Why Does Leviticus Start With the Burnt Offering in Leviticus 1:4?

    Why does Leviticus start with the burnt offering?  For sure I wouldn't know the answer to this question without the help of the Life-Study of Leviticus! And I'm not just saying that.  I've learned that all the various offerings in the Old Testament show us different aspects of Christ.   In Leviticus God specifically told His people about the offerings He required for them to contact Him and exactly how to offer them.  Like the tabernacle, nothing was left for them to figure out.

If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall present  it, a male without blemish; he shall present it at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, that he may be accepted before Jehovah. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him, to make expiation for him.   Leviticus 1:3-4
   
     The burnt offering was  completely consumed by fire; not one part was to be eaten by the priests. It was burned for God's satisfaction.  And  in chapter 3 of the Life-Study of Leviticus Witness Lee uses Hebrews 10:7-9 to show that the burnt offering is a type of Christ satisfying God's heart.  In the Gospels we can clearly see that Christ lived a life on this earth that was absolutely for God and that satisfied God completely.   

    In so many Gospel accounts it's evident that In Christ's human life you can't find any blemish, defect, or fault, and in Philippians 2:8 we can see that Jesus was obedient even unto death. All these verses show us that the burnt offering is a type of Christ who was absolute for God. 

    But what touched me in my reading is that in Leviticus 1:4 God wanted the offerer to lay his hands on the offering.  I enjoyed the explanation given on pages 27-28 about this:

In the Scripture, the laying on of hands always signifies identification, union; it does not signify substitution.  To lay our hand on the offering means that we are one with the offering and take the offering as being one with us....Such a union, such an identification indicates that all our weaknesses, defects, shortcomings, and faults become His and that all His virtues become ours....Furthermore, spiritually speaking, by such a union He becomes one with us and lives in us. As He lives in us, He will repeat in us the life He lived on earth, the life of the burnt offering (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Leviticus. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1989, Print).

I was thankful for the prayer that was given in a later chapter on how to practically experience  Christ as this burnt offering:  "...we need to pray, saying, Lord Jesus, You are a wonderful person. You are the consummated Spirit with me all the time, and You are with me to be my burnt offering. Lord, I cannot satisfy God, but You can satisfy Him. I cannot be absolute for God, but You have always been and still are absolute for Him. Now, Lord Jesus, I take  You as my burnt offering" (page 128).  I appreciate the prayers that he gives that helps me to experience the truths that he talks about.

 You can listen to excerpts of Witness Lee's speaking the Life-Study of Leviticus on Life Study of the Bible  with Witness Lee.   You can also read the online Life-Studies of Leviticus and check out other resources available to enhance your study of the Bible on Living Stream Ministry's website.

Other Posts on Leviticus:

What is the Purpose of the Offerings in Leviticus 1:2?
Why Does Leviticus Start with the Burnt Offering in Leviticus 1:4?
What is the spiritual Meaning of the Meal Offering in Leviticus 2:1?
Taking a Closer Look at the Peace Offering in Leviticus 3:1
What Do You Know About Christ as the Sin Offering? 
What is the Meaning of the Trespass Offering in Leviticus 5?