Marc Webb – Idaville Church

Sin-Eater

Sin-Eater

Old Celtic villages used to have a strange, haunting tradition. When someone died, the family would place a piece of bread on the chest of the deceased. Then they’d call for a person known as the sin eater. His job was to take that bread, eat it, and symbolically absorb all the sins of the dead person—every failure, every lie, every cruelty—and carry them away. It was a lonely role. Nobody wanted to sit next to the sin eater. Nobody wanted to touch him. He was considered contaminated, unclean, the one who bore what no one else wanted to deal with. This sin eater tradition may have even made its way from the borderlands of Wales and England to the Appalachian Mountains, hidden among the folds of isolation, poverty, and deeply rooted superstition. It wasn’t widespread, and it was never “mainstream” even in the regions where it existed. But it happened. And it left behind a strange and unsettling legacy.

Today, most of us are uncomfortable with the idea of someone else dealing with our mess. We don’t mind forgiveness in theory, but the thought of another person handling the consequences of our guilt, our failure, or our shame feels unsettling. We prefer to clean ourselves up, manage our own mistakes, and present something respectable to the world. Yet from the very beginning, God’s plan for dealing with sin has never been self-service. In the ancient world, there was a strange and sobering reality built into Israel’s worship. When someone sinned, the priest didn’t just say a prayer and send them on their way. Blood was spilled. Flesh was handled. And according to Leviticus 6, the priest actually ate of the sacrifice. The guilt of the sinner was symbolically transferred, and the priest consumed what had been offered for sin. In a very real sense, the priest became a sin eater.

This wasn’t symbolic poetry, it was physical, messy, and costly. Sin had weight. Atonement had a smell. Forgiveness required someone else to step in, get their hands dirty, and bear what the sinner could not remove on their own. The sins of the Israelites could not simply be ignored, and they couldn’t be erased without being carried. God designed a system where guilt was dealt with through substitution—through another standing in the sinner’s place. Of course, this practice points us forward to someone far greater. Because the priests of Leviticus were only temporary sin eaters, their work had to be repeated again and again. Long before the Celtic and Appalachian superstition ever existed God had already provided the true Sin Eater. Not a village outcast but a crucified Savior. Jesus didn’t symbolically take on sin—He actually became sin for us, the Scriptures say, so that we might become the righteousness of God. He stepped into the filth we tried to avoid. He touched what others would not touch. He entered the pain, the brokenness, and the mess of human life and He carried it all on His shoulders to Calvary.

But here’s the part we often miss: Jesus didn’t get His hands and feet dirty so that His people could keep theirs clean. If we follow a Savior who knelt in the dirt with the guilty woman, who touched lepers, who dined with sinners, who washed feet, who carried a cross—then we are called to enter the dirt too. God desires a church that isn’t afraid of mess—emotional mess, spiritual mess, relational mess, societal mess. A church willing to kneel where Jesus knelt, walk where Jesus walked, and love the people Jesus loved. This morning, as we study the “Sin Eater,” we’re reminded of the One who carried our sins—and the calling He places on us to carry His love and compassion into the places everyone else avoids. God calls His followers to active, sometimes messy up close and personal involvement in the work of service, worship, and community. That brings us to our big idea that God desires His people to get their hands and feet dirty.

Let’s pray: Lord, thank you for your Word and that we can open it up, read it and study it. Thank you that we can learn more about who you are and what you’ve done for us and how much you love us. We humbly ask that you pour out your Holy Spirit on us so we can discern and know you more as you reveal yourself to us. Help us to leave this place in obedience, applying your teachings to our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

So far in Leviticus, God has been instructing the Israelites in the way He wanted them to worship Him. In order to worship properly they needed to be a right relationship with their covenant God. To do this they needed to know how to sustain relationship with Him and regain relationship when they sinned. After instructing the people, God then instructed the priests in how they were to facilitate worship the way He demanded. Last week, we studied the regulations for how the priests were to handle the burnt and grain offerings. Today, we will study the regulations for sin and guilt offerings. These regulations were given specifically to the priests, outlining how they were to handle sacrificial meat, blood, ashes, and ceremonial objects. These regulations emphasized holiness, obedience, and the physical tasks required.

The regulations for the sin offering are found in Leviticus 6:24-30 and the guilt offering is found in Leviticus 7:1-10. I will be jumping around a little and will read the relevant verses as they overlap these two chapters. The first point, Sin is Serious, is found in Leviticus 6:24-25 and 7:1-5. Follow along as I read these verses, This is what God’s Word says, “The Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron and his sons: ‘These are the regulations for the sin offering: The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord in the place the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is most holy.” And 7:1-5 says, “These are the regulations for the guilt offering, which is most holy: The guilt offering is to be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and its blood is to be splashed against the sides of the altar. All its fat shall be offered: the fat tail and the fat that covers the internal organs, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys. The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering presented to the Lord. It is a guilt offering.”

We have seen some of these commands before in chapter 4 when God instructed four kinds of people about the sin offering, they were to bring before Him. If the High Priest or the entire Israelite community sinned, a young bull without defect was to be brought as a sin offering. When a leader in the community sinned, he was to bring a male goat without defect. And if a member of the community sinned, they could bring either a female goat or lamb without defect. Whichever animal was brought it was to be slaughtered before the Lord on the north side of the altar near the door to the tent of meeting. This symbolized that the worshipper could now enter into fellowship with the Lord. The sin offering was called “most holy” because it was offered before the Lord in the holy space and because of who was allowed to eat of it.

As we look at the guilt offering, we notice it is also slaughtered at the north side of the altar and is also called “most holy.” Another reason it was called “most holy” is because of who these offerings pointed to, which was Jesus. The worshipper’s guilt offering was to be a ram without defect, and the priest was to splash the blood of the sacrifice against the sides of the altar. This symbolized complete atonement which completely paid the debt and penalty of their sin and covered it. It also completely consecrated the altar from sin. Next, we see that all the fat of the ram was to be offered just like the sin offering. If you remember, in the Near East there was a special species of sheep that had very large tail and was considered a delicacy. It was the richest, choicest and most abundant part of the animal and so it, along with all the fat, was always reserved for the Lord. Naming, offering and burning all the distinct fat parts of the ram symbolized that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was wholly acceptable to God. It symbolized that Christ is the very essence of the richness and abundance of God. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we appropriate the richness and abundance of God for ourselves. The people were then reminded that their offering was for their guilt and by offering it before the Lord their sin and guilt was forgiven.

Our scripture this morning reminds us that sin is serious. It creates a problem that the Israelites couldn’t fix and that we can’t fix on our own. It produces real guilt that will not be removed through regret, good intentions or with an empty apology. God does not ignore or minimize sin, and he doesn’t allow it to stay untreated. He deals with sin by exposing it so it can be removed. When God declared the sin and guilt offerings “most holy” it meant these offerings had to be handled with the reverence and gravity due them. They could not be rushed by the worshipper or the priests. We also see that the priests in performing their duties literally got their hands and feet dirty. Slaughtering the animal sacrifices and tending the fire and ashes were messy and physically demanding. God handpicked Aaron and his sons to be priests and to daily be involved in the gritty realities of worship. He called them into hands-on service of the tabernacle, maintaining holiness and facilitating reconciliation for their people.

That brings us to our second point, Sin Requires a Substitute, found in Leviticus 6:26-30 and 7:6-10. This is what God’s Word says, “The priest who offers it shall eat it; it is to be eaten in the sanctuary area, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in the sanctuary area. The clay pot the meat is cooked in must be broken; but if it is cooked in a bronze pot, the pot is to be scoured and rinsed with water. Any male in a priest’s family may eat it; it is most holy. But any sin offering whose blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place must not be eaten; it must be burned up.” And Leviticus 7:6-10 says, “Any male in a priest’s family may eat it, but it must be eaten in the sanctuary area; it is most holy. “‘The same law applies to both the sin offering and the guilt offering: They belong to the priest who makes atonement with them. The priest who offers a burnt offering for anyone may keep its hide for himself. Every grain offering baked in an oven or cooked in a pan or on a griddle belongs to the priest who offers it, and every grain offering, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, belongs equally to all the sons of Aaron.”

The way that God would handle the sin of His people was through a mediator, a substitute, who would bear the weight of another’s sin and guilt. The way that Aaron and his sons, the priests, bore the weight of the people’s sin and guilt was to eat a portion of the offerings. God is showing that forgiveness requires a sin eater, one who stands in the place of the guilty, identifies with the sin being removed, and takes the sin upon themselves. The priests in effect absorbed the burden so the worshipper could remain clean. They participated in removing sins by their personal involvement in performing the sacrificial ritual. Any male in the priest’s family was allowed to eat of the sin and guilt offerings, but they had to eat it in the sanctuary area, in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. Why did these offerings have to be eaten in the sanctuary area? First, because the offerings were “most holy” they couldn’t be taken from the holy place. Second, this was not by mistake. God designed this visible transfer of sin and guilt so the worshipper would know that their sin and guilt had been taken from them and put on the substitute. It also signified that forgiveness comes at a personal cost to the substitute.

We also learn that facilitating holiness cannot be achieved at a distance. It is achieved through obedient up close and personal contact. Because God commanded it, the priests, who were set apart as holy, could come in close contact with sin and impurity. Holiness was not achieved by avoiding dirt, blood or brokenness but by engaging it on God’s terms. This even included the priests’ garments and the instruments used in the performance of their duties such as a clay or bronze pot. Any garment that got the blood of the sacrifice on it had to be washed in the sanctuary area. Because the blood of the sacrifice was symbolic of the blood of Jesus it had to be treated with the utmost respect. Also, the clay pot that the meat was cooked in had to be broken because it absorbed the blood and there was no way to get it completely out. But a bronze pot could be salvaged by scouring it and rinsing it with water. All this signifies that sin contaminates everything it touches. Anything that comes in contact with sin had to be cleansed or destroyed. We also see that sin was costly in that any sin offering whose blood was taken into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place could not be eaten but had to be completely burned up. This refers to the sin offerings of the high priest and of the whole community. It was not to be eaten by the priests as it would symbolize the sin returning to the one who needed atonement in the first place.

Lastly, we see a couple more regulations. One for the burnt offerings and two for the grain offerings. The priest who offered a burnt offering for anyone was allowed to keep the hide of the animal for himself. This again showed that God provided tangibly for his servants. They would be able to use the hide for themselves and their family or could use it to trade for other goods and services. The word for “hide” means “skin” and the first time it was used in the Bible is in Genesis 3:2: “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” Something had to die in order to cover the nakedness and sin of Adam and Eve. The word for skin comes from the word which means “to be exposed, or bare.” The hide symbolically “covered” the nakedness or sin of the priest signifying that he was clothed with the righteousness of the ultimate High Priest, Jesus Christ.

Garrett says, “The skin of the offering which makes atonement, typical of Christ, is that which belongs to the officiating priest, also typical of Christ. And thus, it is Christ alone who possesses the correct covering of the atonement, which is Himself.” It was also a visible sign that the relationship between the offeror and God was fully restored, and it distinguished the voluntary burnt offering from the sin offering. The hide and other parts of the sin offering had to be taken outside the camp and burned on the ash heap symbolizing the complete removal of sin and impurity from the people and the tabernacle area. It also highlighted God's holiness, signified total atonement, and foreshadowed Jesus, who suffered and was crucified "outside the gate" to sanctify the people.

Lastly, we see two regulations for the grain offerings. First, every grain offering baked in an oven or cooked in a pan or on a griddle, namely any prepared grain offering, belonged to the priest who offered it. Second, every grain offering, whether mixed with olive oil or dry, namely any unprepared grain offering, belonged equally to all the sons of Aaron. We are not told specifically why this is, but the speculation is that since the prepared grain offering would spoil pretty quickly, it was to be eaten by the officiating priest. The unprepared grain offering would last longer and so was to be split equally between all the priests. It ensured that the priests were supported in their ministry but also reflected a system designed for fairness among the priesthood.

What can we learn and how can we apply these two points? We must take our sin seriously and not ignore it or minimize it. We must learn that we cannot fix our own sin and guilt. We must be willing to deal with it by exposing it, confessing it and repenting of it. Then once we learn, although imperfectly, to deal with our sin, we are called by God to walk alongside our fellow Christians and help them to deal with their sin, too. Galatians 6:1-2 says, “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” As we stumble and fall and grow as God’s saints, God asks us to help other Christians grow as His saints, as well. We become like a substitute helping others to carry their burdens. But how do we do this? We do this by speaking words of comfort to those who are suffering through sin and guilt, and we are even called to address the sin in their lives, if needed. These will probably be the hardest conversations we would ever have, but if we are to truly pursue, grow and multiply disciples the way God wants us to, we must willing to go deep.

We must also be willing to take the risk. If a fellow believer is ensnared in Satan’s trap of sin and guilt, how can we be silent or just walk away? We must also truly love God and one another and be willing to cultivate accountability relationships with other believers that gives each other permission to be held accountable. These relationships keep us from doing this Christian life alone and in isolation which is never a good thing. We must ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and discernment in best how to help others through their struggles because everyone struggles differently. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 says, “And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” And we are also to speak the truth in love. Ephesians 4:15 says, “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” We need to ask ourselves: “how does what I intend to say help my fellow Christian become more like Jesus? And Ephesians 4:29 says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” We need to ask ourselves: “what impact will my words have on others? Will it corrupt them or will it build them up? Are they fitting or do they go off track? Will it reflect the grace of God? As we live this Christian life among other like-minded people, let us not be afraid to face our sin, for Christ has completely taken it away. Instead, let us humbly bring ourselves before Him and then out of gratitude, help others do likewise. True service to God and others takes work, effort, sacrifice and a willingness to enter into the messiness of others. Through the example of the priests, we see that facilitating holiness is not about avoidance, but about faithful engagement, even with the messiest people and places (Big Idea). That brings us to our first next step which I will Faithfully engage my fellow believers in accountability discipleship relationships in service to God.

The third point is, Sin Eater, and of course, the priests as sin eaters foreshadowed the ultimate sin eater, Jesus Christ. Whereas the priest ate of sin symbolically, Jesus Christ became sin for us. What Leviticus portrays physically, Christ fulfils completely. The priests stood in the gap between God and the people. Being God’s mediator required suffering and up close and personal involvement, not at a distance. Their work was also ongoing. The work of the priest as Sin-Eater was never done. Sin kept returning, the priest kept eating and the problem of sin was never resolved. Jesus didn’t just bear our sin and guilt temporarily like the priests but carried it to the cross and dealt with it once and for all. Also, the priests had to eat the sin and guilt offerings in a holy place and under strict guidelines. This is because sin was dangerous and contaminated what it touched. The priests were required to bring their own offerings and to be continually sanctified before the Lord. But Jesus Christ became the ultimate mediator who stood in the gap for all people and who didn’t need to atone for himself. He fully ate our sin, He became our sacrifice and in Him our restoration was complete. What Leviticus showed in shadow, Christ completed in substance. Jesus also consistently came in contact with sinful and impure people. He didn’t lose His holiness or become impure and sinful. He remained righteous while being fully exposed to judgment. He touched the untouchables, He ate with sinners, He healed the sick and He washed feet. He modeled an up close and personal ministry that was unafraid to get his hands and feet dirty. He modeled this for His disciple’s, and He modeled it for us, His disciple’s, today.

How do we apply this? It means engaging directly with people and situations that may be uncomfortable, inconvenient or messy. It could be serving the poor, comforting the grieving, mentoring the next generation, or advocating for justice. True discipleship demands physical presence, emotional investment and sacrificial action. When we do these for the least of these, as scripture says, we do it for Jesus, but also lives are changed and transformed, ours and theirs. Most importantly it reflects the heart of our Lord who left heaven’s perfection to enter our world as a vulnerable baby, embrace our brokenness, and redeem us for a relationship with Himself. God desires His people to be willing to roll up their sleeves, step out in faith and love others as He loved, even if it means getting our hands and feet dirty (Big Idea). I want to conclude with this illustration.

A young boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his small suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer before starting on his journey. When he had gone about three blocks, he met a lonely, elderly gentleman, who was sitting in a park just staring at some pigeons. The lad sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a swig of root beer when he noticed that the old man looked hungry. So he offered him a Twinkie. The man gratefully accepted it and smiled at the small boy. The smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer. Again, the elderly man smiled. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling but never said a word. As it grew dark the boy realized how tired he was and got up to leave. But after going a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old man, and gave him a hug. That brought the biggest smile of all. When the boy walked in the door of his house a few minutes later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked, “What did you do today that made you so happy?” He replied, “I had lunch with God.” Before his mother could respond he added, “You know what? He's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!” Meanwhile the old man also went home full of joy. Amazed by the look of peace on his face, his son asked, “Dad what did you do today that made you so happy? He replied, “I ate Twinkies in the park with God,” and he added, “You know he's much younger than I expected.” Christ takes personally our willingness to contact and help people in unfortunate circumstances. Let us be people who are not content with physically clean hands and feet that never serve or move. But let us be people who walk boldly into our uncomfortable, inconvenient and messy world, ready to make a difference for His honor and glory. That brings us to our second and last next step which is I will Examine where God might be calling me to serve, to risk and to enter the lives of others with an authentic faith and His kind of love.

As Gene & Roxey come to lead us in a final hymn and the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offerings, let’s pray: Heavenly Father, we thank You for meeting us here through Your Word. Thank You for reminding us that our sin is serious, but Your grace is greater. Thank You for Jesus, our true Sin Eater, who bore our guilt completely and carried it to the cross so that we might be forgiven, restored, and made new. As we go, show us where You are calling us to get our hands and feet dirty. Give us eyes to see the hurting, the broken, and the overlooked. Give us wisdom to walk alongside one another in love, accountability, and discipleship. Make us a people who are not afraid of the mess, but who faithfully engage it with grace, truth, and compassion. We ask all of this in the powerful and precious name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.

Opening: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-worst-paid-freelance-gig-in-history-was-being-the-village-sin-eater

https://www.traditionallegends.com/post/the-appalachian-sin-eaters-death-tradition-and-the-weight-of-a-soul

Closing: Gane, Roy. The NIV Application Commentary: Leviticus and Numbers. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004: p. 152

February 8, 2026/by Office

Playing in God’s Orchestra

Leviticus Leviticus Sunday Morning Marc Webb Glorifying God, Growing, Jesus, Purpose

Playing in God’s Orchestra

I want you to imagine you are in a skilled orchestra, each musician playing their part under the direction of a conductor. The conductor doesn’t just wave a baton; they set the tempo, guide the dynamics, and ensure every note fits the composer’s intent. You and the other musicians, though talented, submit your individual preferences and timing to the conductor’s authority. When you do, the music is harmonious and powerful. But if even one musician decides to play out of sync or ignore the conductor, the entire performance suffers. In Leviticus 6, the priests were given detailed instructions for their service—how to keep the altar fire burning, how to dress and how to handle offerings. These weren’t arbitrary rules; they were God’s way of teaching Israel that worship and service must be done under His authority, with careful attention and reverence. The priests didn’t get to improvise or skip steps. Their faithfulness in following God’s commands ensured that the people could approach God, receive forgiveness, and live in His presence.

Living under the lordship of Christ is much like being a musician in God’s orchestra. Christ is our conductor—the Lord who sets the rhythm of our lives, calls us to obedience, and invites us to play our part in His grand composition. When we submit to His authority, our lives become a beautiful testimony of grace, unity, and purpose. But when we insist on our own way, we risk discord and miss out on the fullness of God’s blessing. Just as the priests’ daily routines, tending the fire, wearing the right garments, handling holy things, were acts of obedience that honored God, so our daily choices, attitudes, and actions reflect whether we are living under Christ’s lordship. The world may see these acts as small or insignificant, but in God’s eyes, every act of obedience is part of a greater symphony of worship.

Living under the lordship of Christ means surrendering our will, our plans, and our preferences to Him. It’s trusting that His authority brings harmony, purpose, and blessing—not just for us, but for those around us. Like the priests of old, we are called to serve with diligence, humility, and reverence, knowing that our faithful obedience allows others to encounter God’s presence and grace. That brings us to our big idea this morning that God desires His people to live under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Let’s pray: Lord God, we thank you for this opportunity to gather and worship you, today. Open our hearts and minds to receive your Word. May your Spirit guide us as we listen, learn and grow in faith. Help us to apply what you teach us and share it with others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Our first point is, Keep the Fire Burning, found in Leviticus 6:8-13. This is what God’s Word says, “The Lord said to Moses: “Give Aaron and his sons this command: ‘These are the regulations for the burnt offering: The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar. The priest shall then put on his linen clothes, with linen undergarments next to his body, and shall remove the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar and place them beside the altar. Then he is to take off these clothes and put on others and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean. The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.”

We have just finished a long section where God gave Moses and the Israelites instructions about how they were to worship Him. The offerings in Leviticus explained what the people needed to do to sustain and regain fellowship with God. After giving these instructions, God begins to explain to His servants, the priests, what their responsibilities were concerning these offerings or sacrifices. These regulations or laws were important for the priests to know so that they treated the Lord’s “holy things” properly with reverence and that they treated God with the respect He demanded and deserved. This section from 6:8 to 7:36 could be called a job description for the priests. There are some important points to keep in mind before we get to our passage. One, these instructions were not only given in the priests’ hearing but the people’s as well. Nothing was hidden; these were not secret rituals as some of Israel’s neighbors practiced. The authority of the priests over the people was limited by God and known by the people. In other words, the priests were in spiritual authority over the Israelite people, but they were under the higher authority of the one, true and living God. Two, pastors and church leaders today, are under the same standard of obedience as the priests were then. There should still be the same standard today, in worship, prayer, teaching and sharing the Word, etc. Three, just because these instructions seem to be for pastors and church leaders doesn’t mean that everyone else is off the hook. As has been said before, we all are a kingdom of priest, so we are all responsible for worshipping, praying, teaching and sharing God’s Word in the places where we live, work and play.

