Leviticus 1 – 3

Now we start the Law as God told Moses. Verse 1:2 opens with instructions on sacrifices:

Moses, I want you to go talk with the Israelites and tell them how to perform ritual offerings: Any time one of you brings an offering to Me, you must bring the offering from the animals of either the herd or the flock.

The first instruction is for Moses to “talk” with the Israelites and not just order. Ritual offerings and sacrifices are something the Christian Church does not participate in and therefore is foreign to us other than scripture. But these are the keys to understanding the significance of Jesus dying on the cross.

Verse 1:4 opens our eyes on how we should confess to Jesus:

The person offering the sacrifice shall place his hand on the head of the living animal, and the offering will be accepted to atone for the person’s sins.

This is the key to Jesus dying on the cross; he took this one sacrifice on himself. He was the only pure and perfect sacrifice for our sins. As you read you will notice God wants the best and not a blemished sacrifice and this is the significance of Jesus being the final one. We live in a time where this would be considered barbaric and hence why many don’t understand why Jesus had to die, but reading these chapters gives one insight to the whys.

Verse 2:14 talks about a grain offering:

If you present a grain offering from the first ripe grain of your harvest to Me, bring fresh new grain, crushed and roasted in the fire.

Often we look at sacrifices and we need to go back to Cain and Abel to understand the significance. Why was Cain’s offering not pleasing to God yet Abel’s was? The reason was Cain’s offering was “some of the crops he had grown from the ground,” while Abel’s was “the choicest cuts from the firstborn of his flock.” It wasn’t that Cain was offering grain, it was that he was not offering his “first ripe grain” but rather what he had, like an afterthought.

Verse 3:1 again focuses on the quality of the offering:

Eternal One: Any time one of you presents a sacrifice from the herd as a peace offering, you must offer only an unblemished cow or bull before Me.

The key is in giving to God don’t give your torn worn out things, but rather your best. God did this for you in His son Jesus, so why to follow His example? Now I am NOT saying sacrifice YOUR sons, but rather give your first and best!