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Today is Thursday, February 12. If you are following a yearly Bible reading plan, you have likely landed in the book of Leviticus this week.
Can I be honest? Leviticus is hard.
I don’t know how many times I would start out January 1 full of determination to read my Bible through faithfully, only to crash somewhere around this book.
Genesis is easy, right? It’s full of stories—the glory of creation, Noah’s ark, the love story of Isaac and Rebekah, the sibling rivalry of Jacob and Esau, and then Joseph— from the pit to the palace. Exodus gives us the incredible account of genocide, plagues, and the raising up of Moses, a deliverer called from the burning bush, able to part the Red Sea with God’s power.
And then, we turn the page.
Suddenly the vivid Bible storybook feels like it’s been replaced with a policies and procedures manual.
Animal sacrifices. Burnt offerings. Meat offerings. Drink offerings. And what exactly is a wave offering? Details about blood and fat and kidneys. It feels tedious. It gets…boring.
But if the Bible is true when it says that “All scripture is given by inspiriation of God and is profitable...” (2 Timothy 3:16) if the Old Testament was “written for our admonition” (1 Corinthians 10:11), then what am I to do with Leviticus in the church age? Jesus Christ has already offered Himself “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10) so...can’t I just skip all this animal sacrifice stuff?
This week I’d like to share a reflection I’ve gleaned from this daunting book and would encourage you to look for some similar nuggets. May Leviticus not be a book to be endured, but one to draw us closer to our Savior.
The Burnt Offering
The very beginning of Leviticus outlines the burnt sacrifice for atonement. It was brought “of his own voluntary will.” (Leviticus 1:3) It was not forced. Salvation too, is offered freely to “whosoever will” come. Nothing has excluded you from God’s saving grace given by His Son, Jesus Christ.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. —John 3:16
The atoning power of the burnt offering is not only available to all but it is also accessible by all.
It was to be “a male without blemish” but it could be a bullock (1:5), a sheep or goat (1:10), or even turtle doves or pigeons (1:14) for the very poor. Atonement was not limited to only the wealthy, or to those born in the right family. God made a way for every person to bring a burnt offering that was a “sweet savour unto the Lord.” The smoke rose from the altar, entered Heaven and pleased God.
The beautiful story of atonement—I could never pay for my own sins. Nothing I can do could satisfy a holy God. But the sacrifice of His holy, sinless Son makes perfect atonement for me. This is why God was satisfied and pleased with Christ’s death.
In Ephesians 5:2 we are told that Christ “hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrfice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” He was the ultimate, final sacrifice. Like the burnt offerings, he “offered himself without spot” (Hebrews 9:14) and obtained eternal redemption for us, something that the “blood of bulls and goats” could never do. (Hebrews 9:12, 10:4)
The Meat Offering
Leviticus chapter 2 outlines the meat offering consisting of fine flour, oil, and frankincense. It, too, is accessible to all. Notice that there are three different ways of preparation that God names as acceptable—it could be baken in the oven (2:4), baken in the pan (2:5) or baken in the fryingpan (2:7). One commentator suggested that these different preparations may reflect different economic status; some could afford an oven while others may only have a fryingpan. Whether that is historically accurate I can’t confirm, but it is interesting that the meat offering, like the burnt offering, had some allowances.
But in spite of those allowable differences, God’s rules must still be followed. The meat offering was not “bring whatever you want.”
Cain is already our example that self-chosen offerings are not acceptable. Cain’s vegetable offering was not rejected because he was poor. Abel’s sacrifice was accepted because it was what God wanted. The blood atonement came first, just as the burnt offering of Leviticus 1.
The meat offering that followed the blood atonement had to be brought God’s way. But however it was brought, baked in the oven or fryingpan, the priest was required to bring it to the altar. (Leviticus 2:8) Our own High Priest does not turn away our humble gifts. Jesus said, “him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37b)
Examine the ingredients: fine flour and oil. No blood. Just stuff from every day life. Common. Ordinary. Dare I say, reasonable?
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.—Romans 12:1
No longer are we required to bring burnt offerings and meat or drink offerings, but Paul does beseech or strongly encourage us to offer our selves as a living sacrifice.
Like the meat offering in Leviticus 2, the sacrifice mentioned in Romans 12 comes after the atoning work of Christ’s blood.
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood... —Romans 3:23-25a
The meat offering was also “of a sweet savour unto the Lord.”
The Lesson of a Sweet Savour
What made it sweet? And how can this apply to me today?
It wasn’t extravagance or creativity. It wasn’t that someone tried really hard.
It was simply...obedience. It was bringing what God had prescribed, in the way He had prescribed it.
The bullock and the turtle dove both rose from the altar the same way — as a sweet savour. The flour and oil did too.
And in some crazy way Leviticus sort of encourages me.
Because in Christ, the atonement has already been made. The blood has already been offered. God the Father is satisfied.
So when Romans 12 calls me to present my body a living sacrifice, it isn’t to earn salvation. My eternity has already been settled. But it calls me to obedience.
My praise is a sacrifice.My thanksgiving is a sacrifice.Even a broken spirit is a sacrifice.
It's not dramatic or flashy.Just faithful obedience.
Imagine walking into a home filled with the sweet smell of cookies or cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. You don’t see the flour or the oil. You just smell something warm and good. We love what it produces.
Sacrificial obedience has that same aroma to our Heavenly Father.
So maybe that’s why Leviticus feels tedious sometimes. Because obedience can be repetitive. Faithfulness is repetitive.
And maybe the point isn’t to be thrilled every February when I hit this book.
Maybe the point is to just keep going.
So if you’re bogged down in your Bible reading this week, don’t quit.Keep reading.
I promise you, there’s more in there than just kidneys.
Thanks for reading. If this was an encouragement to you, please consider sharing it with a friend! If you haven’t already subscribed, I publish reflections on Scripture every week and would be honored if you’d like to receive them.
