Hedgemaker Baptist – The Offerings of Sacrifice – Intro

The first five books of the Old Testament are in order. The Pentateuch, as they are called, consists of the writings of Moses. Genesis is the book of beginnings; it records the fall of man. Exodus is the book of deliverance from Egypt and describes the redemption of man. Leviticus focuses on holiness and reminds us of the worship of man. Numbers is a book about the land; it narrates the walk of man. Deuteronomy, which literally means second law, emphasizes the work of man. Let’s review the order again. Man begins in the Garden of Eden with a fall into sin. Now he needs a Savior and redemption from that sin. After his redemption, man needs to learn to worship, walk, and work. Worship (the Book of Leviticus) must come before the Christian walk (Numbers), and walking correctly must come before the work of the saint (Deuteronomy). Leviticus is a book about worship. We do not work for Christ because we do not walk with Christ. We do not walk with Christ because we do not worship with Christ. Leviticus teaches us how to worship the Lord.

In the first seven chapters of Leviticus, there are five offerings: the burnt offering, the meat (or meal) offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. Each of these offerings is listed in order. The burnt offering symbolizes consecration or general submission to the will of God. The meat offering signifies commitment or specific submission to God’s will. The peace offering represents communion and emphasizes thanksgiving. The sin offering is a picture of confession. The trespass offering signifies cleansing. The order of the offerings is: consecration, commitment, communion, confession, and cleansing. We do not experience cleansing from sin because we have not learned to confess our sins. We do not know how to confess our sins because we are not in communion with Christ enough to recognize our sins. We are not in communion because we have not committed ourselves to Him and His will. And we have not committed ourselves to Christ because we refuse to be consecrated and set apart for His service. (LEH)