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Have you ever read the Bible and for the longest time read a passage over and over and have no idea what a passage meant? Or the symbolism was way over your head?

That's basically how I feel about OT books like Leviticus, Numbers, the first part of Chronicles, Isaiah....yeah, basically a lot of the Old Testament can get pretty confusing.

In one of my Bible Reading plans that I'm doing, I just finished Exodus and guess what was next? LEVITICUS . Blarg. I'm not a huge fan of this book as I found it difficult to understand.

The plan had me do the first four chapters, but today was different. Today with some study aids, God gave me that "AHA!" moment in my soul.

My Bible has this opening for the book of Leviticus that I've came across before, but resonated with me: "If you like details, you're going to love Leviticus. If you don't, don't let yourself get bogged down in them. The book is about worship, and if you really study carefully you'll see how much it is about the Savior who, although He had not yet been born on this earth, was already the One deserving of our worship and praise. It gives us great insight into holy living, which is impossible apart from the work of Christ"

The first four chapters of Leviticus have to do with some of the main offerings, the Burnt Offering, The Grain Offering, The Peace Offering, and The Sin Offering. I'll focus on The Burnt Offering today, and come back to the other offerings later and to allow others to comment.

The Burnt Offering

If we remember Genesis, we remember that the Burnt Offering has appeared before. The Burnt Offering is really a sacrifice of general atonement for sin. Let's look at the Passage:

"Now the Lord called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of the livestock--of the herd and of the flock. If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. He shall kill the bull before the LORD; and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay the wood in order on the fire. Then the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar; but he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, and offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD ." (Leviticus 1:1-9 NKJV Emphasis Added.)

We probably all know that all of the offerings listed in the OT were pictures of Jesus. But which parts? In the case of the burnt offering, Jesus' life was consumed on the Cross when he took God's wrath on the Cross. in verse 9 when it mentions that it is a sweet aroma to the Lord, so was Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf. Unlike an animal that had to be repeatedly slaughtered to cancel out sin, Jesus' once and for all sacrifice made the Lord completely pleased with us through our faith in Him! Only a perfect Sacrifice cancelled out God's wrath, and Jesus was that sacrifice!

Overwhelming feelings of happiness and grace overflow when I read this passage. We had such a heavy yoke when we were under the law. Think about how burdensome it must've been slaying an animal every time to make an atonement for your sin? Now, we are set free!

When things like this are revealed in the Bible, they do nothing but make the sometimes cloudy symbolism in the OT come to life in HD!

When have you had an "Aha" moment with the Bible?