151. The Burnt Offering

From: Manners and Customs of the Bible By: James M. Freeman

• 2 min. read • grade level: 8

Leviticus 6:9⁹Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it. (Leviticus 6:9). This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it.

The different victims for the burnt offering were bullocks, sheep, goats, turtle doves, and young pigeons. The person making this voluntary offering, when he offered a bullock, put his hand on the victim’s head, and then slew the animal. The priests took the blood and sprinkled it all around the great altar. In Solomon’s Temple there was a red line half way up the sides of the great altar; some of the blood was sprinkled above and some below this line. See Lightfoot, Works, (Ed. Pitman,) 9:75. After the blood was sprinkled the person offering flayed the animal and cut him in pieces. In after times the priests and Levites sometimes did this (2 Chron. 29:34³⁴But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the other priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests. (2 Chronicles 29:34)). The entire offering was then burnt by the priests. If the offering consisted of a goat, a sheep, or fowls, the ceremony was slightly changed.

The burnt offering was the only offering that was entirely burnt. Thus it is sometimes called the “whole” burnt offering (Deut. 33:10¹⁰They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar. (Deuteronomy 33:10); Psa. 51:19¹⁹Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar. (Psalm 51:19)). The burning was to be so gradual that it should last from morning to evening, or from one daily sacrifice to the next. It was commanded that the fire on the altar should never go out.

The burnt offering is described in detail in Leviticus 1:1-17; 6:8-13¹And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, ²Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. ³If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord. ⁴And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. ⁵And he shall kill the bullock before the Lord: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ⁶And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. ⁷And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: ⁸And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: ⁹But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord. ¹⁰And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish. ¹¹And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the Lord: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar. ¹²And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: ¹³But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord. ¹⁴And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the Lord be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons. ¹⁵And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his head, and burn it on the altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar: ¹⁶And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes: ¹⁷And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord. (Leviticus 1:1‑17)
⁸And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, ⁹Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it. ¹⁰And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. ¹¹And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place. ¹²And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. ¹³The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out. (Leviticus 6:8‑13).

The design of the burnt offering is not clearly stated in the Bible, and learned Jews differ in reference to it; some affirming that it was for evil thoughts, others that it was for a violation of affirmative precepts. Many Christian divines regard it as a symbol of entire and perpetual consecration to God; self-dedication, following upon and growing out of pardon and acceptance with God. See Fairbairn's Typology, vol. 2, p. 316.

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