The Sacrificial System

As one might imagine, the sacrificial system was a key component of the Mosaic Law. Entire chapters of the Bible are dedicated to the regulations that surround sacrifices, and they played a key role in the day-to-day life of ancient Israel. Today, however, many Christians are ignorant of the sacrificial system. Since we no longer have to offer lambs and goats in our quest for holiness we have come to ignore this entire facet of the Scriptures.

This is actually a problem because if one does not understand the sacrificial system then it becomes much harder to understand portions of the Old Testament. Many people assume that sacrifices all meant the same thing, but that is actually not the case. Once you understand the significance of the various sacrifices it becomes much easier to understand what the Bible is saying. In fact, entire passages will suddenly take on new meaning. It is vital for Christians to understand this system – and the more we understand it the better we will understand the sacrifice that Christ made for us.

Rather than go into great detail about every sacrifice I’m instead going to give a high-level overview of the different types of sacrifices that we find in the Mosaic Law. As it turns out there are six basic types of offerings mentioned in the Old Testament. Despite what you might think, only two of these dealt with sin and forgiveness. All six, however, deal with one’s relationship with God.

The major categories are:

Offerings of commitment: burnt offering, meat offering, drink offering.

Offerings of communion: peace offering.

Offerings of cleansing: sin offering, guilt offering.

I will briefly discuss each one.
 
 

Commitment Offerings

One of the three basic types of offerings mentioned in the Old Testament are the commitment offerings. These offerings were focused on expressing one’s commitment and dedication to God. They were not designed to obtain forgiveness for sins. If you sinned you were supposed to offer a cleansing offering, not a commitment offering. (Cleansing offerings will be discussed later.)

The first type of commitment offering was the burnt offering, which focused on the sacrifice of an animal as a sign of one’s dedication to God. These offerings were given voluntarily, not as a repayment for sin. There are several different regulations surrounding the burnt offering that varied depending on the animal that was being offered. These are the regulations that governing the offering of a bull:

Leviticus 1:2: “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.
3 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.
4 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.
5 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.
6 And he 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 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 savor unto the Lord.”

In the burnt offering one could offer a bull, a sheep, a goat, or a bird. Different regulations governed the sacrifice of each type of animal but they all had to be male and without a blemish of any kind. To perform the offering the person bringing the animal killed it and the priest sprinkled its blood around the altar. The person then cut it into pieces and the priests took those pieces and placed them into the fire to be consumed. The ashes were then taken to a ceremonially clean place outside the camp; they were not thrown away because they were too holy.

It is important to emphasize that the offering was between the person making the offering and the Lord. The priests had to place the animal in the fire because the common people were not holy enough to offer sacrifices on their own behalf, but the offering was still done unto the Lord. The priests were merely facilitators.

In the ritual of the burnt offering the person making the sacrifice was commanded to place his hand on the head of the animal. This was to make it clear that the animal symbolically represented them, and it transferred their sin and guilt to the animal (even though this was not a sin or guilt offering). By doing this they were telling God that just as the animal was completely consumed in the fire, so were they giving themselves completely over to Him.

The fire in which offerings were burnt was to be kept burning continually. It is possible that the original spark that started the fire was provided by God Himself.

One striking example of a burnt offering can be found in 2 Chronicles:

2 Chronicles 1:1: “And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.
2 Then Solomon spake unto all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every governor in all Israel, the chief of the fathers.
3 So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness. …
6 And Solomon went up thither to the brasen altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of the congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it.
7 In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee.”

If you’re not familiar with the sacrificial system then it’s easy to read this passage and think “Oh, Israel gathered together to confess their sins.” However, verse 6 tells us that Solomon offered burnt offerings. The burnt offering was an offering of dedication, not an offering for sin. What Solomon actually did was gather the entire nation together (including all of the leadership) and then offer sacrifices that expressed their dedication to God. What Solomon was doing was telling God that all of Israel was going to follow Him. They were wholly committing themselves to following the Lord – and after they did that God appeared to Solomon.

Do you see how important it is to understand the sacrificial system? Once you realize the significance behind burnt offerings the entire passage comes into focus. When reading the Old Testament it is very important to remember that burnt offering are offerings of dedication. If you keep that fact in mind you’ll be surprised at how many passages it illuminates.
 
