Leviticus and Numbers: Offerings and Sacrifices

There are a number of verses describing different kinds of offerings made by the Israelites in Leviticus and Numbers. The most common were wave offerings, drink, and burnt food offerings. Why were each of these different food offerings significant and what were they for? A lot of the time it was atonement for sin, but even then there were different kinds of offerings for different sins. Some burnt offerings were allowed to be eaten some were not.

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One rule about all offerings it was almost always "first fruits." God had already spoken to Moses in Exodus 13:2 saying, "Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine." Not only that, but God also wanted the best of what the Israelites had to offer. We see what happened with Cain when he offered only what was just "good enough" not what was best. In Leviticus 23:10 God tells Moses "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, when you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of firstfruits of your harvest to the priest"  and in verse 12, "and on the day when you wave the sheaf you shall offer a male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord." God wanted them to revere him by offering only that which was considered perfect. 

Since we're in Leviticus 23, let's talk about the wave and burnt offerings. Usually it was a sheaf of grain or an animal breast, but what was its purpose? According to http://www.hope-of-israel.org/waveshf.htm, it was both symbolic and prophetic: the sheaf wave offering was performed after the burnt offering; the burnt offering was offered for the cleansing of the sins. This can be paralleled with the New Testament in which Jesus is offered up on the cross as the sacrificial lamb for the sins of the world, allowing the common people access to God. 

"The Wave Sheaf Offering, composed of MANY individual grains, offered together, made possible by the sacrifice of the Messiah, represents TRUE CHRISTIANS of the first-century Church era -- those called of YEHOVAH God out of the tribes of Israel during that age, as His "FIRSTFRUITS"!
It was offered to the Father AFTER the sacrifice of the Messiah, because there is NO WAY the Father could have accepted them BEFORE their sins were pardoned, and atoned for, and wiped away and washed away by the blood of the Messiah! But since the Messiah became their Saviour, and qualified by living a perfect life, and DIED for them on the tree, this made possible THEIR acceptance before the throne of YEHOVAH God's Shekinah Glory in the Jerusalem Temple!" 

Okay, so that explains the sin offering but why were their so many different animals sacrificed? Well, as one can expect, each animal symbolizes a different attribute. 

"The lamb is used there as the symbol of innocence, and is so expressive of this grace, that it is almost a household word; for those who are in possession of it... Sheep are the types of the gentle principles of charity, or sympathizing brotherly love...Oxen are the types of the dispositions to duty and obedience. It was the animal chiefly devoted to the plough, and ploughing, in the spiritual sense, meant the preparation of the soul to receive the knowledge of heavenly things. The true method to prepare for firesh instruction is to practise what we already know. Our Lord has a remarkable declaration in allusion to spiritual ploughing...Birds, from their soaring power, are the symbols of thoughts. Turtle-doves and pigeons are correspondences of those tender thoughts and yearning after the heavenly life which the soul has in the early part of its regeneration. The cooing of the turtle-dove was first heard in the groves of Palestine, on the return of spring. Its sweet sound was the sign of the approach of a brighter and warmer season. When the soul, therefore, is coming to a more genial condition, the sweet thoughts of hope and trust that encourage its advance towards the heavenly state and kingdom, are like the soft notes of a God-sent turtle-dove. All these types, then, of good affections and thoughts, as well as the mode of offering up by fire, abundantly confirm the view we have drawn from the Holy Word, that the sacrifices were representative of good things and principles, dedicated to the Lord in worship, not of punishment for human sin." (http://www.scienceofcorrespondences.com/the-burnt-sacrifice-of-birds.htm)

Brilliant! What's next? Peace and Guilt offerings? First off, let's establish that a guilt offering, though conducted very similarly to the Sin offering, is different because the guilt offering is offered when one has sinned unintentionally; whereas, a sin offering was made when sin is realized and recognized before the Lord. (http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/0305.htm)

"The peace-offerings had regard to God as the giver of all good things. These were divided between the altar, the priest, and the owner. They were called peace-offering, because in them God and his people did, as it were, feast together, in token of friendship. The peace-offerings were offered by way of supplication. If a man were in pursuit of any mercy, he would add a peace-offering to his prayer for it. Christ is our Peace, our Peace-offering; for through him alone it is that we can obtain an answer of peace to our prayers. Or, the peace-offering was offered by way of thanksgiving for some mercy received. We must offer to God the sacrifice of praise continually, by Christ our Peace; and then this shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock. (Le 3:6-17)" (https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/Matthew-Henry/Lev/Peace-Offering-Herd)

There are quite a lot more offerings made in Leviticus and Numbers, but for the most part these seem to be the main ones. Other offerings include, but are not limited to: jealousy (mentioned in Numbers), thanksgiving, and fellowship offerings.