Leviticus 1:1-9
The holy God who calls from the tent of meeting receives only the worship He appoints, through a blameless offering wholly given up on the altar.
1 Yahweh called to Moses, and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying,
2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When anyone of you offers an offering to Yahweh, you shall offer your offering of the livestock, from the herd and from the flock.
3 “ ‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without defect. He shall offer it at the door of the Tent of Meeting, that he may be accepted before Yahweh.
4 He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
5 He shall kill the bull before Yahweh. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
6 He shall skin the burnt offering, and cut it into pieces.
7 The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay wood in order on the fire;
8 and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall lay the pieces, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire which is on the altar;
9 but he shall wash its innards and its legs with water. The priest shall burn all of it on the altar, for a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh.
The holy God who calls from the tent of meeting receives only the worship He appoints, through a blameless offering wholly given up on the altar.
This passage opens Leviticus by establishing how an Israelite may approach the LORD through an acceptable burnt offering. It gives covenantally ordered instructions that show worship must be governed by divine command, mediated through sacrifice, and marked by total consecration before the holy God who now dwells among His people.
Leviticus opens immediately after the tabernacle has been erected and the glory of the LORD has filled it at the end of Exodus. Exodus ends with Moses unable to enter the tent of meeting because the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle; Leviticus begins with the LORD calling to Moses from that tent. The movement is significant: the God who came to dwell among Israel now teaches Israel how to approach him.
The passage is set at Sinai after the tabernacle has been constructed and consecrated as the dwelling place of the LORD among Israel. Israel is already redeemed from Egypt and brought into covenant relationship with the LORD. Leviticus teaches how the redeemed covenant people are to live and worship near the holy presence of God. The tent of meeting and altar form the central ritual location. The altar stands before the entrance of the tabernacle, marking the place where offerings are presented, blood is applied, and worship is accepted. The instructions are given to Moses, who is commanded to speak to the Israelites. Aaron's sons, the priests, perform the priestly portions of the rite. The burnt offering belongs to Israel's sacrificial system. It may be brought voluntarily as an act of worship, atonement, and consecration before the LORD. Leviticus follows redemption from Egypt and tabernacle construction. The order matters: sacrifice in Leviticus is not a mechanism for Israel to become God's people in the first place, but the divinely given worship order for a people already redeemed and brought near.
The Burnt Offering: Nearness to God Through Total Surrender
The holy God provides an ordered way for His redeemed people to draw near through an acceptable sacrifice wholly offered before Him.