 

The meal offering was another type of commitment offering, but instead of an animal some type of flour was offered. This offering could never be given by itself but had to be accompanied by a sacrifice that involved an animal. While this may seem strange it actually makes sense, if you think about it. After all, if your sin hasn’t been atoned for then anything else you might offer God will not be accepted. Once your sin has been forgiven you can then approach God and offer your gifts.

There are several different types of meal offerings, depending on the ingredients of the offering. One type of offering is described here:

Leviticus 2:1: “And when any will offer a meat offering unto the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:
2 And he shall bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and 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 savor unto the Lord:
3 And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons‘: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire.”

This offering is treated differently from the burnt offering. In the burnt offering the entire animal was burnt and its ashes were taken outside the camp and placed in a designated area. In the meal offering, however, the priests only burn a handful of flour (the memorial portion for the Lord). The rest of it was given to the priests, who were commanded to eat it in the holy place of the tabernacle.

There is a great deal of symbolism in the meal offering. The frankincense that is burned represents prayer:

Psalms 141:2: “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”

Revelation 5:8: “And when he had taken the book, the four breasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints.”

It’s also worth nothing that Jesus claimed to be the Bread of Life, the very thing that was being offered in the meal offering:

John 6:35: “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

The meal offering had to be accompanied by oil (either poured on it or mingled with it) and had to include salt, both of which can be seen as representing portions of Christ’s work. Christians, after all, were called to be the salt of the earth, and in the Bible oil is always symbolic of the Holy Spirit.

Leaven and honey could not be included in the meal offering (Lev. 2:11). This may seem strange, but in the Bible leaven always represents sin. You would certainly not want to include sin in your offering to the Lord!
 
 

There is also the drink offering, which is very similar to the meal offering except that it consisted of wine instead of flour. While the meat offering was consumed by the priests it is important to note that the priests did not drink the wine. Instead the entire amount was poured out onto the altar. Like the other commitment offerings, this offering symbolized being poured out in dedication to the Lord:

Psalms 22:14: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.”

Isaiah 53:12: “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

2 Timothy 4:6: “For I [Paul] am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.”

 
 

Communion Offerings

The only communion offering is the fellowship or peace offering. The peace offering is quite different from the other offerings: for example, the animal could be female and it did not always have to be without blemish (Lev. 22:23). Also, instead of being completely burned it was supposed to be shared between the priest and the worshiper.

Peace offerings could consist of either animals or bread. One example of the regulations surrounding peace offerings can be found in this passage:

Leviticus 7:11: “And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the Lord.
12 If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and the 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 with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.
14 And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for a heave offering unto the Lord, and it shall be the priest’s that sprinkleth 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.
16 But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth 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.
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 unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.
19 And the flesh that toucheth 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 eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the Lord, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
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 unto the Lord, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.”

As was pointed out earlier, you can see that the offering was not entirely consumed by the fire. A large portion of the offering went to the priest and the rest went to the family of the one that had offered it. The offering was to be eaten that day except in the case of vows, where the remainder could be eaten the next day. Anything that still remained on the third day could not be eaten.

Also, no one who was unclean could eat of this offering. If any part of the offering touched something that was unclean the entire offering had to be burnt instead of eaten. The penalty for taking part in a peace offering while you were unclean was very severe.

Some points of interest about the peace offerings:

• When the first temple was built Solomon offered 142,000 peace offerings. The Israelites feasted on them for two weeks (1 Kings 8:62-66).
• The Jews did not often eat their animals because they were too valuable. Eating a dinner of meat (which, of course, you would do when you offered a peace offering) would have been a special occasion for them.
• In the Middle East, having dinner with someone meant the ending of hostilities. It made the person you were dining with your friend and demonstrated unity.
• The peace offering was a way of giving thanks to God – perhaps for an unexpected blessing, or in repayment of a vow.
• The blood and fat of all offerings was always given to God. It was never eaten.

