Leviticus 1:10-17 comments: offerings of the flock

 

Leviticus 1:10 ¶  And 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. 11  And 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. 12  And 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: 13  But 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 savour unto the LORD. 14  And 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. 15  And 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: 16  And 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: 17  And 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 savour unto the LORD.

 

Offerings of the meekest of the flocks; sheep, goats, and fowl, innocent and mild, represent Christ in His first Advent, teaching us as Christians that we, too, as living sacrifices are to be meek and mild as Matthew Henry pointed out in his commentary.

With the offering of a bull from the herd described before we have much the same instruction for these animals in regard to their sacrifice. As a matter of my opinion, with these animals, innocent toward God, being offered as sacrifices, a sweet savour unto the LORD and based on other evidence in the Bible such as 2Kings 2:11; 2Kings 6:17; Ezekiel chapters 1 and 10, and Revelation 4 it is clear there are a great many animals in the realm of Heaven, God’s holy dwelling place (2Chronicles 30:27.)

There are those who believe that Calvary was on the north side of Jerusalem which would link verse 11 to Christ’s crucifixion but the idea is disputed.

            Verse 14 allows for poorer people who could not offer a bullock to come prepared for a sacrifice.

Our sacrifices of prayer and service to the Lord rise up to Heaven and one could say are a sweet savour unto the LORD, we must always remember.

 

Psalm 141:2  Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

 

Proverb 15:8  The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

 

Revelation 5:8  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.