Leviticus 1:1-17 – Drawing near to God

Interestingly, the word Leviticus used for the title of the book was adopted from the Greek version of the Old Testament. In the original, its title meant “instruction to the priests.” This book is God’s instructions given through Moses. He was only able to receive the instructions from outside the Tent of meeting. For he could not go into the Tent because God’s glory had filled it. So, unlike the other times when he could speak to the LORD in close proximity, this time he could only stand outside the Tent of meeting to receive God’s instructions.

The phrase in verse 2, “When any man of you brings an offering to the LORD…” gives us the clue as to the reason for this book. This book prescribes for us the way we sinful and unholy people can draw near to our holy God, the LORD. He has made the provision so that sinful as men could be, they could have access to draw close to worship Him. Without a burnt offering, there was no way any one of them could approach the LORD.  Atonement had to be made before a sinful person could come near to God. The burnt offering God had prescribed here was the way anyone could have excess to commune with Him. Leviticus 1 described the burnt offering, one of the five types of offering prescribed by God.

The animal for the burnt offering could be a ram from the herd, or a sheep or a goat from the flock or any fowl such as a turtledove or a pigeon. But any of those animals brought for the burnt offering had to be perfect and without blemish. The animal to be offered, be it a ram, sheep or goat must be a male. Concerning a fowl to be offered, the gender was not mentioned. The reason God had given them a wide variety of animals or fowl to choose from was chiefly because of economic reason. It shows that He would not want to leave anyone out. Even a poor person could bring a fowl which was cheaper. A meaningful sacrifice to God must cost the worshipper something. Like King David, we must not offer anything to God that will cost us nothing. Take note that every part of the sacrifice was offered to God. This speaks of yielding totally to the Lord. It speaks of surrender and dedication. This is an important step in a believer’s life.

The burnt offering is a type of Christ being offered to God without any defect. As the animal to be offered was killed at the altar, Christ gave Himself at Calvary as an offering for us. The Cross is like the brazen altar where the sacrifice would be offered. The burnt offering is the sacrifice that opens the way to God. Our journey with God can only begin with Christ who has given Himself as our burnt offering. It is also a symbol of total yielding. In coming to God, we must first yield ourselves totally at the altar where Christ had given Himself for us. Let us, therefore, draw near to God through Christ to dedicate ourselves to Him. He is the only way we can have excess to God to offer our lives to Him in worship and service.