 
 

Cleansing Offerings

There were two types of offerings in the levitical system that dealt with being cleansed from sin: the guilt offering (also known as the trespass offering) and the sin offering. The trespass offering focused on individual sin that affected people and property and for which restitution could be made; it emphasized the damage done to others. The sin offering focused on an accidental violation of the law; it emphasized the offender’s guilt before God. When some sort of cleansing offering was required the priest would examine the offense in order to determine which sacrifice was needed.

It is very important to realize that both of these offerings dealt with accidental violations. Neither of these sacrifices were able to forgive someone who had intentionally and knowingly sinned (as, for instance, was the case with David and Bathsheba). There was no sacrifice for such an act. An accidental violation was a situation where the person was aware of the law but did not realize that they had broken it. This is not talking about people unaware of the law.

The sin offering is described in this passage:

Leviticus 4:2: “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:
3 If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the Lord for a sin offering.
4 And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock’s head, and kill the bullock before the Lord.
5 And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock’s blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation:
6 And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the Lord, before the veil of the sanctuary.
7 And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
8 And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for the sin offering; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
9 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,
10 As it was taken off from the bullock of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of the burnt offering.
11 And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung,
12 Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt.”

The section above deals with the regulations surrounding the sin of a priest; there are separate regulations for the sin of the congregation, and the sin of a ruler. A few points about the sin offerings:

• The amount of the offering varied depending on the offender’s position in society: the higher a person’s position in society, the more expensive the sacrifice. The high priest was to bring a young bullock, the whole congregation had to bring a bullock, the ruler had to bring a male kid of the goats, and a common person was to bring a female kid of the goats or a female lamb. A poor person could bring a dove or a pigeon, and a very poor person could bring fine flour.
• The person making the offering had to identify with it by laying his hands on it. (When the whole nation had sinned the elders of the land did this.)
• After the animal was slain its blood was presented to God. In the case of the high priest and the nation, part of the blood was sprinkled before the veil and the horns of the altar of incense in the holy place, while the rest was poured out at the base of the altar. In the case of leaders and the common people, the blood was applied to the horns of the brazen altar at the door of the tabernacle.
• The fat was burned on the altar, but the rest of the sacrifice was burned at a clean place outside the camp. This was quite different from the burnt offering, where the animal was burned at the temple and only the ashes were disposed of outside the camp. It is worth noting that Hebrews 13:12-13 says this: “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.”
• The result of this sacrifice was forgiveness.

 
 

The trespass offering is described in this passage:

Leviticus 5:15: “If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the Lord; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the Lord a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering;
16 And he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him.
17 And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the Lord; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.
18 And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him.
19 It is a trespass offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the Lord.”

A few points about the trespass offering:

• This offering is for those who have sinned through ignorance – they knew the law but violated it accidentally, without knowing what they had done. It is worth noting that even though the sin was in ignorance the person was still guilty before God and must offer a sacrifice in order to be forgiven. Sinning through ignorance was no defense: a sacrifice had to be made. The Lord never simply overlooks sin – all sin, accidental or otherwise, must be paid for.
• The ritual involved confessing the sin, making restitution for the damage, paying a 20% fine on top of that, and offering a ram to the Lord. The priest valued the ram in order to verify its value. The restitution and fine were first given to the priest so that the priest could verify everything was in order and it was permissible to offer the sacrifice.
• If the offended party wasn’t available to receive the restitution then it could be paid to a relative. If there were no relatives then it remained with the priest.
• The trespass offering emphasized the fact that it was a very costly thing for people to sin and for God to cleanse it. Forgiveness comes only by the death of an innocent substitute.

 
 

In conclusion, I think this quote sums it up well:

“Jesus provides all that we need. He is our burnt offering, and we must yield ourselves wholly to Him. He is our meal offering, the seed crushed and put through the fire, that we might have the bread of life; and we must feed upon Him. He is our drink offering who poured Himself out in sacrifice and service, and we must pour ourselves out for Him and for others. He is our fellowship offering, making life a joyful feast instead of a painful famine. He is our sin offering and our guilt offering, for He bore our sins on His body and paid the full price for our sins.

“The nation of Israel had to offer six different sacrifices in order to have a right relationship with God, but Jesus Christ ‘offered one sacrifice for sins forever’ and took care of our sin problem completely.” (Warren Wiersbe, Be Holy, pg. 29)