the law. And thus, God established in the Old Testament this system of sacrifices where the animal became your substitute and where the animal was slain for you. As we said the laying on of hands, the transference of yourself to the animal, and then the animal dying in your place. It became your substitute and through the death of the animal your sin was covered, and you could have fellowship with God until you sinned again, then you had to bring another animal. And so unless you were very wealthy and had a big herd, you were really in trouble, you know, as far as a continued fellowship with God.

Now, that covenant failed to bring man into a full complete fellowship with God. What it did do was point forward to that day when God would send His only begotten Son to be as a Lamb sacrificed for our sins. So Peter said, "We are redeemed not with corruptible things such as silver and gold from our vain manner of living, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ who was slain as a lamb without spot or blemish" (1Peter 1:18,19). So as we study these sacrifices, we must realize that they were, all of them just fingers pointing ahead to Jesus Christ. They were saying, "We're not it. We can't do it. But there is One who is coming who will." And they are all pointing man to the Perfect Sacrifice that God was to offer when Jesus Christ was crucified and went before the Father to make atonement.

Now the word "atonement" in the New Testament is to make one with, or the Koinonia, the idea of fellowship. Now I have become one with God through Jesus Christ, His blood having now atoned or making possible atonement for my sins in order that I might now have this beautiful fellowship with God.

So as we get into the offerings, chapter one deals with the burnt offering. Now the burnt offering was an offering of consecration. If I wish to really consecrate my life completely to God, I would signify this desire of total consecration by bringing an ox to the priest, laying my hand upon the head of the ox, slaying it. The priest taking the blood in and putting it on the horns of the altar and then the ox was to be burnt entirely. The whole thing was to be consumed on the altar as a sweet smelling savor unto God. That neat smell of barbecued beef. As smoke arises and ascends upward, it becomes a sweet smelling savor unto God. But the whole thing was to be burnt in the fire and totally consumed by the fire. He is speaking of the fact that my consecration to God needs to be a total consecration, not holding back any area for myself.

One of the problems today is the incomplete consecration of so many lives. We hold back so many areas from God, what God wants really, if we are to consecrate ourselves to Him. "I beseech ye therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you will present your bodies holy and accessible unto God which is your reasonable service." (Romans 12:1) And God wants you to present yourself totally, completely to Him not reserving, not holding back anything for yourself, but a total consecration. Now, you could use an ox, you could use a sheep, or if you were poor, you could use turtledoves for this offering.

C3000 · 1985 to 1999

Chapter introduction

Tonight we begin the book of Leviticus, in which we deal with the methods by which the Levitical priests were to offer the sacrifices and it deals with, first of all, the various sacrifices that were to be made. So in chapter one, we have, first of all, the law concerning the burnt offering sacrifices. Verse three:

Verses 3–4

“If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted [on his behalf], for him to make atonement for him.” (1:3-4).

Then it goes on, and if he doesn’t take from the herd, he can take from his flock. One of the sheep, or goats, or he can bring a turtledove or a young pigeon. The burnt offering sacrifice was basically the sacrifice that spoke of my consecration to God. Thus the burnt offering sacrifice was to be totally consumed by the fire. The idea being, my life totally consecrated to God. So I wanted to make an offering of consecration. I want to consecrate my life to God. I would bring from my herd a bull, I would bring from my flocks a goat or a lamb, or if I couldn’t afford that, I would bring a young turtledove or a pigeon. I would bring it to the priest, and I would lay my hand upon its head which we mentioned this morning, was the method by which I identify with the animal. The animal now represents me. I lay my hand upon its head, that it might represent me, and then the animal is slain and placed upon the altar, and burnt. As the aroma goes up, it is a sweet smelling savor unto God, as my life is completely consecrated to Him. “Oh that my life would be totally consumed in the things of the Lord.” Complete consecration unto God. How necessary that is.

Commentary on Leviticus 1

Whosoever Will · The Whosoever Study Bible’s verse commentary

Leviticus 1:1

The book of Leviticus opens with God speaking from inside the Tabernacle, the presence that filled it at the end of Exodus 40 is now speaking. The location of the speech is the theological statement: the entire sacrificial system of Leviticus flows from the God who has taken up residence among His people. Leviticus 1-7 presents the five major offerings: the burnt offering (olah, going up, total consecration), the grain offering (minchah, tribute, honoring God's provision), the peace offering (shelamim, from shalom, fellowship with God restored), the sin offering (chata'at, for unintentional sin), and the guilt offering (asham, for specific transgressions requiring restitution). Each offering has its own regulations, its own purpose, its own degree of specificity about what the problem is and how it is addressed. The hand-laying (samakh) is the interpretive key. The worshipper presses his hand firmly on the animal's head. The rabbis understood this as identification: the animal is now standing in for the worshipper, and what happens to it is what should happen to the worshipper. Ve-nirtsah lo: it shall be accepted for him. The acceptance is relational: the worshipper who cannot stand before a holy God is accepted because the animal has taken the standing that the worshipper could not have. Thread 6 is in the typology: every sacrifice in Leviticus is a picture of the one sacrifice Hebrews 10 describes, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The animal's blood covers; Christ's blood removes. The animal must be offered again; Christ's offering is permanent. The Levitical system is not the reality but the shadow cast by the reality that is coming. Thread 5 is the dispensational administration: the entire sacrificial system is the Mosaic period's provision for maintaining covenant relationship, with a built-in theological forward-pointing to what it cannot itself accomplish.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: the hand-laying is the identification act; the worshipper is identified with the animal, the animal's death stands for the worshipper's death, and the system points forward.
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו (ve-samakh yado al rosh ha-olah ve-nirtsah lo le-khapper alav): he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: samakh (to lay, lean, press firmly, the hand pressed firmly on the head transfers identity; the worshipper becomes the animal's substitute and the animal becomes the worshipper's substitute); le-khapper (to make atonement, from kaphar, to cover; the same root as Yom Kippur and kippur; the atonement covers the sin, removes it from God's sight)
threads t5 · t6 · see Romans 3:25 · Hebrews 10:1-4 · Hebrews 10:10-14

