A Whole Offering

Leviticus 1:4 And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. The first few chapters of Leviticus describe the instructions that God gave concerning sacrifices. The burnt offering is the first one discussed, and was the most common of all the sacrifices. This burnt offering was a voluntary offering that a person would offer out of his own free will. It was also a whole offering, in that the offerer, nor the priest, got to eat any of the meat from the animal. The whole animal was consumed in the fire. The burnt offering was offered on the bronze altar, which was the first thing that one would come to as they approached the temple. Every day, morning and evening, the altar would be used for burnt offerings, and even more so on special occasions. The burnt offering wasn't so much for specific sins, but to recognize the sinful condition of the offerer. The person giving the offering would lay his hand upon the animal without blemish, identifying with the animal, and would kill the animal himself and offer it before the Lord. I've said a lot, but the most important part is what it all means for us as New Covenant believers. The burnt offering pointed to Christ, the Lamb of God. As the offerer, we must recognize, not only our specific sins, but our sinful condition. Just as the bronze altar was the first thing, we must first realize our sinfulness before we can progress toward His presence. As the offerer identified with the offering, we too must identify with Christ, and baptism is no doubt the best way. Finally, just as the offerer did not get to partake of the offering as it was a whole offering, we too recognize that the offering of Christ as God's perfect substitute was a whole offering. He gets all the credit, and all the glory!