The first regulation that God commanded Aaron and his sons about was the burnt offering specifically the fire on the altar. The priests first responsibility was to keep the fire burning; it was to never go out. We know this is very important because no less than five times from verses 8-13, are the priests reminded of this. Every morning, the priest sacrificed a burnt offering on the altar and then all day long other sacrifices were being offered for various reasons. The fire would probably have kept burning all day because of the fat of the different sacrifices being burned. Then the last sacrifice of the day was another burnt offering and there were no ongoing sacrifices during the night. It was the priests’ job to keep it going probably by stoking the fire and adding wood when necessary. We may be wondering why this was so important that it needed to be repeated that many times? We aren’t told exactly but one reason that makes sense, as we will see later in Leviticus 9:24, is that the very first offering on the altar of burnt offering was lit by fire from heaven and it was to continue and not be allowed to go out.

Their second responsibility was to remove the ashes that had accumulated as the fire consumed the sacrifices and place them beside the altar. It seems that the priests placed the ashes on the east side of the altar as this would have been closest to the courtyard exit making it easier to carry them out. Seeing the ashes lying by the altar, the people would have known that the flame had not spared their sacrifice but had completely consumed it, assuring that their offerings had been accepted by God. Notice the priests were to be dressed properly. They were to be dressed in their linen clothes and linen undergarments whenever they approached the holy altar. They were to wear their priestly garments that included a tunic, sash, turban, and pants. These white linen clothes represented dignity, honor, holiness and purity. In Exodus 28:42-43, we learn that they were to wear linen undergarments as they approached the altar or they would incur guilt and die. The priests of other nations would perform their rituals in the nude and would sometimes be sexual in nature. The Israelite priests were to be different and were not to expose themselves before the Lord.

Next, the priests were to change their clothes from their holy clothes to common clothes to carry the ashes outside the camp to a ceremonially clean place. This changing of clothes would teach the Israelites that the closer one came to the tabernacle, the closer they came to God and His holiness. Taking the ashes outside the camp symbolized the complete removal and separation of their sin and impurity from the holy tabernacle area. The people would also have understood that God had completely forgiven their sin, and removed it from their sight, to be remembered no more. The third responsibility of the priests were to add firewood and arrange the morning’s burnt offering on the fire. To keep the fire burning there had to be a continual supply of firewood which the priests probably were responsible to gather. We can imagine this would have been a difficult job in the wilderness and with no chainsaw. It would also have been a labor intensive and dirty job, but they were still required to wear their white linen clothing emphasizing God’s holiness and the sacred duty the priests had in serving as God’s mediators.

The burnt offering symbolized the worshipper’s total dedication and complete giving of themselves and their life to God, with nothing held back. It acknowledged their sinfulness and their need for atonement. It satisfied God’s wrath through the innocent animal's death, allowing communion with God. It was offered daily for the nation for thanksgiving, healing, and gratitude for God’s continued presence. So, what can we learn from this section to keep the fire burning? First, God’s presence is always with His people, then and now. Second, we need God 24/7. As the hymn says, “we need him every hour.” We need his forgiveness, help, favor, grace, love, and we need to be continually dependent on Him. Third, we need to be ready to serve Him in all ways that He calls us to, because He is the only one worthy of all our love and obedience. Fourth, we should be motivated to holiness and modesty in our witness to others. Fifth, and arguably most important is we need to keep the atoning work of Jesus Christ first and foremost in our hearts and minds. We must be Christ focused and gospel focused, teaching and preaching Christ and Him crucified as Paul told the Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 says, “And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

Now how can we apply this idea of “keep the fire burning” to our lives? I like what Ross says, “No one should ever come to the sanctuary and find the fire out or the priests unavailable.” For me, as a pastor, it means to always keep Christ and his atoning work on the cross first and foremost in all our hearts and minds. I must continually preach the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ, that He was crucified for our sins, He died, was buried and resurrected and then to call others to surrender their lives to Him. But I am not the only one. We are all called to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 3:15 says, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. We are all called to pursue, grow and multiply disciples. This is the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” We “keep the fire burning” by continually preaching the gospel to ourselves so that we can preach it to those who don’t know Him as their Lord and Savior and then we allow the Holy Spirit to do the work in their hearts and minds. That brings us to our first next step which is I will keep the fire burning by pursuing, growing and multiplying disciples, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all people.

That brings us to our second point, Keep the Example, found in Leviticus 6:14-23. This is what God’s Word says, “These are the regulations for the grain offering: Aaron’s sons are to bring it before the Lord, in front of the altar. The priest is to take a handful of the finest flour and some olive oil, together with all the incense on the grain offering, and burn the memorial portion on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. Aaron and his sons shall eat the rest of it, but it is to be eaten without yeast in the sanctuary area; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the tent of meeting. It must not be baked with yeast; I have given it as their share of the food offerings presented to me. Like the sin offering and the guilt offering, it is most holy. Any male descendant of Aaron may eat it. For all generations to come it is his perpetual share of the food offerings presented to the Lord. Whatever touches them will become holy.” The Lord also said to Moses, “This is the offering Aaron, and his sons are to bring to the Lord on the day he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening. It must be prepared with oil on a griddle; bring it well-mixed and present the grain offering broken in pieces as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. The son who is to succeed him as anointed priest shall prepare it. It is the Lord’s perpetual share and is to be burned completely. Every grain offering of a priest shall be burned completely; it must not be eaten.”

The second regulation that the Lord commanded Aaron and his sons about was the grain offering. The priests were to bring the grain offering before the Lord, in front of the altar, symbolizing the worshipper’s dedication and thanksgiving to God and acknowledging that God was their provider. The priest was then to take a handful of the finest flour and some olive oil, together with all the incense on the grain offering brought by the worshipper and burn it on the altar. This handful was called a “memorial portion” because the worshipper was to remember God’s provision to them and that He was sufficient to meet their needs. It also remembered God’s covenant and sovereignty over their lives. It was called an “aroma pleasing to the Lord” signifying God's acceptance and delight in the worshipper’s sincere offering. Then we see two specific commands regarding the grain offering. One, how to handle the priest’s portion and two, how to handle the grain offering of the High Priest.

Once the priests had offered the memorial portion to the Lord, Aaron and his sons were allowed to eat the remainder of it. Because the priests had no allotment of land in which to cultivate their own food, the Israelite community was to supply it. One of those ways was through certain offerings. This was effectively their wages for serving God and the people in the Tabernacle, allowing the priests to focus on their spiritual duties. They were to bake it into unleavened cakes. We see the importance of this as it is mentioned twice. Leaven was symbolic of sin and impurity, and the grain offering was considered “most holy” like the sin and guilt offerings. It was “most holy” for a couple of reasons. First, it was God’s offering. Notice our scripture says, “I have given it.” Second, God then gave it to His servants, the priests, setting it apart for them as their portion. Being holy it had to be eaten by people God had set apart as holy. This reinforced the priest’s role as God’s mediator before the people.

And third, it was to be eaten in a holy place, meaning the Tabernacle courtyard probably near the altar and the entrance to the Holy Place. Also, because it was considered most holy and God’s property, Aaron and his sons had to treat it with the utmost respect. One of the ways they showed respect for God and His grain offerings was to obey His instructions to the letter. Some of the other offerings could be eaten by the priest’s families but this offering could only be eaten by Aaron and his sons. They not only showed respect and reverence for the Lord, but they modeled respect and reverence for the Lord to the people, as well. The priests were to keep the example of obedience, reverence and dedication for God before the Israelites. Eating the remainder of the worshipper’s grain offering assured the worshipper that God had accepted their acts of dedication and loyal devotion to Him and He was pleased with it. For the priests, accepting the worshipper’s grain offering and eating it was a serious matter. If the priest had any qualms about the worshipper’s devotion to God or his heart in giving the offering, he wasn’t to accept it or eat of it. Again, respect and reverence of God is seen here as the priest’s needed to use wisdom and discernment in performing their duty.

This portion of the grain offering was to be their perpetual share for generations to come. Perpetual means “to the vanishing point.” The vanishing point came and the law ended once Christ came and fulfilled the law. Then we see the phrase “whatever touches them will become holy.” The meaning of this phrase is not given but there are two views. One, only someone or something already holy was allowed to meet the grain offerings. Two, if someone or something touched the offerings, they became holy and set apart for God’s service. Now this could be problematic because if a common Israelite, one not holy and set apart, touched the Lord’s “holy things” they would be subject to punishment even unto death. At the very least, if it was inadvertent touching, they would have to bring a reparation offering to the Lord.

The second command regarding the grain offering was about handling the grain offering of the High Priest. We know this is talking about the high priest because it says, “the offering they are to bring to the Lord on the day he is anointed.” The high priest was considered the “anointed one.” Once the seven-day ordination ceremony was completed, the high priest was to bring a grain offering every day to the altar. Half of it was to be offered in the morning and the other half in the evening. This was the sole responsibility of the high priest. He was to prepare it exactly as God instructed: It was to consist of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour. This was the equivalent of an omer, which was as much as one person would eat in a single day. If you remember back in Exodus when God sent manna in the wilderness, the Israelites were to collect only one omer per person per day.

The fine flour was to be baked on a griddle or flat pan with oil. The oil was to be mixed in well or “soaked” in oil. Once it was baked it was to be broken into pieces and offered “as an aroma pleasing to the Lord” meaning that God accepted their offering. These offerings of the high priests were probably offered along with and on top of the morning and evening burnt offerings signifying repentance before thanksgiving. They were also the Lord’s perpetual share which was to continue until Christ came and fulfilled the law. Because it was the Lord’s share it was to be burned completely and none of it was to be eaten. The high priest and the other priests were not allowed to benefit from their own sacrifices. Only the Lord could accept it. The high priest brought their grain offering to the Lord on behalf of himself and the priesthood as an act of consecration and dedication to the Lord. It acknowledged God’s continued presence and their dependence on Him. It symbolized the high priest’s sinfulness and need for daily repentance and forgiveness. The priests also needed the favor and grace of God and were grateful for the Lord’s provision to them. It also signified the spiritual integrity of the priestly office. The priests couldn’t expect the Israelite people to do what they wouldn’t do. They were to keep the example daily before the people. Also, serving the Lord required a cost not just from the people but from the priests as well. There was no place for spiritual pride. The priests were to live under the lordship of God in every way the common Israelite was to and more (Big Idea). This offering also prefigured Jesus who gave Himself entirely and completely on the cross, once and for all, in obedience and dedication to the Father.

What can we learn and how can we apply “keep the example” in our lives? In word and life God’s people are to live respectfully, obediently and in holiness before God. We are to daily acknowledge God’s presence and our dependence on Him for forgiveness, provision, favor, etc. The leadership of Idaville Church and I are to keep an example of all these things before you, the congregation. And the congregation, which includes all of us, are to keep the example before the world and those who do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This reminds us of 1 Timothy 4:12. Paul is talking to Timothy about how he is to live as a young pastor, but it is appropriate for all Christians as well. It says we are to “set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” And I would add that we need to keep the example, as witnesses of Jesus Christ, to the lost world around us, as well. We are all to live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ in every way. That includes our workplaces, homes, communities, entertainment, raising children, interaction with all people, and in our time, talents and treasures. Our Heavenly Father wants and deserves our all. Let’s be people who are totally committed to our Lord and Savior in every and all ways. Let us be people whose lives are a pleasing aroma to the Lord. Let us be people who are keeping the example of living under the lordship of Jesus Christ to everyone we meet. That brings us to our second next step which I will keep the example of living under the lordship of Jesus Christ in all ways and with all people.

I want to conclude with this illustration: Modern furnaces have taken the work out of keeping warm in cold climates. We simply set the timer on the thermostat, and the house is warm when we get up in the morning. But in former days, fire was carefully tended and fuel supplies were closely monitored. Running out could be deadly. The same is true spiritually. If we think our “spiritual fire” can be ignited as easily as a modern furnace, we risk losing our fervor for the Lord. In ancient Israel, the priests were instructed not to let the fire on the altar go out. This required a lot of work, not the least of which was collecting firewood in a land not known for its dense forests. Some scholars see the fire on the altar as a symbol for the flame of our devotion to the Lord. Spiritual passion is not something to be treated lightly or taken for granted. It will grow cold if we fail to keep it supplied with fuel. To keep the fire of our devotion burning strong, we must continue the hard work of stocking our fuel supply with hope, patience, steadfast prayer, generosity, hospitality, and humility. Hess said, “O God, my heart is the altar and my love for you is the flame; I’ll keep the fire burning for You, Lord, and I will rejoice in Your name.”

As Roxey comes to lead us in a final hymn and the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offerings, let’s pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for this time we have spent in your Word with like-minded people. Help us by your Holy Spirit to obey and to share what you have taught each of us this morning. Help us to keep the fire burning focusing our hearts and minds on Christ and His Gospel. Help us to keep the example of living under the lordship of your son, Jesus, in every way and with all people. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Closing: https://www.preceptaustin.org/leviticus_sermon_illustrations

February 1, 2026/by Office

Proof is in the Payment

Leviticus Leviticus Sunday Morning Marc Webb Restoration, Sins, Spirituality, Trust

Proof is in the Payment

Imagine that you are driving down the road and your car breaks down. It’s not drivable and you have it towed to your trusted mechanic. He orders the needed parts and spends days working on replacing what is broken and restoring it to its former glory. When you return to pick up your car you are overjoyed and overwhelmed with gratitude. You shake the mechanic’s hand, praise the skill and care he put into the repairs and promise to recommend him and his shop to everyone you know. You talk about how much you value your car now that it’s fixed and the places you are going to be able to go with it. Then the mechanic hands you the bill, but you just keep on praising him and saying how your car now looks as good as new, never reaching for your wallet, purse or credit card. You are full of appreciation, but you never take steps toward paying your repair bill. The mechanic gently interrupts: “Sir or ma’am, your gratitude is nice, but the proof of your gratitude for the work done on your car is in your payment.” Now imagine you try to get in your car and drive away without paying. No matter how thankful you are, no matter how many kind words you offer, the car isn’t truly yours until the debt is settled. You can’t truly enjoy the freedom of driving it away until you have paid the bill. The only way you can walk out of the mechanic’s shop with confidence—free from guilt, free from accusation—is with the receipt in your hand, proof that you made the payment in full. The proof is in the payment.

This is exactly what God wants for us as we live our lives on this earth. He doesn’t want us to live weighed down by the debt of our sin or the burden of our guilt. He doesn’t want us to keep coming back with empty promises or feelings of remorse. He wants us to experience true freedom, emotional and spiritual freedom, knowing that the debt has been settled. Just as the mechanic required payment, God required a costly payment for sin. In Leviticus 6, the guilt offering was a visible and tangible proof that the debt had been dealt with. This gave the Israelites assurance and confidence that they had been ransomed, restored and forgiven. And just as the mechanic’s receipt gives the car owner confidence to drive away free and clear, God wants us to live with that same assurance and confidence, knowing that we have been ransomed, restored and forgiven, knowing the debt of our sin has been paid, and we can live free of guilt. But how does God provide that assurance and confidence? How can we experience true emotional and spiritual freedom? The answer, of course is, Jesus. The guilt offering, and in fact all the offerings we have been studying, point to Jesus, who paid our debt in full on the cross. Because of Jesus, we don’t have to live under the shadow of guilt or the fear of not being forgiven. We can live free, knowing the payment has been made. And it’s not because we ignore our debt, but because Jesus has paid it. The proof is in the payment, and the cross is our receipt. That brings us to our big idea this morning that God desires His people to live emotionally and spiritually free from sin and guilt.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, we come before You with grateful hearts, seeking Your presence this morning. We thank You for gathering us together as a community to hear Your Word and to grow in faith. Lord, as we prepare our minds and hearts for the message You have for us, we ask for Your Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts and open our understanding. May Your Holy Spirit speak to us and encourage us and give us wisdom. Remove all distractions from our minds and help us to focus on Your truth. Draw us close to Yourself, transform us and equip us to live out Your will in our daily lives.

Before we get to our scripture this morning, I, again, want to give a short recap of the offerings God instructed the Israelites about. First was the burnt offering signifying the worshipper’s complete love, devotion and surrender to God. Second was the grain offering signifying the joy and celebration of the worshipper for God’s faithful provision and covenant saving relationship. Third was the peace or fellowship offering signifying the worshipper’s thanksgiving for the restored relationship and communion they could have with God. Fourth was the sin offering signifying the cleansing and purification of the worshipper’s unintentional sin that highlighted the seriousness of sin. It also signified that it required blood to fully remove sin’s penalty and pollution, allowing renewed access to God’s presence. Lastly was the guilt offering signifying making things right and reconciling with the offended party, either God or a fellow Israelite. These offerings were the way that the Israelites were to approach their Holy God in worship. There is a natural progression to them, especially when we look at them in reverse order. Without the mandatory sin and guilt offerings, there was a fractured relationship with God and worship was hindered. Once they were offered then the burnt, grain and peace offerings could be brought expressing their devotion and thanks to God. All five sacrifices together showed the Israelites the path to a deeper intimacy with God. That’s what I want. I want a deeper intimacy with God, and I hope you all do too. I want to fall deeper in love with Jesus every single day and that is my prayer for all of you as well.

That brings us to our first point this morning, Price: Costly, found in Leviticus 6:1-5a. Follow along as I read. This is what God’s Word says, “The Lord said to Moses: “If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord by deceiving a neighbor about something entrusted to them or left in their care or about something stolen, or if they cheat their neighbor, or if they find lost property and lie about it, or if they swear falsely about any such sin that people may commit— when they sin in any of these ways and realize their guilt, they must return what they have stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to them, or the lost property they found, or whatever it was they swore falsely about.”

Last week our big idea was that God desires His people to not be slaves to their sin and guilt. And we may ask “why was this?” It was because He desires His people to live emotionally and spiritually free from their sin and guilt. God knew that sin and guilt would rob us spiritually of our relationship with Him and our proper worship of Him. It would also rob us emotionally creating shame, draining joy, leading to self-condemnation, depression, and a distorted identity, preventing true repentance and freedom. Lastly, it would rob us of our relationships with others. It would cause broken intimacy and trust which would lead us to withdrawal from others because of embarrassment and shame. It also would cause unhealthy self-focus, broken communication and internal conflict. This would cause us to make excuses, tell lies, become angry, aggressive, anxious and worried. This is not what God wants for His children. There are a few things we can do with the Holy Spirit’s help to live emotionally and spiritually free from our sin and guilt. First, we must have a healthy realization of our sin and guilt. Our sin and guilt are never cheap; it will always cost us more than we think it will. Second, God wants us to restore what sin has ruined and, third, God wants us to rest in the payment He has provided for us. As we study our scripture this morning, I am going to be referring to last week’s scripture at times as the entire section from Leviticus 5:14 through 6:7 is God’s instruction of the guilt offering.

In 6:1, we see for the third time, “The Lord spoke to Moses” or “when or if anyone sins” meaning that God is introducing a new train of thought and a different command about the guilt offering. There are a couple of things that sin does to us. First, sin brings us guilt. Guilt is mentioned ten times and sin is mentioned five times in the section on the guilt offering. We see two types of guilt here. The first is objective guilt. This means that someone has committed a sin and was guilty. We know this because at the end of each section such as 6:7 we see that “the priest will make atonement for them. . . and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.” The second type of guilt is subjective guilt. This is the feeling of guilt someone has because they have sinned and are guilty. When either kind of guilt happened, the Israelites were held responsible and were to follow God’s commands concerning the guilt offering. When we have committed sin against God or others and we know it, we are guilty, but we also have feelings of guilt which can affect us in different ways,

The effects of guilt can be extremely hurtful physically and emotionally. In Psalms 38:4-6, David described his hidden sin, “My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning.” And in Psalms 32:3-4 he says, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.” Guilt can cause severe physical and emotional distress. Guilt can become a burden too heavy to bear, it drains your strength, and it leaves you feeling overwhelmed and depressed. It can lead to a mental breakdown and a broken spirit which can affect our overall health. When we become guilty and have these feelings of guilt, we need to be careful about how we deal with those feelings. Today, in our culture, the remedy for guilt is to find a way to feel better about ourselves and what we’ve done. This could mean repressing our guilt or telling ourselves we’re not a bad person or at least not as bad as so and so. It could also mean justifying our sin by telling ourselves that what we did was not that bad or everybody’s doing it. God’s remedy is for us to be free to come to Him when we sin and feel guilty, admit our sin and guilt with a sincere heart, and receive His forgiveness.

