Offer Yourselves As Living Sacrifices

Have you ever come to a Bible book, and decided that you’d rather skip it? Maybe you were reading through Scripture in your personal devotions, or around the supper table as a family, and you’d finished Genesis, and slogged through the latter parts of Exodus, and finally came to Leviticus. What did you do? Did you skip it?

Leviticus presents a challenge. The title of the book means “about the Levites.” And that may give a clue as to why the book is found unappealing. In large part, it describes how that priestly family of the Levites should present right sacrifices to the LORD.

There’s much law here. But keep in mind this: that all of it is presented as part of a wider story, that story of God and his people. Having been delivered from Egypt, the Israelites are in the wilderness, now encamped at Mt. Sinai. And Leviticus picks up where Exodus left off. For right at the end of Exodus, the tabernacle was completed according to God’s instructions, and then was filled by the glory of the LORD.

Leviticus begins then, with God summoning Moses to come to the tabernacle. He’s going to explain exactly how his covenant people should approach Him in worship! And this was vital, because before Sinai, God’s glory had never “formally” resided in Israel’s midst in a central place like the tabernacle. There wasn’t a structured set of sacrifices, and no official priesthood. What’s more, the Israelites’ own knowledge of such things was sorely lacking. For centuries they’d been slaves in Egypt, a land of many gods. Their concept of worship and a godly life had become severely distorted. We can see their stubborn attachment to pagan ritual when they worship the golden calf.

So now God will give much needed instruction. Simply put, He’ll tell his people how to properly live in covenant with Him. What vital matters these are! And we begin to see this book is for much more than just the Levites—it’s for everyone. For what did God say to the Israelites, back in Exodus 19, even before He gave any of the sacrificial laws? He said, “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (v 6). From the least of them to the greatest, they were priests: a people holy to God, devoted to his worship.

Here we also sense how this book is still relevant today. For has the God speaking in Leviticus really changed? He’s still the God of the covenant—a God in relationship with his people. He’s still a God who graciously provides atonement for sin through blood. He’s still a holy God, who calls his children to be holy too. And He still desires to be worshiped by his priestly people, with acceptable sacrifice and offering. This is what we see in our text,

The LORD instructs his people about holy sacrifices:

1) the LORD to whom they’re offered

2) the guidelines by which they’re offered

3) the spirit in which they’re offered

1) the LORD to whom they’re offered: The passage we focus on comes in the latter half of chapter 22; one Study Bible entitles this section, “Offerings Accepted and Not Accepted.” That’s what this section is about: offerings.

Now, in one way this was a familiar practice for the people of God. They might not have had a fully regulated system of sacrifice before this, but those in fellowship with God have always wanted to present Him with their gifts. Recall those offerings of Cain and Abel, already way back in Genesis 4. It wasn’t commanded in any law, it was just done, as if by instinct: to acknowledge the goodness of the LORD. Leviticus is built on that same assumption, that God’s covenant people will gladly bring Him their offerings.

We need to view these sacrifices in the right way. Because Israel definitely wasn’t the only nation who made offerings; it was a practice in many cultures and religions. A common idea of bringing gifts to the gods was that these were basically bribes, given to get what you wanted. But the LORD wanted his people to take a different perspective. These offerings were under the umbrella of an existing relationship (the covenant of grace); and they were part of that continuing story (the history of redemption).

So God addresses this particular section not just to the priests (the Levites), but to everyone in Israel: “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel’” (vv 17-18). We see it again, that proper worship is to be the concern of all God’s covenant people.

And to impress on them its importance, Moses reminds them of where it’s directed: “Whatever man of the house of Israel… who offers his sacrifice for any of his vows or for any of his freewill offerings… [these] they offer to the LORD” (v 18). When you read Leviticus, you find that last phrase again and again; every act of worship is described as being “to the LORD.” Tradition and habit being what they are, the Israelites probably forgot this sometimes—just as we might. That as we lift up our prayers of praise, or our songs of worship, or our material gifts, or even the best of our talents and time, they are offered to God. Consciously, reverently, thoughtfully: to the LORD!