Day of Atonement

Now in our daily reading (Leviticus16-18) about the Day of Atonement & laws about blood & immorality.

This is a long one, but bear w/me!

The most important day of the year for the Jew was the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) when God graciously atoned (or covered) for the sins of the people & gave them a fresh new beginning.

It is traditionally thought that this was the end of Moses’ 2^nd set of 40 days on Mt. Sinai when he received the 2^nd set of the 10 Commandments, & it was a Day of Atonement after Israel’s sin w/the Golden Calf (Exodus32.30).

Exodus 32:30 “30 On the next day Moses said to the people, “You yourselves have committed a great sin; & now I am going up to the LORD, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.””

The word Atonement is the Hebrew word that means to cover, to cancel, to purge away & reconcile.

The Hebrew name for this day is Yom Hakkippurim, but mostly it is shortened to “Yom Kippur”. 

Yom=Day

Kippur=Repentance

It carries w/it the idea to remove by paying a price.

We see 04 things that the LORD instructed Moses about this day…

01. Once a Year (Leviticus16.01-02, 29-30, 34)

After Aaron’s son died, Aaron must have thought that it would never be safe again to go into the Holy Place.

So we see that the High Priest (in Hebrew Kohen Gadol) was only allowed to enter the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

We are also told in…

Exodus 30:10 “10 “Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year; he shall make atonement on it w/the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.””

The writer of Hebrews says…

Hebrews 9:7 “7 but into the second (the Holy of Holies), only the high priest enters once a year, not w/o taking blood, which he offers for himself & for the sins of the people committed in ignorance.”

The 7^th month is our mid-September to mid-October. Here in 2012, Yom Kippur will be on Wednesday, September 26^th.

02. To Cover The Sins (Leviticus 16.30-34)

Atonement is mentioned 16 times in this chapter.

The priest would place his hands on the head of the sacrifice, symbolizing the transferring of the nation’s sins to the innocent sacrifice that was to be put to death in their place.

Blood is mentioned 09 times in this chapter.

Here we see that there can be no salvation from sin apart from the shedding of blood. (Hebrews09.22)

03. Order of Service (Leviticus16.03-28)

Here God describes in detail what He wants Aaron, (& later the High Priests who follow) do on the Day of Atonement.

Leviticus16.03-05 The High Priest prepares

·Make sure proper sacrifices were available (a bull & a ram for him & his family, 02 goats & a ram for the people) & examined to make sure there were no defects.

·The High Priest then took off his glorious garments, washed at the laver (act of sanctification), & put on the simple linen garments of a priest (act of humiliation), leaving his special holy garments in the Holy Place, where he would return to put them on again.

All of this a picture of Jesus Christ, who set Himself apart to serve us, humbling Himself to die on the cross to save us. Then after rising from the dead, He returned to glory.

Leviticus 16.06, 11-14 The High Priest offers his own sin offering

·Now that he has been washed & is dressed, the High Priest went to the altar to sacrifice the bull as a sin offering.

·Taking some of the blood, plus a censer of coals from the altar, & some incense, he entered into the Holy of Holies.

·He then put the incense on the coals so that the cloud would cover the mercy seat upon the ark.

·Then he would sprinkle some of the blood on the mercy seat & some of the blood 07 times before the mercy seat.

The cloud of incense symbolized the glory of God, the High Priest then put the glory of God ahead of everything else.

The High Priest drew near to the animal. Facing the sanctuary, he placed his two hands on the head of the bull, between its horns, & confessed. This was in keeping the directives of the verse:

Leviticus 16:6 “6 “Then Aaron shall offer the bull for the sin offering which is for himself, that he may make atonement for himself & for his household.”

The sages of Israel received a tradition that these words refer to oral confession.

And this was the wording of the High Priest's confession:

“I beseech You, O Lord; I have sinned, rebelled, & transgressed against You. I & my household; I beseech You, O Lord, Grant atonement for the sins, & for the iniquities & transgressions which I have committed against You, I, & my household. As it is written in the Torah of Your servant, Moses:
'For on this day of atonement shall be made for you, to purify you from all your sins
- before the Lord you shall be purified'."