Second, sin breeches our covenant with God. Leviticus 6:2 says, “If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord.” As Christians, we are in an intimate, loving covenant relationship with Jesus signifying the unity, love and purity we are to have with Him. He is our bridegroom and we are His bride and so every time we sin against God it’s like committing spiritual adultery. Our sin, all our sin, is a breach of faith and trust that tramples on His love for us. Our sin is more than a failure to live up to some code of conduct or more than falling short of some contractual obligation expected of us. As R.C. Sproul puts it, “Our sin is cosmic treason.” I like how one person put it, “We’ve turned against the bridegroom who loves us and gave Himself for us. We pay a heavy cost for our sin.” The effects and results of sin are not cheap. In fact, Romans 6:23 says that the “wages of sin is death.” The proof that sin is costly is in the payment. Guilt can damage us in many ways: physically with health problems, emotionally with feeling depressed, anxious, or worthless, financially with addictions that cause debt and worry about money, and spiritually, feeling distant from God. In order to live emotionally and spiritually free from sin and guilt, we must have a healthy realization of our sin and guilt and willing to confess it.

Next, our sin affects our relationships. It not only breeches our covenant with God but affects our relationship with Him as well. We talked last week about acting treacherously toward God and His “holy things.” This is acting with a hidden and faithless agenda while also appearing holy and pious on the outside. We see this in scripture with Judas and his betrayal of Jesus. The “Lord’s holy things” were anyone and anything set apart by God for His service. Some of these sins may have been, not redeeming the firstborn, not giving the first fruits of your harvest, or not observing the Sabbath or tithing laws. Strain says, (these) were condemned here in order to drive home the point of the gravity, the solemnity that attended everything involved in the honor of God, in the glory of God, in the name of God, and in the praise of God.” How do we act treacherously with the Lord’s “holy things” today?” Here are some possible examples: having a casual indifference to the worship and praise of God in our congregations, a flippant disregard for God’s Word by barely opening it up and reading it, praising the name of the Lord on Sunday and using His name in vain or as a curse word on Monday and making vows or promises to support the church with our time, talents and tithes but allowing a host of worldly things to get in the way. The remedy for our sin, guilt and guilty feelings is to do what David did and confess it. That brings us to our first next step, which is I will identify areas where I’ve grown casual about my sin against the Lord and confess it.

Our sin also affects our relationships with others. And this is what we see in Leviticus 6:2-5. We see the representative sins that an Israelite could commit against his fellow Israelites. It is important to note that when they sinned against their neighbors they were also still sinning against God. The first sin against their neighbor was deceiving or lying to them. The word for neighbor means an associate or companion and seems to imply a close neighbor, friend or colleague. The examples given are normal in the everyday lives of the Israelites. First, if you are going on a journey, you may ask your next-door neighbor to watch your house or your pet while you are gone. The idea was that when you returned, everything would be in order and your pet would be healthy and well-fed, etc. The next example is like the first, but it is probably something smaller and more precious or valuable to you. It could be money or jewelry, etc. It was not safe to travel in the ANE with robbers and other unsavory people lying in wait for travelers, so you would leave them with a neighbor. The third example is something that you left with your neighbor, and then they said it was stolen or taken by violence. The fourth example was cheating your neighbor by extorting or oppressing them. The fifth example is finding something that belonged to your neighbor that was lost and lying about finding it. One example is in Exodus 23:4 which says, “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it.” Even if the property belonged to your enemy you were required to return it to its rightful owner. All of these examples were a sin against their neighbor but was also a sin against the integrity of the community and society and an egregious offence to God. At the end of verse 3 we see “if they swear falsely about any such sin that people may commit.” The “swearing falsely” is speaking about the sins mentioned here and all the other sins represented by them. To swear falsely meant invoking God's name to affirm a lie, breaking a vow, or making a frivolous oath. This reminds us of Leviticus 5:4, where someone thoughtlessly, rashly and inadvisably swore an oath. But here it is not rash or thoughtless, it was deliberate and intentional. They swore falsely using God’s name in vain in order to cheat a neighbor out of their property.

Next, in verse 4 we see these words, “when they sin in any of these ways and realize their guilt.” Here the offender seems to have had a change of heart. They willingly “tell on themselves” and admit their sin because they have a guilty conscience and are remorseful. We know the offender has “turned themselves in” because of the lesser penalty that is imposed. To be caught and convicted of one of these sins against a neighbor before a confession was made and repentance was given would bring a heftier penalty. The first thing that had to be done was to return whatever it was that had been stolen, taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to them, or the lost property they had found, or whatever they had sworn falsely about. True repentance included restoration of what was taken and making things right was evidence of a changed heart and not just trying to get off the hook. When we sin against our neighbor and are willing to put things right, it will greatly improve our physical, emotional and spiritual well-being (Big Idea). Again, the proof is in the payment. The proof that we are doing what God wants us to do about our sin and guilt is in the payment of restoring what sin has ruined. Now you may be able to return the item in the same condition, but you will probably need to regain the trust of your neighbor. The offended party may put some distance between you and them. And there could also be a difficult rebuilding of trust requiring boundaries, accountability and a sincere effort from both parties to want to restore trust, respect and connection. Your friendship may not be the same for a while, or it may never be the same. So the question is: To whom do you need to restore what sin has ruined? That brings us to our second next step which I will examine my life to see where I have sinned against my neighbor and take steps to restore what sin has ruined.

That brings us to our second point, Picture: Christ, found in Leviticus 6:5b-7. This is what God’s Word says, “They must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day they present their guilt offering. And as a penalty they must bring to the priest, that is, to the Lord, their guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. In this way the priest will make atonement for them before the Lord, and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.”

The idea of restitution is expanded here. After returning the stolen property they swore falsely about, the offender was to also to make additional restitution by giving a fifth of the value of what was taken. If the offender “told on themselves” and confessed before being convicted, the total restitution was one hundred and twenty percent. But if you continued to claim your innocence and were then taken before the elders and convicted, the total restitution was two hundred percent or more. We see this in Exodus 22:4 which says, “If the stolen animal is found alive in their possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—they must pay back double.” We may wonder why God had them pay one hundred and twenty percent restitution? Why wasn’t just returning the stolen item enough? It probably had to do with pain and suffering so to speak. Depending on what was taken, the loss of that item could have had major consequences for the livelihood of the offended party. Thinking back to last week, we could have asked the same question about having to give over and above to the priest for defrauding God of His holy things. The answer probably lies in the fact that while they were defrauding God, they weren’t obeying and worshipping Him the way they should have been. They were not only to make restitution to God for the sin they committed but they were also to make restitution for the obedience they skipped out on. The offender then was to bring his total restitution and give it to the owner on the same day they brought their guilt offering before the Lord. This implies that the restitution God commanded was to be accepted. There is nothing stated that the owner could deny the restitution or demand more. The matter was considered settled. This was a safeguard for both the offender and the offended. Then as a penalty they were to bring their guilt offering to the priest meaning the Lord. The guilt offering was the same as when defrauding the Lord, a ram without defect and of the proper value. Not only did the ram have to be perfect, but it also had to be worth the proper value set by the sanctuary shekel which traditionally was two shekels. This reflected the worshipper’s sincere repentance and true remorse. The sacrifice wasn't just symbolic but had tangible worth, with the value being determined by community standards.

The guilt offering was to be a sign of sorrow for the offender’s transgression against his neighbor, against the community and society, and against God. The proof that their sin was serious and that God required a costly offering to deal with their guilt is seen in the payment of the one hundred and twenty percent restitution and the costly ram offering. We are not only reminded that sin is costly but also that forgiveness requires a substitute. The sacrifice of the ram reminds us of Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac. God stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac on the altar and provided a ram in the thicket for the sacrifice. The sacrifice of the ram also reminds us of Jesus Christ as the ram that redeems us. The earliest interpretation of the significance of the suffering servant, Jesus, and the guilt offering is found in Isaiah 53:5 and 10. Verse 5 states clearly the idea of substitutionary atonement: “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” The offering and the servant suffers instead of us and the penalty we should have paid, he paid for us. And Verse 10 states clearly that when Jesus died, God the Father, made His son “a guilt offering” for us: “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.” An “offering for sin” is literally translated as “guilt offering” or “reparation offering” meaning to make amends by compensation. Wenham says, “The death of the suffering servant compensates for the sins of the people and makes many to be accounted righteous.” God is provided compensation for our sin and for His loss, the death of His son, Jesus Christ.” Lastly, we see that the priest makes atonement for the sinner before the Lord and they will be forgiven. This is the third time in the instructions of the guilt offering that we are told that the sinner will be forgiven for the sins that made him guilty. This also points us to Jesus. No sin is too great for God’s grace and God’s promise of forgiveness is certain. The proof is in the payment of the willing sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross and the cross is our receipt that says paid in full. That brings us to the third next step which is I will rest in what God has provided by trusting in Jesus for my salvation as the one who paid my debt.

I want to close thinking about the idea of “resting” in what God has provided. Resting in the assurance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross connects with our 2026 theme of Sabbath. It fulfills the Sabbath’s ultimate purpose, which is to shift our focus from self-effort to Jesus’ finished work, offering a deep, continuous spiritual peace or "Sabbath rest." This supersedes the weekly Old Covenant ritual, providing freedom from the law's condemnation, and enabling a daily, grace-filled rest from striving for justification, as Jesus becomes our ultimate source of peace and forgiveness, a rest we enter by faith, not works. Old Covenant Sabbath was a weekly command to cease from labor, pointing forward to a deeper reality, a foreshadowing of true rest. Jesus, the "Lord of the Sabbath," fulfilled its purpose by providing the way to true rest through His sacrifice, freeing people from the burden of earning righteousness. Sabbath is the ceasing from works. Instead of working to achieve right standing with God (which is impossible), believers rest in Christ's completed work, accepting salvation as a free gift. We receive a profound, internal peace that comes from knowing one is fully forgiven and accepted by God, not based on performance. And the Sabbath rest isn't limited to one day but is a perpetual state available every day through faith, offering freedom from guilt and striving. In essence, the Old Testament Sabbath pointed to a need for rest from labor; the New Testament reveals that Christ is that rest, offering not just a break from work, but a complete, liberating rest from the burden of sin and self-justification through His pardoning grace. Our ultimate sabbath rest comes when Jesus returns to take us to our heavenly home. We can have true Sabbath through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Proof is in the Payment.

As Gene & Roxey come to lead us in a final hymnal and as the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offerings, let’s pray: Gracious and loving God, thank you for gathering us together in your presence. May your message to us take root in our hearts and bear fruit in our lives. Grant us the courage to live out your teachings each day. Help us by your Holy Spirit to live emotionally and spiritually free from sin and guilt, daily identifying areas where we’ve grown casual about sinning against You and confess it. Help us to also to examine our lives to see where we’ve have sinned against our neighbors and take steps to restore what sin has ruined. And help us to rest in what you have provided by trusting in your son, Jesus, for our salvation and not our own works. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

January 18, 2026/by Office

No Fishing Allowed

Sabbath Leviticus Sunday Morning Marc Webb Confession, Sin, Surrender, Trust

No Fishing Allowed

When Tommy's parents gave him a BB gun for his birthday, they told him not to aim it at any animals. The gun was only for shooting at paper targets or tin cans on the back fence. Tommy agreed to the conditions his parents imposed. After a few days however he got tired of shooting only targets and cans. Spotting a bird in the tree he took aim and fired, and the bird fluttered out of the tree mortally wounded. Tommy ran over to the bird and watched it slowly die. Overcome with guilt he buried the little bird in a shallow grave at the base of a tree. Then he looked up and saw his sister Jane walking towards him from the house. “I saw what you did” Jane said, “you shot that bird and killed it and I'm telling.” “No don't” Tommy said, “I'll give you the money in my piggy bank if you don't tell.” Jane agreed to the bribe. That night at dinner when mom told Jane to wash the dishes, Jane said “Tommy said he'll wash the dishes for me.”

Tommy was about to protest when he saw the smug look on his sister's face. He knew what that meant: wash the dishes or I’m telling. So, Tommy washed the dishes. On Sunday after Jane left the comics strewn all over the living room floor mom told Jane to clean up the mess. Jane said, “Tommy promised he'd clean up the papers.” Again, Tommy was about to protest, when he saw the look on his sister's face and he cleaned up the papers. After several more days of doing his own chores and Jane’s, while feeling horrible thinking about the bird, Tommy finally told his mother what he had done. “Oh, I know all about the bird” his mom said. “You mean Jane told you? She promised she wouldn't.” Mom replied “Jane didn't say a word. I was standing at the window, and I saw you shoot the bird. I saw how sad you were, and I knew you'd come and tell me sooner or later.” “Why didn't you say anything? Tommy said. Mom said “I just wanted to see how long you were going to let your sister make a slave out of you.”

That is what guilt is like. We sin and we try to hide our sin from other people, from God, and even from ourselves. Soon we become slaves to guilt. It makes us do things we don't want to do. It damages our relationships and destroys our happiness. God did not want His people, the Israelites, to become slaves to their sin and guilt, so He made a way for them to be atoned for, forgiven, and restored to relationship with Himself. He did this by teaching and training them to bring offerings before Him and to admit, confess and repent of their sin, and ask Him for forgiveness. In this way, the Israelites became slaves to God and His righteousness and by believing in God for cleansing and salvation and by resting in Him, the result was that they received full forgiveness and restoration. The same is true for us today. God does not want us, as Christians, to become slaves to our sin and guilt. So, He made a way for us to be atoned for, forgiven, and restored to relationship with Himself. He did this by teaching and training us to trust in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our sins. Just like the Israelites, we need to come before God and admit, confess and repent of our sin, and ask Him for forgiveness. In this way, we become slaves to God and His righteousness and by believing in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and by resting in Him, we receive full forgiveness and restoration. That brings us to our big idea this morning that God desires His people to not be slaves to sin and guilt.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for another opportunity to be in your house to worship and praise you this morning. Pour out your Holy Spirit on each one of us, open our hearts and minds to your Word, so that we can be transformed through the obedience and application of it to our lives. Help us to pass what you teach us on to others that need to know your Son and His salvation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

So far, God through Moses has instructed all Israelites, the priests, leaders and the common people, on four offerings or sacrifices they were to bring before Him at the Tent of Meeting as they came to worship Him. The first three were voluntary offerings. The burnt offering signified the worshipper’s complete love and devotion for God, for His atonement for their sins and their access to His presence. The grain offering signified the joy and celebration of the worshipper for God’s faithful provision and covenant saving relationship. The peace or fellowship offering signified the peace and fellowship the worshipper could now have with God because of His grace and covenant. The next two offerings were mandatory offerings meaning that it wasn’t what they were to do if they brought these offerings, but when they brought them. They were mandatory because there would be definite times that the people, because of their sin nature and sinful lives, would have to bring these offerings before the Lord.

The first mandated offering was the sin offering which signified cleansing and purification of the worshipper’s unintentional sin that polluted both people and the Holy Place. It also signified that it required blood to fully remove sin’s penalty and pollution, allowing renewed access to God’s presence. The second mandated offering, was the guilt offering and just like sin, guilt would be prevalent in the Israelites lives and would require an offering. The guilt offering signified making things right and reconciling with the offended party, either God or a fellow Israelite. It was offered for specific sins of defrauding God and deceiving others. It consisted of confessing their sin and seeking restoration and reconciliation through restitution. Last week, we saw for the first time God implicitly commanded them to confess their sin as they brought their offerings. Confession means “to expose” or “reveal” and was a sign of genuine repentance and was necessary for forgiveness. It wasn’t enough to just bring your sacrifice without genuine confession and repentance. It was important for the Israelites, and subsequently for us, to verbally confess their sin before the Lord. It was important because as Peyton Jones says, “Confessing meant they were less likely to commit it again.”

Now we come to our first point, Sin Offering, as we finish God’s instruction of it in Leviticus 5:6-13. This is what God’s Word says, “As a penalty for the sin they have committed, they must bring to the Lord a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for them for their sin.” “Anyone who cannot afford a lamb is to bring two doves or two young pigeons to the Lord as a penalty for their sin—one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. They are to bring them to the priest, who shall first offer the one for the sin offering. He is to wring its head from its neck, not dividing it completely, and is to splash some of the blood of the sin offering against the side of the altar; the rest of the blood must be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin offering. The priest shall then offer the other as a burnt offering in the prescribed way and make atonement for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven. “‘If, however, they cannot afford two doves or two young pigeons, they are to bring as an offering for their sin a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour for a sin offering. They must not put olive oil or incense on it, because it is a sin offering. They are to bring it to the priest, who shall take a handful of it as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar on top of the food offerings presented to the Lord. It is a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for them for any of these sins they have committed, and they will be forgiven. The rest of the offering will belong to the priest, as in the case of the grain offering.”

This section is a continuation of 4:27-35 and 5:1-5, which instructed the common Israelites, not the priests, the entire community or the leaders, what to do when they brought a sin offering. After becoming aware of their unintentional sin and realizing their guilt, the worshipper was to confess in what way they had sinned and then pay the penalty for their sin. We know that this is still talking about the common Israelite because the same offering, a female goat or lamb without defect, was required. The female goat or sheep was less valuable than the bull or male goat or sheep and so it was more affordable for the common person. Once the worshipper brought their offering before the Lord, the priest made atonement for their sin and they were forgiven. Atonement and forgiveness were stated so the sinning party would know beyond a shadow of the doubt that their sin was cleansed, forgiven, forgotten and they were put back into a right relationship and close fellowship with their covenant king.

Next, we see the same kind of gracious provision from God to the worshipper that we saw in the burnt offering. If the common Israelite could not afford a female sheep or goat, there were other offerings they could bring. It wasn’t the offering itself that made the difference, it was the sincere act of admitting, confessing, repenting of their sin and asking God for His gracious forgiveness and restoration. If they could not afford a lamb or goat, they were allowed to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the Lord for their sin offering. The Hebrew is translated as, “And if his hand is not able to reach what is sufficient for a lamb.” The meaning being that the worshipper was not able to get his hands on a sheep or goat for his offering because they were literally too poor to afford it. The fact that the worshipper could bring a lesser offering showed that no one was excluded from God’s grace and mercy and despite their poverty in the community, they were not less valued in God’s eyes.

We see differences as the worshipper had to bring two turtledoves or pigeons, not just one, as in the burnt offering. The first was for their sin offering and the other one was for a burnt offering. This is probably because of the size of the bird. There was no way to separate the fat from the bird so it could be burned on the altar as God’s portion. And if only one bird was offered and completely burnt on the altar it would become a burnt offering not a sin offering. So, two birds were offered, the first for the worshipper’s sin offering which would become the priest’s portion and the second one for a burnt offering which symbolized it was God’s portion. The priest was to wring the bird’s head from its neck but not divide it completely and then he was to splash some of the blood against the sides of the altar.

Not severing the head of the bird from its body signified completeness, distinguishing it from the burnt offering where the head was removed and burned, signifying total surrender. Splashing the blood against the sides of the altar emphasized that the sinner was being ransomed and cleansed, which foreshadowed Jesus’ ransoming and cleansing of us. Draining the rest of the blood at the base of the altar symbolized that life belonged to God and it was being returned to Him. Once the sin offering was finished the priest presented the burnt offering. It was to be done in the prescribed way given in chapter one and when it was done correctly, it made atonement for the worshipper and the sins they committed and brought them forgiveness from God. We may think that these offerings were violent and bloody and they were, but we also need to remember that Christ’s death on the cross was violent and bloody as well. This should continually remind us of the heinousness and costliness of our sin. We must remember that our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, paid it all on that violent and bloody cross for us.

God continued to make provision for the poorest of the poor in the Israelite community by allowing them to be able to bring one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as an acceptable sin offering. In bringing the finest flour it still represented the best the worshipper had to offer. There were a couple of additional instructions the worshipper was to follow when bringing fine flour as a sin offering. They were not to put olive oil or incense on it. As we saw with the grain offering in chapter two, the fine flour symbolized Christ, the oil symbolized the Holy Spirit’s presence, and the incense symbolized the worshipper’s complete and fragrant act of devotion and worship. They were not to put the oil and incense on because when we harbor sin in our hearts, to some degree, we quench the Spirit in our lives, and we are not acting in complete devotion and worship toward the Lord. What is left is the fine flour, symbolizing Jesus Christ, who is the only way our sins can be atoned for and forgiven. Once the worshipper prepared their sin offering, they brought it to the priest who took a handful as a memorial portion and burned it on the altar on top of the food offerings to the Lord. It was called a “memorial” portion because the worshipper was “to remember” God had done for them in atoning for and forgiving their sin.

The reason it was burned on top of the altar on top of the food offerings was practical. Without the oil and incense, burning the flour by itself would have been difficult. Also, the “burning” of the flour would symbolize that it was a blood offering on behalf of the worshipper, still portraying the needed symbolism of the sufferings of Jesus Christ. Lastly, the worshipper was reminded this was a sin offering given for any of their sins committed and that atonement was made and forgiveness given. The sins committed refer back to verses one through four talking about withholding known evidence, touching an unclean animal or person, and taking a thoughtless oath, plus all other sins that these sins represented. We are now told that the priest was able to keep the rest of the sin offerings as they were able to with the grain offering. The only time this would have been inappropriate was when they sinned or the entire community sinned because they would not have been allowed to benefit from their own sin offering. The Lord made provision for everyone to be atoned for, forgiven and reconciled to Him. It didn’t matter if the worshipper could bring a female lamb or goat, two turtledoves or pigeons or only one tenth of an ephah of fine flour. What mattered was that when the worshipper sinned, they brought whatever offering they could afford before the Lord, and they confessed their sin. Confession and repentance are what mattered most to the Lord. Confession and repentance are the most important things we can do in our relationship with Jesus. We must continually, daily, be searching our hearts for sin and sincerely confessing it before the Lord.

