Roots of Worship (Part 1): The Burnt Offering
- Timothy Harolds
- Oct 11
- 9 min read
Updated: Oct 17
Quick Overview
The first part of the “Roots of Worship” series introduces Israel’s sacrificial system by contrasting pagan blood rites with God’s gracious design. Unlike Mesopotamian rituals, the burnt offering was not to feed a needy deity; it was God’s way of teaching sinful people that blood atones for judgment and restores fellowship. The article walks through Leviticus 1, explaining why the entire animal was consumed, why only the best was chosen, and how the priest laid hands on it, signifying substitution. By highlighting Christ’s ultimate sacrifice, the author shows that the burnt offering foreshadows complete devotion and points to Jesus’ perfect atonement.
According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22
The sacrificial system instituted by God through Moses is deeply rooted in this concept. This system enabled the people of God to offer sacrifices as an act of worship and obedience, each type of sacrifice having its own specific purpose. The act of offering sacrifices was not exclusive to Israel, as many Near Eastern cultures practiced similar rites in their worship. “The technical term for such spontaneous offerings in ancient Mesopotamia was šaggiuru, which means literally: ‘what you have your heart set on’…”¹ It was common in Near Eastern culture that sacrifices to their gods “…were used as means of feeding and keeping the gods well satisfied.”² Although commonalities can be seen here and the Mesopotamian term rightly describes the effect of the sacrifice on the offerer, the Israelites were different in their motive for sacrifice. In Mesopotamian cults, “a deity, who, by performing some unasked-for benefit, obligated the person to respond with a corresponding sacrifice.”³ This concept, as we will later discover, is far from the biblical motives. Yahweh was unique in not requesting sacrifice for personal gain. As Augustine of Hippo put it: “…God has no need, not only of cattle, or any other earthly and material thing…whatever right worship is paid to God profits not Him, but man. For no man would say he did a benefit to a fountain by drinking, or to the light by seeing.”⁴ Psalm 50:12–13 rightly states that God is not in need of the things of mankind. “…those sacrifices signified the things which we do for the purpose of drawing near to God…”⁵ Each type of sacrifice had its own way of pleasing God, not by the materials sacrificed, but by the effect on the sinner bringing the sacrifice. In this series, we will discover the purpose of various Judeo-Christian rituals, their relation to worship, and New Testament fulfillment.
The Need for Atonement
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
For those even moderately familiar with Scripture, it is no news that “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” [Rom 3:23]. No human other than Jesus Himself has ever been able to keep all of the Old Testament laws, or even the two commands that were called “most important” by Jesus [Mark 12:29-31], all throughout their life. Scripture also teaches that sin causes two things:
Separation from God: Since sin opposes God’s holy nature, it separates the sinner from Him [Isa 59:2]. According to Genesis 3, man’s sin caused them to hide from God [Gen 3:8–10] and be expelled from God’s presence [Gen 3:23].
Judgement: A righteous judge punishes those who broke the law and brought harm. Since sin brings about death [Gen 2:17], the shedding of blood is required to pay the sinner’s debt. After Adam & Eve ate from the forbidden tree, “the LORD God made clothing out of skins for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.” Some say God here performed the first animal sacrifice as a fulfillment of Gen 2:17.
Yahweh is a God who longs to dwell with His people, and humanity is in need of Him. Since man’s sinful nature causes division [Cf. Exod 33:3], a sacrificial system had to be set in place.
Regulations for the Burnt Offering
The rules and requirements for the Burnt Offering are recorded in Leviticus 1. This offering in particular was to be presented each day [Num 28:3–8], at the beginning of each month [Num 28:11–15], to fulfill a vow, as a free will offering, and at appointed festivals [Num 15:2-4; 28:19-24; 28:26-31 29:1-6; 29:12-15]. It was also one of the offerings brought on the Day of Atonement [Num 29:7-11]. “The burnt offering itself must remain on the altar’s hearth all night until morning…” [Lev 6:9].
The Animal
The offering was to be an unblemished male animal either from the herd or the flock. Since “sheep and goats predominated amongst the animals that were kept…,”⁶ these animals were accessible to most. However, because the “…male of the species is, generally speaking, a luxury rather than a necessity and is, for that reason, generally more highly valued than the female”⁷, this did make the offering more costly. Those who could not afford these could “…present his offering from the turtledoves or young pigeons” [Lev 1:14; 5:7].
Sacrificial Process
All animals were offered up in more or less the same way. Since each offerer had to slaughter their own sacrifice, but could not enter into the sanctuary [Num 18:7], they had to bring their sacrifice to the entrance to the tent of meeting (Hebrew: petaḥ ʾōhel môʿēd). “The expression petaḥ ʾōhel môʿēd has been understood as a technical term for the narrow corridor within the sacred enclosure that extended between the entrance gate and the courtyard altar.”⁸
When presenting the animal, “he is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.” Common belief about the reason for this is that this act represents either:
The transference of sin to the animal.
Identification: intended to penetrate the animal with the soul of the offerer.
Declaration: to enable the offerer to declare its purpose.