Leviticus 1:2

The book of Leviticus opens with God speaking from inside the Tabernacle, the presence that filled it at the end of Exodus 40 is now speaking. The location of the speech is the theological statement: the entire sacrificial system of Leviticus flows from the God who has taken up residence among His people. Leviticus 1-7 presents the five major offerings: the burnt offering (olah, going up, total consecration), the grain offering (minchah, tribute, honoring God's provision), the peace offering (shelamim, from shalom, fellowship with God restored), the sin offering (chata'at, for unintentional sin), and the guilt offering (asham, for specific transgressions requiring restitution). Each offering has its own regulations, its own purpose, its own degree of specificity about what the problem is and how it is addressed. The hand-laying (samakh) is the interpretive key. The worshipper presses his hand firmly on the animal's head. The rabbis understood this as identification: the animal is now standing in for the worshipper, and what happens to it is what should happen to the worshipper. Ve-nirtsah lo: it shall be accepted for him. The acceptance is relational: the worshipper who cannot stand before a holy God is accepted because the animal has taken the standing that the worshipper could not have. Thread 6 is in the typology: every sacrifice in Leviticus is a picture of the one sacrifice Hebrews 10 describes, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The animal's blood covers; Christ's blood removes. The animal must be offered again; Christ's offering is permanent. The Levitical system is not the reality but the shadow cast by the reality that is coming. Thread 5 is the dispensational administration: the entire sacrificial system is the Mosaic period's provision for maintaining covenant relationship, with a built-in theological forward-pointing to what it cannot itself accomplish.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: the hand-laying is the identification act; the worshipper is identified with the animal, the animal's death stands for the worshipper's death, and the system points forward.
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו (ve-samakh yado al rosh ha-olah ve-nirtsah lo le-khapper alav): he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: samakh (to lay, lean, press firmly, the hand pressed firmly on the head transfers identity; the worshipper becomes the animal's substitute and the animal becomes the worshipper's substitute); le-khapper (to make atonement, from kaphar, to cover; the same root as Yom Kippur and kippur; the atonement covers the sin, removes it from God's sight)
threads t5 · t6 · see Romans 3:25 · Hebrews 10:1-4 · Hebrews 10:10-14

Leviticus 1:3

The book of Leviticus opens with God speaking from inside the Tabernacle, the presence that filled it at the end of Exodus 40 is now speaking. The location of the speech is the theological statement: the entire sacrificial system of Leviticus flows from the God who has taken up residence among His people. Leviticus 1-7 presents the five major offerings: the burnt offering (olah, going up, total consecration), the grain offering (minchah, tribute, honoring God's provision), the peace offering (shelamim, from shalom, fellowship with God restored), the sin offering (chata'at, for unintentional sin), and the guilt offering (asham, for specific transgressions requiring restitution). Each offering has its own regulations, its own purpose, its own degree of specificity about what the problem is and how it is addressed. The hand-laying (samakh) is the interpretive key. The worshipper presses his hand firmly on the animal's head. The rabbis understood this as identification: the animal is now standing in for the worshipper, and what happens to it is what should happen to the worshipper. Ve-nirtsah lo: it shall be accepted for him. The acceptance is relational: the worshipper who cannot stand before a holy God is accepted because the animal has taken the standing that the worshipper could not have. Thread 6 is in the typology: every sacrifice in Leviticus is a picture of the one sacrifice Hebrews 10 describes, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The animal's blood covers; Christ's blood removes. The animal must be offered again; Christ's offering is permanent. The Levitical system is not the reality but the shadow cast by the reality that is coming. Thread 5 is the dispensational administration: the entire sacrificial system is the Mosaic period's provision for maintaining covenant relationship, with a built-in theological forward-pointing to what it cannot itself accomplish.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: the hand-laying is the identification act; the worshipper is identified with the animal, the animal's death stands for the worshipper's death, and the system points forward.
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו (ve-samakh yado al rosh ha-olah ve-nirtsah lo le-khapper alav): he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: samakh (to lay, lean, press firmly, the hand pressed firmly on the head transfers identity; the worshipper becomes the animal's substitute and the animal becomes the worshipper's substitute); le-khapper (to make atonement, from kaphar, to cover; the same root as Yom Kippur and kippur; the atonement covers the sin, removes it from God's sight)
threads t5 · t6 · see Romans 3:25 · Hebrews 10:1-4 · Hebrews 10:10-14