That brings us to our second point, the Guilt Offering, found in Leviticus 5:14-19. This is what God’s Word says, “The Lord said to Moses: “When anyone is unfaithful to the Lord by sinning unintentionally in regard to any of the Lord’s holy things, they are to bring to the Lord as a penalty a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel. It is a guilt offering. They must make restitution for what they have failed to do in regard to the holy things, pay an additional penalty of a fifth of its value and give it all to the priest. The priest will make atonement for them with the ram as a guilt offering, and they will be forgiven. “If anyone sins and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, even though they do not know it, they are guilty and will be held responsible. They are to bring to the priest as a guilt offering a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. In this way the priest will make atonement for them for the wrong they have committed unintentionally, and they will be forgiven. It is a guilt offering; they have been guilty of wrongdoing against the Lord.”

This is the beginning of a new instruction from the Lord through Moses to the people. This is the last offering, the “guilt offering,” also called the “trespass” or the “reparation” offering. The word for “unfaithful to the Lord” means to “cover up” or “act covertly or treacherously.” Again, the sins were unintentional and when brought to the worshipper’s attention, a guilt offering had to be offered. The “Lord’s holy things” refer to things that belong to Him or are part of His tabernacle; things that have been set apart by God for His service. These could be neglecting to redeem their firstborn, not observing the Sabbath or the law of the tithe, or failing to offer their first-fruits, etc. It would be any type of defrauding God in spiritual matters. Withholding any “holy things” from God was considered stealing from Him and a major offense to Him. Malachi 3:8 says, “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.” The penalty for sinning unintentionally with any of the Lord’s “holy things” was a ram without defect. A ram was a symbol of strength and a defender of the flock and as such was a picture of Jesus, who is called the defender of the weak, the fatherless, the poor and the oppressed. Psalms 82:3, talking about God, says, “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.”

The ram was one of the most expensive offerings that could be brought before the Lord and there was no allowance for the poor Israelite. This was because of the seriousness and severity of the breach of loyalty or trust committed by the worshipper in defrauding or profaning the “Lord’s holy things.” The value of the “holy thing” that was defrauded was to be set in silver based on the sanctuary shekel. The shekel itself was a common weight in the ancient Near East, but the "sanctuary shekel" was a specific, holy standard for religious purposes, possibly heavier than common shekels. The reason a value was put on the Lord’s holy things at all was because the worshipper was to pay restitution to the Lord for defrauding and profaning his “holy things.” This payment of restitution is what differentiated the sin offering from the guilt offering. Restitution was to consist of the original cost of the defrauded thing such as the cost of their tithe and an additional penalty of one-fifth or twenty percent was added onto it. For example, if a person didn’t pay their tithe to the Lord which consisted of an ox, a goat, and grain, the value of those things would be set in silver according to the sanctuary shekel. If the value was 100 silver shekels, one fifth or twenty more shekels would be added to it in order to make restitution to the Lord for sinning in regard to the Lord’s holy things. The guilt offering would then consist of the ram, the cost of the tithe and the one-fifth restitution. All this was given to the priest who would then offer the ram as their guilt offering, making atonement for the worshipper and bringing forgiveness from the Lord. Notice that restitution was to be paid to the Lord first followed by the guilt offering of the ram. This symbolized putting things right with God before seeking divine atonement and forgiveness.

Next, in verses 17-19, we see a difference in the breach of loyalty or trust against the Lord. In the previous verses it is known which holy things were defrauded and so restitution could be set. But now the worshipper is not sure what the actual breach of loyalty was and so no restitution is figured in. They may have forgotten what the transgression was or they were just feeling guilty without knowing the reason why. But the worshipper was still considered guilty and to be held responsible. It is possible that the worshipper actually did nothing wrong but in order to have a clear conscience he would bring a guilt offering of a ram without defect to the priest. Since proper restitution couldn’t be set, the priest probably just figured the value of the ram and that was what the worshipper was to bring in addition to the ram. Since he acknowledged his guilt on his own, the one-fifth is waived. The life and cost of the ram was sufficient to make atonement for the worshipper and the unintentional wrong they committed against the Lord and were forgiven by Him. The guilt offering was interesting because most of the time, the sin was only known to God and the sinner. The worshipper’s conscience became guilty, and they felt the need for ransoming and cleansing from their guilt. In other words, they did not have to come forward. This offering showed a genuine heart of repentance because it dearly cost the worshipper something. It wasn't cheap or easy repentance. I like how Garrett puts it: The worshipper stands forgiven because of the substitute. This is the picture of Christ’s work for us. We have certainly offended God without even knowing it in too many ways to count in our lifetimes. “Yet, the debt is paid, and we stand justified before the Lord despite those sins known but to Him.”

This reminds me of the Holy Spirit’s working in my life. As I have grown older, the Holy Spirit has convicted me of my sin and guilt faster and faster. I remember a time in elementary school when I was able to get away with my sinful choices for an entire quarter. But later in high school and just out of school I can remember barely being able to stand the guilt for a couple of days before I was like Tommy in the opening illustration and “telling on myself.” It made me sick to keep my guilt bottled up inside me. I appreciate the Holy Spirit convicting me of my sin and guilt and the grace and mercy of God not letting me live in it for any length of time. We can be sure that our sin and guilt will find us out sooner or later. I hope you are the same as I, and that the Holy Spirit convicts you immediately of your sin and guilt giving you the opportunity to confess it and repent of it as soon as possible. That brings us to our first next step, which is I will listen to the Holy Spirit when He convicts me of my sin and guilt allowing me to confess and repent of my sin as soon as possible.

In conclusion: When the Lord accepted a sin or guilt offering and granted forgiveness the sinner no longer bore the burden of guilt and evil. Witnessing the blood and smoke a sincerely repentant Israelite could have assurance that his or her relationship with God was truly restored even though no heavenly voice or banner was let down from the sky proclaiming, “I forgive you.” In John Bunyan’s allegory depiction of his expedition from sin, Christian let his burden of sin go and when it rolled into a cave, he accepted that it was gone. He did not go spelunking in order to retrieve it. Corrie Ten Boom draws on another metaphor saying, “When we confess our sins, God casts them into the deepest ocean gone forever. Even though I cannot find a scripture for it I believe God then places a sign out there that says no fishing allowed (Big Idea). The act of letting go and accepting that God holds all our iniquities into the depths of the sea is a transaction not simply a feeling.” Micah 7:18-19 says, “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins under foot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” That brings us to our second and last next step which I will let go of my confessed and forgiven sin and guilt trusting that God has thrown my iniquities into the depths of the sea.

As Gene and Roxey come to lead us in a final hymn and the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offerings, let’s pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for your provision of your son, Jesus, who takes our sin and guilt away, through His perfect sacrifice on the cross for us. Thank you that we no longer have to be slaves to our sin and guilt. Help us to listen to the Holy Spirit when He convicts us of our sin and guilt and bring us before your throne in confession and repentance as soon as possible. Then once we have confessed and been forgiven, help us to let go trusting that you have thrown our iniquities into the depths of the sea, and they are remembered no more. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Opening: Ray Stedman “The Way of Wholeness”; page 71ff

Closing: Gane “The NIV Application Commentary om Leviticus and Numbers; page 114

January 11, 2026/by Office

Scorpion’s Sting

Sabbath Leviticus Sunday Morning Marc Webb

Scorpion’s Sting

Do you know how to avoid common colds? The only way to ensure that you don't pick up one of the many cold and flu viruses is to be dead. On average preschool children get nine colds a year and adults get seven. Cold viruses, of which there are many kinds, are contracted through hand-to-hand contact with an infected person or touching the surface of an object that has been touched by an infected person, such as the handle of a grocery cart or the coffee cup extended to you by a fast-food server. In other words, catching a cold is inevitable regardless of the care you take to avoid encountering the annoying cold virus. There are preventative steps you can take, including regularly washing your hands but watch out for the bathroom door handle, or staying fit through good nutrition and exercise, but beware the germs lurking on the treadmill's grip at the gym. We can't see cold viruses, but they are unavoidably enveloping us. And as we might be victims of a cold virus, we are just as likely to be the spreader of it as well.

What can be said about the common cold virus and the human condition is true of the spiritual condition of each one of us. By virtue of our human condition as sinners we are all, every one of us, inevitably committing sinful thoughts and making sinful choices daily. Even if our sin is not premeditated and even if we are most attentive to avoid sin, we cannot escape the inevitability of committing it. The Bible clearly tells us that the human soul stands in need of cleansing from sin and guilt. And the sacrificial system that is detailed in the book of Leviticus made an accommodation for the unavoidable human condition of sin. The sin offering was God's gracious provision for the guilty person by which his or her sin was removed and by which he or she received divine forgiveness. The corruption of human sin also polluted the tent of meeting and required cleansing which is why this offering is also called the purification offering. But the sacrifice of an animal only purged the corruption of the outer person, the body. What was needed was to purge the malignancy of the inner person, the soul. The Lord made a sure means of forgiveness for every one of us through the atoning sacrifice and death of Jesus Christ whose sinless life made it possible for our iniquities to be purged from our souls.

Two weeks ago, we discovered that God desired those who call Him Lord and Savior to live in an awareness of their sin and their need for repentance and forgiveness. Last week we discovered that God desired to forgive all who would come to Him in repentance of their sin. Today we will see that God desires His people to come before Him confessing their sin daily, which is required because of our sin nature. And through the atoning sacrifice and death of Jesus Christ, God graciously gives forgiveness and restoration to us. That brings us to our big idea that God desires His people to come before Him in daily confession of their sin.

Let’s pray: "Heavenly Father, as we gather to hear your Word proclaimed this morning, we ask that you open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit. Lord, let these words be your words, not ours, pointing us always to your Son, Jesus Christ. May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and Redeemer, that we might hear your truth, be transformed by it, and give you all the glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Before we get into this morning’s scripture, let me recap our study of God’s chosen people so far. In Exodus, Yahweh (the Lord) rescues His chosen people, the Israelites, from slavery to Pharaoh, saves them from the Egyptians at the Red Sea, and guides them to Mt. Sinai to give them His Ten Commandments. Because they were His people and He was their God, He commanded them to build a “tent” so He could dwell among them as they traveled to the Promised Land and where they could worship Him. After Moses finished the “tent of meeting” the Lord came down in all His holiness and took up residence in the Holy of Holies, between the cherubim that were on the Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant. God then began to instruct Moses and the Israelites on how they were to approach Him with proper worship and because they were sinful human beings this included offerings and sacrifices. Some of these offerings and sacrifices were voluntary signifying the worshipper’s complete love and devotion for God, for His atonement for their sins and their access to His presence. They also signified the joy and celebration of the worshipper for God’s faithful provision and covenant saving relationship and the reconciliation and peace the worshipper could now have with God because of His grace and covenant.

Then God mandated the sin offering. The sin offering was mandatory because of the people’s sin nature and their sinful lives. It signified cleansing and purification for the sin that polluted both people and the Holy Place and that it required blood to fully remove sin’s penalty and pollution, allowing renewed access to God’s presence. As we have studied the sin offering, we have noticed and descending order of importance in who has sinned and the sacrifice they were to bring for their atonement. The first offerings were for the high priest and the whole Israelite community when they sinned unintentionally and then became aware of their sin. They were to bring the most expensive offering of a bull without defect. This was because their sin was the most serious and could cause the entire community to become estranged from God and His presence. The next offering was for the leaders of the community and was to be male goat without defect. And today we will study what the final group of people were to bring as an offering when they sinned unintentionally, realized their guilt and the sin they committed became known to them. We will also look at four specific unintentional sins committed by this final group and what they were to do to make atonement and be forgiven.

Now let’s turn to Leviticus 4:27-35. Follow along as I read these verses. This is what God’s Word says, “If any member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, when they realize their guilt and the sin they have committed becomes known, they must bring as their offering for the sin they committed a female goat without defect. They are to lay their hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering. Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. They shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. In this way the priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven. “‘If someone brings a lamb as their sin offering, they are to bring a female without defect. They are to lay their hand on its head and slaughter it for a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. They shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the lamb of the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar on top of the food offerings presented to the Lord. In this way the priest will make atonement for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven.”

The fourth and final group that God instructed on what they were to bring as a sin offering was any member of the Israelite community. The word used is speaking of an individual, not of the high priest or a leader in the community, but of the common Israelite. Again, their sin was unintentional, they had done what was forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, they realized their guilt and the sin they committed had come to their knowledge. The sin could have come to their knowledge because another person informed them of a sin they committed or a law they unwittingly violated. Also, the individual may have become aware of their sin because they suffered consequences of their guilt and were prompted to discover whether sin was the cause. In some cases, they might simply have thought back over the past several days or weeks to see how they might have sinned. In others they might have sought an answer directly from the Lord.

But no matter how the knowledge of their sin came to light, when it did, they had to bring an offering of a female hairy goat without defect. The female goat would have been of less value than the male goat and so more affordable for the common Israelite. Of course, it had to be perfect, without defect, symbolizing Jesus Christ as the perfect and unblemished sacrifice for our sins. The goat’s rough, hairy nature symbolized an awareness of sin and was visibly linked to human guilt and rebellion against God, contrasting with the innocence of lambs in other offerings. The worshipper then was to lay their hand on the head of the female goat which identified them as the guilty party and it as their sin offering and substitute. The worshipper slaughtered the goat at the place of the burnt offering or on the north side of the altar. The priest then took over taking some of the blood with his finger and putting it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering. The horns of the altar represented power and strength and when covered with blood symbolized complete atonement from sin, purification from defilement and reconciliation with God. The penalty for sin was paid, the sacred altar was purified, and one life was exchanged for another bringing God’s forgiveness, foreshadowing Christ ultimate sacrifice. Then all the remaining blood was to be poured out at the base of the altar signifying that God was the giver of life and the life of the sacrifice was being returned to Him. The worshipper was to then remove the fat, just like that of the fellowship offering, and the priest was to burn the fat on the altar for a sweet aroma to the Lord. The fat was the choicest and best part of the animal and again, as such, was reserved for God alone.

One difference between the fat offering of the common Israelite and the offerings for the high priest, whole community and leader was that this time the priest was to burn the fat on the altar “for a sweet aroma to the Lord.” These words showed extra favor to the common Israelite. The fact that this same ritual is stated almost exactly word-for-word as the rituals performed on behalf of the high priest, the whole community and the leader showed that the sin of the common Israelite was as completely atoned for, forgiven and just as important to the Lord. Garrett says, “In fact, the forgiveness of the lowly person is actually exalted in the use of the terminology.” After each ritual has been performed, the priest is said to have made atonement for the person, or group and their sin had been forgiven. This was stated so the sinning party or parties knew beyond a shadow of the doubt that their sin was cleansed, forgiven, forgotten and they were put back into a right relationship and close fellowship with their covenant king.

Next, we see an alternative option of a lamb for the sin offering of the common Israelite. Again, it was to be a female without defect which made it less valuable than a bull and more affordable for the common person. The Hebrew word used here for “lamb” means “to dominate” and was used to symbolize that Christ would dominate over sin with His death, burial and resurrection. This made an offering of a lamb a suitable sin offering reminding us of the words of John 1:29: “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” The ritual presented in verses 33 to 35a are almost exactly word-for-word from the common Israelites’ sin offering of the female goat. It all points us to remember Christ’s pure and perfect atoning death on the cross at Calvary which was foreshadowed for 1500 years by the sin offerings the Israelites brought to the “tent of meeting.” Each offering they brought with the right heart and motives, that they laid their hands on and slaughtered, restored their communion with Almighty God repeatedly. Both the goat and the lamb are a picture of Jesus Christ and were to foreshadow that there was a perfect sacrificial offering coming who would once and for all not only cover the sins of humanity but take them completely away.

God spent an extravagant amount of time in human history to point humanity to His Son Jesus for salvation. I’ve mentioned many times before that Jesus is the only way, the only truth and the only life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. There is no relationship or peace with the Father except through believing Jesus for our salvation. All of history is all about Jesus. We need to be careful not to worship anyone or anything else. Instead, as Hebrews 12:2 says, we need to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Let’s fix our attention on God’s Word and His love for us shown at the cross. Let’s turn our eyes upon Jesus and stop making excuses for not coming to Him for salvation and not accepting His gracious sacrifice on our behalf. God loves us so much that as Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” For those who have been ignoring God’s call to surrender your life to Him, it is time for you to echo Paul in Galatians 2:20, which says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” That brings us to our first next step which is I will stop making excuses for not surrendering my life to Jesus, be crucified with Him and invite Jesus to live in me.

That brings us to Leviticus 5:1-5 and three specific unintentional sins that the common Israelite may have committed requiring them to bring a sin offering before the Lord. This is what God’s Word says, “If anyone sins because they do not speak up when they hear a public charge to testify regarding something they have seen or learned about, they will be held responsible. “‘If anyone becomes aware that they are guilty—if they unwittingly touch anything ceremonially unclean (whether the carcass of an unclean animal, wild or domestic, or of any unclean creature that moves along the ground) and they are unaware that they have become unclean, but then they come to realize their guilt; or if they touch human uncleanness (anything that would make them unclean) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt; or if anyone thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether good or evil (in any matter one might carelessly swear about) even though they are unaware of it, but then they learn of it and realize their guilt— when anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must confess in what way they have sinned.”

These specific sins are of less magnitude than what was discussed for much of chapter four and this section is a continuation of the sins of the common Israelite. The word for “anyone” is again “soul” meaning a person with a will or desire. Three specific sins are highlighted. The first has to do with an individual who hears a public charge to testify about something, and they do not speak up. They have specific knowledge in a judicial matter and are being asked on oath to divulge what they know. Or they are being asked on oath about a matter, and they are being deceitful about their answer for some reason. In the Israelite community it was an individual’s duty and responsibility to tell the truth but especially in judicial matters. This was the proper behavior that God required of all Israelites to maintain the integrity of the society ultimately ruled by God’s divine law. If someone was aware of an offense committed by someone else, they were required to tell the truth, or they would be held responsible and bear guilt. In fact, that individual would be considered in God’s eyes to have participated in what had occurred. This was a willful concealing of something that undermined the Lord’s control of His people through His law. In Matthew 26, Jesus was put under oath by the high priest to answer whether He was the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus was now bound by the law of Moses to answer and tell the truth. Of course, he did and remained without guilt in the matter.

The second type of sin was about becoming unclean, either through touching something or someone who was unclean. This is the first time the word “unclean” has been used in the Bible and is a verb meaning “the act of becoming defiled.” If someone came in contact which something or someone unclean, they also became unclean until they were “purified.” This was another reason why the sin offering was also called the purification offering. There were many things that could make a person ceremonially unclean. Three dead things are mentioned: the carcass of an unclean wild or domestic animal such as a pig or donkey and the carcass of an unclean creature that moved along the ground such as a reptile. These general categories were given to symbolize all unclean animals that would later be designated by God’s dietary laws. There were four likely reasons that an individual would be unaware of becoming unclean. One, they didn’t know they touched something unclean. Two, they were unaware of the law that would tell them they had touched something unclean. Three, they had forgotten they had become unclean by touching something unclean. And four, they had willingly ignored the fact they had touched something unclean. Also, someone would be considered unclean if they were to touch a person who was unclean. The mitigating factors here were the touching of someone who was bleeding, the touching of bodily fluids or touching someone to do with death. No matter whether it was something or someone unclean, the individual would be considered guilty even if they were unaware of becoming unclean. This was an exhortation for them to be aware of their surroundings and not to go about life like they didn’t have a care in the world. This was not considered a moral failure but a ceremonial one and as such they were still considered guilty and had to bring an offering.

The third type of sin was like the first. Someone had thoughtlessly made an oath or swore carelessly about something, and it didn’t matter if it was for good or evil. The word for “speaking thoughtlessly” means “to babble.” It comes from the idea of speaking rashly or unadvisedly. They spoke rashly in the heat of the moment and when the situation had died down, they didn’t consider the oath they had spoken. The phrase “whether good or evil” means every conceivable situation is covered and guilt has been incurred. Once the matter is brought to the attention of the offender, they were guilty under the law and would have to bring the appropriate sacrifice. In verse five we again see a word used for the first time in scripture. When a person was guilty of any of these three offenses, remaining silent under oath, touching something or someone unclean or making a rash oath, and it was brought to their attention, they became guilty and had to “confess” their sin. Even though it is not mentioned, we can surmise that the sin offerings that were to be brought in chapter four also included confession and so the necessity to confess shows that the offer itself was not enough to bring atonement, forgiveness and restoration. This again points us to the gospel and Jesus Christ as our sin-offering. There is no such thing as universal salvation. Without confessing that we are sinners, without confessing that we need a Savior and without confessing Jesus as Lord we will not be saved. Also, our sin is not cleansed without confessing as seen in 1 John 1:9, which says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.” (Big Idea) Garrett says, “Confession, whether of sin or for salvation, is necessary for things to happen.”

