Leviticus Chapters 1 to 3
Nearness Through Sacrifice..
Leviticus begins where Exodus ends. The tabernacle has been built. God’s glory has filled it. A holy God now dwells in the midst of a newly redeemed people. But a pressing question emerges:
How can a sinful people live near a holy God without being consumed?
Leviticus is God’s answer.
It is not merely a book of rituals; it is a book of relationship.
It teaches a rescued people how to approach, live with, and remain in fellowship with their God.
After more than 400 years in Egypt, Israel’s understanding of worship, holiness, and community had been deeply shaped by surrounding cultures. They had been delivered physically, but they needed to be formed spiritually. Leviticus becomes God’s training manual for living as His covenant people.
Chapters 1–3 introduce the first three offerings:
- Burnt offering
- Grain offering
- Peace offering
These are not random rituals. They are carefully structured ways for Israel to express devotion, gratitude, repentance, and communion. They reveal God’s heart and prepare the way for the ultimate sacrifice fulfilled in Christ.
1. The Burnt Offering (Leviticus 1): Total Surrender
The burnt offering is the first and foundational sacrifice described. The worshiper brings an unblemished animal—bull, sheep, goat, or bird—lays hands on it, and it is entirely consumed on the altar.
What it meant then
The laying on of hands symbolized identification. The animal represented the worshiper. Its life stood in place of theirs. The complete burning of the sacrifice symbolized total surrender to God.
Unlike some other offerings, nothing was kept back. Everything was given to God. It expressed atonement, devotion, and the desire for restored relationship.
This offering communicated:
- God is holy.
- Sin has consequences.
- Life must be given for life.
- Yet God provides a way for approach and acceptance.
The text repeatedly says the offering becomes “a pleasing aroma to the Lord.” This language does not imply that God needs food or appeasement in a pagan sense. Rather, it indicates that wholehearted devotion and obedient worship delight Him.
For a people emerging from Egypt—where sacrifices often aimed to manipulate gods—this was different. God was not being controlled. He was inviting relationship. The offering was not about feeding God but about forming hearts.
God’s heart behind it
God is teaching Israel that nearness to Him requires surrender.
Approach is possible, but it must be reverent and intentional.
He is also teaching them that He provides a means of atonement. Instead of destroying a sinful people, He creates a way for them to draw near safely.
Key insight:
Before Israel learns anything else about worship, they learn that relationship with God begins with surrender and atonement.
Fulfillment in Christ
The burnt offering foreshadows Jesus, who offered Himself fully to God.
Ephesians 5:2 echoes Leviticus language:
“Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Jesus is the complete offering—wholly devoted, wholly surrendered. In Him, we see the ultimate expression of total obedience and self-giving love.
For us today
We no longer bring animal sacrifices. Yet the principle remains:
God desires lives surrendered to Him.
Romans 12:1 picks up this imagery:
“Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice… this is your true worship.”
The burnt offering invites us to ask:
What does wholehearted devotion look like now?
What does it mean to hold nothing back?
2. The Grain Offering (Leviticus 2): Gratitude and Daily Dependence
The grain offering differs from the burnt offering. It contains no animal sacrifice. Instead, it consists of flour, oil, and frankincense—products of the land and human labor. A portion is burned to God; the rest is given to the priests.
What it meant then
This offering expressed gratitude and acknowledgment that everything comes from God. It recognized Him as provider. It also represented the fruit of human work offered back to Him.
Several elements are symbolic:
- Fine flour: care and intentionality
- Oil: richness and provision
- Frankincense: worship and prayer
- No leaven: purity and sincerity
- Salt: covenant faithfulness
For a people who had lived as slaves, this offering was transformative. In Egypt, their labor benefited Pharaoh. Now their labor becomes an offering to God. Their work is redeemed.
God’s heart behind it
God is teaching Israel that worship is not limited to moments of atonement. It includes gratitude. It includes daily provision. It includes the work of their hands.
He is forming a people who recognize Him as the source of everything and who respond with thanksgiving.
Key insight:
Life itself becomes an offering. Worship includes gratitude for provision and the dedication of daily work.