Leviticus 1:4

The book of Leviticus opens with God speaking from inside the Tabernacle, the presence that filled it at the end of Exodus 40 is now speaking. The location of the speech is the theological statement: the entire sacrificial system of Leviticus flows from the God who has taken up residence among His people. Leviticus 1-7 presents the five major offerings: the burnt offering (olah, going up, total consecration), the grain offering (minchah, tribute, honoring God's provision), the peace offering (shelamim, from shalom, fellowship with God restored), the sin offering (chata'at, for unintentional sin), and the guilt offering (asham, for specific transgressions requiring restitution). Each offering has its own regulations, its own purpose, its own degree of specificity about what the problem is and how it is addressed. The hand-laying (samakh) is the interpretive key. The worshipper presses his hand firmly on the animal's head. The rabbis understood this as identification: the animal is now standing in for the worshipper, and what happens to it is what should happen to the worshipper. Ve-nirtsah lo: it shall be accepted for him. The acceptance is relational: the worshipper who cannot stand before a holy God is accepted because the animal has taken the standing that the worshipper could not have. Thread 6 is in the typology: every sacrifice in Leviticus is a picture of the one sacrifice Hebrews 10 describes, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The animal's blood covers; Christ's blood removes. The animal must be offered again; Christ's offering is permanent. The Levitical system is not the reality but the shadow cast by the reality that is coming. Thread 5 is the dispensational administration: the entire sacrificial system is the Mosaic period's provision for maintaining covenant relationship, with a built-in theological forward-pointing to what it cannot itself accomplish.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: the hand-laying is the identification act; the worshipper is identified with the animal, the animal's death stands for the worshipper's death, and the system points forward.
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו (ve-samakh yado al rosh ha-olah ve-nirtsah lo le-khapper alav): he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: samakh (to lay, lean, press firmly, the hand pressed firmly on the head transfers identity; the worshipper becomes the animal's substitute and the animal becomes the worshipper's substitute); le-khapper (to make atonement, from kaphar, to cover; the same root as Yom Kippur and kippur; the atonement covers the sin, removes it from God's sight)
threads t5 · t6 · see Romans 3:25 · Hebrews 10:1-4 · Hebrews 10:10-14

Leviticus 1:5

The book of Leviticus opens with God speaking from inside the Tabernacle, the presence that filled it at the end of Exodus 40 is now speaking. The location of the speech is the theological statement: the entire sacrificial system of Leviticus flows from the God who has taken up residence among His people. Leviticus 1-7 presents the five major offerings: the burnt offering (olah, going up, total consecration), the grain offering (minchah, tribute, honoring God's provision), the peace offering (shelamim, from shalom, fellowship with God restored), the sin offering (chata'at, for unintentional sin), and the guilt offering (asham, for specific transgressions requiring restitution). Each offering has its own regulations, its own purpose, its own degree of specificity about what the problem is and how it is addressed. The hand-laying (samakh) is the interpretive key. The worshipper presses his hand firmly on the animal's head. The rabbis understood this as identification: the animal is now standing in for the worshipper, and what happens to it is what should happen to the worshipper. Ve-nirtsah lo: it shall be accepted for him. The acceptance is relational: the worshipper who cannot stand before a holy God is accepted because the animal has taken the standing that the worshipper could not have. Thread 6 is in the typology: every sacrifice in Leviticus is a picture of the one sacrifice Hebrews 10 describes, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The animal's blood covers; Christ's blood removes. The animal must be offered again; Christ's offering is permanent. The Levitical system is not the reality but the shadow cast by the reality that is coming. Thread 5 is the dispensational administration: the entire sacrificial system is the Mosaic period's provision for maintaining covenant relationship, with a built-in theological forward-pointing to what it cannot itself accomplish.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: the hand-laying is the identification act; the worshipper is identified with the animal, the animal's death stands for the worshipper's death, and the system points forward.
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו (ve-samakh yado al rosh ha-olah ve-nirtsah lo le-khapper alav): he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: samakh (to lay, lean, press firmly, the hand pressed firmly on the head transfers identity; the worshipper becomes the animal's substitute and the animal becomes the worshipper's substitute); le-khapper (to make atonement, from kaphar, to cover; the same root as Yom Kippur and kippur; the atonement covers the sin, removes it from God's sight)
threads t5 · t6 · see Romans 3:25 · Hebrews 10:1-4 · Hebrews 10:10-14