In conclusion of today’s message, I want you to consider this illustration. Imagine that you have a scorpion on your brow, and you don’t know it and it is prepared to thrust its deadly sting into you. Now imagine a timely friend who sees the deadly scorpion and alerts you to the danger so you can sweep it off just in the nick of time. The scorpion is our unintentional sins and the God “of all knowledge” is our gracious friend. God’s Son, His Word, and His gracious provision of confession, forgiveness and restoration is offered to us so that we will purpose to live holy lives. And when we inevitably sin, we are to come before Him in confession lest we die in our sins and are separated from God for all eternity. So, let’s purpose to live holy lives, in awareness of the scorpion sting of unintentional sin that sits on our brow. Let me finish with I John 2:1-2 and our last next step: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. Let’s purpose to listen to the Holy Spirit, to help keep us from sin or to remember God’s gracious provision of confession, forgiveness and restoration. That brings us to our second and last next step which is I will daily confess my sins finding forgiveness and restoration through God’s provision of the sin offering of Jesus Christ.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the opportunity to be in your presence and to learn from your Word. As we live our lives in this sin saturated world, help us by your Spirit to be attentive to the scorpion’s sting of sin. Help us to listen to your Holy Spirit’s prompting to daily confess our sins before you. Thank you for your forgiveness and restoration through your provision of our sin offering, Jesus Christ. And Lord pricks the hearts of those who don’t know you so that they would stop making excuses, surrender their lives to your son, be crucified with Him and invite Him to live within them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

January 4, 2026/by Office

Gospel Megaphone

Leviticus Leviticus Sunday Morning Marc Webb God's Word, Reconciliation, Repentance, Salvation

Gospel Megaphone

For as long as 3000 years, there has been a caste system in India. The word is derived from the Portuguese word “casta” which means “race, breed, or lineage.” That was derived from an earlier concept meaning “pure” or “unmixed.” The actual words used to describe the caste system are Varna and Jati (Jaytee). Varna means “color” and is used as a framework for grouping people into classes. Jati means “birth” which is considered to have its basis in religion. In the end, this is not uncommon in the world. Religion often finds ways of oppressing people. In the case of the Indian castes, there are five major groups. At the top are the Brahmins, and at the bottom are the Dalits. None of the castes are to intermarry, but the poor Dalits, or untouchables, aren’t even to be spoken to or looked at for the most part. As a caste, they are considered so low that they aren’t even considered a caste. Although there are high-ranking and low-ranking people within Hebrew society, there is the underlying truth that all humans are created in God’s image and are of equal worth. But this may not always be the reality. Some of the Jewish religious sects look at the Gentile world as “far below them.” They are the righteous and favored and the Gentiles are the dogs. Such is life for those who reject the truths of the Bible, or who selectively pick and choose certain verses to merge with a presupposition about others. Even in Christianity, there have been those who have used the Scriptures to justify the notion that one group of people is less valuable than another. Slavery, subjugation of other people groups, and a diminishing of the value of life grow naturally out of a liberal view on humanity.

However, the more biblically fundamental a person is, the more a true sense of value for human life is realized. The notion of abortion becomes abhorrent, the concept of euthanasia is seen for the evil that it truly is, and the equality of all men is brought into its highest place. Why is this? It is because the ground is level at the foot of the cross. There is but one offering by which all must come to God the Father. The richest person can offer no more, and the poorest person can come with no less. The cross is, above all, the great equalizer. The Old Testament focuses almost solely on the Hebrew people and their relationship with God, with but a few exceptions. The outside nations did their own thing, and they were, for the most part, regarded in a negative light, but the value of the individual – whether Hebrew or Gentile – is actually quite prominently on display. If we were to just look at the dealings within the Hebrew society, and nowhere else, we would note that there is no such thing as a caste system. There were Hebrew slaves, but they became that way for a reason, and they were to be given their freedom after certain intervals of time, or if certain other occasions required it by law. There were also nobles within society, but they were bound under the exact same laws as everyone else. In the end, one cannot find a system where the poor, or certain other groups, were intentionally kept subjugated by the framework for society, which is the Law of Moses. In fact, just the opposite is true.

The sin offerings of Israel highlight the fact that all were bound under the law, all had to come to God for forgiveness when they transgressed the law, and all were given equal forgiveness when they came forward for it. But within the sin offerings, there are clues that God actually exalted the lowly. The terminology used in the verses today highlights the offerings of the poor people in a way that is not highlighted for the high priest or the ruler who sinned. These things need to be highlighted, because they show that God looks on the poor and lowly and regards them. He doesn’t look more favorably on some and less on others just because of their looks, the size of their pocketbook, or the type of car they drive. Instead, he looks on the heart and determines the value of the person. Again, at the foot of the cross, the ground is level and our wonderful God allows all who will come, to come. If you have called on Christ, you are well-loved and highly favored. Acts 10:34-35 says, Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” God desires to forgive all people, no matter their race, status or background. All they need to do is come in true confession and repentance and he will forgive them. This is what we will see as we study the rest of chapter four. That brings us to our big idea that God desires to forgive all people who come to Him in repentance.

Let’s pray: Lord, as we study Your Word, grant us discernment and to understand its power. Help us apply these truths to our lives and grow in knowledge of You. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us so we can grasp how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is for us. Reveal your wisdom to us through your Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Our first point, Remedy, is found in Leviticus 4:13-26. I am not going to read every single verse because there will be a lot of repetition, but I will read what is new in each section and refer to what is repeated. Today’s study is a continuation of the sin offering started last week. The sin or the purification offering is the fourth offering that God commanded Moses to teach to the Israelites. This was the first mandatory offering after instructing the people on three free-will offerings, the burnt, the grain and the peace or fellowship offerings. The burnt offering signified the complete love and devotion of the worshipper for God for their atonement and access to His presence. The grain offering signified the joy and celebration of the worshipper for God’s faithful provision and covenant saving relationship. The fellowship offering signified the reconciliation and peace meaning the wholeness, harmony, and well-being that the worshipper could now have with God in celebration of His grace and covenant. The sin offering signified cleansing and purification for the sin that polluted both people and the Holy Place. It also signified that it required blood to fully remove sin's penalty and pollution, allowing renewed access to God's presence. As God continues to instruct the people on the sin offering, we notice a descending order of importance in who has sinned and the sacrifice they were to bring for their atonement. Last week, we started with the sin of the High Priest, and the ritual God instructed Him to perform to deal with his sin. This morning, we pick up in Leviticus 4:13 talking about the next category, the whole Israelite community, and what had to be done when their unintentional sins came to light.

Follow along as I read verses 13-21. This is what God’s Word says, “‘If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, when they realize their guilt and the sin they committed becomes known, the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the tent of meeting. The elders of the community lay their hands on the bull’s head before the Lord, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the Lord. Then the anointed priest is to take some of the bull’s blood into the tent of meeting. He shall dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it before the Lord seven times in front of the curtain. He is to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the Lord in the tent of meeting. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He shall remove all the fat from it and burn it on the altar and do with this bull just as he did with the bull for the sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for the community, and they will be forgiven. Then he shall take the bull outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull. This is the sin offering for the community.”

First, this does not mean that one hundred percent of the congregation was guilty of sin but that at least one or more persons had sinned against the Lord’s covenant and brought guilt upon the whole community. The community as a whole had to be atoned for before they could have a proper relationship with the Lord again. The sin has an unintentional meaning, either the sinfulness was called out, the sinful act was not known to be sinful until the law that was violated was explained, or the people became aware of their sin because they suffered consequences of their guilt and were prompted to discover whether sin was the cause. In some cases, they might simply have thought back over the past several days or weeks to see how they might have sinned. In others they might have sought an answer directly from the Lord. Either way, when the sin became known, the congregation needed to present a bull as a purification offering. We may wonder why, if the sin is unintentional, does God bring discipline? You’ve probably heard the phrase “ignorance is no excuse.” Well, that is played out in the sin offering. Today, we may break the speed limit or commit some other traffic violation unknowingly, but if stopped we could still get ticketed. Demanding a penalty to be paid even for unintentional violations is not unjust or harsh. Also, this type of discipline from the Lord was actually an act of mercy. The goal of discipline is to alert us to our sin so we can properly repent and not incur other consequences.

When the entire community sinned unintentionally and or in ignorance, they bore the guilt and atonement had to be made. What is interesting is that on the Day of Atonement, the one day the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies, he was to make atonement before God for the unintentional sins of the people throughout the previous year. But if a congregation’s sin became known it could not wait till the Day of Atonement to be dealt with. As soon as it was known the offering had to be brought or the sin became intentional. If they were to refuse to bring the sin offering it became a high-handed sin. I mentioned last week there was no offering that could be brought to atone for a high-handed sin; immediate repentance and sacrifice was the only way.

One example of the entire Israelite community experiencing the consequences of their guilt is found in Joshua 7. Before conquering Jericho, God commanded that everything in the city be "devoted to destruction", meaning it had to be destroyed or given to the tabernacle, as a sign of total dependance on God and prohibiting any personal profit. Achan sinned by stealing some of the "devoted things", including a beautiful Babylonian robe, silver, and gold, and hid them in his tent. By taking these items, Achan wasn't just stealing from the spoils; he was stealing from God, robbing Him of what was dedicated to Him. This hidden sin brought God's anger, and the consequences were that Israel lost their battle at Ai, resulting in death and national shame. Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the Lord asking God why they were defeated. And the Lord revealed that someone had stolen some of the devoted things. When identified by lot, Achan confessed, and he, his family, livestock, and possessions were taken to the Valley of Achor and destroyed by stoning and burning, removing the sin from Israel.

This can be a lesson for us today as well. If we are dealing with unique or severe suffering in our lives, we may want to examine ourselves to see whether God is warning us about sin or disciplining us for sin. Sklar says, “If loving earthly parents bring discipline, even strong discipline, into our lives in the face of sin, we should expect our loving heavenly father to do the same.” Hebrews 12:5-6 says, “And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” So how can we keep from suffering the consequences of our guilt? First, we need to realize that God will discipline us to warn us from sinning or discipline us for our sin. Second, by confessing and repenting daily, we can hopefully keep from suffering the consequences of guilt because our unintentional sins have been confessed and repented of. That brings us to our first next step which is I will take responsibility for my sin daily by confessing and repenting of it.

The offering for the sin of the whole community was the same as the High Priest, a young bull without defect. This is because if the entire community was guilty the high priest was also guilty. The ritual was also similar. The young bull was to be brought before the Lord at the tent of meeting and this time the elders of the community were to lay their hands on the bull’s head and slaughter it. The elders would have been respected, mature men—heads of families, tribes, and communities—chosen for their wisdom, integrity, and fear of God. God specifically instructed Moses to appoint seventy elders to share the burden of spiritual and judicial leadership and who were empowered by the Holy Spirit. The seventy elders were the ones who accompanied Moses and Joshua up the mountain to seal the covenant with God in Exodus 24. As the elders put their hands on the unblemished bull’s head, the high priest or possibly someone else from the tribe of Levi would have confessed the sin of the community before God.

The bull without defects reminds us of Jesus and the slaughtering of the bull reminds us again that there is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood. The high priest would then bring some of the bull’s blood into the tabernacle, liberally dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord in front of the curtain or veil. He would then put some of the blood on the horns of the incense altar which was in the Holy Place before the Holy of Holies. These actions symbolized that atonement and purification of the tabernacle had taken place, the tabernacle was holy and set apart as God’s dwelling place, and that the blood sacrifice was accepted by God for the sins of the entire community. This needed to be done inside the tabernacle since the high priest would have been unqualified to mediate for the people before God and his prayers and repentance on behalf of the people would have been ineffective. Sprinkling the blood in front of the veil symbolized it was done before the Lord whose throne was behind the veil where the Ark of the Covenant resided. And sprinkling the blood seven times meant that there was complete atonement for the sins of the community. This foreshadowed that Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection would bring complete atonement for the sins of humanity.

Then the remaining blood was returned to God by pouring it out at the base of the altar of burnt offering. We continue to see similarities to the previous ritual as all the fat was to be taken from the bull and burnt on the burnt altar. We saw a lot of detail in the previous offering, but here the ritual is simplified as they have already been fully instructed in how to perform it. If the high priest performed the ritual properly before the Lord, the sin debt would be removed by the shedding of the bull’s blood, atonement would be made for the people, and they would be forgiven by God. Just like before the bull’s hide, flesh, head, legs, internal organs and intestines were to be taken outside the camp to the ceremonially clean place and burned just like the bull sacrifice for the high priest. Taking the rest of the bull outside the camp symbolized removing the people’s sin not only from their sight but from God’s sight as well. Psalms 103:12 says, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” This symbolizes God's complete and endless removal of our sins, our guilt and our condemnation, emphasizing that there's no limit or return. This sin offering is then confirmed to be for the community.

That brings us to the third specific category of people in the Israelite community who were to bring a sin offering when their sin became known, the ruler or leader. We see this in verses 22-26. The word translated “ruler” is a common word for “prince,” “chief,” or “leader” and is derived from the word meaning “to raise” or “to lift.” It denoted someone that was lifted up above others in honor, power, and authority, or that bore the weight of government. It was associated with the tribal organization of early Israel and was probably the leader of a family or tribe. We see the term, “of the Lord his God,” in verse 22 that we did not see in verses 2 or 13. This may be speaking about a ruler who was specifically appointed by God as the seventy elders were. Matthew Henry says, “Those who have power to call others to account, are themselves accountable to the Ruler of rulers; high as they are, there is a higher than they.”

Again, like the other people or groups, when a ruler or leader realized his guilt and his unintentional sin became known, he had to make atonement. His offering differed from the high priest and the entire congregation as verse 23 says, “He must bring as his offering a male goat without defect.” The male goat, which was less costly, contrasted with the bull, showed his lower rank below the high priest and the entire congregation. His sin, though worse than the common Israelite, was not as heinous, nor did it have the same harmful consequences, as the high priest or the community. This offering showed that God's law applied to everyone, even those who were "lifted up in honor." The ruler or leader was to lay his hand on the head of the goat signifying he was the guilty party, and this was his sin offering. The ruler or leader was requesting mercy from the Lord and was asking Him to accept this innocent substitute in his place. Again, this points us to Jesus Christ as our perfect substitute, who was to die in our place. The goat was to be killed at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the Lord, referring to the north side of the altar. The blood of the goat was not to be sprinkled inside the tent of the meeting or the Holy Place but rather put on the horns of the altar of burnt offering. The blood symbolically washed away the "uncleanness" and defilement of the people's sins that had permeated the sacrificial altar and consecrated or made it holy again. It transformed it into a suitable place for continued mediation between God and the people. It covered or removed the sin from God’s sight, bridging the gap between sinful humanity and a holy God, allowing for atonement, reconciliation and forgiveness.

In the New Testament the apostle Paul identified Jesus Christ as the sin offering who brought reconciliation between God and man. 2 Corinthians 5:20–21 says, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” While this passage is the most concentrated discussion of sin, it is also the most concentrated discussion of forgiveness in the Old Testament. Again, we see more similarities with the previous offerings in that the rest of the blood was poured out at the base of the Burnt Altar, returning the life blood to God the Creator. And the fat of the goat was burned on the altar as the fat of the fellowship offering had been done. Lastly, the carcass of the goat was not to be burned outside the camp, as was the case in the sin offerings for the high priest and the entire congregation. All the differences indicated that the sin of the leader, while certainly grievous, was not as serious as that of the high priest or the Israelite community at large.

I want to conclude today with our second point, Redeemer. The sacrificial system that God commanded the Israelites to follow was an act of perfect grace on God’s part to prepare the way for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. It pointed them to the sinfulness of their sin and the salvation promised through the seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15. The slaying of the sacrificial animal should have made the Israelites deeply contemplate the pervasiveness of sin in their lives and that only an unblemished substitute could atone for them. Our perfect sin-offering, Jesus Christ, is our Redeemer and He alone is the remedy for all our sin. We must also purposefully contemplate our sin, even daily as I mentioned earlier, and realize that only the perfect substitute of Jesus Christ is sufficient for our atonement and forgiveness. We must be aware of the desperate condition of our soul. God says in Romans 1:20 that we are without excuse, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

God expected the Israelites to hear His voice and to hear His remedy for the pervasiveness of their sin and obey with the proper heart and ritual. The cross declares the same message today, only with a lot more decibels if we are willing to hear. God, through the cross, reveals that His love through His son, Jesus, is for all peoples on earth. God desires to forgive all people no matter their race, status or background (Big Idea). Van Meter says, “God used a microphone when He declared His offer of forgiveness through the sin offering, but at Calvary He used a megaphone to declare forgiveness through the Sin Offering,” Jesus Christ. God even now continues to use the megaphone of gospel proclamation to draw all people to Himself for atonement and forgiveness, through the sin sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. He will forgive and save all who declare that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

If you are not saved this morning, your unbelief is not unintentional anymore because salvation through Jesus has now been declared to you. If you are to be saved you must confess your ignorance and by God’s grace move from intentional or unintentional unbelief to intentional belief. The question is, will you continue to commit the sin that leads to death or will you repent and call upon the name of the Sin Offering, the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you “lean” on Jesus and “embrace” God’s remedy for your salvation and trust that your sins are transferred to Him on your behalf? If you will, then your Redeemer will pronounce that your sins are forgiven. Vasholz says, “Christ as the sin offering imputes His righteousness to the worshipper who leans on Him.” That brings us to our second and last next step in which I will embrace God’s remedy for my salvation by trusting in my Redeemer, Jesus Christ. If you are interested in accepting Jesus Christ for salvation and want to know more, please mark this next step on the back of your communication card.

As Gene & Roxey come to lead us in a final hymn and as the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offerings, let’s pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for your Word and for the truths found in it. We thank you that you desire to forgive all people who come to Him in repentance. Help us by the power of your Holy Spirit to take responsibility for our sin daily by confessing and repenting of it. If there is someone here this morning who needs to know more about your salvation, help them to embrace your remedy for their salvation by trusting in our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

December 28, 2025/by Office

Dethroned But Not Destroyed

Leviticus Leviticus Sunday Morning Marc Webb

Dethroned But Not Destroyed

Dostoevsky in the Brothers Karamazov tells a fable about a wicked woman who died and was taken to hell by devils and tossed into the lake of fire. Her guardian angel was very puzzled as to how he might help her. So, he thought through her whole life to see if he could find at least one good thing she had done which he might present before God. Finally, the guardian angel went to God and said, “Once a beggar came by when she was weeding her garden and she pulled an onion out and gave it to him to eat.” God said to the angel, “Alright go down and get an onion and hold it out to her in the lake of fire. Tell her to take hold of it and if you could pull her out with that onion she can come to paradise.” So the angel got the onion, went down to the lake of fire, and held it out to the woman. She grabbed hold and he began to pull. He pulled and pulled and sure enough he began to pull her right up out of the lake. She was almost completely free when some other sinners around her, seeing that she was about to escape, grabbed hold of her ankles to be pulled out with her. At first the onion held, and they too began to be pulled out. But the woman became very angry and cried, “This is my onion and you're not going to go out with me.” As she kicked them loose, the onion broke, and she fell back in and is burning there to this day.

This is a graphic illustration of the kind of evil addressed in the sin offering. Even in moments of triumph the taint of evil infects every human heart. We, as human beings, are rotten to the core, we are bad to the bone. Our sin nature is pervasive, meaning it is widespread and deep reaching inside of us. It infects our minds, our hearts and our wills. If we are going to overcome this pervasive sin, we must take for ourselves the counsel that Cain rejected when the Lord said in Genesis 4:7, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it. How were they to rule over it? That was what the sin offering was to deal with. God desired the Israelites to first be aware of the pervasiveness or the magnitude of their sin and then realize their need for repentance and forgiveness. With the sin offering their sin nature had been dethroned, but it had not been destroyed, and so they were to live their lives with an awareness of their sin, being willing to repent and accept God’s all-encompassing forgiveness. It is the same for us today. Our sin nature is just as pervasive, but in Christ it had been dethroned, once for all. But we must not forget that it hasn’t been destroyed. That brings us to our big idea this morning which is God desires His people to be aware of the magnitude of their sin and their need for repentance and forgiveness.

Let’s Pray: Heavenly Father, we approach your throne this morning, humbly asking for your Holy Spirit to fill us as we investigate your Word. Let your Word be a light unto our feet and a lamp unto our paths. Help us to put all other thoughts away in this moment and focus our hearts and minds on you. May all we think, say and do here be honoring and glorifying to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

This morning, we are in Leviticus 4, and our first point is, Realization, found in verses 1-2. Follow along as I read those verses. This is what God’s Word says, “The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands— . . .”

So far in our study of Leviticus, we have seen three voluntary offerings, the burnt offering, the grain offering and the peace offering, which God used to address three basic needs of every human being. The burnt offering addressed the need for love, the grain offering addressed the need for joy and the peace or fellowship offering addressed the need for peace. We as human beings cannot function properly if these needs are not met. Now only after addressing those three basic needs does God introduce the next two offerings, the sin and guilt offerings, in which He will deal with what separates Himself from His creation. It will also address another basic human need which is the need to live as responsible individuals toward God and our fellow human beings. In each of these offerings, God is foreshadowing the coming of a better sacrifice, the person of Jesus Christ, who would fulfill them all with his death and resurrection. Both the sin and guilt offerings were mandatory, and so it wasn’t a matter of “if” they would sin, but “when” they sinned God commanded them to realize their need for repentance and forgiveness and bring their offerings before Him. In fact, these offerings had to be brought before any of the previous offerings, that have already been addressed could be brought. Before the people could continue in their relationship with God, their sin had to be dealt with, and these next two offerings were intended to take care of that.

