[044] The Worship of Offerings - Activity Worksheets

After looking at the history of sacrifice before the giving of the Law, four sacrifices
will be examined: the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, and the
sin offering. These offerings will (respectively) teach dependence on a substitutionary death, the dedication of one’s life in grateful obedience, the joy of peace
and fellowship with God, and the forgiveness that believers have in Christ.
Reading Leviticus can be surprising to New Testament saints who have become
accustomed to the privilege of coming into God’s presence through the blood of
Jesus Christ. The thought that the smoke of a burning animal could please God is
shockingly strange. The image of the mass amounts of blood is sobering. The
picture of a priest separating the fat and washing entrails may actually be nauseous
to some. But the reader must not think that the Israelites found these sacrificial
laws strange or new.
The very first children born into this world were taught that God was approachable only through sacrifice. Cain soon learned that God required not only a sacrifice, but also a sacrifice brought in the right heart. Abel’s offering was more excellent than Cain’s because it was offered in faith (Heb. 11:4). Abel brought his
offering in an attitude of submission and dependence on God.