Leviticus 1:6

The book of Leviticus opens with God speaking from inside the Tabernacle, the presence that filled it at the end of Exodus 40 is now speaking. The location of the speech is the theological statement: the entire sacrificial system of Leviticus flows from the God who has taken up residence among His people. Leviticus 1-7 presents the five major offerings: the burnt offering (olah, going up, total consecration), the grain offering (minchah, tribute, honoring God's provision), the peace offering (shelamim, from shalom, fellowship with God restored), the sin offering (chata'at, for unintentional sin), and the guilt offering (asham, for specific transgressions requiring restitution). Each offering has its own regulations, its own purpose, its own degree of specificity about what the problem is and how it is addressed. The hand-laying (samakh) is the interpretive key. The worshipper presses his hand firmly on the animal's head. The rabbis understood this as identification: the animal is now standing in for the worshipper, and what happens to it is what should happen to the worshipper. Ve-nirtsah lo: it shall be accepted for him. The acceptance is relational: the worshipper who cannot stand before a holy God is accepted because the animal has taken the standing that the worshipper could not have. Thread 6 is in the typology: every sacrifice in Leviticus is a picture of the one sacrifice Hebrews 10 describes, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The animal's blood covers; Christ's blood removes. The animal must be offered again; Christ's offering is permanent. The Levitical system is not the reality but the shadow cast by the reality that is coming. Thread 5 is the dispensational administration: the entire sacrificial system is the Mosaic period's provision for maintaining covenant relationship, with a built-in theological forward-pointing to what it cannot itself accomplish.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: the hand-laying is the identification act; the worshipper is identified with the animal, the animal's death stands for the worshipper's death, and the system points forward.
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו (ve-samakh yado al rosh ha-olah ve-nirtsah lo le-khapper alav): he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: samakh (to lay, lean, press firmly, the hand pressed firmly on the head transfers identity; the worshipper becomes the animal's substitute and the animal becomes the worshipper's substitute); le-khapper (to make atonement, from kaphar, to cover; the same root as Yom Kippur and kippur; the atonement covers the sin, removes it from God's sight)
threads t5 · t6 · see Romans 3:25 · Hebrews 10:1-4 · Hebrews 10:10-14

Leviticus 1:7

The book of Leviticus opens with God speaking from inside the Tabernacle, the presence that filled it at the end of Exodus 40 is now speaking. The location of the speech is the theological statement: the entire sacrificial system of Leviticus flows from the God who has taken up residence among His people. Leviticus 1-7 presents the five major offerings: the burnt offering (olah, going up, total consecration), the grain offering (minchah, tribute, honoring God's provision), the peace offering (shelamim, from shalom, fellowship with God restored), the sin offering (chata'at, for unintentional sin), and the guilt offering (asham, for specific transgressions requiring restitution). Each offering has its own regulations, its own purpose, its own degree of specificity about what the problem is and how it is addressed. The hand-laying (samakh) is the interpretive key. The worshipper presses his hand firmly on the animal's head. The rabbis understood this as identification: the animal is now standing in for the worshipper, and what happens to it is what should happen to the worshipper. Ve-nirtsah lo: it shall be accepted for him. The acceptance is relational: the worshipper who cannot stand before a holy God is accepted because the animal has taken the standing that the worshipper could not have. Thread 6 is in the typology: every sacrifice in Leviticus is a picture of the one sacrifice Hebrews 10 describes, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The animal's blood covers; Christ's blood removes. The animal must be offered again; Christ's offering is permanent. The Levitical system is not the reality but the shadow cast by the reality that is coming. Thread 5 is the dispensational administration: the entire sacrificial system is the Mosaic period's provision for maintaining covenant relationship, with a built-in theological forward-pointing to what it cannot itself accomplish.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: the hand-laying is the identification act; the worshipper is identified with the animal, the animal's death stands for the worshipper's death, and the system points forward.
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו (ve-samakh yado al rosh ha-olah ve-nirtsah lo le-khapper alav): he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: samakh (to lay, lean, press firmly, the hand pressed firmly on the head transfers identity; the worshipper becomes the animal's substitute and the animal becomes the worshipper's substitute); le-khapper (to make atonement, from kaphar, to cover; the same root as Yom Kippur and kippur; the atonement covers the sin, removes it from God's sight)
threads t5 · t6 · see Romans 3:25 · Hebrews 10:1-4 · Hebrews 10:10-14

Leviticus 1:8

The book of Leviticus opens with God speaking from inside the Tabernacle, the presence that filled it at the end of Exodus 40 is now speaking. The location of the speech is the theological statement: the entire sacrificial system of Leviticus flows from the God who has taken up residence among His people. Leviticus 1-7 presents the five major offerings: the burnt offering (olah, going up, total consecration), the grain offering (minchah, tribute, honoring God's provision), the peace offering (shelamim, from shalom, fellowship with God restored), the sin offering (chata'at, for unintentional sin), and the guilt offering (asham, for specific transgressions requiring restitution). Each offering has its own regulations, its own purpose, its own degree of specificity about what the problem is and how it is addressed. The hand-laying (samakh) is the interpretive key. The worshipper presses his hand firmly on the animal's head. The rabbis understood this as identification: the animal is now standing in for the worshipper, and what happens to it is what should happen to the worshipper. Ve-nirtsah lo: it shall be accepted for him. The acceptance is relational: the worshipper who cannot stand before a holy God is accepted because the animal has taken the standing that the worshipper could not have. Thread 6 is in the typology: every sacrifice in Leviticus is a picture of the one sacrifice Hebrews 10 describes, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The animal's blood covers; Christ's blood removes. The animal must be offered again; Christ's offering is permanent. The Levitical system is not the reality but the shadow cast by the reality that is coming. Thread 5 is the dispensational administration: the entire sacrificial system is the Mosaic period's provision for maintaining covenant relationship, with a built-in theological forward-pointing to what it cannot itself accomplish.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: the hand-laying is the identification act; the worshipper is identified with the animal, the animal's death stands for the worshipper's death, and the system points forward.
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו (ve-samakh yado al rosh ha-olah ve-nirtsah lo le-khapper alav): he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: samakh (to lay, lean, press firmly, the hand pressed firmly on the head transfers identity; the worshipper becomes the animal's substitute and the animal becomes the worshipper's substitute); le-khapper (to make atonement, from kaphar, to cover; the same root as Yom Kippur and kippur; the atonement covers the sin, removes it from God's sight)
threads t5 · t6 · see Romans 3:25 · Hebrews 10:1-4 · Hebrews 10:10-14

