The Five Offerings Of Leviticus Part 5 of 10: Bullock Offering

Leviticus 1:2-9

“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of the livestock—of the HERD and of the FLOCK.

“If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer A MALE WITHOUT BLEMISH; he shall offer it of his own free will* at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord. Then HE SHALL PUT HIS HAND ON THE HEAD OF THE BURNT OFFERING, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. He shall kill the bull before the Lord;

and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

And HE SHALL SKIN THE BURNT OFFERING and cut it into its pieces. The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay the wood in order on the fire.

Then the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar; but he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water.

And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.”

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Now we come to the Bullock Offering.   No pun intended, there’s a LOT OF MEAT in this passage!   Being larger than any other sacrificial animal as you can imagine, when it was killed, THERE WAS A WHOLE LOT OF BLOOD! 😮

First Mention.

As you read in Part 2 if you have been following this series, There is a “law,” if you will, in Biblical interpretation called, “The Law of First mention.”  It is the principle of Scriptural interpretation which states:  “The first mention or occurrence of a subject in Scripture establishes an unchangeable pattern, with that subject remaining unchanged in the mind of God throughout Scripture.”

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The first time animal skins are mentioned in the Bible is all the way back in the garden, right after man fell.  You remember, no doubt, that they covered themselves with fig leaves, but God killed animals and made coats of “skin” for them.
(For more on that topic, you may follow the link below:

https://emmausroadministries.international/2020/05/03/coat-of-many-colors-story-of-joseph-part-1/)

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The bullock sacrifice depicts believers who have a BIG revelation of Jesus and a BIG appreciation of the blood.  They KNOW that they are the righteousness of God in Christ.  They KNOW that ALL their sins for their entire life are cleansed.

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They also  KNOW that because of their right standing before God, as they walk through the life, when they fail, they understand they are COVERED by Jesus’ righteousness.  This is REPRESENTED BY THE ANIMAL’S HIDE OR SKIN.  They KNOW unequivocally their sins are NOT IMPUTED TO THEM.  As they walk through life and occasionally fail, the blood of Jesus COVERS THEM as a garment of skin.  This gives the believer peace and rest!

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This offering depicts Jesus’ death.  Notice it is mentioned BEFORE the Grain offering, which comes second in the order of God’s book.  Seems backwards, doesn’t it?  You and I usually think of life first, then death.  But not the Father.  He listed it first.  Why?
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Because it is MOST IMPORTANT to Him and dearest to His heart.  Jesus’ death made a way for us to become His family!  God sees us in the perfection of His Son.

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You and I, on the other hand, when we come to God, we approach Him from the opposite direction:  In our trespasses and sins. In other words, via the sin and trespass offering.  The sin offering depicts what we “ARE,” while the Trespass offering represents what we “DO.”  These two offerings will be discussed in detail in parts 8 & 9 of this series.

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Did you notice that God, in His instructions for the tabernacle, also He starts opposite of us (from the inside out) with the Mercy Seat?  Yep!…and for the same reason.  To the Father, Jesus, i.e., the Mercy Seat, is nearest and dearest to His heart.

You and I come to Him in our trespasses and sins, via the outer court and the bronze altar.  We then get saved and cleansed of all our sins.  Now have peace with God.  Now we can BOLDLY enter the Holy of Holies.

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Around the Mercy Seat, now there are 48 upright, equal-shaped boards of acacia wood, covered with gold with no separation in between.  All of these acacia wood boards covered in gold are seated in silver sockets facing the Ark: Jesus.

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Why 48 boards?  Because it says exactly 48 times in the New Testament that you and I are “IN CHRIST!”  

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https://emmausroadministries.international/2020/01/04/the-covenant-of-the-rainbow-flood-series-part-5-2/)

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Burned Up To Ashes.

The lamb was to be “wholly consumed,” completely burned up to “Ashes” signifying that “Jesus wholly consumed ALL THE JUST JUDGMENTS OF GOD” in His own body, paying IN FULL the sin-debt we incurred.  

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That means our sins are “wholly consumed” when we get saved.  We are COMPLETELY CLEANSED FOR OUR ENTIRE LIVES IN GOD’S EYES!”

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Remember, God is outside time.  To Him, there is no past or future; only “NOW; the PRESENT.”  So when He says, “ALL your sins are put away,” He means ALL.

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Though this event would occur in the distant future, in God’s “Time Zone Of NOW,” He smelled this same “sweet savor of rest” in the offerings of all the Old testament saints.  It brought to remembrance Jesus’ sacrifice, giving rest to His heart.  That’s how it benefited God and man as well.  He is not holding our sins against us but sees us clean and righteous in Christ.  He has a judicial or righteous foundation to BLESS HIS PEOPLE!
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How To Offer The Burnt Offering.

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This offering was made every morning and every evening.  You and I can do the same thing every morning and evening by coming to God in Jesus’ Name, reminding Him of How precious, how perfect, and how beautiful Jesus is to Him.

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What He did on the cross was for you and for me, not for Himself.  It brought rest, delight, and great pleasure to God’s heart.  It still does!  HALLELUJAH!

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Thank you, Jesus, for being our BURNT OFFERING!
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This concludes our study of the Burnt Offering.  Now on to Part 6 where we’ll be talking about the second of the five offerings of Leviticus in “The Grain Offering.”  You may follow the link below to continue:

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