Leviticus16.07-10, 15-22 The High Priest offers the sin offering for the people

·The 02 goats together constituted 01 sin offering (Leviticus16.05), even though only 01 goat was slain. The High Priest cast lots to choose the goat to be slain.

There in the eastern sector of the court, to the north of the altar, stand two goats in preparation for the lottery:

Leviticus 16:8 A wooden lottery box was kept there as well, & inside of it were the two lots, in accordance w/the verse above. This box was just large enough to hold the two lots, & for the priest to put both his hands inside. On one lot the two Hebrew words meaning "For the Lord" were written, & the other was inscribed w/single word "For Azazel."

The word “scapegoat” here is the Hebrew word “Azazel” & it means goat of departure; the scapegoat

Azazel is actually the name of a place; it was to this location that the scapegoat was sent. Azazel was a high, rocky precipice in the Judean desert. The goat was sent off this point to its death.

These lots were originally made of wood. Later, the lots were prepared from gold by the High Priest, Yehoshua ben Gamla, during his term of office. He was praised by the sages for this initiative, which was done to increase the honor of the holy day.

The lot having designated each of the two goats, the High Priest tied a tongue-shaped piece of scarlet wool to the horn of the goat for Azazel-the so-called 'scapegoat'-& another round the throat of the goat for YHWH, which was to be slain.

The goat that was to be sent forth was now turned round towards the people, & stood facing them, waiting, as it were, till their sins should be laid on him, & he would carry them forth into “a land not inhabited.”

Assuredly a more marked type of Christ could not be conceived, as He was brought forth by Pilate & stood before the people, just as He was about to be led forth, bearing the iniquity of the people.

·He killed the goat, took some of its blood into the Holy of Holies, where he sprinkled it onto the mercy seat, then 07 times before the mercy seat, just like w/what he did w/the bull.

·Then he applied the blood to the horns of the brazen altar.

·The High Priest then put both hands onto the head of the living goat & confessed the sins of the people.

·This goat was then led out of the camp into the wilderness, never to be seen again.

Psalms 103:12 “12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

·One goat died because there must be blood sacrifice before there can be forgiveness. The other goat lived but was “lost” in the wilderness having carried away the nation’s sins.

These lengths of wool were specifically dyed crimson on account of the verse which reads, Isaiah 1:18 “18 “Come now, & let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.”

It is related that a great miracle occurred concerning this crimson-colored wool: For in addition to the piece which was tied to the scapegoat, a similar length was tied to the entrance of the Sanctuary where all could behold it, high up like a banner.

The Rabbi Yishmael taught (Yoma06.08) that when the scapegoat reached its destination in the desert, this wool miraculously turned white before the eyes of all Israel, in keeping w/the words of the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah01.18, which provided a Heavenly sign that the sins of the people had been atoned for.

And, as if to add to the significance of the rite, tradition has it that when the sacrifice was fully accepted the scarlet mark that the scapegoat had borne became white, to symbolize the gracious promise in Isaiah01.18; but it adds that this miracle did not take place for forty years before the destruction of the Temple!

We read in the Jerusalem Talmud (The Talmud is Jewish Oral Law written down):

"Forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the western light went out, the crimson thread remained crimson, & the lot for the Lord always came up in the left hand. They would close the gates of the Temple by night & get up in the morning & find them wide open" (Jacob Neusner, The Yerushalmi, p.156-157). [the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE]

A similar passage in the Babylonian Talmud states:

"Our rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple the lot ['For the Lord'] did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-colored strap become white; nor did the western most light shine; & the doors of the Hekel [Temple] would open by themselves" (Soncino version, Yoma 39b).

Leviticus16.23-24 The High Priest washes himself & puts on his official garments

·Once he was sure that the scapegoat was officially lost, he would go into the Holy Place, take off his linen garments, take a bath, & put on his official robes.

This pictures Jesus Christ return to Heaven, where He received the glory He had laid aside when He was here on earth.