Leviticus 1:9

The book of Leviticus opens with God speaking from inside the Tabernacle, the presence that filled it at the end of Exodus 40 is now speaking. The location of the speech is the theological statement: the entire sacrificial system of Leviticus flows from the God who has taken up residence among His people. Leviticus 1-7 presents the five major offerings: the burnt offering (olah, going up, total consecration), the grain offering (minchah, tribute, honoring God's provision), the peace offering (shelamim, from shalom, fellowship with God restored), the sin offering (chata'at, for unintentional sin), and the guilt offering (asham, for specific transgressions requiring restitution). Each offering has its own regulations, its own purpose, its own degree of specificity about what the problem is and how it is addressed. The hand-laying (samakh) is the interpretive key. The worshipper presses his hand firmly on the animal's head. The rabbis understood this as identification: the animal is now standing in for the worshipper, and what happens to it is what should happen to the worshipper. Ve-nirtsah lo: it shall be accepted for him. The acceptance is relational: the worshipper who cannot stand before a holy God is accepted because the animal has taken the standing that the worshipper could not have. Thread 6 is in the typology: every sacrifice in Leviticus is a picture of the one sacrifice Hebrews 10 describes, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The animal's blood covers; Christ's blood removes. The animal must be offered again; Christ's offering is permanent. The Levitical system is not the reality but the shadow cast by the reality that is coming. Thread 5 is the dispensational administration: the entire sacrificial system is the Mosaic period's provision for maintaining covenant relationship, with a built-in theological forward-pointing to what it cannot itself accomplish.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: the hand-laying is the identification act; the worshipper is identified with the animal, the animal's death stands for the worshipper's death, and the system points forward.
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו (ve-samakh yado al rosh ha-olah ve-nirtsah lo le-khapper alav): he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: samakh (to lay, lean, press firmly, the hand pressed firmly on the head transfers identity; the worshipper becomes the animal's substitute and the animal becomes the worshipper's substitute); le-khapper (to make atonement, from kaphar, to cover; the same root as Yom Kippur and kippur; the atonement covers the sin, removes it from God's sight)
threads t5 · t6 · see Romans 3:25 · Hebrews 10:1-4 · Hebrews 10:10-14

Leviticus 1:10

The book of Leviticus opens with God speaking from inside the Tabernacle, the presence that filled it at the end of Exodus 40 is now speaking. The location of the speech is the theological statement: the entire sacrificial system of Leviticus flows from the God who has taken up residence among His people. Leviticus 1-7 presents the five major offerings: the burnt offering (olah, going up, total consecration), the grain offering (minchah, tribute, honoring God's provision), the peace offering (shelamim, from shalom, fellowship with God restored), the sin offering (chata'at, for unintentional sin), and the guilt offering (asham, for specific transgressions requiring restitution). Each offering has its own regulations, its own purpose, its own degree of specificity about what the problem is and how it is addressed. The hand-laying (samakh) is the interpretive key. The worshipper presses his hand firmly on the animal's head. The rabbis understood this as identification: the animal is now standing in for the worshipper, and what happens to it is what should happen to the worshipper. Ve-nirtsah lo: it shall be accepted for him. The acceptance is relational: the worshipper who cannot stand before a holy God is accepted because the animal has taken the standing that the worshipper could not have. Thread 6 is in the typology: every sacrifice in Leviticus is a picture of the one sacrifice Hebrews 10 describes, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The animal's blood covers; Christ's blood removes. The animal must be offered again; Christ's offering is permanent. The Levitical system is not the reality but the shadow cast by the reality that is coming. Thread 5 is the dispensational administration: the entire sacrificial system is the Mosaic period's provision for maintaining covenant relationship, with a built-in theological forward-pointing to what it cannot itself accomplish.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: the hand-laying is the identification act; the worshipper is identified with the animal, the animal's death stands for the worshipper's death, and the system points forward.
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו (ve-samakh yado al rosh ha-olah ve-nirtsah lo le-khapper alav): he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: samakh (to lay, lean, press firmly, the hand pressed firmly on the head transfers identity; the worshipper becomes the animal's substitute and the animal becomes the worshipper's substitute); le-khapper (to make atonement, from kaphar, to cover; the same root as Yom Kippur and kippur; the atonement covers the sin, removes it from God's sight)
threads t5 · t6 · see Romans 3:25 · Hebrews 10:1-4 · Hebrews 10:10-14