The fact that these were mandated shows that the previous sacrifices could not bring full atonement. In this way, the sin offering points us forward to Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross. He is the one who atones for sin, appeases wrath and restores propitiation. Every sacrifice points us to Christ but there is a logical order to them. In the sin and guilt offerings, we will see the blessings of forgiveness and reconciliation. And once our sin is cleansed then the blessings of the other sacrifices, love, joy and peace, can be manifested in our lives. God from the very beginning of time ordained that the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross would fulfill all these sacrifices at once. We may wonder why God instructed the Israelites on five separate offerings instead of one. It was because each one could only deal with one of humanity’s problems. For instance, the burnt offering solved the problem of the Lord’s wrath against sin, but it did not purify or cleanse the sinner. There still needs to be expiation or the removal of sin’s pollution in their lives. The blood of the sin offering would symbolically accomplish that cleansing or purification.

As we now look at the first two verses, we notice a similar phrase from Leviticus 1:1, “The Lord called to Moses.” The first three chapters have been one continuous instruction from God to Moses. And now, God is going to introduce a new instruction, one that would separate the following offerings from the former ones. The instructions of the first three offerings focused on the procedure that needed to be followed to bring them in the appropriate way, the instructions for the next two offerings will focus on the people and the occasions that would require them. Also, notice again that Moses is to “speak” or “say” to the Israelites. These instructions were not only for the priests but for all the people. It was Moses, as the covenant mediator, and the priests, who were to explain these instructions to the people and guide them in obeying them. God starts this instruction with “when anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands.” The root word for sin occurs 595 times in the OT with 116 of those in Leviticus. Leviticus has the highest concentration of the word “sin” in the Bible. “If a person sins” is literally translated as “if a soul wanders away.” The meaning suggests sin is a violation of the covenant or missing the mark of God’s standard for behavior or conduct. And when a person violated the covenant, they were to bring a sin offering.

For all intents and purposes, there were two types of sin in Israel – unintentional or inadvertent and high-handed sins. The root word for “inadvertent” means “going astray”, “to commit sin or error” or “sinning by accident, mistake or in ignorance.” Eichrodt says, “It refers to sins that are the consequence of human frailty.” Again, focusing on our sinful nature, the sin offering was to be offered for their unintentional or inadvertent sins. Now high-handed sins were sins that were done boldly and in defiance of God. These sins were haughty, arrogant and prideful. It was like shaking your fist in the air at God and not caring about the consequences or feeling any guilt for your sin. High-handed sins could not be expiated. There was no offering or sacrifice that could be given for high-handed sins. The offender was to be “cut off” which could mean a premature death. All high-handed sins were intentional, but not all intentional sins were high-handed. Van Meter says, “sinlessness does not characterize the believer, but humility in failure does.” Believers still miss the mark, and they are painfully aware of this. While they do sin, they nevertheless are broken by it and bring their sacrifice in repentance before the Lord.” In fact, such a humble display and realization of their sin points to their sin being unintentional. (Big Idea).

One biblical example is King David. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband, Uriah, killed. If David had been unrepentant, refusing to bring a sin offering or brought it just for show and not from the heart, it would have been an intentional sin. But because he was repentant before the Lord, the Lord counted it as unintentional. David talking about keeping the decrees of the Lord says this in Psalms 19:11-13, “By them your servant is warned (talking about God’s decrees); in keeping them there is great reward. But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful (or intentional) sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.” It’s all about our heart toward the Lord. If when we sin, we come to the throne room of God through the blood of Jesus, we are counted as righteous, blameless and innocent but if we do not come through the blood of Jesus there is no sacrifice that will atone for us. Finally, doing what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands included not doing what God commanded and doing something that God commanded not to do.

That brings us to our second point, Remedy, found in Leviticus 4:3-12. This is what God’s Word says, “‘If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the Lord a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. He is to present the bull at the entrance to the tent of meeting before the Lord. He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it there before the Lord. Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull’s blood and carry it into the tent of meeting. He is to dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the Lord, in front of the curtain of the sanctuary. The priest shall then put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense that is before the Lord in the tent of meeting. The rest of the bull’s blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He shall remove all the fat from the bull of the sin offering—all the fat that is connected to the internal organs, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which he will remove with the kidneys—just as the fat is removed from the ox sacrificed as a fellowship offering. Then the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering. But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, as well as the head and legs, the internal organs and the intestines— that is, all the rest of the bull—he must take outside the camp to a place ceremonially clean, where the ashes are thrown, and burn it there in a wood fire on the ash heap.”

The rest of chapter five will consist of four classes of people who were to bring a sin offering when they sinned. We will see a hierarchy of sinners’ kind of like the hierarchy of sacrifices for the burnt offering. The Lord starts with the person who had the most important position in the Israelite community and so had the greatest responsibility to do what was right. The “anointed priest” is Aaron, the high priest. He was the only priest anointed on the head with oil. The other priests were only sprinkled with it. Instructing Aaron what to do when he sinned proved that he and every high priest after him was a sinful human being and their sin nature was as pervasive as anyone else and needed to bring a sin offering before the Lord. The great responsibility of the high priest is seen in that when he sinned, he not only brought guilt on himself but on all the people. This is because he was the representative of the people before God. Since he was the one who atoned for the nation, no one could be atoned until his sin was taken care of. We see this played out in scripture in Romans 15:12 which says, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all people, because all sinned.” Sin and death entered the world through Adam, and so our sin nature was handed down to every human being. So, if the high priest was guilty of sin, then all the people became guilty as well. Now the vice versa is true as well. Romans 5:19b goes on to say that “so also through the obedience of the one man (meaning Jesus) the many will be made righteous.” God counts Christians as righteous because of the righteousness of Christ. Another way the high priest could bring guilt upon himself, and the people was if he performed a ritual wrong causing everyone to become unclean.

The sin offering the high priest was to bring was a young bull without defect, which of course, points us to Jesus Christ, who is our perfect sin-offering. Not only does great position bring great responsibility it also demanded the most expensive sacrifice. Then what we see next is familiar to us. The high priest was to bring the bull to the door of the tent of meeting before the Lord, meaning the burnt altar. The burnt altar was directly in front of the door to the Holy Place and symbolized that the worshipper had access to God. He was to then lean with his hand and all his weight on the head of the bull. This would identify that he is the sinner and this is his sacrifice. He was asking the Lord, who he has offended, to accept this sacrifice for his sin. This was the way that God ordained the sin offering to be brought and so the high priests’ sin was imputed or transferred to the bull and the bull’s innocence was transferred to the high priest. Again, Jesus and his sacrifice for us on the cross is clearly shown in the sin offering. Then the high priest was to kill the bull before the Lord, reminding the entire congregation that without the shedding of blood there is no atonement or forgiveness of sins. We are reminded that without the shed blood of Jesus on the cross our sins could not be forgiven as well. Now, the ritual offering deviates from what we have seen before. The high priest was to take some of the bull’s blood and go into the Holy Place. Normally, the blood was splashed around the burnt altar which signified that a life had been given to cover their sin and that it was being given back to God, the creator and owner of all life. But here the high priest was required to bring some of the blood into the place he served the Lord. He was to dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times in front of the veil. The word for “dip” means to immerse and so he probably completely immersed his finger in the blood and sprinkled it there.

He sprinkled the blood directly in front of the veil opposite the mercy seat where God dwelled. This was the veil that divided the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. This had to be done because all access to God would have been cut off and the high priest would have been disqualified from serving in the tabernacle because of his sin. He would have been ineffective in performing his duties, which for one, would have meant there would be no forgiveness for the people until he was cleansed or purified of his sins. He sprinkled the blood seven times which is the number of perfections in the Bible. This signified that his sin was completely and perfectly atoned for and that the tabernacle was completely cleansed and purified. He also was to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of sweet incense. Putting blood on the horns would have cleansed the Holy Place making it holy again for God's presence. The incense altar was also where the prayers of the people were lifted to the Lord. The smoke of the incense would go through the veil into the presence of God symbolizing that their prayers were heard by Him. So not only was the high priest rendered ineffective to bring forgiveness to the people, but he was also rendered ineffective to bring their prayers before God. The incense would not have been acceptable, and the prayers of the people would not have been heard until the high priest’s sin was atoned for. The sins of the high priest would have not only polluted himself but polluted the place he served, the place God dwelled as well. Then the high priest was to pour the remaining blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering. Since atonement had already taken place inside the Holy Place, the blood just needed to be returned to the Lord.

Once the blood had been dealt with according to the Lord’s instructions, we see something familiar again as all the fat of the sin offering was to be removed from the bull. The fat symbolized the best part of the animal, signifying abundance and health, and so was symbolic of the worshipper’s best. Burning the kidneys and the liver on the altar symbolized worshipping God with all their emotions and surrendering their entire inner being, including their hidden intentions and motivations, to God for divine scrutiny and purification. The procedure for the removal of the fat is almost identical to that of the burnt offering in chapter one and the peace offering in chapter three. But there was one major difference. In 3:5, God instructed that the peace offering was to be burnt on the altar on top of the burnt offering that laid on the burning wood. This was talking about the morning sacrifice offered on the burnt altar. But once the sin of the high priest was discovered his sin offering took precedence even over the morning burnt offering. This makes sense in that God would not have accepted the mediator’s burnt offering until his sin offering was given and his sin atoned for. We see a truth for us here as well. Any offering we bring before the Lord, an offering of praise, thanksgiving, acts of love/service and obedience, will not be accepted unless we have first repented of and confessed our sin before the Lord. That brings us to our first next step which is I will search my heart for any unconfessed sin before I bring my offerings before the Lord.

In verses 11-12, we again see something we haven’t seen before as the high priest presents his ritual sin offering. The rest of the bull, its hide, all its flesh, its head, its legs, its internal organs and intestines were to be taken outside the camp to a ritually clean place and burned. This place is identified as the place where the ashes from the burnt altar were poured out. This clean place was set apart by God because He is concerned with purity and holiness even with items considered unclean. We have seen before that the skin of the burnt offering was given to the officiating priest, and we will see later that the flesh of some offerings was able to be eaten by the priests but not in this instance. Leviticus 6:30 says, “But any sin offering whose blood is brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place must not be eaten; it must be burned up.” The sinfulness of the high priest’s sin is seen in bringing the blood into the Holy Place to atone for it and by taking the remainder of the bull outside the camp to be burned. Garrett says, “The extreme treatment of both shows us the most severe nature of the offense, and so an even greater immensity of the atonement which was provided is also seen.”

God’s acceptance of the bull and its blood for the atonement of the high priest shows the extremely merciful act of forgiveness given to him. In cleansing the high priest of his sin, his sin was now transferred to the bull and because of his role as mediator the bull needed to be purged from the camp. Again, this is a perfect picture of Jesus Christ. God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice just as he accepted the high priest’s sacrifice of the bull. The bull’s blood was sprinkled before the veil and Jesus’ shed blood tore the veil in two. The bull’s body was taken outside the camp and burned, and Jesus was crucified outside Jerusalem. We this in Hebrews 13:11-12 which says, “The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so, Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.”

We see the truth of the remission or removal of our sins here as the bull is removed from the camp and burned. Its sacrifice and removal teach us a couple of things. One, sin is costly and is always a detriment to us. Sin will never improve our life. It promises fulfillment but delivers deception, leading to spiritual separation from God. It distorts our vision, hardens our hearts, and disconnects us from God’s power meant to sustain us, making us feel empty even as it promises satisfaction. Two, when God forgives us, he removes our sin from his sight and from our sight. But we must never forget the cost of our sin and that our sin nature is crouching at our door desiring to have us. We must rule over it. We rule over our sin by relying on the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:16 says, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” We also rule over our sin by replacing sin with righteousness, presenting our bodies as living sacrifices, and by cultivating a deep relationship with Jesus. We must remember that our sin nature has been dethroned but not destroyed and we must be diligent in ruling over our sin. And we can by the grace and mercy of God and with the help of the Holy Spirit that lives inside of all Christ-followers. That brings us to our second next step which is I will rule over my sin nature by the grace and mercy of God and with the help of the Holy Spirit.

In conclusion I want to read this illustration: Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth understood that sin is not an abstract concept but rather pollutes everything it touches. Having successfully murdered Duncan, she thought her deed would go unpunished. Yet she did not account for the lingering filth of her evil. Despite her best attempts to clean herself, she had to confess: “Here’s the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” Our sin pollutes everything it touches. It is pervasive within us. The only blood that can take away the lingering filth of sin is the blood of Jesus Christ. Only the sinless Son of God suffices for our atonement and therefore our forgiveness. Let us be people who search our hearts for unconfessed sin before we bring our sacrifices before the Lord. Let us be people who rule over our sin nature. Let us be people who confess our need for a Savior and appropriate His sacrifice on the cross for ourselves. Let us be people who are aware of the magnitude of our sin and our need for repentance and forgiveness (Big Idea).

Let’s pray: Thank you Heavenly Father for the privilege of being in your house and studying your Word. Lord, as we come before you in personal and corporate worship teach us to search our heart for unconfessed sin before we bring our offerings before you. We ask for your grace and mercy and for your Holy Spirit to help us to rule over our sin nature. And give us an awareness of the magnitude of our sin and our need for repentance and forgiveness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Opening: Ray Stedman, The Way to Wholeness, Lessons from Leviticus, p. 65

Closing: Scott Redd, https://learn.ligonier.org/devotionals/sin-offering

December 21, 2025/by Office

Give Peace a Chance

Leviticus Leviticus Sunday Morning Marc Webb Acceptance, Salvation, Strength, Trust

Give Peace a Chance

Some years ago, several artists were commissioned to paint a picture of peace. One artist depicted peace as a calm and tranquil sea under the moonlight. Another depicted peace as a mother and child reading a book together in a sunlit garden. But the picture that won the prize pictured a turbulent mountain waterfall with its noisily plunging waters. Yet half hidden behind the waterfall, not far from the thundering waters, was a bird's nest with a mother bird sitting quietly and serenely on her eggs. That was true peace, a safe and quiet little space during a noisy and raucous world.

This morning in Leviticus 3 we come to the third of five sacrifices that God ordained His people to bring to Him in worship. Through these five offerings, God was teaching the Israelites that he loved them so much that He, their one and only true God, was going to come down to earth, live a sinless life without blemish, sacrifice Himself for them as a burnt offering so that all who would believe in Him would live forever with Him. God wanted the Israelites and us to know that He wanted a relationship with His creation, and these offerings were to foreshadow a time when He would make that a reality. For us all five offerings are a picture of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross.

In the burnt offering God offered a way for His people to be atoned for and be reconciled to Him and so begin a personal relationship with Him. It foreshadowed us coming to salvation through Jesus Christ. In the grain offering God gave them a way to respond to His love and salvation by offering a gift of thanksgiving that acknowledged God's provision of their physical and spiritual needs, and a remembrance of the covenant promises made to each other. This foreshadowed our pursuit of holiness and sanctification in that our works for the Lord are acceptable in Jesus.

The third sacrifice is called by many names. It is called the fellowship offering, the well-being offering or the peace offering. Once we have accepted God’s offer of salvation and responded with thankfulness and dedication, we are able to have peace. We can be in fellowship with God in an intimate way. The peace we will study today is the supernatural peace we can have through God’s presence in our lives and knowing that He is in control of all things no matter how chaotic, troubled or out of control our lives seem to be. The fellowship or peace offer will teach us that we can have peace amid trouble and conflict and in a noisy and raucous world. We have the surety that God will ultimately work all things for the good to those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose. We see that is Romans 8:28. It is impossible to have a fulfilled and satisfied life without the peace that comes from being in a close, personal relationship with God. This is the peace that is pictured by the painting of the mother bird sitting on her eggs behind the turbulent waterfall. This is the kind of peace we can have, and the kind God wants to give us. That brings us to our big idea this morning that God desires His people to live at peace with Him.

Let’s pray, Heavenly Father, we come into your presence this morning with surrendered hearts and minds. Open our eyes and ears to what your Holy Spirit wants to say to each one of us. Teach us your holy Word and help us to obey all your commands. Give us your truth so that we can share with those who don’t know you. Help us to apply those truths to our own lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Our first point, The Herd, is found in Leviticus 3:1-5. This is what God’s Word says, “‘If your offering is a fellowship offering, and you offer an animal from the herd, whether male or female, you are to present before the Lord an animal without defect. You are to lay your hand on the head of your offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall splash the blood against the sides of the altar. From the fellowship offering you are to bring a food offering to the Lord: the internal organs and all the fat that is connected to them, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys. Then Aaron’s sons are to burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering that is lying on the burning wood; it is a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.”

The Hebrew word used for “fellowship” indicates a voluntary offering of thanksgiving much like the grain offering but with the added idea of alliance and friendship with God. This alliance would bring peace between two parties. The Hebrew word for “peace” is “shalom” which is a state of harmony, prosperity, happiness, friendship and unity. It is a state of wholeness and contentment. The burnt offering brought a state of atonement, the grain offering brought acceptance and satisfaction and the peace offering brings fellowship, communion and interaction between God and man. As with the burnt offering, we see the same sequence of events taking place with the peace offering. First, the proper animal had to be selected. The Israelites were able to choose from three types of animals. The first was an animal from their herd. But there were differences between this offering and the burnt offering. One difference was that the worshipper could present either a male or female animal as a sacrifice. Whereas the burnt offering was all about God and so required male animal, the peace offering was more about His people. He wanted to live in peace with all people and so a male or a female was acceptable. This was also to be a celebratory offering to God and with God from His people.

Second, like the burnt offering, the animal had to be perfect, without blemish or stain. This was to remind the worshippers that they were not perfect but sinful human beings and that the only way to approach God was by His grace. Do we honestly dwell on our sinfulness and how blemished we are. Do we take our repentance seriously? Do we contemplate our salvation and how Jesus suffered and died on the cross for pour sins? Van Meter says, “As we loathe our condition, we will increasingly love God’s salvation.” If we are to have peace with God, we must recognize that we are sinful human beings, that we fall short of the glory of God and must be reconciled to Him. We must be broken because of our sin but at the same time rejoice exceedingly for what Jesus has done on the cross for us. Third, like the burnt offering, the worshipper had to lean with all their strength on the head of the sacrifice signifying that the perfect animal was their substitute and was taking their place on the altar. This symbolized that their sins were transferred onto the sacrificial animal. But this offering was not given for atonement; it implies that the worshipper is already atoned for. Joseph Benson, citing Conradus, gives a description of the meaning of this gesture –“This laying on of hands signifies devotion and faith, with an acknowledgment of the benefits, for which we can offer nothing of our own, but only return to God what we have received; that we may understand gratitude and thanksgiving to be the greatest sacrifices.”

Fourth, the worshipper had to slaughter the animal by their own hand at the entrance of the tent of meeting. This symbolized that their sacrifice gave the worshipper access to the Lord. As they were doing this, they would have been praising and thanking God for His gift of salvation which brought them fellowship, well-being and peace with Him. Fifth, Aaron’s sons, the priests, were to collect the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar. This publicly demonstrated that a life had been taken for their atonement and reconciliation with God to take place. It points us to Jesus Christ who poured out His blood for us so we could have peace with God through Him. We may wonder why God ordained all this blood. It’s because there can be no atonement and reconciliation without the blood of a sacrifice. Hebrews 9:22 says, “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” It’s because our sin is so heinous and repulsive to God that the means of our salvation is bloody and gruesome. When we contemplate the bloody sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ it is supposed to give us pause when we are tempted to sin and purpose to live holy lives aided by the Holy Spirit.

Sixth, the worshipper was to bring a “food” offering from the peace offering to the Lord. This food offer consisted of the internal organs or the entrails and all the fat that was connected to them. It also consisted of both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver. Once removed from the animal, Aaron’s sons were to burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering that was lying on the wood. Why did God demand all the fat to be offered as a food offering to Him? Fat was symbolic of the best part of the animal and so symbolic of the worshipper’s best. The worshipper, thankful and appreciative of God’s blessing of salvation, responded by offering to Him their very best. God expects to receive the best the worshipper has to give. Colossians 3:17 and 23 says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” God desires His people to give Him their very best in response to His salvation and peace. Giving God our best should be a time of celebration and joy for what He has done for us. But how many of us stop celebrating and rejoice in the fact that we have been saved from our sins? When was the last time you praised, thanked and glorified God for your salvation? Let us be people who purpose to give the Lord our very best in appreciation of our salvation through Jesus Christ. That brings is to our first next step which is I will give the Lord my very best in appreciation of His salvation given freely to me through Jesus Christ.

We also notice that God demanded the liver and kidneys to be burned to Him on the altar along with the fat. In the Bible, the kidneys were considered the seat of their emotions. They symbolized giving God the hidden, internal part of oneself, a complete and sincere devotion beyond outward actions. They represented heartfelt gratitude and the emotional response of the worshipper toward God. Today, we say that our hearts ache or are overflowing with love for someone. In ancient cultures, a romantic husband may have said to his wife, “I love you with all my kidneys!” To offer God the kidneys was symbolic of worshipping Him with their emotions. Wenham writes, “It is possible that offering the kidneys and internal fat symbolizes the dedication of the worshipper’s best and deepest emotions to God. For the peace offering was often tendered in intrinsically emotional situations, when a person made vows or found themselves seeking God’s deliverance or praising him for his mercy.” This brings a question before us: Are we moved in our spirit and body when we contemplate what Jesus did for us on the cross? God is an emotional God and He desires His people to worship Him with their whole being and that includes their emotions.

