The Grammar of Consecration: An Acceptable Offering Text: Leviticus 8:18-21
Introduction: The Bloody Catechism
We moderns, particularly we modern evangelicals, are squeamish about Leviticus. We like our religion tidy, abstract, and preferably conducted in a well-lit, climate-controlled auditorium. We want the New Testament blessings without the Old Testament blood. But to do this is to attempt to build a house without a foundation. The book of Leviticus is God's picture book for the gospel. It is a bloody catechism, teaching us profound truths not through abstract propositions alone, but through the visceral, sensory reality of animal sacrifice.
Here in Leviticus 8, we are not dealing with the ordinary sacrifices of the people. We are witnessing the consecration of the priests, the ordination of Aaron and his sons. This is the setting apart of the mediators who would stand between a holy God and a sinful people. And the central lesson is this: those who draw near to God must do so on God's terms, and those terms are bloody. The way into the presence of God is not paved with good intentions, sincere efforts, or moral improvement. The way into the presence of God is paved with a substitute's blood.
This passage details the second of three sacrifices in this ordination ceremony: the burnt offering. The first was the sin offering, which dealt with the guilt of the priests. But the burnt offering goes further. It deals with total consecration, complete dedication. It is not just about being forgiven; it is about being entirely consumed for God's glory. And in this meticulous, gory, and smoky ritual, we see a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, and a pattern for our own lives as a royal priesthood.
We must not read this as ancient history to be cataloged and filed away. We must read it as living theology, as a typological drama that finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ and its practical application in us. Every detail here is freighted with meaning, from the laying on of hands to the washing of the entrails. This is God teaching His people, and us, the grammar of acceptable worship.
The Text
Then he brought near the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. Then Moses slaughtered it and splashed the blood around on the altar. And he cut the ram into its pieces. Then Moses offered up the head and the pieces and the suet in smoke. And he washed the entrails and the legs with water. Then Moses offered up the whole ram in smoke on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to Yahweh, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
(Leviticus 8:18-21 LSB)
Identification and Substitution (v. 18-19)
The ritual begins with an act of profound identification.
"Then he brought near the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. Then Moses slaughtered it and splashed the blood around on the altar." (Leviticus 8:18-19)
First, notice the animal: a ram. This is the second ram in this ceremony, the "ram of the burnt offering." The first sacrifice, the sin offering, was a bull. This ram is for total consecration. Aaron and his sons, the priests-to-be, come and lay their hands on its head. This is not a gentle pat. The Hebrew implies a forceful leaning, a pressing down. This is the central act of identification and transference. By this act, they are saying, "This ram is for us. It stands in our place. Its death will be our death. Its acceptance will be our acceptance."
This is the doctrine of substitution made visible. The sins and the identity of the priests are symbolically transferred to the animal. This is what happened at the cross. God "made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our sin, our guilt, our identity as rebels was laid upon Christ. When we, by faith, lay our hands on Christ, we are identifying with Him as our substitute. We are saying, "He is for me. His death is my death."
Immediately following this identification, Moses, acting as the ordaining priest, slaughters the ram. The life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11), and so the life is poured out. The wages of sin is death, and this bloody spectacle is a stark reminder of that reality. But the blood is not wasted. Moses takes it and splashes it "around on the altar." The altar is the place of transaction between God and man. The blood sanctifies the altar, making fellowship possible. It is a picture of propitiation. The blood satisfies the justice of God, turning away His wrath. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22), and without the splashing of blood on the altar, there is no fellowship with God.
Total Consecration (v. 20-21a)
What follows is a meticulous preparation of the ram for the altar, signifying the nature of this total offering.
"And he cut the ram into its pieces. Then Moses offered up the head and the pieces and the suet in smoke. And he washed the entrails and the legs with water. Then Moses offered up the whole ram in smoke on the altar." (Leviticus 8:20-21a)
Unlike other offerings where portions were eaten by the priests or the worshiper, the burnt offering was entirely consumed on the altar. It was wholly given to God. This is what the word "burnt offering" (Hebrew: olah) means; it is that which "ascends." It all goes up to God in smoke.