Leviticus 1:11

The book of Leviticus opens with God speaking from inside the Tabernacle, the presence that filled it at the end of Exodus 40 is now speaking. The location of the speech is the theological statement: the entire sacrificial system of Leviticus flows from the God who has taken up residence among His people. Leviticus 1-7 presents the five major offerings: the burnt offering (olah, going up, total consecration), the grain offering (minchah, tribute, honoring God's provision), the peace offering (shelamim, from shalom, fellowship with God restored), the sin offering (chata'at, for unintentional sin), and the guilt offering (asham, for specific transgressions requiring restitution). Each offering has its own regulations, its own purpose, its own degree of specificity about what the problem is and how it is addressed. The hand-laying (samakh) is the interpretive key. The worshipper presses his hand firmly on the animal's head. The rabbis understood this as identification: the animal is now standing in for the worshipper, and what happens to it is what should happen to the worshipper. Ve-nirtsah lo: it shall be accepted for him. The acceptance is relational: the worshipper who cannot stand before a holy God is accepted because the animal has taken the standing that the worshipper could not have. Thread 6 is in the typology: every sacrifice in Leviticus is a picture of the one sacrifice Hebrews 10 describes, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The animal's blood covers; Christ's blood removes. The animal must be offered again; Christ's offering is permanent. The Levitical system is not the reality but the shadow cast by the reality that is coming. Thread 5 is the dispensational administration: the entire sacrificial system is the Mosaic period's provision for maintaining covenant relationship, with a built-in theological forward-pointing to what it cannot itself accomplish.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: the hand-laying is the identification act; the worshipper is identified with the animal, the animal's death stands for the worshipper's death, and the system points forward.
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו (ve-samakh yado al rosh ha-olah ve-nirtsah lo le-khapper alav): he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: samakh (to lay, lean, press firmly, the hand pressed firmly on the head transfers identity; the worshipper becomes the animal's substitute and the animal becomes the worshipper's substitute); le-khapper (to make atonement, from kaphar, to cover; the same root as Yom Kippur and kippur; the atonement covers the sin, removes it from God's sight)
threads t5 · t6 · see Romans 3:25 · Hebrews 10:1-4 · Hebrews 10:10-14

Leviticus 1:12

The book of Leviticus opens with God speaking from inside the Tabernacle, the presence that filled it at the end of Exodus 40 is now speaking. The location of the speech is the theological statement: the entire sacrificial system of Leviticus flows from the God who has taken up residence among His people. Leviticus 1-7 presents the five major offerings: the burnt offering (olah, going up, total consecration), the grain offering (minchah, tribute, honoring God's provision), the peace offering (shelamim, from shalom, fellowship with God restored), the sin offering (chata'at, for unintentional sin), and the guilt offering (asham, for specific transgressions requiring restitution). Each offering has its own regulations, its own purpose, its own degree of specificity about what the problem is and how it is addressed. The hand-laying (samakh) is the interpretive key. The worshipper presses his hand firmly on the animal's head. The rabbis understood this as identification: the animal is now standing in for the worshipper, and what happens to it is what should happen to the worshipper. Ve-nirtsah lo: it shall be accepted for him. The acceptance is relational: the worshipper who cannot stand before a holy God is accepted because the animal has taken the standing that the worshipper could not have. Thread 6 is in the typology: every sacrifice in Leviticus is a picture of the one sacrifice Hebrews 10 describes, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The animal's blood covers; Christ's blood removes. The animal must be offered again; Christ's offering is permanent. The Levitical system is not the reality but the shadow cast by the reality that is coming. Thread 5 is the dispensational administration: the entire sacrificial system is the Mosaic period's provision for maintaining covenant relationship, with a built-in theological forward-pointing to what it cannot itself accomplish.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: the hand-laying is the identification act; the worshipper is identified with the animal, the animal's death stands for the worshipper's death, and the system points forward.
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו (ve-samakh yado al rosh ha-olah ve-nirtsah lo le-khapper alav): he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: samakh (to lay, lean, press firmly, the hand pressed firmly on the head transfers identity; the worshipper becomes the animal's substitute and the animal becomes the worshipper's substitute); le-khapper (to make atonement, from kaphar, to cover; the same root as Yom Kippur and kippur; the atonement covers the sin, removes it from God's sight)
threads t5 · t6 · see Romans 3:25 · Hebrews 10:1-4 · Hebrews 10:10-14

