Sacrifice Offerings of the Lord: Pt 2

Sacrifice Offerings of the Lord: Pt 2

Sacrifice Offerings of the Lord: Pt 2 – Why, Intro            February 29, 2020

Joshua 13:14  The Territorial Assignments; The Land Given to the Tribe of Levi: Moses hadn’t assigned any land to the tribe of Levi: instead, they were given the offerings brought to the Lord.

Joshua 13:33 But Moses had given no land to the tribe of Levi for, as he had explained to them, the Lord God was their inheritance. He was all they needed. He would take care of them in other ways.

Joshua 14:1-3 These are the areas which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel distributed as an inheritance to them. (2) Their inheritance was by lot, as the LORD had commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe. (3) For Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe on the other side of the Jordan; but to the Levites he had given no inheritance among them.

Moses had already given land to the two and a half tribes on the east side of the Jordan River. The tribe of Joseph had become two separate tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, and the Levites were given no land at all, except cities in which to live and the surrounding pasturelands for their cattle.

  • Joshua 13-21 – Distribution of the Land
  • Joshua 13:8 – ½ Tribe of Manasseh East
  • Joshua 13:15 – Tribe of Reuben
  • Joshua 13:24 – Tribe of Gad
  • Joshua 13:29 – ½ Tribe of Manasseh East
  • Joshua 14:1 – Tribe of Judah
  • Joshua 16:1 – Tribes of Joseph (Ephraim and 1/2 Tribe Manasseh)
  • Joshua 16:5 – Tribe of Ephraim
  • Joshua 17:1 – Tribe of Manasseh
  • Joshua 18:11 – Tribe of Benjamin
  • Joshua 19:1 – Tribe of Simeon
  • Joshua 19:17 – Tribe of Issachar
  • Joshua 19:24 – Tribe of Asher
  • Joshua 19:32 – Tribe of Naphtali
  • Joshua 19:40 – Tribe of Dan

Joshua 21:2 “The Lord instructed Moses to give cities to us Levites for our homes, and pastureland for our cattle,” they said. 

Provision for Priests and Levites according to sacrifice.  Important,

They did not have a land inheritance in Israel.

Deuteronomy 18:1-4 “The priests, the Levites: all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and His portion. (2) Therefore they shall have no inheritance among their brethren; the LORD is their inheritance, as He said to them. (3) “And this shall be the priest’s due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it is bull or sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach. (4) The firstfruits of your grain and your new wine and your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.

The Sacrifices were required to be done in the Lord’s Home, the Temple, Altar or Tabernacle.

**Genesis 3:21 Adam and his Eve, made tunics of skin, {first animal sacrifice}

**Genesis 4:3-5 Cain {fruit of ground} and Able {firstborn of flock} made Sacrifice to God.  They had to know about Sacrifices.

**Genesis 8:20-21 Noah built an altar with burnt offerings, clean animal

**Genesis 12:7,8 Abram built an altar 

Abraham to Sacrifice of Isaac – Burnt Offering – Where we left off.

Genesis 22:2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

Genesis 22:9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.

Genesis 26:25 So he {Isaac} built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

We know the rest of the story Abraham and Isaac

Genesis 33:20 Then he {Jacob} erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.

Jacob receives God’s covenant, His promise

Genesis 28:13-14 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. (14) Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

The point is that the promises that God made to Israel are only, one way; unconditional.  Cannot be change.  Only punish to return to the Lord.

If they are unconditional, One Way, there is

  • no way Israel can forfeit her promises,
  • no matter how much idolatry she has,
  • no matter how unfaithful she becomes.

God redeem them in Exodus, and He cured them of idolatry with the Babylonian captivity.  This is why Ezra was so very important to Israel.

One of the commands that were given to Israel is the Altar of Stone.

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Exodus 20:22-25 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. (23) You shall not make anything to be with Me; gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves. (24) An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you. (25) And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it. 

The Divisions of the Law

The Law can be divided into three major divisions: the moral law, the civil law and the ceremonial law. 

Moral Law is typified by the 10 commandments in Exodus 20, that is in effect, God’s claim on His human creatures. 

Civil Law found in Exodus 21-23, which are social regulations to regulate their lives (slavery, possession, murder, etc).  These are to give guidance to an individual or judges. 

Ceremonial Laws is the third group of laws, deal with the religious life (the purification, the priests, the implements, ceremonial observations, etc). 

**Matthew 5:18 because I tell you with certainty that until heaven and earth disappear, not one letter or one stroke of a letter will disappear from the Law until everything has been accomplished.   {new Heavens and Earth} 

        {Notice, Does the law go away, No, Jesus said}

The Book of Leviticus deals with the ceremonial laws.

Upon entering the courtyard of the Temple, the first item to be encountered was a bronze altar for sacrifices to be offered in accordance with the various Levitical ordinances.

The Altar of Incense {Golden Altar}

Numbers 4:11 “Over the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of badger skins; and they shall insert its poles.

Exodus 30:1 “You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood.

  • Members of Israel could only go to Brazen or Bronze Altar, only
  • Aaron and sons could go on to the Golden Altar.

If we think about sacrifices as gifts given to God.   We take an animal, we kill it and sacrifice it through the Priests and God received the smoke of the burning sacrifice as a pleasing odor

Leviticus 1:13 but he shall wash the entrails and the legs with water. Then the priest shall bring it all and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD. {or an aroma that will be pleasing to the LORD.”}

Leviticus 3:16 and the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma; all the fat is the LORD’s.