Ownership: the offerer demonstrates his ownership over the animal.⁹
Although the transference theory is not foreign to Biblical thought, Jewish Bible scholar Jacob Milgrom argues that Leviticus 16:21 shows us that when the animal is used as a scapegoat, Aaron is to “…lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the Israelites’ wrongdoings and rebellious acts—all their sins.” According to Milgrom, the fact that the presenter of the Burnt Offering only uses one hand, “…automatically eliminates the transference theory, which invariably requires two hands.”¹⁰ “Identification is alien to biblical thought…because it is magical…”¹¹ He also states that, although a declaration might have happened, this “…was independent of hand-leaning.”¹² This leaves him with the ownership theory, which, according to him, correlates with Hittite tradition as well.¹³ This conclusion seems acceptable, considering the verse lays emphasis on the fact that, after the laying on of his hand, “…it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him” [Lev 1:4].
After this, the offerer slaughters the animal, and the priests sprinkle the blood on all sides of the altar. The animal is then skinned and cut into pieces, most likely both done by the offerer. Lastly, the entails are washed and “then the priest will burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the LORD” [Lev 1:9; 1:13; 1:17].
Significance & Meaning
Throughout the Old Testament, it becomes clear that this specific sacrifice is required to worship Yahweh. This is reflected in Moses’ response to Pharaoh when he finally allows the Israelites to worship their God: “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings to prepare for Yahweh our God” Exod 10:25.
When the Israelites were under Philistine oppression, “Samuel told them, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, get rid of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths that are among you, dedicate yourselves to the LORD, and worship only Him. Then He will rescue you from the hand of the Philistines” [1 Sam 7:3]. After they got rid of their idols and confessed their sins against the Lord, “Samuel was offering the burnt offering as the Philistines drew near to fight against Israel. The Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines that day and threw them into such confusion that they fled before Israel” [1 Sam 7:10]. Many times when the Burnt Offering was presented to God, it represented a turning point, a repentance of His people. This caused God’s favor to be on the offerer.
The Purpose of the Sacrifice
How is this relevant for us today? After his sin with Bathsheba, David reflects on the sacrificial system, saying, “You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; You are not pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.” Although this might first seem to diminish the purpose of the Burnt Offering, it actually shines light on its meaning.
What we will see with every Levitical sacrifice is that “…the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the actual form of those realities, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year” [Heb 10:1]. While the Old Testament law was good, it was never the thing itself, but a representation of God’s true purpose for mankind. After Jesus presented the two “most important” laws: (1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength, (2) Love your neighbor as yourself, the scribe, having posed the question, replied affirmatively, saying that these are “…far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” In another Psalm, David writes to God, saying, “You do not delight in sacrifice and offering; You open my ears to listen. You do not ask for a whole burnt offering or a sin offering. Then I said, ‘See, I have come; it is written about me in the volume of the scroll. I delight to do Your will, my God; Your instruction lives within me’” [Ps 40:6–8]. What seems evident from these texts is that the Burnt Offering represented someone's repentance to God, turning away from their wicked ways. Although the animal sacrifice was important, it was not the thing God delighted in, considering His lack of need for material things. God delights in the fact that we present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God [Rom 12:1]. When performing a Burnt Offering, nothing of the animal is left behind; it is all burned up to God. Just like this, we leave our past behind and dedicate our lives to God.
New Testament Fulfillment
However, one problem that remains is our sinful nature, making us unable to fulfill this promise. Responding to Psalm 40:6-8, the writer of Hebrews teaches that...
…we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins. But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. Hebrews 10:10–12
Jesus performed the ultimate sacrifice on the cross, where His own blood was shed for our sins and He became our Burnt Offering, entirely consumed before the Father. Just like the offerer under Old Testament law brought and slaughtered his own sacrifice, Jesus was persecuted and killed by the Israelites and Romans, representing both Jew and Gentile, as the male without blemish, for the forgiveness of their sins. In this, Jeremiah’s prophecy was fulfilled:
…this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the LORD’s declaration. “I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them” —this is the LORD’s declaration. “For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin.” Jeremiah 31:33–34
Because of this sacrifice, we can now come before God, because our old life is behind us and our past sins are forgiven. “Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer an offering for sin” [Heb 10:18].
Footnotes
JoAnn Scurlock, “The Techniques of the Sacrifice of Animals in Ancient Israel and Ancient Mesopotamia: New Insights Through Comparison, Part 2,” Andrews University Seminary Studies 44, no. 2 (2006): 241. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2959&context=auss.
Amy M. Fisher, Pour Forth the Sparkling Chalice: An Examination of Libation Practices in the Levant, Classics Honors Projects, Macalester College, 2007: 14. http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/classics_honors/7.
Scurlock, “The Techniques of the Sacrifice of Animals,” 241–42.
Augustine of Hippo, The City of God, in St. Augustin’s City of God and Christian Doctrine, ed. Philip Schaff, trans. Marcus Dods, vol. 2 of A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1887), book 10, chap. 5, 183.
Augustine, The City of God, 183.
Volkmar Fritz, The City in Ancient Israel (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), 161.
Scurlock, “The Techniques of the Sacrifice of Animals,” 18.
Jacob Milgrom, Leviticus 1–16: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, vol. 3, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 147.
Milgrom, Leviticus 1–16, 151.
Milgrom, Leviticus 1–16, 151.
Milgrom, Leviticus 1–16, 151.
Milgrom, Leviticus 1–16, 151.
Milgrom, Leviticus 1–16, 152.
Bible translation: The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009).