Leviticus 1:13

The book of Leviticus opens with God speaking from inside the Tabernacle, the presence that filled it at the end of Exodus 40 is now speaking. The location of the speech is the theological statement: the entire sacrificial system of Leviticus flows from the God who has taken up residence among His people. Leviticus 1-7 presents the five major offerings: the burnt offering (olah, going up, total consecration), the grain offering (minchah, tribute, honoring God's provision), the peace offering (shelamim, from shalom, fellowship with God restored), the sin offering (chata'at, for unintentional sin), and the guilt offering (asham, for specific transgressions requiring restitution). Each offering has its own regulations, its own purpose, its own degree of specificity about what the problem is and how it is addressed. The hand-laying (samakh) is the interpretive key. The worshipper presses his hand firmly on the animal's head. The rabbis understood this as identification: the animal is now standing in for the worshipper, and what happens to it is what should happen to the worshipper. Ve-nirtsah lo: it shall be accepted for him. The acceptance is relational: the worshipper who cannot stand before a holy God is accepted because the animal has taken the standing that the worshipper could not have. Thread 6 is in the typology: every sacrifice in Leviticus is a picture of the one sacrifice Hebrews 10 describes, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The animal's blood covers; Christ's blood removes. The animal must be offered again; Christ's offering is permanent. The Levitical system is not the reality but the shadow cast by the reality that is coming. Thread 5 is the dispensational administration: the entire sacrificial system is the Mosaic period's provision for maintaining covenant relationship, with a built-in theological forward-pointing to what it cannot itself accomplish.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: the hand-laying is the identification act; the worshipper is identified with the animal, the animal's death stands for the worshipper's death, and the system points forward.
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו (ve-samakh yado al rosh ha-olah ve-nirtsah lo le-khapper alav): he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: samakh (to lay, lean, press firmly, the hand pressed firmly on the head transfers identity; the worshipper becomes the animal's substitute and the animal becomes the worshipper's substitute); le-khapper (to make atonement, from kaphar, to cover; the same root as Yom Kippur and kippur; the atonement covers the sin, removes it from God's sight)
threads t5 · t6 · see Romans 3:25 · Hebrews 10:1-4 · Hebrews 10:10-14

Leviticus 1:14

The book of Leviticus opens with God speaking from inside the Tabernacle, the presence that filled it at the end of Exodus 40 is now speaking. The location of the speech is the theological statement: the entire sacrificial system of Leviticus flows from the God who has taken up residence among His people. Leviticus 1-7 presents the five major offerings: the burnt offering (olah, going up, total consecration), the grain offering (minchah, tribute, honoring God's provision), the peace offering (shelamim, from shalom, fellowship with God restored), the sin offering (chata'at, for unintentional sin), and the guilt offering (asham, for specific transgressions requiring restitution). Each offering has its own regulations, its own purpose, its own degree of specificity about what the problem is and how it is addressed. The hand-laying (samakh) is the interpretive key. The worshipper presses his hand firmly on the animal's head. The rabbis understood this as identification: the animal is now standing in for the worshipper, and what happens to it is what should happen to the worshipper. Ve-nirtsah lo: it shall be accepted for him. The acceptance is relational: the worshipper who cannot stand before a holy God is accepted because the animal has taken the standing that the worshipper could not have. Thread 6 is in the typology: every sacrifice in Leviticus is a picture of the one sacrifice Hebrews 10 describes, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The animal's blood covers; Christ's blood removes. The animal must be offered again; Christ's offering is permanent. The Levitical system is not the reality but the shadow cast by the reality that is coming. Thread 5 is the dispensational administration: the entire sacrificial system is the Mosaic period's provision for maintaining covenant relationship, with a built-in theological forward-pointing to what it cannot itself accomplish.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: the hand-laying is the identification act; the worshipper is identified with the animal, the animal's death stands for the worshipper's death, and the system points forward.
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו (ve-samakh yado al rosh ha-olah ve-nirtsah lo le-khapper alav): he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: samakh (to lay, lean, press firmly, the hand pressed firmly on the head transfers identity; the worshipper becomes the animal's substitute and the animal becomes the worshipper's substitute); le-khapper (to make atonement, from kaphar, to cover; the same root as Yom Kippur and kippur; the atonement covers the sin, removes it from God's sight)
threads t5 · t6 · see Romans 3:25 · Hebrews 10:1-4 · Hebrews 10:10-14

Leviticus 1:15

The book of Leviticus opens with God speaking from inside the Tabernacle, the presence that filled it at the end of Exodus 40 is now speaking. The location of the speech is the theological statement: the entire sacrificial system of Leviticus flows from the God who has taken up residence among His people. Leviticus 1-7 presents the five major offerings: the burnt offering (olah, going up, total consecration), the grain offering (minchah, tribute, honoring God's provision), the peace offering (shelamim, from shalom, fellowship with God restored), the sin offering (chata'at, for unintentional sin), and the guilt offering (asham, for specific transgressions requiring restitution). Each offering has its own regulations, its own purpose, its own degree of specificity about what the problem is and how it is addressed. The hand-laying (samakh) is the interpretive key. The worshipper presses his hand firmly on the animal's head. The rabbis understood this as identification: the animal is now standing in for the worshipper, and what happens to it is what should happen to the worshipper. Ve-nirtsah lo: it shall be accepted for him. The acceptance is relational: the worshipper who cannot stand before a holy God is accepted because the animal has taken the standing that the worshipper could not have. Thread 6 is in the typology: every sacrifice in Leviticus is a picture of the one sacrifice Hebrews 10 describes, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The animal's blood covers; Christ's blood removes. The animal must be offered again; Christ's offering is permanent. The Levitical system is not the reality but the shadow cast by the reality that is coming. Thread 5 is the dispensational administration: the entire sacrificial system is the Mosaic period's provision for maintaining covenant relationship, with a built-in theological forward-pointing to what it cannot itself accomplish.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: the hand-laying is the identification act; the worshipper is identified with the animal, the animal's death stands for the worshipper's death, and the system points forward.
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו (ve-samakh yado al rosh ha-olah ve-nirtsah lo le-khapper alav): he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: samakh (to lay, lean, press firmly, the hand pressed firmly on the head transfers identity; the worshipper becomes the animal's substitute and the animal becomes the worshipper's substitute); le-khapper (to make atonement, from kaphar, to cover; the same root as Yom Kippur and kippur; the atonement covers the sin, removes it from God's sight)
threads t5 · t6 · see Romans 3:25 · Hebrews 10:1-4 · Hebrews 10:10-14