Sweet aroma means a savor of satisfaction, enjoyment or pleasant smell.

There are 40 verses that says animal sacrifice with fire to God is a sweet aroma to the Lord.  The incense Jesus loves.

God enjoyed a fellowship meal with human beings in God’s dwelling on earth; The Temple before the Temple was destroyed.

We covered in the past, animal sacrifice will be re-instituted or start up again during the millennial kingdom in the Temple. We will not cover it here.

Now, we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit and He dwells in us and enjoys us.  Our prayers are important to the Father. 

Is not our prayers special to the Lord

Psalms 141:2 Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.  {like an aroma}

Revelation 5:8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Our prayers are the pleasant smell of incense that goes to the Father and collected in golden bowls and offer it on the golden altar before the Father Throne. 

Revelation 8:3 Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 

We understand our prayers are like the sweet aroma the Lord receives.

We know the Temple is called a house and has furnishings, such as a lamp and a table.  The altar was a cooking surface, like a barbecue, where sacrificial animals was cooked.

Instructions for the performance of various types of sacrifices are found in the first seven chapters of the book of Leviticus. There are five main types of grain and animal sacrifice plus a drink offering later added:

We covered in the past about where there will be animal sacrifices in the Millennial Temple according to Ezekiel Chapter: 40-48.  We will not cover it here.

This is as far as I will go on general sacrifices, I would like now to cover something I think is important.

Important:  What about women making sacrifices or offerings in the Temple. 

Leviticus 12:2-3 “Tell the Israelis that a woman who conceives and bears a son is unclean for seven days. Just like the days of her customary impurity, she is unclean. (3) On the eighth day, the flesh of the baby’s foreskin is to be circumcised. 

The purification process to be undertaken by a woman following childbirth. The process has two stages: first come the days of her flow (Leviticus 12:2), seven days when a boy is born and two weeks for a girl.

Then, the mother must remain in the blood of purity (12:4) for thirty-three days when a boy is born or for sixty-six days when a girl is born.

After purification, she must go to the priest and offer a lamb as a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering (12:6). Scripture mentions an alternative offering for women who cannot afford a lamb: “And if she cannot afford a sheep, she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and one for a sin offering. And the priest shall effect atonement for her, and she shall become clean” (12:8). 

All of this is somewhat surprising and interesting, that men made no similar sacrifice upon having children or offering during circumcise.  Men were required to visit the Temple during the Festivals to bring the sacrifices.

Women’s visits to the Temple were marked personal events related to her life cycle.  She must bring the offerings to the priest to satisfy this requirement and instruct the priest how to sacrifice them.  If the priest failed to follow her instructions, the sacrifice was invalid. 

Men are required to have their sons circumcised, but not responsible for the offering or sacrifice in the Temple and to celebrate his birth in the Temple.  It seems the wives are not allow to be in the main room for the circumcise celebration.  The ceremony for the child starts after he has been passed among the relatives, beginning with the mother (in a separate room; she is customarily secluded at this time).

After the actual circumcision, the child is handed to the father, then the blessing, the boy’s name is announced.  Circumcision is not a sacrifice, because nothing is loss.  **Circumcision of John the Baptist: Luke 1:57-66

Leviticus 12:4-8 She shall then continue in the blood of her purification thirty-three days. She shall not touch any hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled. (5) ‘But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her customary impurity, and she shall continue in the blood of her purification sixty-six days.

(6) ‘When the days of her purification are fulfilled, whether for a son or a daughter, she shall bring to the priest a lamb of the first year as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

(7) Then he shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement for her. And she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who has borne a male or a female. (8) ‘And if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she may bring two turtledoves or two young pigeonsone as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’ “

What about Jesus circumcision

Luke 2:21 And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

This is when Jesus was names. Now Jesus is Presented at the Temple

Luke 2:22-24 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (23) (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “EVERY MALE WHO OPENS THE WOMB SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD” ), (24) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG PIGEONS.”

With this Sacrifice, this show Mary and Joseph were somewhat poor.  This                                   offering has shown that it is not dishonorable to be poor.  So the timeline for Mary with Jesus would be 40 days, it would put the  time line somewhere around Oct/Nov.

Proverbs 7:13-14 So she caught him and kissed him; With an impudent face she said to him: (14) “I have peace offerings with me; Today I have paid my vows.

Women were required to perform a number of offerings, including:

Women could also voluntarily participate in a number of other offerings and rituals for which they were not obligated, including:

  • First Fruits on the holiday of Shavuot.
  • Temple tax – The half-shekel tax for Temple needs.
  • Voluntary offerings, peace offerings and a variety of other voluntary and donative offerings.
  • Laying on hands of sacrificial animals for sacrifices they were not required to perform.
  • Women could slaughter their sacrificial animals themselves if they wished.
  • Women could make vows {**Numbers 30:4-8}
  • Did Hannah give a portion of the offering of Elkanah {*1 Samuel 1:4,5}
  • Hannah made a vow to God {**1 Samuel 1:11}
  • Hannah made a sacrifice to God {**1 Samuel 1:24-28} 

Next time we will cover the actual sacrifices

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