Aaron’s sons were to burn these offerings on the altar. The word for burn means incense, or a fragrant offering meaning that these sacrifices were being offered to please God. When we worship the Lord the way He commands and we do it with the right heart and attitude, He is pleased with us and delights in us. Notice where this offering was burned. The peace offering was placed directly on the morning’s burnt offering which was already on the wood on the fire. The burnt offering symbolized the worshipper’s complete surrender and that Jesus Christ would be their atonement. Placing the peace offering on the burnt offering signified that their peace was based on the foundation of their atonement and reconciliation with God. Since the peace offering was always resting on atonement there was always the opportunity to have fellowship and peace with Him. Lastly, the very best of their lives including their emotions, were to be returned to the Lord by fire as a food offering to Him so they could have true shalom or peace with God.

So how do we have peace with God? God gives us peace from within. When we trust his promises to be true, when we turn over the task of running our lives to him and leave all our circumstances in his hands, then we will have peace. As Philippians 4:6-7 says, we are not to be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present our requests to God. And when we do this the peace of God, which we can’t fathom or understand, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Paul goes on to say if we are thinking on the things of God; things that are true, noble, righteous, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy and we put these into practice, the God of peace will be with us. That brings is to our second next step which is I will live in peace with God by trusting in Him, allowing Him to run my life and thinking on the things of God daily. Seventh, we see what God’s response to the peace offering was. When the Israelites came before the Lord, bringing the proper sacrifice in complete obedience to His commands, it was a pleasing aroma for Him. When we studied the burnt offering, we looked at Ephesians 5:1-2, which said that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was the sweetest aroma to His Father. The only way we can have peace with God is through our “peace” offering, Jesus Christ, and that causes us to be a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Our second point, The Flock: Sheep, is found in Leviticus 3:6-11. This is what God’s Word says, “If you offer an animal from the flock as a fellowship offering to the Lord, you are to offer a male or female without defect. If you offer a lamb, you are to present it before the Lord, lay your hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall splash its blood against the sides of the altar. From the fellowship offering you are to bring a food offering to the Lord: its fat, the entire fat tail cut off close to the backbone, the internal organs and all the fat that is connected to them, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys. The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering presented to the Lord.”

The second animal the Israelites could bring as a peace offering was one from the flock and two different flock animals were acceptable. The first was a sheep. The Hebrew word for lamb here signifies a full-grown sheep in its prime. Again, like the herd animal, it could be a male or female and had to be without blemish pointing us to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Like with the herd animal, the worshipper was to lean his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it before the tent of meeting where God resided. With the sheep we see an additional command about the fate of the animal. There was a species of sheep in the ANE called the broad-tailed sheep that were very numerous and had a very long and fat tail. Their tail could be up to four feet long and weigh fifteen pounds or more. It consisted of a combination of fat and marrow and was considered a delicacy. When a broad-tailed sheep was sacrificed, they were to take care to cut the tail off close to the backbone. This along with the rest of the fat, kidneys and liver, were reserved for God alone. The Hebrew word for “backbone” means to “shut one’s eyes firmly” or resolutely. Isaiah 14:26-27 says, “This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the Lord Almighty has purpose, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” The fat of the broad-tailed sheep is being compared to the firm and fixed purposes of the Lord. The fixed purposes of Jesus completing His work and giving us His salvation allows us to be accepted and to have peace with God. We see the fixed purposes of God lived out in Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and going to His death in Jerusalem. The instructions for burning the fat parts, the kidneys and the liver were reiterated to ensure that God’s commands were obeyed to the fullest. Nothing was left to chance or questioned because it all foreshadowed Jesus Christ.

The priest again was to burn all the fat, the fat tail, the kidneys and the liver on the altar. Again, the word for burn signifies incense, or a fragrant offering meaning that when these offerings were brought just as commanded and with the proper heart, it would be a pleasing aroma to God and He would be pleased with His people. In verse 11, we see that the priest shall burn them on the altar as “food.” The word for “food” here is “bread.” This means that just as this offering would be food or “bread” for God, it would also be “bread” for the worshipper. The ultimate purpose behind the peace offering was fellowship and communion with God. One way that we fellowship with others is by sharing a meal together. It promotes friendship and getting to know one another better. This chapter focuses on our friendship and fellowship with God which anticipates two things. One, the perfect table that is set before us because of Jesus’ sacrifice. Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Our Lord and Savior want to have intimate fellowship with us and when we are at peace with Him, that is possible. We will have this peace when He returns and takes us to be with Him for all eternity. Two, it anticipates Holy Communion that we as His followers are to participate in to remember His sacrifice on cross. Holy Communion is a sacred meal ordained by Jesus for Hs followers to partake in until He comes again.

That brings us to our third point, The Flock: Goats, found in Leviticus 3:12-17. This is what God’s Word says, “‘If your offering is a goat, you are to present it before the Lord, lay your hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall splash its blood against the sides of the altar. From what you offer you are to present this food offering to the Lord: the internal organs and all the fat that is connected to them, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys. The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the Lord’s. “‘This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.’”

The third type of peace offering that would be accepted was a goat. The reason for including the goat was because of the difference in the tails of the two offerings. The instructions for this offer were pretty much the same as the other two. The goat was brought before the Lord; the worshipper leaned on the sacrifice and killed it. The sons of Aaron splashed its blood around the altar. The fat covering the entrails, the two kidneys and the liver were removed and the priests burned them on the altar as a sweet aroma to the Lord. Verse 16b and 17, wraps the chapter up with the most important information that God wanted the Israelites to know. First, “All the fat is the Lord’s.” This symbolized that the very best was to be dedicated solely to the Lord. This law about fat only applies to these specific animals. In Deuteronomy 12, we see non-sacrificial animals mentioned. They are commanded not to eat the blood, but nothing is said about not eating the fat. The lesson is that anything that symbolized Jesus Christ was forbidden and reserved for God alone. The law of fat was to be a lasting ordinance for generations to come no matter where they lived. It was to last if the Law of Moses lasted and that ended when Jesus ushered in the new covenant. Garrett says, “The law of the fat portion is fulfilled in Christ; it is set aside in Christ; and it is annulled in Christ.” Second, they were also commanded to not eat blood because the blood of the sacrifice belonged to God. The blood that brought atonement was not to be used for common purposes. Hebrews 10:29 says, “How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?”

In conclusion, these offerings not only foreshadowed Jesus, but they were also the way God wanted the Israelites to come before Him in proper worship. The same is true for us today. Through these offerings we can understand how God wants us to properly worship Him. Gail shared a devotional with me this week about worship. William Temple, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said “Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness, Nourishment of mind by His truth, purifying of imagination by His beauty, Opening of the heart to His love, And submission of will to his purpose. And all this gathered up in adoration is the greatest of human expressions of which we are capable.” It is the surrender of our will and our self that makes true worship possible. Using William Temple’s definition, we see that worship in this sense produces an intimate, intentional relationship with God daily — the process of sanctification.

“Henri Nouwen once asked Mother Teresa for spiritual direction. Spending one hour each day in adoration of your Lord,' she said. Such simple yet profound advice. Worship is the act of the abandoned heart adoring its God. It is the union that we crave. Few of us experience anything like this on a regular basis, let alone for an hour each day. But it is what we desperately need. “Simply showing up on Sunday is not even close to worship. Neither does singing songs with religious content pass for worship. What counts is the posture of the soul involved, the open heart pouring forth its love toward God and communing with him. It is a question of desire. Augustine said, ‘Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.’ Our only hope for rest from the incessant craving of our desire is in God, and us united to him. When we are truly desiring God with our whole being, heart, mind, soul and strength, we will be at peace with Him. Do you truly desire to be at peace with God? Do you truly desire to worship the Lord the way He has commanded? Do you truly desire a closer and more intimate relationship with him? Do you truly desire God with your whole being this morning? That brings us to our last next step which is I will desire my Lord and Savior with my whole being: heart, mind, soul and strength.

Let’s pray: Dear Heavenly Father, we truly want to desire you this morning, but we fall short. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us so that we can desire you with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. Lord, give us your true peace that only comes from accepting your salvation for ourselves. Help us to trust in you, allow you to run our lives and think about your things daily. Help us to give you our very best in appreciation of your salvation given freely to us through your sacrifice for on the cross. May our lives be a pleasing aroma to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Opening: “The Way of Wholeness” by Ray Stedman

Conclusion: https://www.citizen-times.com/story/life/2016/09/02/devotional-daily-worship-means-opening-oneself-god/89594972/

December 14, 2025/by Office

A Side of Fries

Leviticus Leviticus Sunday Morning Marc Webb Beliefs, Blessed, Focus, Forgiveness, Offering

A Side of Fries

I want to start this morning by giving you some words and I want you to say the word that goes with each one. Such as peanut butter and ________. (jelly). Salt and __________. (pepper). Batman and __________. (Robin). Romeo and __________. (Juliet). Hamburger and __________. (fries). For those who go to fast food restaurants which restaurant’s fries do you like the best? I am going to say the name of some restaurants and if they are your favorite, I want you to clap. Burger King. Wendy’s. Chick-Fila-A. McDonalds. Five Guys. I would say that most of you like _______________ fries the best. I went on Google and found three people who ranked the fries at these five restaurants. Then I took the average to come up with the following rankings. At #5 is Burger King. At #4 is Five Guys. At #3 is Chick-Fil-A. At #2 is McDonalds. And at #1 is Wendys. Now if you are the least bit interested, here are my own personal fry rankings: At #5 is Burger King. At #4 is Wendys. At #3 is Chick-Fil-A. At #2 is Five Guys and my favorite French fry is McDonalds. Alright now that that is out of the way. What do fries have to do with Leviticus 2?

Last week we finished with God instructing Moses on the first of five offerings the Israelites were to bring before Him in worship. The first offering or sacrifice was the burnt offering and God spelled out the rules and regulations the people and the priests needed to follow when they brought it before Him. Let me recap the major points of the burnt offering. The burnt offering came first in Leviticus because it was the most prevalent. A perfect male lamb was sacrificed on the altar first every morning and last every night. For the offeror, it symbolized total surrender and devotion to God. It was completely consumed by the fire and there was nothing left over for the worshipper, which made it very costly. The acceptable sacrifices were bulls, sheep, goats, doves and pigeons. The burnt offering atoned for sin, turned away God’s wrath, and brought reconciliation between God and man. When it was done according to God’s standard it was “a pleasing aroma” to Him. “A pleasing aroma” describes the rising smoke from the burnt offerings symbolizing that the sacrifice and the worshiper's heart was wholly pleasing to God. The burnt offering points us to Jesus Christ as He was the perfect, unblemished Lamb of God, who voluntarily sacrificed Himself on the cross so our sins could be forgiven. Just as the burnt offering was completely consumed on the altar, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross completely consumed our sins, once and for all. Jesus’ sacrifice was a “pleasing aroma” rising before God showing His pleasure in Christ’s perfect obedience and the reconciliation it achieved.

This morning, we are going to look at the second offering that God ordained to be offered in the worship lives of His people, called the “grain” offering. Now, not 100% of the time, but most of the time, the grain offering accompanied the burnt offering with the burnt offering almost always being offered first. This is because whenever you came before God in worship, your sins needed to be atoned for first. According to one person, the burnt offering was like a “hamburger”, and the grain offering was like a “side of fries.” While the burnt offering brought reconciliation between God and man, the grain offering was a gift of thanksgiving that acknowledged God's provision of their physical and spiritual needs. God had saved them from slavery in Egypt and had chosen them as His people, His royal priesthood, His holy nation and His special possession. And so, in thanksgiving and remembrance of that salvation, provision and covenant promises they were to bring an offering from the fruits of their labor, meaning their fields. It was to be the best that they had and was to be a token of their renewed dedication to keep the covenant the Lord made with them at Mt. Sinai. That brings us to our big idea this morning that God desires His people to offer themselves and the best they have to Him in dedication and thanksgiving.

Let’s pray:

Heavenly Father, we desire to sit at your feet and hear with joy what you have to say to us today. Prepare and open our hearts and minds with the power of your Holy Spirit, that, as the Scriptures are read and your Word proclaimed, we will be transformed. Silence every voice in us but your own, so that we may hear your word, and then obey it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Our first point, “Uncooked” is found in Leviticus 2:1-3. This is what God’s Word says, “When anyone brings a grain offering to the Lord, their offering is to be of the finest flour. They are to pour olive oil on it, put incense on it and take it to Aaron’s sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the flour and oil, together with all the incense, and burn this as a memorial portion on the altar, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the food offerings presented to the Lord.”

The first thing we can notice is that “anyone” can offer a grain offering. In chapter one the Hebrew word used was “mankind” and the word used here is “soul.” So literally any “soul”, man or woman, could bring a grain offering to the Lord. The Hebrew word for “grain offering” means “a gift”, “donation” or “tribute from an inferior to a superior.” This offering demonstrated their thankfulness for what their covenant king had done for them and for continuing to provide for them. They gave this gift to the Lord with joy and with the desire to rededicate themselves in relationship and communion with Him. This gift offering had to be given according to God’s standards in order for it to be accepted. They were to give their offerings in faith and with the right heart before God. This is because the offering pointed to Christ and what He would do for them and for us on the cross. The same is true for us. We must be one with Christ giving our offerings in faith and with the right heart or it will not be accepted. This same Hebrew word for “grain offering” is used for both Cain and Abel’s offerings, one being accepted and other one was not.

The first offering was an “uncooked” grain offering that was to consist of fine flour. The main flour cultivated by the Israelites was wheat flour and so this is what is probably in view here. It was to be “fine” flour, meaning, one, it was flour that has been finely ground and two, meaning it was the most purified flour and representative of the best they had. The grain offering is a picture of Jesus Christ as the first and finest grain of wheat that must be put in the ground and die to produce many seeds. We see that in John 12:24. This offering acknowledged that Jesus is the Bread of Life and that He gives eternal life to those who accept Him as their Lord and Savior. The grain for this offering was given by God to the people, but they had to do the work of grinding it into flour to be used in their worship of the Lord. Today, as we work, in whatever capacity, paid or volunteer, we are to work to the best of our ability remembering we are Christ-followers and we can only do what we do because God has given us the resources and ability.

Next, the worshipper was to pour a generous amount of olive oil on the flour. In God’s Word, oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit. By pouring oil on it and not mixing it in, it is a picture of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Again, this is a picture of Jesus who is the Messiah or the Christ, which means the “Anointed One.” After pouring oil on top, the worshipper put frankincense on it as well. Frankincense was expensive and so it was worthy of being offered to God and it was fragrant so its burning would give off a sweet-smelling aroma. This symbolized the offeror’s complete and fragrant act of devotion and worship ascending to the Lord as an acceptable and pleasing aroma to Him. It is also a picture of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and that His sacrifice on the cross was an acceptable and pleasing aroma to His Father. Jesus had acceptably fulfilled the work God sent him to do on the earth.

The offering was then taken by the worshipper to Aaron’s sons, the priests, at the tabernacle. This would have identified the offering as the worshipper’s much like the bird in the burnt offering was. One of the priests would take a handful of the flour and oil and all the incense and burn it on the altar. The priests as the people’s mediator, holy and set apart by God were the only ones who could burn the offerings on the altar. This points to our offerings being sanctified by Christ alone who is the mediator between God and us. This handful is called a memorial portion which comes from the word meaning “to remember.” The worshipper was to remember what God had done and was still doing for them. If the worshipper correctly followed the regulations for the grain offering and did it with the right heart it would be a pleasing aroma to the Lord. Again, we are pointed to Christ as we are to “remember” His sacrifice on the cross for us and everything we “do” for the Lord should be done in devotion and thanksgiving to Him. The rest of the grain offering was to go to Aaron and his sons. The worshipper had given his offering in thanksgiving and gratitude for what God had done for him and so it would not have made sense for the worshipper to take any part of it back. As this offering was given to the Lord, he had the right to do with it what he wanted. Calling it most holy told the people and the priests that it had to be used in a “holy” way not in a profane or unholy way. Since the priests were set apart and holy to the Lord it went to them. In effect it was “wages’ for their work in the Tabernacle.

Our second point, “Cooked”, is found in Leviticus 2:4-10. This is what God’s Word says, “‘If you bring a grain offering baked in an oven, it is to consist of the finest flour: either thick loaves made without yeast and with olive oil mixed in or thin loaves made without yeast and brushed with olive oil. If your grain offering is prepared on a griddle, it is to be made of the finest flour mixed with oil, and without yeast. Crumble it and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. If your grain offering is cooked in a pan, it is to be made of the finest flour and some olive oil. Bring the grain offering made of these things to the Lord; present it to the priest, who shall take it to the altar. He shall take out the memorial portion from the grain offering and burn it on the altar as a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the food offerings presented to the Lord.”

In contrast to the first offering being “uncooked” this section talks about “cooked” offerings. The first type of cooked offering was one that was “oven baked.” It also had to be made from their best and finest flour and without yeast. The worshipper could bring an offering of “thick” loaves or cakes with olive oil mixed in or “thin” loaves or wafers with olive oil brushed on. The olive oil being mixed in symbolized the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the oil being brushed on symbolizes being anointed with the Holy Spirit. The Hebrew word for “brushed” is the same word used to identify the coming Messiah in Isaiah 61:1 which says, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” This is a picture of Christ who was anointed to fulfill the Messianic prophecies in the OT.

The second type of cooked offering was one that was prepared on a griddle. Again, it was made of the finest flour mixed with oil and without yeast. The worshipper was to crumble it or break into pieces and pour oil on it. This is to remind us of Christ’s body being broken for us as we partake in Holy Communion. The oil again pictures the anointing of the Holy Spirit on Jesus. The third type of cooked offering was one cooked in a pan. Again, this offering had to be made of the finest flour and some olive oil. In all three baked offerings we see Christ and the purity of his life saturated with the Spirit of God. He is fully human and fully God and His goodness overflows to those who offer themselves and the best they have in dedication and thanksgiving to Him (Big Idea). Just like the uncooked offering, these three cooked offerings were to be brought to the Lord at the tabernacle and presented to the priest who was to take it to the altar.

The priest would again take out the memorial portion and burn it on the altar. The Hebrew for this action by the priest means “to raise or exalt.” The memorial portion of the offering is raised above the rest and is to be burned as a sweet aroma to the Lord. The word for “burn” means more than “to consume.” It indicates a fragrant offering of incense. Again, by following God’s regulations for the offering it will be a pleasing aroma to the Lord as it was consumed on the altar. This is another picture of Jesus Christ raised up on the cross and exalted before the Lord. Jesus was the memorial portion given by God so that humanity could be saved. The Israelites brought the grain offering to show their dedication and gratitude to the Lord for saving them. They were to live obedient, holy lives in relationship with Him. Again, the rest of the offering was to go to Aaron and his sons as it was the most holy part of the food offering presented to God.

Our third point, “Further Regulations”, is found in Leviticus 2:11-13. This is what God’s Word says, “Every grain offering you bring to the Lord must be made without yeast, for you are not to burn any yeast or honey in a food offering presented to the Lord. You may bring them to the Lord as an offering of the first fruits, but they are not to be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma. Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.

In this section, we get some further regulations on the grain offering. God prohibits every grain offering from being made with yeast and they were not to burn any yeast or honey on the altar in a food offering presented to the Lord. What was wrong with yeast or leaven and honey and why couldn’t their offerings be made with it or why couldn’t they be burned on the altar? Leaven was symbolic of pride, malice and hypocrisy and honey was symbolic of worldly sensual pleasure. And so, their offerings, meaning their lives, had to be free from those evil influences. And because the altar was holy, yeast and honey representing sin and evil, could not be burnt on it as a food offering presented to the Lord. Jesus lived a life that was directly opposed to what leaven and honey symbolized. And as Christ-followers, we are also to live our lives free of pride, malice, hypocrisy and sinful worldly pleasures. When we live lives filled with leaven and honey it keeps us from bringing ourselves and the best we have to the Lord. We can’t be wholly devoted to our Savior and Lord and thankful for what He has done for us if we are living our lives full of leaven and honey. That brings us to our first next step which is I will live my life free of yeast and honey.

In verse 12, it seems that God still allowed His people to bring yeast and honey to Him as "first fruits." Their first fruits offering was to be the first and best part of their harvest. This offering acknowledged God as the ultimate source of their harvest and demonstrated trust that He would provide the rest of their crops and blessings. The first fruits were to be presented differently and could not be burned on the altar for a "sweet aroma." When we remember the altar symbolizes Jesus sacrificing Himself on the cross and that His sacrifice was a pleasing aroma to the Lord, we understand why yeast and honey had no place on God’s altar. Then God commands them to season all their grain offerings with salt. They were not to leave the “salt of the covenant” of their God out. We see the importance of salt as it is commanded three times in verse 12. First, salt was valuable in the ancient world. it was so valuable that Roman soldiers were paid with it (hence the saying “worth your salt”). Second, salt has the opposite effect of leaven and honey. Instead of corrupting the offerings, salt strengthened and preserved it. Salt can never be destroyed and so it is the perfect picture of the covenant between the Israelites and God. He always keeps His covenant, and it will last forever. It can never be broken until the Lord ends it himself. The salt is also a picture of Christ’s incorruptible nature.