Leviticus16.03,05,24 The High Priest offers the burnt offerings

·He then offered a ram for himself, & a ram for the people, each a symbol of total devotion to the LORD.

Jesus offered Himself up to the Father in total obedience, & we cannot do less when we follow Him!

The Order of Service for the Day of Atonement is as follows…

01. The High Priest comes into the Holy Place & makes a sin offering & a burnt offering. (Leviticus16.03)

02. The High Priest is to take a bath & put on holy garments. (Leviticus16.04)

03. The High Priest is to offer a bull as a sin offering for himself & those in his household. He did this too remind himself & the people the fact that the priests, even of the highest order, were sinners, & needed mediator just like everyone else. (Leviticus16.06, 11)

04. The High Priest then takes the 02 goats & presents them before the LORD. (Leviticus16.07)

05.  The High Priest then cast lots for the 02 goats, to determine which 01 is sacrificed & which 01 is the “scapegoat” & set free to wander. (Leviticus16.08-10)

06. (1^st time entering Holy of Holies) The High Priest is to take a golden censer (a fire-pan which was made for the purpose of carrying fire, in order to burn incense on it in the place of worship) & burn the incense in the Holy of Holies. (Leviticus16.12-13)

07. (2^nd time entering Holy of Holies) The High Priest is to take the blood of the sacrificed bull (his own sin offering) & sprinkle it on the East Side of the Mercy Seat or he will die. (Leviticus16.14)

08. (3^rd time entering Holy of Holies) The High Priest is to kill the goat of the sin offering of the people & bring its blood into the Holy of Holies & sprinkle it on the Mercy Seat. (Leviticus16.15)

09. All this time no one is to come even in to the Tabernacle. (Leviticus16.17)

10. The High Priest is to then go to the altar in the Holy Place & take the blood of the bull & of the goat & put it on the horns of the altar. Then he is to sprinkle the blood 07 times w/his finger. (Leviticus16.18-19)

11. (4^th time entering Holy of Holies) The High Priest is to enter the Holy of Holies again to bring out the golden censer.

12.  The High Priest then puts both of his hands on the scapegoat & confess the sins of the nation, symbolically putting them on the head of the goat, & then send the goat into the wilderness. (Leviticus16.20-22)

13. The High Priest is to then take off his Holy garments & take another bath & get on his previous clothes. (Leviticus16.23-24)

14. The High Priest is to then offer a burnt offering (worship).

Leviticus 16:34 “34 “Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the LORD had commanded Moses, so he did.”

On that day the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies 04 times…

1^st time was to burn incense, Leviticus16.12;

2^nd time to sprinkle the blood of the bull on the mercy seat, Leviticus16.14;

3^rd time he was to kill the goat of the sin offering, & bring that blood w/in the veil, & sprinkle it also on the mercy seat;

4^th time he entered again to bring out the golden censer/firepan.

Hebrews 10:1 “1 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come & not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.”

You see, offering the sacrifices can never make us free from the guilt of sin.

But look at what Paul tells us in…

Colossians 2:14 “14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; & He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

The picture here in this verse is that of a written contract, in which we bind ourselves to do any work, or to make a payment, & which remains in force against us until the bond is cancelled.

Once the contract is fulfilled, they would either then blot out the names, or draw lines through it, what was also common in that culture they would take a nail & drive it through it.

The Jewish law is here represented as such a contract, binding those under it to its observance, until it was then nailed to the cross when Jesus died.

So, what this means is that the burdensome requirements of the Mosaic Law are abolished, & that it is now replaced by the death of Christ. His death had the same effect, in reference to those laws, as if they had been blotted from the book of the law.

This was accomplished by fulfilling them, by introducing a more perfect system & by rendering their observance no longer necessary, since all that they were designed to typify had been now accomplished in a better way.

Hebrews 10:2-4 “2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls & goats to take away sins.”

If the blood of animals would have been good enough, the writer of Hebrews is saying then that they would no longer have to offer sacrifices.

