A believer living in the Church Age might well ask, “What practical value is there in studying the five Jewish offerings of Leviticus?” The answer to this question is that we might grow in our appreciation of Christ whose person and work are symbolized in the offerings, which then should prompt us to live holy lives, consecrated to God.
The revelation of the Levitical offerings was not provided on Mount Sinai, but rather at the tabernacle of meeting in the camp (Lev. 1:1). This contrasts the ominous judicial position that Jehovah exhibited on a fiery and quaking Mount Sinai with that of a gracious God, dwelling in peace with and among His people. In Exodus, God was distant and unapproachable. In Leviticus, God resides among His covenant people and invites them to come near and to have fellowship with Him through the substitutional provision of shed blood. This is the theme of Leviticus and foreshadows what the Lord Jesus has now accomplished for all believers.
The Levitical offerings did not provide propitiation for sin but merely atoned for the sins of Jehovah’s covenant people (Lev. 17:11), thus permitting them to come near to Him for worship. Their relationship had been established by redemption through the Passover lamb in Egypt and would be maintained through a covenant that required the annual sprinkling of blood on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant (on the Day of Atonement). If the Jewish nation continued by faith to show forth the merits of Christ’s future substitutional death through the Levitical sacrifices, God would continue to dwell among them.
Prior to Christ’s death, resurrection, and exaltation, it was only by animal blood sacrifices that a worshipper was made acceptable to God. Until that time, each offering would draw the offerer’s attention to some aspect of Christ’s personage or of His future sacrificial and priestly work, that is, to a specific way the Father wanted His Son to be appreciated. For this reason, the sacrifices are mentioned in a particular order: from what is most significant to God to what is most significant to man. That is, the order shows a holy God coming out to meet sinful man where he is at.
The burnt offering (Lev. 1:1-17; 6:8-13), the meal offering (Lev. 2:1-16; 6:14-23), and the peace offering (Lev. 3:1-17; 7:11-34) were called “sweet aroma” offerings because they were associated with one’s choice to freely praise and thank God for His goodness. These present Christ’s excellences and our access to God through Him. This is possible on the basis of the fact that sin has already been fully dealt with (i.e., in God’s timeless view of the work of the cross). The final two offerings, the sin offering (Lev. 4:1-35; 6:24-30) and the trespass offering (Lev. 5:1-6:7; 7:1-10) were demanded by God because of the offerer’s sin and thus were considered “non-sweet aroma” offerings; the only exception, the fat of the sin offering burnt on the Bronze Altar was considered a sweet savor to the Lord (4:31). In these offerings the perfections of Christ, though apparent and needful, are not the emphasis; rather, He is extolled as the suffering sin-bearer who identifies with the sinner to satisfy God’s righteous demand for justice (Isa. 53:10).
The death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is presented to us in various ways throughout Scripture so that we might more fully understand what God has accomplished through Him. The Levitical sacrifices present different facets of Christ’s life on earth and His sacrifice at Calvary: the burnt offering speaks of Christ’s devotion to the Father as an offering totally consumed for God; the meal offering reflects the fine moral character of Christ and His sufferings prior to the cross; the peace offering acknowledges the communion of God with man through Christ; the sin offering pictures God’s own payment for the offense of man’s sin; and the trespass offering relates to restitution for the damage that sin causes. In all of these, the person and work of Christ are presented and appreciated.