Verses 8-13

The law of the burnt offering for the priests6:8-13

Each morning a priest would put on his robes, approach the altar of burnt offerings, and clean out the ashes. Correct clothing was essential so that it would cover his "flesh" (i.e, his private parts, Leviticus 6:10; cf. Exodus 20:26; Exodus 28:42-43). [Note: Wenham, The Book . . ., p119.] He would then change his clothes and put on ordinary garments, collect the ashes, and take them outside the camp to a clean place where he would leave them. He could not wear his official robes outside the courtyard, but he had to wear them whenever he approached the brazen altar. Obviously Moses did not record in Leviticus all the details involved in sacrificing.

The main point in this legislation was that the fire on the altar of burnt offerings was never to go out when the Israelites were encamped ( Leviticus 6:9; Leviticus 6:12-13). This was fire that God Himself had kindled ( Leviticus 9:24). Since the fire represented God"s presence, this perpetual burning taught the Israelites that the way of access to God by the burnt offering sacrifice was always ready and available. It also taught them the importance of maintaining close contact with God and of the continuing need for atonement to cover their ever-recurring sins. The New Testament teaches Christians to maintain the same awareness ( 1 Thessalonians 5:19; Hebrews 7:25).

"Although atonement for sin was provided in each of the blood offerings, atonement was not their basic purpose. Israel"s initial relationship with God as His redeemed people had been established through the Passover sacrifice on the night of their deliverance from Egypt. The offerings presented at the Tabernacle were the means of maintaining that relationship between the Israelites and their God." [Note: Schultz, p67.]

"Those who minister must take care in personal sanctification and spiritual service to ensure that people may always find access to the holy God." [Note: Ross, p161.]

Verses 8-38

6. Instructions for the priests concerning the offerings6:8-7:38

"The five basic sacrifices are ... introduced twice, each sacrifice being treated both in the main section addressed to the people [ Leviticus 1:1 to Leviticus 6:7] and in the supplementary section addressed to the priests [ Leviticus 6:8 to Leviticus 7:38]." [Note: Lindsey, p172.]

The main theme of this section is who may eat what parts of the offerings and where. Generally only the priests could eat the sacrifices, but the offerers could eat part of the peace offering. In this section frequency of offering determines the order of the material. The regular daily burnt and meal sacrifices come first, then the less frequent sin (purification) offering, then the occasional trespass (reparation) offering, and finally the optional peace (fellowship) offering.

"To lead the congregation in corporate worship is both a great privilege and an enormous responsibility. In the following passages something of the responsibility concerning the ritual is laid out for the priests." [Note: Ross, p155.]

"To bring a person closer to God is the highest service that one person can render another." [Note: J. S. Stewart, quoted by D. Tidball, Discovering Leviticus, p49.]

Verses 14-18

The law of the meal offering for the priests6:14-18

God considered the meal, sin, and trespass offerings "most holy" ( Leviticus 6:17; Leviticus 6:25; Leviticus 7:1; Leviticus 7:6). This means that they were sacrifices that only the priests could eat.

The "layman who touched these most holy things became holy through the contact, so that henceforth he had to guard against defilement in the same manner as the sanctified priests ( Leviticus 21:1-8), though without sharing the priestly rights and prerogatives. This necessarily placed him in a position which would involve many inconveniences in connection with ordinary life." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 2:319.]

These instructions about the meal offering clarify the priests" rights. They could eat this offering but only in a holy place, such as the tabernacle courtyard. The priests enjoyed special privileges, but they also had to observe high standards of behavior. This is also true of Christians (cf. Luke 12:48; James 3:1; 1 Peter 4:17).

Verses 19-23

The meal (cereal) offering of the priests6:19-23

The priest was to offer a daily meal offering every morning and evening for himself and the other priests. This was just one small offering half of which he offered with the morning burnt offering and half with the evening burnt offering. Unlike other meal offerings, he burned it up completely on the altar; he was not to eat a sacrifice that he offered for himself. This sacrifice represented the constant worship of the priests as they served God day by day. This taught the Israelites that the priests were not just to serve God by serving His people, but they were also to worship Him themselves. It is easy to become so involved in serving and ministering to others that we stop worshipping God ourselves.

"Ministers must assure worshipers that God accepts sincere dedication-not only by how they receive the acts of dedication but also by how they themselves live dedicated lives." [Note: Ross, p165.]

Verses 24-30

The law of the sin (purification) offering for the priests6:24-30

The priests slew the burnt, sin, and trespass offerings in the same place, before the altar of burnt offerings. Again the emphasis is on what the priests could and could not eat. They were not to confuse the holy and the common (profane; cf. Leviticus 6:18).

"People need to know that they have been forgiven and that they can enter God"s presence with confidence; they need the reality of forgiveness, not simply the hope of forgiveness. If worshipers come away from a worship service unsure of their standing with God, then something has gone terribly wrong." [Note: Ibid, p167.]