EXPLORE THE TEXT
Our sin creates a barrier between ourselves and God.
15 Aaron presented the people’s offering. He took the male goat for the people’s sin offering,
slaughtered it, and made a sin offering with it as he did before.
16 He presented the burnt offering and sacrificed it according to the regulation.
17 Next he presented the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar in addition to the morning burnt offering.
18 Finally, he slaughtered the ox and the ram as the people’s fellowship sacrifice.
Aaron’s sons brought him the blood, and he splattered it on all sides of the altar.
19 They also brought the fat portions from the ox and the ram ?- ?
the fat tail, the fat surrounding the entrails, the kidneys, and the fatty lobe of the liver ?- ?
20 and placed these on the breasts. Aaron burned the fat portions on the altar,
21 but he presented the breasts and the right thigh as a presentation offering before the Lord,
as Moses had commanded.
verses 15-21
this Worship began with selecting qualified offerings and bringing them to the tabernacle (Lev. 9:5).
Aaron was directed to bring a sin/purification offering and a (whole) burnt offering for the sins of the priests.
The elders did the same for the people, along with a fellowship and a grain offering.
the only bloodless offering God sanctioned (Lev. 2).
It always accompanied the daily burnt offerings, but it could also be offered independently in tribute to God.
It often reflected the community’s gratitude at harvest.
It was especially appropriate with fellowship offerings since a festive, communal meal was involved (Gen. 18:6-7; Judg. 6:19).
Unlike the whole burnt offering that was entirely consumed by fire, the fellowship sacrifice was only partly burnt.
The burnt portion symbolized what was given to God (Lev. 3:3-5; 7:31).
The rest was eaten as a communal meal shared by the priests and those making the offering (7:11-26; Deut. 12:7,17-18).
The focus of the fellowship sacrifice was not atonement or forgiveness,
but praise, worship, and celebration of the covenant.
When presented with atonement sacrifices, it always came after them.
This was like the meal eaten on Mount Sinai by Moses and the leaders (Ex. 24:5,9-11).
It was typically brought by an individual in response to an unexpected blessing or in gratitude for an answered prayer (Lev. 7:11-16).
The Hebrew word suggests scattering something randomly.
The same basic wording was used to describe how Moses threw ashes into the sky to initiate the plague of boils on the Egyptians (Ex. 9:8-10).
According to God’s plan, Aaron splattered some of the blood from the fellowship sacrifice on the sides of the altar.
Blood was never to be eaten (Lev. 3:17; 7:26-27; 17:10-14).
Instead, it served to consecrate the altar that became defiled by human sin.
The breasts were given to the priests in general, while the right thigh was given specifically to the priest who made the offering (7:30-33).
The description, as Moses had commanded, emphasizes diligent obedience to the Lord.
Emphasize that everything was done exactly as God had commanded Moses and Aaron.
When Aaron acted on behalf of the people in making the offerings and sacrifices, the people again saw God’s glory.