Leviticus 1:16

The book of Leviticus opens with God speaking from inside the Tabernacle, the presence that filled it at the end of Exodus 40 is now speaking. The location of the speech is the theological statement: the entire sacrificial system of Leviticus flows from the God who has taken up residence among His people. Leviticus 1-7 presents the five major offerings: the burnt offering (olah, going up, total consecration), the grain offering (minchah, tribute, honoring God's provision), the peace offering (shelamim, from shalom, fellowship with God restored), the sin offering (chata'at, for unintentional sin), and the guilt offering (asham, for specific transgressions requiring restitution). Each offering has its own regulations, its own purpose, its own degree of specificity about what the problem is and how it is addressed. The hand-laying (samakh) is the interpretive key. The worshipper presses his hand firmly on the animal's head. The rabbis understood this as identification: the animal is now standing in for the worshipper, and what happens to it is what should happen to the worshipper. Ve-nirtsah lo: it shall be accepted for him. The acceptance is relational: the worshipper who cannot stand before a holy God is accepted because the animal has taken the standing that the worshipper could not have. Thread 6 is in the typology: every sacrifice in Leviticus is a picture of the one sacrifice Hebrews 10 describes, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The animal's blood covers; Christ's blood removes. The animal must be offered again; Christ's offering is permanent. The Levitical system is not the reality but the shadow cast by the reality that is coming. Thread 5 is the dispensational administration: the entire sacrificial system is the Mosaic period's provision for maintaining covenant relationship, with a built-in theological forward-pointing to what it cannot itself accomplish.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: the hand-laying is the identification act; the worshipper is identified with the animal, the animal's death stands for the worshipper's death, and the system points forward.
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו (ve-samakh yado al rosh ha-olah ve-nirtsah lo le-khapper alav): he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: samakh (to lay, lean, press firmly, the hand pressed firmly on the head transfers identity; the worshipper becomes the animal's substitute and the animal becomes the worshipper's substitute); le-khapper (to make atonement, from kaphar, to cover; the same root as Yom Kippur and kippur; the atonement covers the sin, removes it from God's sight)
threads t5 · t6 · see Romans 3:25 · Hebrews 10:1-4 · Hebrews 10:10-14

Leviticus 1:17

The book of Leviticus opens with God speaking from inside the Tabernacle, the presence that filled it at the end of Exodus 40 is now speaking. The location of the speech is the theological statement: the entire sacrificial system of Leviticus flows from the God who has taken up residence among His people. Leviticus 1-7 presents the five major offerings: the burnt offering (olah, going up, total consecration), the grain offering (minchah, tribute, honoring God's provision), the peace offering (shelamim, from shalom, fellowship with God restored), the sin offering (chata'at, for unintentional sin), and the guilt offering (asham, for specific transgressions requiring restitution). Each offering has its own regulations, its own purpose, its own degree of specificity about what the problem is and how it is addressed. The hand-laying (samakh) is the interpretive key. The worshipper presses his hand firmly on the animal's head. The rabbis understood this as identification: the animal is now standing in for the worshipper, and what happens to it is what should happen to the worshipper. Ve-nirtsah lo: it shall be accepted for him. The acceptance is relational: the worshipper who cannot stand before a holy God is accepted because the animal has taken the standing that the worshipper could not have. Thread 6 is in the typology: every sacrifice in Leviticus is a picture of the one sacrifice Hebrews 10 describes, the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The animal's blood covers; Christ's blood removes. The animal must be offered again; Christ's offering is permanent. The Levitical system is not the reality but the shadow cast by the reality that is coming. Thread 5 is the dispensational administration: the entire sacrificial system is the Mosaic period's provision for maintaining covenant relationship, with a built-in theological forward-pointing to what it cannot itself accomplish.
He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: the hand-laying is the identification act; the worshipper is identified with the animal, the animal's death stands for the worshipper's death, and the system points forward.
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו (ve-samakh yado al rosh ha-olah ve-nirtsah lo le-khapper alav): he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement: samakh (to lay, lean, press firmly, the hand pressed firmly on the head transfers identity; the worshipper becomes the animal's substitute and the animal becomes the worshipper's substitute); le-khapper (to make atonement, from kaphar, to cover; the same root as Yom Kippur and kippur; the atonement covers the sin, removes it from God's sight)
threads t5 · t6 · see Romans 3:25 · Hebrews 10:1-4 · Hebrews 10:10-14
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