Extra: The Burnt Offering and the Grain Offering

The burnt offering and the grain offering are both described in Leviticus 1 and 2. Why were these sacrifices significant? What did they mean? In this episode of Bible Backdrop Extra, we go into the deeper meaning behind these sacrifices and their symbolism. 

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Transcript

Hello everyone and welcome to the next episode of Bible Backdrop Extra where I go into some more detail about a subject from an earlier episode. In the last episode, I talked about 2 of the offerings from Leviticus: the burnt offering and the grain offering.

As the name implies, and as mentioned in the podcast, the burnt offering was completely used up. Some offerings included a portion for the priests and/or the person making the offering. Not so with the burnt offering. This had to be a total sacrifice. Nothing could be left over. Why was this the case? Before we delve into that question, let’s look at some other details about this sacrifice.

First, it had to be from one’s herd. I always thought this was obvious until I read a commentary about why this was included. This meant the animal had to be domesticated...not wild. Which means the person put time and effort into raising this animal. They couldn’t have just captured it that day and brought it to be sacrificed.

Second, it had to be a male. Male animals were seen as stronger and more valuable. One male could greatly help increase the size of a herd, so sacrificing a male animal was costly.

Third, it had to be without blemish. The priest would inspect the offering and make sure it met the standards. Before being offered, the sacrifice had to be perfect. God would not accept anything with imperfections. This is demonstrated in Malachi when He says: “And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?”

Finally, it had to be of the giver’s own free will. There was to be no obligation for this offering. This is critical. God wanted the offering to come from the heart.

Putting these details together, we get a clearer picture of the burnt offering. The sacrifice had to be a male without blemish, which means it was very costly. It came from the herd, so it was raised by the one giving the sacrifice. It wasn’t a wild animal. It was something that was cared for, protected, and very valuable. It would be a total sacrifice to God; there would be nothing left. And it would not be required; it would be a free will sacrifice. To do so required a person to understand God’s holiness and have the desire to be right with God.

When we look at all these, it is a clear picture of Christ and our relationship with Him and the Father. Jesus was the perfect, costly sacrifice for our sins. He was born and raised as an Israelite, God’s chosen people. He was cared for, protected by the Father, and more valuable than anything in this world. We come to Him of our own free will when we understand God’s holiness and our desire to be right with Him.

Now let’s look at the grain offering. As discussed in the episode, the offering could be from uncooked flour or made into bread. The grain offering was an offering of thankfulness and not an atonement for sin. Since most people were farmers, this was an acceptable act of thankfulness to God for his provision.

It was important that the offering not have any leaven in it. Leaven during this time was used by taking a part of the prior’s day batch of dough and using it as part of the bread the next day. This allowed the bacteria to grow that would make the bread rise. The bread in this offering, since it was made without leaven, was usually very flat and more like a pancake. In the Bible, leaven was often a representative of sin or ungodliness. Jesus talked about the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees to his disciples. At first, they thought He was making a comment about them not having any bread, but He makes them understand that He’s talking about the false teaching of the Jewish leaders. Paul also talks about leaven in Galatians and 1 Corinthians, making comparisons to sin as leaven. If unchecked, sin would permeate the church like leaven through a batch of dough.

The grain offerings were also made with a small amount of frankincense. In the episode on the Tabernacle, we talked a little about this spice. Frankincense was expensive and was often representative of prayers being offered. It was also representative of God’s holiness. In either case, we see this mixed in with the offering, making it a “sweet aroma to the Lord.” God loves the prayers of His people and is pleased when they give Him thanks for His provision. 

The last ingredient this offering has is olive oil. When added, it would make the offering burn quicker. Besides being used for cooking and for light, olive oil was used to anoint kings and to consecrate priests. Being anointed was held in extreme high regard; so much so that in 1 Samuel, David could not bring himself to kill Saul even when given the opportunity because he was God’s anointed. He knew that God would deal with Saul in His own time, but David would not be the one to do it. Later, David even has 2 men put to death who assassinate Saul’s son who was king over a portion of Israel. Again, David would not raise his hand or reward those who struck God’s anointed one. In the same way, Jesus is God’s anointed one; the Messiah. The olive oil is a constant reminder of God’s anointing and a look ahead to the sacrifice Jesus will bear on the cross.

Some commentators I’ve read also compare the olive oil to the Holy Spirit. This is a good comparison as olive oil is the anti-leaven. Instead of being permeated with leaven which is sin, Christ followers are to be filled with the Holy Spirit; the same as what we see in the grain offering.

On that note, I think I’ll wrap up this episode of Bible Backdrop Extra. Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoyed this dive into the offerings. Next episode, I’ll continue looking at the remaining 3 freewill sacrifices from Leviticus. If you are enjoying Bible Backdrop, please leave a 5-star rating and review. Word of mouth is still the best way for this podcast to get around, so please tell a friend and have them subscribe. If you want to get in touch with the show, you can e-mail me at BibleBackdrop@gmail.com. Thank you again for listening and have a great week!