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Bible Book Number 3—Leviticus“All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial”
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The blood sacrifices are to be offered as either (1) burnt, (2) communion, (3) sin, or (4) guilt offerings. All four have these three things in common: The offerer must himself bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, he must lay his hands upon it, and then the animal is to be slaughtered. Following the sprinkling of the blood, the carcass must be disposed of according to the kind of sacrifice. Let us now consider the blood sacrifices in turn.
13-16. (a) Outline the requirements for (1) burnt offerings, (2) communion sacrifices, (3) sin offerings, and (4) guilt offerings. (b) In connection with blood sacrifices, what is repeatedly forbidden?
13 (1) Burnt offerings may consist of a young bull, ram, goat, or pigeon or of a turtledove, depending upon the means of the offerer. It is to be cut in pieces and, except for the skin, is to be burned in its entirety upon the altar. In the case of a turtledove or a pigeon, the head must be nipped off but not severed, and the crop and feathers must be removed.—1:1-17; 6:8-13; 5:8.
14 (2) The communion sacrifice may be either a male or a female, of the cattle or of the flocks. Only its fatty parts will be consumed upon the altar, a certain portion going to the priest and the rest being eaten by the offerer. It is well termed a communion sacrifice, for by it the offerer shares a meal, or has communion, as it were, with Jehovah and with the priest.—3:1-17; 7:11-36.
15 (3) A sin offering is required for unintentional sins, or sins committed by mistake. The type of animal offered depends upon whose sin is being atoned for—that of the priest, the people as a whole, a chieftain, or an ordinary person. Unlike the voluntary burnt and communion offerings for individuals, the sin offering is mandatory.—4:1-35; 6:24-30.
16 (4) Guilt offerings are required to cover personal guilt due to unfaithfulness, deception, or robbery. In some instances guilt requires confession and a sacrifice according to one’s means. In others, compensation equivalent to the loss plus 20 percent and the sacrifice of a ram are required. In this section of Leviticus dealing with the offerings, the eating of blood is emphatically and repeatedly forbidden.—5:1–6:7; 7:1-7, 26, 27; 3:17.
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Bible Book Number 3—Leviticus“All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial”
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22. (a) Why is chapter 16 outstanding? (b) What is the Atonement Day procedure?
22 Day of Atonement (16:1-34). This is an outstanding chapter, for it contains the instructions for Israel’s most important day, the Day of Atonement, which falls on the tenth day of the seventh month. It is a day to afflict the soul (most likely by fasting), and on it no secular work will be permitted. It begins with the offering of a young bull for the sins of Aaron and his household, the tribe of Levi, followed by the offering of a goat for the rest of the nation. After the burning of incense, some of the blood of each animal is to be brought, in turn, into the Most Holy of the tabernacle, to be sprinkled before the Ark’s cover.
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Bible Book Number 3—Leviticus“All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial”
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23. (a) Where do we find one of the Bible’s most explicit statements on blood? (b) What other regulations follow?
23 Statutes on blood and other matters (17:1–20:27). This section sets out many statutes for the people. Once again blood is prohibited in one of the most explicit statements on blood to be found anywhere in the Scriptures. (17:10-14) Blood may properly be used on the altar, but not for eating.
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Bible Book Number 3—Leviticus“All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial”
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The blood of the animal sacrifices foreshadows the blood of Jesus, which obtains “everlasting deliverance for us.” (Heb. 9:12)
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