Fulfillment in Christ
Jesus identifies Himself as the “bread of life” (John 6).
He embodies perfect gratitude, obedience, and dependence on the Father.
He also sanctifies ordinary life—meals, work, and provision—by living them in perfect communion with God.
For us today
The grain offering invites us to offer our daily lives—our work, resources, and gratitude—to God. It reminds us that worship is not only about crisis or repentance but about continual thanksgiving.
Everyday faithfulness becomes sacred when offered to Him.
3. The Peace Offering (Leviticus 3): Communion and Fellowship
The peace offering (sometimes called fellowship offering) is unique. Part is burned for God, part is given to the priests, and part is eaten by the worshiper in a communal meal.
This is a celebration of restored relationship and shared fellowship with God.
What it meant then
The peace offering expressed gratitude, thanksgiving, and communion. It celebrated wholeness and right relationship with God.
It symbolized:
- Reconciliation
- Gratitude
- Joyful fellowship
- Shared life in God’s presence
After generations of oppression in Egypt, this offering teaches Israel that life with God includes joy and celebration. Worship is not only solemn; it is relational and communal.
Eating in God’s presence signified peace between God and His people. It was covenant fellowship.
God’s heart behind it
God desires not only forgiveness and surrender but communion.
He wants His people to share in His presence and celebrate restored relationship.
This offering reveals that God’s goal is not distance but closeness.
Fulfillment in Christ
Jesus brings ultimate peace and reconciliation (Colossians 1:20).
Through Him, we are invited into fellowship with God.
The Lord’s Supper echoes the peace offering—a shared meal celebrating restored relationship through sacrifice.
For us today
We are invited into ongoing fellowship with God.
Worship includes joy, gratitude, and shared life with Him and with others.
The peace offering reminds us that salvation leads not only to forgiveness but to communion.
Why These Offerings Were Instituted
After leaving Egypt, Israel needed to relearn how to approach God. They had been surrounded by pagan rituals and distorted worship. God gives them a structured system that teaches:
- Holiness
- Atonement
- Gratitude
- Fellowship
- Dependence
- Reverence
These offerings form their spiritual imagination. They teach that sin is serious, that God is gracious, and that relationship with Him requires intentionality.
Leviticus is not about appeasing an angry deity. It is about forming a holy people who can live near a holy God.
What It Means After Christ
Jesus fulfills the sacrificial system completely.
He is:
- The perfect burnt offering (total surrender)
- The true bread offering (perfect life offered)
- The ultimate peace offering (reconciliation and fellowship)
Hebrews explains that these sacrifices were shadows pointing forward to Him.
Because of Christ:
- Atonement is complete
- Access to God is open
- Worship becomes a life of surrender, gratitude, and communion
We do not repeat these sacrifices, but we embody what they pointed to.
God’s Heart in Leviticus 1–3
God’s heart is not distant or harsh.
He is:
- Providing a way to approach Him
- Teaching a newly freed people how to live
- Forming their understanding of holiness
- Inviting them into relationship
- Moving them from slavery to worship
He is patiently reshaping their instincts after centuries in Egypt.
He is teaching them that life with Him is ordered, intentional, and relational.
Reflective Questions
- What does wholehearted surrender to God look like in my life today?
- Do I view my daily work and provision as opportunities for gratitude and offering?
- How often do I experience fellowship and joy in God’s presence?
- Am I approaching God with both reverence and confidence through Christ?
- What areas of my life might God be inviting me to place fully on the altar?
- How does understanding Christ as the fulfillment of these sacrifices deepen my worship?
Closing Prayer
Holy and gracious God,
You are the One who makes a way for us to draw near.
Thank You for Your patience in teaching Your people and for Your desire to dwell among us.
Through Christ, the perfect sacrifice, we have access to You.
Teach us to live lives of surrender, gratitude, and fellowship.
Receive our daily work, our worship, and our hearts as offerings to You.
Shape us into a people who reflect Your holiness and Your love.
May our lives become a pleasing aroma,
and may we walk in the joy of communion with You.
Amen.