All that the sacrifices did was to cover their sins; it never took away the guilty conscience that is w/in man. In fact we see a perfect illustration of this in…

Genesis 3:21 “21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam & his wife, & clothed them.”

The 1^st shedding of blood is recorded here. But what we see is God’s perfect plan of redemption already laid out that there needs to be the shedding of blood to 1^st cover then to forgive us of our sins. This shedding of blood only covered them, later when the Savior came it completely forgave!

By offering sacrifices all it did was to remind the Jews how sinful they were. Look at what Jesus say to the disciples in…

Luke 22:19 “19 And when He had taken some bread & given thanks, He broke it & gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.””

We are to remember that He died for us once & for all. We no longer need to offer sacrifices, or be bound by legalism, such as: Did I read my Bible & pray today? Did I go to church this week?

The blood of animals was not sufficient because in order for our sins to be completely forgiven & us to be redeemed, we need a kinsman redeemer.

Leviticus 25:25 “25 ‘If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come & buy back what his relative has sold.”

So what the kinsman redeemer would do is help a relative that is in debt to be able to get all their property back. This is so perfectly pictured for us in the story of Ruth, & of course, w/our own LORD & Saviour!

You see, in order for us to be redeemed (bought back) we needed One who was like us to do the buying back. Since an animal is not related to us, the sacrifice of animals could only cover our sin…but Jesus came as a man!

Philippians 2:8 “8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

This is something that the High Priest had to do, every year, go into the Holy Place & make atonement. Today, we don’t have to have a High Priest, because Jesus is our High Priest.

Hebrews 2:17 “17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful & faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”

04. A Day of Fasting (Le16.29, 31)

“humble” here means to fast & confess your sins.

Of all of the 07 feasts (Leviticus23) that Israel celebrates, this was the only one that they fasted.

Also they were to not do any work, no matter what the day of the week was. They were to regard it like a Sabbath day (the 4^th Commandment, Exodus20).

James 4:8-10 “8 Draw near to God & He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; & purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable & mourn & weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning & your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, & He will exalt you.”

By doing this, it was to remind them that they did nothing to cause God to pick them & rescue them, & the same goes for us today!

We also see in Levitius23 it tells us that the Day of Atonement is a strict day of rest & fasting. By law in Israel, there are no radio or TV broadcasts on Yom Kippur, airports are even shut down, & plus there is no public transportation, & all shops & businesses are closed.

In 1973, an air raid siren was sounded on the afternoon of Yom Kippur & radio broadcasts were resumed to alert the public to the surprise attack that launched the Yom Kippur War, which was started by Egypt & Syria.

Even the Jews who don’t observe most other holidays usually attend a local synagogue on this day.

There are 05 additional prohibitions (besides praying, fasting & resting) that are traditionally observed, as told to us in the Jewish oral tradition (Mishnah Yoma08.01):

01. No eating & drinking

02. No wearing of leather shoes

03. No bathing or washing

04. No anointing oneself w/perfumes or lotions

05. No marital relations

We can’t earn salvation because we were given salvation! This is an attitude of the heart.

Throughout the Bible we see this word mentioned…

Genesis 6:14 “14 “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark w/rooms, & shall cover it inside & out w/pitch.”

The word “pitch” here is the Hebrew word “Kopher” which means to cover!

Isaiah 6:7 “7 He touched my mouth w/it & said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; & your iniquity is taken away & your sin is forgiven.””

The Hebrew word for “forgiven” is “Kaphar”, which is the root word that means to cover, cancel, pardon, purge & reconcile.

Jesus the Christ was our atoning sacrifice.

Hebrews 10:12 “12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,”

Hebrews 10:14 “14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”

1 John 2:2 “2 & He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; & not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

1 John 4:10 “10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us & sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Cleansing of Leprosy

Now in our daily reading (Leviticus14-15) about dealing with leprosy & cleansing of unhealthiness.

Leprosy in the Bible is a picture of sin because it starts out small, not noticed by many, than it eats away.