It seems that salt could be used without limit symbolizing Jesus as infinitely incorrupt and that His followers would be infinitely acceptable to God because of his sinless life and work on the cross. Also, God is infinitely faithful, and he can infinitely preserve those who have accepted Him as their Lord and Savior. By putting salt in their offerings, it would remind the Israelites to be faithful to their covenant as God is faithful to the covenant. For us it symbolizes our commitment to live under the lordship of Christ, to worship Him the way He commands and to be fully dedicated and faithful to Him. Matthew 5:13 says, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Salt is a flavor enhancer and so as Christians we are to be the “flavor of God” to the world. If we are to be the “salt of the earth” we must show the world the tangible impact of God’s presence in us. When we are in Christ, we will demonstrate what true power, love, peace, healing and forgiveness looks like. This means we will be different and must not compromise our faith for the sake of fitting in. Just as salt is the opposite of leaven and honey, we are to be the opposite of the world. Van Meter says, “Note that we are not called to make a difference; we are called to be different, and this will eventually make a difference.” That brings us to our second next step which is I will be the “salt of the earth” and spread the “flavor of God” to the world.

Our fourth point, “First Fruit Regulations”, is found in Leviticus 2:14-16. This is what God’s Word says, “If you bring a grain offering of first fruits to the Lord, offer crushed heads of new grain roasted in the fire. Put oil and incense on it; it is a grain offering. The priest shall burn the memorial portion of the crushed grain and the oil, together with all the incense, as a food offering presented to the Lord.

An offering of first fruits was to be crushed heads of new grain roasted in the fire. “Roasted in the fire” symbolizes purification by fire. Jesus suffered the fire of God’s wrath for sinners and was crushed for our sakes. Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Kaiser says, “As the grain was bruised and crushed to make the sacrifice for the ancient Israelite, so the living Bread was bruised and crushed for all who would believe.” First fruits in the Bible are a picture of Jesus Christ and those who are in Him. It symbolizes Jesus’ resurrection and our new birth. Jesus is the best and perfect "first fruits" offering of God's spiritual harvest, meaning His resurrection is the guaranteed promise and first taste of the future resurrection and eternal life for all believers. 1 Corinthians 15:20 says, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” They were to again put oil and incense on their offering symbolizing the presence of the Spirit. The works of Christ and those who are in Christ, are sufficient to please God. The incense would be a fragrant offering of those who are obedient to the covenant. The priest would again burn the memorial portion of the crushed grain and the oil together with all the incense. Again, this offering was not only consumed on the altar, but it was also a sweet aroma. Jesus Christ was the memorial portion offered on the altar by which the Father kept and keeps His covenant. And it is on this basis that we are motivated to keep our covenant with Him.

I will conclude with this illustration. George Whitefield, the famed evangelist and companion of John Wesley, preached a farewell sermon to the passengers of the ship Whittaker, anchored near Savannah GA in 1738. It was entitled thankfulness for mercies received, and necessary duty. After four months of open seas, sailing from England, he characterized their adventure this way: “At God's almighty word, we have seen the stormy wind arise, which hath lifted the waves thereof. We have been carried up to the heaven, and down again to the deep, and some of our souls melted away because of the trouble; but I trust we cried earnestly unto the Lord, and he delivered us out of our distress.” But it was telling what Whitfield acknowledged about the character of human ingratitude: “numberless marks do man bear in his soul, that he has fallen and estranged from God; but nothing gives a greater proof thereof, then that backwardness, which everyone finds within himself, to the duty of praise and Thanksgiving. Those on the ship were not inclined to give God praise and thanksgiving for their safety and their lives.

Luke’s gospel recalls the healing of 10 lepers by Jesus, but only one returned to give him thanks. The Lord remarked on the ingratitude of the other nine and the one who expressed Thanksgiving alone received Jesus confirming grace: “rise and go your way your faith has made you well.” Are you in the habit of saying thank you? Have you ever thought that thank you goes a long way in God's book? Let’s be people who show our gratitude to the Lord for who He is and for what He has done for us by offering ourselves and the best we have to Him. Let us be people who continually bring our “grain” offerings to the altar, with love, dedication, gratitude and thanksgiving for Him. I hope the next time you sit down to eat a side of fries that you will be reminded to dedicate yourself anew to the Lord and be grateful for how He saved you and provides for you. That brings us to our last next step which is I will offer myself and the best I have to the Lord as a token of my dedication and gratitude.

Lord, thank you for the opportunity to be in your house this morning and to study your Word. I pray that as we purpose to live according to your Word, we will live lives free of yeast and honey; free of those sins that weaken our relationship with you. May we be the “salt of the earth” and spread your “flavor” to everyplace we work, live and play. Let us be people who daily offer ourselves and the best we have to you in dedication and thanksgiving. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

December 7, 2025/by Office

Putting One Foot in the Basket

Leviticus Leviticus Sunday Morning Marc Webb Authority, Life, Relationship with God, Sacrifice, Work

Putting One Foot in the Basket

David Vetter was born in Texas on September 21, 1971, with severe combined immunodeficiency disease. He was forced to live in a specially constructed sterile plastic bubble from birth until he died at age 12. After 20 seconds of exposure to the world, David, nicknamed "Bubble Boy”, was placed in a plastic isolator bubble and spent his entire life in "bubbles" designed by NASA engineers (picture). When he was six, David took his first steps outside of the “bubble” thanks to NASA designing a special spacesuit so he could walk and play outside. Every time David used his suit, helpers had to complete a 24-step pre-excursion hookup and a 28-step suit-donning procedure to keep his environment sterile. Although the process of putting on the spacesuit was complicated, it was worth it for both David and his mother - who was able to hold her son in her arms for the first time on July 29, 1977 (picture). Through his bubble he could see people, talk to them, and come close to them, but he could not touch them except through the specially made spacesuit. His body had to be protected from the outside world as he would have died if he had ventured out of the environment that isolated him from germs.

We see the same kind of controlled environment in the Israelite tabernacle. It made interaction possible in spite of the divine human separation that had resulted from sin. In the tabernacle behind the veil separating the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place God came as close to His people as possible. Just as the boy in the bubble had to be isolated from disease God had to maintain a pure environment separate from the world of sin outside. Unlike the condition of the boy in the bubble, God's holy glory was lethal to people outside. But God made a way for His people to draw as close to Himself as possible and this was done by the bringing of ritual offerings before the Lord. This God-ordained ritual was a bridging mechanism that was able to span the gap between God and humans. When the ritual was performed correctly God and the Israelites could interact with each other. The first ritual offering that God put in place was the whole burnt offering, which symbolized the worshippers complete surrender of themselves to God which would result in a sweet-smelling pleasing aroma to Himself. That brings us to our big idea this morning that God desires His people to be a whole burnt offering which results in a sweet-smelling aroma to Him.

Let’s pray: Almighty God, we gather here today in humble reverence, seeking Your presence among us. Open our hearts and minds to Your wisdom, by the power of your Holy Spirit. And as your holy Scriptures are read and your Word proclaimed, may we hear with joy what you want to say to us today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Three weeks ago, we started our study of Leviticus, looking at chapter 1 verses 1-4. We learned it was a continuation of what was happening in Exodus 40, where Moses had finished constructing the tabernacle and God had come down to inhabit it. We learned that Moses couldn’t go in because now even he needed to come before the Lord with the proper offering or sacrifice. In Leviticus 1:1, the Lord calls to Moses from the tent and starts to give him instructions about how the sinful Israelites could approach a holy God in worship. It was imperative that God’s chosen people follow His instructions to the letter or they would be in danger of being destroyed. In the first five chapters, God will give instructions for five different offerings that the people were to bring to Him. The first offering, the whole burnt offering, may not have been the most important, but it was the most prevalent. A whole burnt offering was sacrificed every morning and every evening to the Lord. The Israelites would have been familiar with this offering as we see them in the book of Job and in the book of Genesis. The whole burnt offering was completely offered to the Lord except for the skin of the animal. It all literally went “up in smoke” before the Lord.

We learned that the main purpose of the burnt offering was to show complete devotion and commitment to God, but it was also given to make atonement for the worshipper. This was not a sin offering but because every person is inherently sinful, their sin must be dealt with. There needed to be reconciliation between God and man before they could approach Him in communion and worship. The whole burnt offering would have been the most expensive offering to bring because it was completely burned up and the worshipper received nothing in return. It also had to be a male animal without defect or blemish from the worshippers domesticated herd, flock or birds. It was a freewill offering to the Lord and had to be the best the person could offer. God began His instructions with the most expensive animal to be sacrificed - a male cow or bull from the worshipper’s herd. The ritual had regulations that had to be followed by both the worshipper and the priest in order for the worshipper to be atoned for and their offering to be accepted. First, the worshipper brought the bull to the door of the courtyard, and it was inspected by the priest. Then it was brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting which was before the Lord. These regulations would have reminded the worshipper that their sin must be dealt with before approaching God's presence.

Last time we were in Leviticus we saw that the first step to ensuring the offering was an acceptable sacrifice was for the worshipper to “lean with all one’s weight” on the head of the sacrifice. This symbolized that the worshipper was depending on their voluntary, wholehearted and extravagant freewill offering to bring them atonement and acceptance with God. Now we pick up God’s instructions in Leviticus 1:5. As we move forward, we want to notice that the responsibilities are shared between the worshipper and the priests. The second step to ensuring the offering was an acceptable sacrifice was that the worshipper had to slaughter the young bull before the Lord. This ritual was sacred because it happened in the Lord’s presence. The word used for slaughter did not mean indiscriminate or inhumane killing. God’s Word promotes the care of animals and not abuse, so God ordained that the slaughtering of their sacrifices be quick and rather painless. Try to imagine the scene. All the worshipper’s senses would have been engaged in their worship of God. There would be touch as they leaned on the animal. There would have been sight as they looked into the animal’s eyes as they slit its throat and it died at their feet. There would be sound as the animal died and sounds of other livestock in the courtyard to be sacrificed. Also, even though it is not mentioned, the worshipper would not have remained silent. As they slaughtered their sacrifice, they were probably, one, simultaneously confessing any sin they had in their hearts or had committed and, two, praying and or singing songs and hymns. This would not have been a quiet scene. There also would have been smells as the worshipper smelled the blood of their sacrifice. It would have been a very moving ritual that should have impacted the worshipper with the extent of their sinfulness and the penalty that had to be paid for them to be atoned for and reconciled to God. It would also have given them a profound sense of God’s holiness in that they could not be near His presence without the shedding of blood.

Next, the priest had the responsibility of collecting the blood of the sacrifice as the animal bled out. The blood was sacred and was not to touch the ground and become defiled. We are reminded that the only Levites who could be priests at the altar and tabernacle had to come from the lineage of Aaron. They were given this sacred responsibility because they had been set apart by God to fulfill these duties. Anything to do with the holy altar and tabernacle, which was set apart for God’s use, had to be attended by those He had set apart to do His work. After collecting the blood, the priests would take it and “splash” it against the sides of the altar at the tent of meeting. Most versions say “sprinkle,” but the word used means a more forceful application. It refers to large amounts of blood being “thrown” against the sides of the altar. By throwing the blood on the altar, the priest presented the animal’s lifeblood to the Lord, making atonement possible for the worshipper. Next, the worshipper was to skin the animal and cut it into pieces. Again, this was done humanely and not sloppily and haphazardly, kind of like butchering today. As the responsibilities again alternated to the priest, they would put fire on the altar and arrange the wood on it. This doesn’t mean they started the fire on the altar each time a sacrifice was brought, but that they “stoked” the fire to get it hot and ready for the sacrifice. Again, the priests were responsible for this because the altar was sacred and set apart. In Leviticus 9:24, fire came out of the presence of the Lord and consumed Aaron’s first offerings and that fire was to never be extinguished as commanded in Leviticus 6:13. It was to be kept burning because it was a sacred gift from heaven. It was a reminder of God’s holy presence, judgment against sin and the constant need for their atonement through sacrifice. The divine fire represented God’s acceptance of the sacrifices and his ongoing relationship with His people. It also pointed to the eventual sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

Next, the priests arranged the pieces of the animal, the head and the fat, in an orderly fashion on the wood on the altar. Since God is a God of order, the priests had to lay the pieces out the same way it would have looked alive, from its head to its feet. The responsibilities again alternate with the worshipper. Presumably while the priests are arranging the head and the fat on the altar, the worshipper was to wash the internal organs and the legs with water, probably from the bronze laver. They were washing the dirt and filth off the animal that had accumulated from grazing and being slaughtered. This was done because the sacrifice had to be cleansed before being put on the holy altar before a holy God. It symbolized purity, preparation, and removal of anything undesirable or sinful from the offering. This reminds us of our need for spiritual purification and to have our hearts cleansed before we come into the presence of God. Lastly, the priests were to simply burn all of the offering on the altar. By burning all of it as a food offering, the Israelites demonstrated their gratitude and acknowledgment of God as their provider. When we think of the worshipper’s senses, this offering would have smelled like a backyard BBQ that makes your mouth water. It smells pleasing to you and you can’t wait to devour it. It was the same for the Lord as the food offering was a pleasing aroma to Him, which was the ultimate purpose for the whole burnt offering. The phrase “a pleasing aroma to the Lord” highlights how such offerings were metaphorically accepted by God, signifying His approval and pleasure of His people’s worship of Him. Now fellowship and relationship could take place.

This scripture underscores the importance of reverence and proper preparation in our worship. We should strive for purity in our own lives. When we offer our time, talents, treasures or praise, glory and worship to God, it must come from a place of preparation and readiness. When we worship the Lord, we must come before Him, serious about our commitment and relationship with Him, giving ourselves wholly, and holding nothing back. (Big Idea). God is more interested in our heart and the intentions behind our offerings than the physical gifts we bring before Him. We must examine our motives as it says in Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Next, we see instructions for those who didn’t have the means to offer a bull for sacrifice. It could also be an offering from the worshipper’s flock, meaning a goat or a sheep. An animal from the flock would not have been as costly as one from the herd but would have been costlier than the third allowable offering of a bird. What God was conveying was that no one was exempt from offering their sacrifices to him and everyone had the means to come before Him with a sacrifice. There was no excuse because you couldn’t afford it. If you couldn’t afford a young bull, you could offer a sheep or a goat, and if you couldn’t afford that, you could offer a bird instead.

The instructions for the sheep or goats are shorter than for the young bull, because some of the instructions would be assumed to be the same. New instructions are given, and the most important parts are repeated. The important parts that are repeated was that it had to be a male without defect and Aaron’s sons the priests were to collect the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar. The worshipper was to cut the animal into pieces, the priests were to arrange the pieces on the altar, the worshipper was to wash the internal organs and legs with water, and the priest was to bring the pieces to the altar and burn it up completely. The only variant is that the sheep or the goat was to be slaughtered on the north side of the altar which seems to be different than where the bull was to be slaughtered. In most of the offerings, scripture says the bulls were to be killed “before the Lord” and the sheep specifically on the “north side” of the altar. The slaughtering of the bulls seems to be connected to the presence of the Lord in the tabernacle, and the slaughtering of the sheep seems to be connected to the altar. Whereas the bulls symbolized power and respect seen in God Almighty, the sheep symbolized service to God seen in the altar. This section ends the same exact way the previous one did; with it being called a burnt offering, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to God, again meaning that the worshipper and their sacrifice was acceptable to Him.

Finally, the third type of burnt offering could be from the bird family, a dove or a pigeon. An offering of a bird would have been for the poorest Israelite or Israelite family. Both sheep and the turtledoves or pigeons would have been prevalent. Sheep were used for sacrifice so much that later on that there was a gate going into Jerusalem called the Sheep Gate. According to Isaiah 60:8, doves were domesticated. They were prevalent in the hilly regions of Palestine and were easily caught. Pigeons were available all year long and their nests with their young could be easily found. Notice again that God’s instructions for the birds are shorter than for the sheep and the goats. Again, some of the previous instructions are assumed, the most important parts are repeated and new instructions are given. This time the responsibilities change somewhat. The worshipper’s identification with the offering is seen in handing the bird over to the priest to be sacrificed. The priest pretty much does everything in sacrificing the bird as the burnt offering. This is probably because of the size of the offering. The priest, instead of the worshipper, was to bring the bird to the altar and kill it by wringing off its head. Removing the head of the bird would have been the equivalent of cutting off the head of the other burnt offerings. This would have made it easier for the priest to drain out the blood on the side of the altar.

Next, the priest was to remove the crop and the feathers. Removing the feathers would have been the equivalent of skinning the bulls, sheep and goats. The crop, the internal organs of the bird, were not burnt on the altar because they could not have been washed properly and thus were not considered pure. The priest would then take the crop and feathers and throw them down east of the altar. That was where the ashes from the offerings were kept. Once the pile got too large, the ashes would be taken by the priest to an area outside the camp to a ritually pure place. God is concerned with holiness even with items considered unclean. After wringing off the neck of the bird and removing the crop and feathers, the priest was to tear the bird apart by the wings but not divide it completely. This was probably to help it burn easier on the altar. Then lastly the priest would completely burn the bird on the wood that was burning on the altar. This section ends the same way the previous two did, calling the sacrifice a burnt offering, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to God.

All of the meticulous preparation taken in bringing their sacrifices before the Lord foreshadowed Jesus Christ and what He went through on the cross as He was crucified for our sins. Jesus is also seen in the sacrifices that God ordained for the burnt offering. The Israelites used bulls for breeding and oxen for pulling heavy loads as it says in Psalms 144:14. They are seen as well-laden and strong to labor symbolizing their patient, untiring labor and service. Jesus in Matthew 11:28 said to come to Him all who are weary and heavy laden and He will give them rest. Jesus was also patient and untiring in His service to His heavenly Father. Sheep were docile animals and totally submissive to the shepherd and so we also see uncomplaining submission of Jesus before His Father. Isaiah 53:7 says, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” Lastly, the dove was considered clean, gentle and inoffensive. A dove does not retaliate when attacked and is the international symbol of peace. Jesus was gentle and did not retaliate. 1 Peter 2:23 says, “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” A dove was also innocent. In Matthew 10:16, Jesus says he was sending His disciples out into the world as “innocent” as doves. The word “innocent” means “free from evil and guile.” Guile means deceitful cunning, duplicity, or treachery. Jesus was innocent and free from evil and guile, which speaks to the way Jesus conducted Himself. Jesus was the equivalent of all that the God-ordained sacrifices symbolized. We are also to conduct ourselves in the same way as Jesus. That brings us to our first next step: I will live my life as a whole burnt offering to the Lord as I labor tirelessly, submit uncomplainingly and conduct myself free from evil and guile.

The good news of Leviticus is that God will accept with pleasure anyone who comes into His presence by substitutionary atonement through the shedding of blood. The worshipper secured access to God by grace through faith. They showed their faith by bringing the proper sacrifice and pressing their hand on its head. As Christians the burnt offering points to the voluntary sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. His death completely satisfied the wrath of God against all sin. As Christ-follower we are ones who by faith accept Jesus Christ as their whole burnt offering and gives themselves completely to God as a living sacrifice that results in a sweet-smelling aroma before the Lord. The Christian finds favor with God through the shed blood of Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God. Apart from the shed blood of God’s perfect sacrifice there is no entrance into His presence. Jesus is the only way, the only truth and the only life and no one can come to the Father except through Him. The only way to salvation is by receiving God’s perfect sacrifice, believing in the person and work of Jesus Christ and submitting to His authority. Just like the Israelites in the wilderness, there is no reason why anyone should not come and share the benefits of expiation through Jesus, the whole burnt offering. Jesus is calling everyone to come to Him. There is no reason to say no to Jesus. So, if you are ready to say “yes” to Jesus for the very first time for your salvation, this second next step is for you: I will receive God’s perfect burnt offering, believe in the person and work of Jesus Christ and submit to His authority.

In conclusion I want to share this illustration from Robert D’Alessandro. He says, “I heard a sermon where the pastor gave this example of giving ourselves as a whole burnt offering and living sacrifice that results in a sweet-smelling aroma to God.” He said it probably was not a true story, but it could have been. It happened back in the days of the Pilgrims, and the story goes that at one of the first Thanksgivings an American Indian went to a church service. And as the service progressed, there was an offering that was taken. The offering basket was passed through the congregation, and it came to the Indian who was meditating on what he just heard in the message. As the basket came to him, all eyes were on him wondering what he going to do with it? The Indian put it on the ground, stood up, and put one foot in the basket. That was his way of saying, I'm giving my life completely to God. God desires His people to offer themselves as whole burnt offerings and living sacrifices to Him and the result will be that our lives will be a sweet-smelling aroma to the Lord (Big Idea). Let us be people who appropriate Jesus Christ’s perfect sacrifice on the cross for ourselves. Let us be people who strive to live as living sacrifices, striving for holiness, for total dedication and for doing everything wholeheartedly for the Lord. Let us be people who don’t hesitate to “put one foot in the basket” and give our lives completely to God. That brings us to our last next step which is I will “put one foot in the basket” offering myself as a burnt offering and a living sacrifice so that I become a sweet-smelling aroma to the Lord.

As the praise team comes to lead us in a final song and the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offerings, let’s pray: Heaven Father, we thank you for your son, Jesus, who was a whole burnt offering given by you to us for the forgiveness of our sins and our salvation. We are amazed at your love for us. Lord help us to desire to give ourselves as a whole burnt offering and a living sacrifice to you which will results in a sweet-smelling aroma to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

November 30, 2025/by Office

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