The ram is dismembered. The head (representing the mind, the thoughts), the suet or fat (representing the best, the richest part), and the other pieces are all placed on the altar. This signifies that every part of the individual is to be consecrated to God. Our intellect, our strength, our best energies, all belong to Him.
But there is a crucial detail. The entrails and the legs are washed with water before being placed on the fire. The legs represent our walk, our outward behavior. The entrails represent our inward parts, our desires and motivations. Both are stained by contact with the filth of the world. Therefore, they must be washed. This points to the need for sanctification, for moral purity in both our inward and outward life. It is a picture of what Paul commands in the New Testament: "I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God" (Romans 12:1). Our sacrifice must be a holy one, washed by the water of the Word (Ephesians 5:26).
After this careful preparation, Moses offers up the "whole ram." Nothing is held back. This is a picture of the totality of Christ's self-offering. He did not hold anything in reserve. He gave His all, His mind, His will, His affections, His body, His life, entirely for the Father's glory. And it is the pattern for us. We are not called to partial dedication. We are called to offer our whole selves to God.
Divine Acceptance (v. 21b)
The verse concludes with God's verdict on this meticulously obedient sacrifice.
"It was a burnt offering for a soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to Yahweh, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses." (Leviticus 8:21b)
The result of this total, obedient sacrifice is a "soothing aroma" to Yahweh. This is anthropomorphic language, of course. God doesn't have a physical nose. It means the offering was acceptable, pleasing, and satisfying to Him. It brought Him delight. This is not because God has a pagan delight in the smell of barbecue, but because He delights in the obedience and the heart-attitude that the sacrifice represents. The prophets would later make it clear that God detests the smoke of sacrifices when they are offered by hypocritical and disobedient hearts (Isaiah 1:11-13). But when offered in faith and obedience, the aroma is pleasing to Him.
This points us directly to Christ. The apostle Paul picks up this very language and applies it to Jesus's sacrifice: "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a soothing aroma" (Ephesians 5:2). The ultimate soothing aroma was the perfect, wholehearted obedience of the Son, who offered Himself without spot to God. His sacrifice was infinitely pleasing to the Father, and it is only because we are in Him that we can be pleasing to the Father.
And the final clause is the foundation of it all: "just as Yahweh had commanded Moses." This is the key that unlocks all of Leviticus. Acceptable worship is not a matter of human invention, creativity, or sincerity. It is a matter of strict obedience to the divine command. Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu would soon learn this lesson with their lives when they offered "strange fire" before the Lord, "which He had not commanded them" (Leviticus 10:1). God is not to be trifled with. He sets the terms for how He is to be approached. The path to the soothing aroma is the path of "just as Yahweh had commanded."
Conclusion: The Living Sacrifice
So what does this bloody ram have to do with us? Everything. This entire ritual is a magnificent portrait of our salvation and our calling.
First, we see Christ, our great High Priest, consecrated for His work. He was the perfect ram, who laid down His life in total dedication to the Father. His mind, His will, His inward desires, and His outward walk were all perfectly holy, a whole burnt offering that ascended to God as a soothing aroma. He did everything "just as Yahweh had commanded."
Second, we see our own salvation. By faith, we lay our hands on the head of Christ, our substitute. His perfect, all-consuming sacrifice is counted as ours. His acceptance becomes our acceptance. The blood He shed is splashed on the altar of God's justice, and we are brought near.
Finally, we see our calling as a "royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9). Just as Aaron and his sons were consecrated by this burnt offering, so are we. We are called to offer ourselves as "a living sacrifice." Our minds, our best energies, our inward desires, and our outward walk are all to be laid on the altar. We are to be washed daily by the water of the Word, cleansed from the filth of the world, so that our entire lives might ascend to God as a soothing aroma. This is not done to earn our salvation, but in grateful response to it. Because the perfect Ram has been offered for us, we can now offer ourselves to Him, not holding anything back, doing all things "just as Yahweh has commanded."