Leviticus 14:3-7 “3 & the priest shall go out to the outside of the camp. Thus the priest shall look, & if the infection of leprosy has been healed in the leper, 4 then the priest shall give orders to take two live clean birds & cedar wood & a scarlet string & hyssop for the one who is to be cleansed. 5 “The priest shall also give orders to slay the one bird in an earthenware vessel over running water. 6 “As for the live bird, he shall take it together with the cedar wood & the scarlet string & the hyssop, & shall dip them & the live bird in the blood of the bird that was slain over the running water. 7 “He shall then sprinkle seven times the one who is to be cleansed from the leprosy & shall pronounce him clean, & shall let the live bird go free over the open field.”

Leprosy was a disease that brought about isolation. (Leviticus13.46; Leviticus 14.03)

The two live birds represented the healed person, which is established by the blood of one bird being sprinkled on him (Leviticus14.07).

The bird that was killed was a picture of the death that he had just escaped, & the released bird was a picture of the carrying away of the disease (Leviticus14.05-07).

The cedar wood, scarlet string & hyssop are all part of the purification process. The cedar wood is chosen because it is evergreen & aromatic. The scarlet string is chosen because it symbolizes the blood itself. The hyssop is chosen because it’s used to apply the blood (Psalms51.07).

The cedar wood was used as the handle; the hyssop & bird that was alive were attached to the cedar wood by the scarlet string. The bird was bound to the cedar wood handle so that its tail was pointed down. This was down so that it could be dipped into the blood of the bird that had been killed.

Going to the priest was literally a sign that the Messiah had come. How so? Because there was no cure for leprosy. You had to be supernaturally cleaned! So when Jesus healed the lepers (Matthew08.03-04; Mark 01.40-44), He commanded them to show themselves to the priest, to let the priest know that Ha Mashiach, the Messiah (the anointed one!) has come!

When we sin, we become isolated from God, but because of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for our sins (leprosy), we now can come clean before our High Priest (Jesus).

The Offering of Worship

Now in our daily reading (Leviticus01-03) we see the

The book of Leviticus is a book that pertains to the Levites, hence the name Leviticus. This was a book that was written for the priests (who are from the tribe of Levi) as a guidebook to show them how to lead the nation in worship, service & obedience to a holy God.

This book is also called “Torah Kohanim” which means the Law/Book of the Priests.

Leviticus was traditionally the 1^st book of the Torah (the 1^st five books of the Bible) that Jewish children are taught. The reason for this was so that the pure would be engaged in the study of purity. This book is quoted or referred to about 100 times in the New Testament.

Jesus tells us that Moses wrote this book (Matthew08.04 & Mark01.44). Paul also tells us the same in Romans10.05.

The period of time that this book covers is only about a month & it tells the children of Israel how they are to act towards the rest of the world.

1 Peter 1:15, 16 “15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; 16 because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.””

Sacrificial offerings were originally created by God to provide a picture of atonement for sin so that people could approach Him.

Atonement used 51 times in Leviticus. Atonement is the Hebrew word “kaphar” which means “to cover, to expiate, to placate or cancel, appease, to make atonement, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, purge away, put off, make reconciliation.

Same word that is used in…

Genesis 6:14 “14 “Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark w/rooms, & shall cover (kaphar) it inside & out w/pitch.”

That shows us that God covered Noah & his family!

The animal’s life is presented as a substitute for the life of the one offering the sacrifice.

Leviticus 17:11 “11 ‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, & I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’”

Hebrews 10:4 “4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls & goats to take away sins.”

1 Peter 1:19 “19 but w/precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished & spotless, the blood of Christ.”

1 John 1:7 “7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship w/one another, & the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Hebrews 9:12 “12 & not through the blood of goats & calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”

Colossians 1:20 “20 & through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

The Old Testament sacrifices provided a covering of our sins until Jesus came to wipe our sins completely clean.

Isaiah 1:18 “18 “Come now, & let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.”

