Jesus “is the mediator of a new covenant” (Heb. 9:15) we no longer need to offer burnt offerings. Christ has, “by means of his own blood” secured “an eternal redemption” (v. 12), and purified “our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (v. 14). Dear believer, if today you lack assurance of God’s grace, look to Christ.

Many believers misunderstand God’s grace, and therefore lack assurance of it. They wonder if they are really saved. They live thinking they are never enough. They wonder if they forget to confess some of their sins if they will be kept from the kingdom of heaven. They may look at mature Christians and think they fall short of what it means to be a believer. But God doesn’t want His children to live this way. He wants His people to rest in His grace. There are many books of the Bible from which we could learn about the grace of God, and perhaps there aren’t too many Christians who would first think of Leviticus. Yet this book, which spans one month of time in Israel’s history, contains commands that repeatedly point us to God’s grace. In particular, it begins with commands concerning the sacrificial system God gave His people. Although we could focus on any one of the different aspects of this sacrificial system, I want to begin where the book itself begins, with the burnt offering (Lev. 1:1-17).

Not everyone in Israel could afford to bring the same kind of burnt offering, but the Lord, in His grace, made allowance for all peoples, whether rich or poor, to approach Him (Lev. 1:3, 10, 14). This did not mean that the rich could bring a lesser animal than they could afford. After all, sacrifice is supposed to be costly. But God, in His mercy, designed things so that all people had a way to come before Him and receive forgiveness of sins.

The animal would be accepted in place of the offerer in order to make atonement for his sins (Lev. 1:4). The burnt offering was a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

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