Wednesday

Leviticus 1: 1 – 9

The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting. He said, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When any of you brings an offering to the LORD, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.

" 'If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to offer a male without defect. He must present it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting so that it will be acceptable to the LORD. He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. He is to slaughter the young bull before the LORD, and then Aaron's sons the priests shall bring the blood and sprinkle it against the altar on all sides at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. He is to skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces. The sons of Aaron the priest are to put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. Then Aaron's sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, including the head and the fat, on the burning wood that is on the altar. He is to wash the inner parts and the legs with water, and the priest is to burn all of it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.

Our God is a God of order. He desires that His people know how to worship, and Leviticus is His instruction manual for worship.

The Israelites understood the difference between holy and common, and they were to learn there was a danger of interacting with the Holy when they were impure. The important lesson for them, as well as us today, was that the blood of the sacrifice played a critical role in cleansing impurity before the sacrifice is offered to a holy God.

Chapter 1 of Leviticus tells us about the burnt offering. First the worshiper was to present himself and his offering before the Lord. Following the slaughter, the blood was thrown on the altar to purify it. Then the animal was burned as a sacrifice, as prescribed by God.

Lent is a time set aside for us to prepare ourselves as an offering to a holy God. We are blemished by sin and only blood can cleanse our impurity. Christ made the ultimate sacrifice and offered His Blood that we might be purified as an acceptable offering before God.

EB