1 John 1:9 “9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful & righteous to forgive us our sins & to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

So quickly lets look at the burnt offering we read today in Leviticus01

The Burnt Offering

Leviticus 1:4 The sinner is to lay his hands on the animal. Thus symbolizing the transference of their sins onto the animal. The whole sacrifice was to be completely consumed by fire, & regarded as ascending to God while being consumed. Part of every offering was burnt in the sacred fire, but this was wholly burnt, a “whole burnt offering.” Since the whole sacrifice was to be completely consumed on the altar, it represented the fullest form of worship. It was to express a person’s total dedication to the LORD.

It was the most frequent form of sacrifice, & the only one mentioned by name in the book of Genesis.

This is the first offering by name that is mentioned in Scripture.

Genesis 8:20 “20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, & took of every clean animal & of every clean bird & offered burnt offerings on the altar.”

In fact, the LORD instructed Abraham to offer Isaac as a burnt offering.

Genesis 22:2 “2 He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, & go to the land of Moriah, & offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.””

In this voluntary offering, a whole animal was consumed on the altar, which symbolizes the complete & voluntary consecration & worship of the Israelites.

Paul has this picture in mind in…

Romans 12:1 “1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living & holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

Leviticus 1:5 The burnt offering was to be offered daily by the priests (Leviticus06.12) to remind the people that they, & now we are to daily yield our lives to Him if we are to have a meaningful & effective spiritual walk.

It was to be done in the morning & in the evening. An ideal way to start & end a day, worshipping God!

Leviticus 1:6-8 So the person offering the burnt offering was to skin the offering.

Jesus was whipped 39 times before going on the cross.

Isaiah 50:6 “6 I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation & spitting.”

Isaiah 53:5 “5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.”

Matthew 27:26 “26 Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.”

1 Peter 2:24 “24 & He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin & live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

A sweet offering (Leviticus01.09, 13, 17)

Leviticus 1:9a Now the one who is presenting the burnt offering is to wash the intestines & the legs of the bull. So he is cleaning the blood off of the legs of the bull.

When Jesus was on the cross, Pilate gave the order to break the legs, which would hasten the death of those on the cross. But when they came to Jesus they saw that He was already dead.

John 19:31-33 “31 Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, & that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came, & broke the legs of the first man & of the other who was crucified w/Him; 33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.”

So then to be sure that He was dead…

John 19:34 “34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side w/a spear, & immediately blood & water came out.”

This wasn’t just the piercing of His side. What surrounds the heart is a sac called the pericardium. That was pierced as well as His heart, & the blood & water went down His legs.

Leviticus 1:9b The smell of barbeque was pleasing to the LORD! It’s the full commitment of God’s people to Him that blesses Him.

Paul tells us about Jesus in…

Ephesians 5:1, 2 “1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 & walk in love, just as Christ also loved you & gave Himself up for us, an offering & a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

Leviticus 1:10 Not everyone owned a bull. The bull was a rich man’s offering. For the common man they could offer a sheep or a goat. God doesn’t want anyone to be excluded from worshipping Him.

Leviticus 1:11a This is interesting because where Jesus was crucified at was north of the Old City of Jerusalem, north of where He was tried before Pilate. So when Jesus carried the cross beam, He was going to the north.

Leviticus 1:11b-13 We have already covered all of this in detail.

Leviticus 1:14 Now this was the offering of the poor people.

Hebrews 4:16 “16 Therefore let us draw near w/confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy & find grace to help in time of need.”

Leviticus 1:15-16 So they are to pluck out its feathers.

Jesus had His beard plucked out.

Isaiah 50:6 “6 I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation & spitting.”

People in this area, still to this day, hold high regard for a man’s beard. So to have it plucked out is a major insult! (2Samuel10).

Leviticus 1:17 No bones were to be broken. Just as none of Jesus’ bones were to be broken.

John 19:36 “36 For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, “NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN.””

The Jews had no idea that all that they did for this sacrifice was foreshadowing what Jesus was going to do on the cross. We have the advantage to look back.

We please God when we worship Him & live a holy life.

The burnt offering was the only offering that a non-Israelite was allowed to bring. This is awesome because it means that EVERYONE can come & worship the LORD.