When it comes to sacrifices the person that has made the greatest and the most is God, especially in Christ. You can tell that it is not anything unusual for Him to do because he is able to say this with confidence about Himself: Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me, Jeremiah 32:27 [KJV]? He has tested His limits, and that must include sacrificing, so that is how He knows. We have seen some of that in His tenure here on Earth and in particular His death on the cross. That incident is to at least some degree portrayed in all Jewish sacrifices. Sacrifices are a key element of worship which is the main topic of this series.

Sacrifices are not always Offerings

There are similarities between the burnt offering and other events which suggest that they represent the same thing. If we examine them carefully they are not.

This event provides an outward demonstration of God's intention to maintain His promise. It was a memorial much like Passover is for us today, not an offering.

Another part of the promise is revealed by Abraham and Jacob's actions.

Offerings and sacrifices in the Bible

To me here is a difference between offerings and sacrifices in the Bible and it is this: Whatever we offer to God is an offering. He does not have to accept it but it is what we give or are willing to give. An offering should be made of at least one sacrifice.

Offerings

The first place that we find the word is in Genesis.

Definitions are taken from Mickelson's Enhanced Strong's Dictionaries of the Greek and Hebrew Testaments (MESD) unless otherwise directed. Offering is translated from Strong's H4503, Hebrew: minchah.

• 1. a donation.
• 2. (euphemistically) tribute.
• 3. (specifically) a sacrificial offering (usually bloodless and voluntary).

So you see why I understand it to be a gift or something that you offer to someone.

Cain and Abel

Cain and Abel both offered things to God but God did not accept in the case of Cain.

In this passage there is no adjective to qualify Cain's offering but Abel's was the firstlings and the fat thereof. The firstlings means the first that it produced and could be the only. God got His share first. The fat means the best figuratively. So Abel gave God his share first and He gave Him the best. Abel did not and it was not accepted.

Noah

Noah offered God only what was clean.

Abraham

The story of Abraham introduces another type of offering. Genesis 22:2 [KJV] says And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. So now we get burnt offering. In Hebrew this is actually one word.

H5930 Hebrew: olah
• 1. a step.
• 2. (collectively) stairs, as ascending.
• 3. (usually) a holocaust (as going up in smoke)

Abraham sacrificed Isaac. Abraham gave God his posterity.

Abraham's whole future was vested in his only son. He trusted God and gave him to God knowing that God would still fulfill His promise. I find it interesting that the word strictly means step not dead or anything of the sort. It is from its association with going up that we capture the meaning of the burnt offering.

Jacob

Jacob is sent to Bethel to worship God after he fled in fear when Simeon and Levi avenged Dinah by killing Hamor and Shechem his son.

Jacob got there safely.

God promised that the blessing of Abraham would be carried out in him. Jacob set up an altar and sacrificed a drink offering and oil. For a lone person travelling in the wilderness water would have been precious. The Bible records that he poured out a drink offering and in addition he poured oil. Here we see another offering, the drink offering.

H5262 necek (neh'-sek)
• 1. a libation.
• 2. (also) a cast idol.

An altar is an elevated structure or high place where rituals are performed to a god. It cost him something to build because he did not just throw the items on the ground. In addition water was precious.

Moses

Moses explained worship to Pharaoh. Moses explained that in their worship to God they had to offer Him something that they sacrificed.

Jethro

Jethro praised God for delivering Israel from Egypt. He honoured God with one offering but it was made of several things that were sacrifices, they cost him something.

An altar

As previously mentioned an altar is an elevated structure or high place where rituals are performed to a god. There were two types of altars in worshipping God. There was a golden incense altar within the Holy place and was for use of the priests in private. Only incense was offered there. Incense is associated with prayers (Revelation 5:8, 8:4). The other altar is the brazen or bronze altar which was for all Israel to use in sacrificing their offerings. This is the kind of altar that we are typically talking about when we use the word altar. No matter what kind of offering we want to present, an altar is required for all official sacrifices.

An altar seems to be a gateway to God. The smoke always rises up from an altar, a specific places where He places His name, i.e. an address. It is like His mailbox or His home or His email.

The first offerings after the ten commandments were offered by young men

Why not old women? The young men represented the strength and vigour of the nation. These were the extensions of the High Priest just as the Levites would later become.

Mandatory or Free Will

Offerings may be mandatory or given as the person is motivated i.e. free will. Free will offerings were required to build a sanctuary

The Sanctuary

Sanctuary is another word related to sacrifices that I had difficulty pinning down. It is defined as :

Strongs H4720, Hebrew: miqdash (mik-dawsh') or miqqdash (mik-ked-awsh') [Exodus 15:17] 
• 1. something placed around or about a holy thing or place.
• 2. (especially) a sanctuary (whether of Yahweh or of idols).

I used to believe that the sanctuary was only the building and not the courtyard. As I now understand it the sanctuary is the whole compound. The holy place is a part of God's tabernacle where the priests serve Him in private. The sanctuary is a home for God and must be constructed of our own free will.

Whatever it is, it is the place where God lives in our lives.

What eventually convinced me is Exodus 36. It begins like this

It then goes on to describe everything that made up the whole tabernacle with the courtyard. It was a private place to Israel and within it was an even more private place where the High Priest slept and where the priests performed special functions in private. It contained the menorah and so on. If we are to have that private place in our lives it must be constructed of our own free will. People can do a lot of things in the open to show off to people but the private work of the Holy Spirit we must offer ourselves freely. This is my current understanding but I have written articles which have been based on a previous understanding. I am trying to find those references, update them and direct them to here.

So what could have been the cause of my misunderstanding. In the Old Testament, sanctuary appears to mean the entire compound but in Hebrews it seems to mean inside the Holy Place.

It does not mean the Most Holy place because only the High Priest went there and only once per year while sin offerings could be at any time. It appears that the New Testament word Greek Strongs G39 hagion does not have the same meaning as the Old Testament Hebrew word Strongs H4720 miqdash. Reading in English therefore can cause confusion.

Holy

As I understand it holy does not mean prefect. It means something like satisfying to God or meeting God's satisfaction. Some things are very satisfying to God and some things are just satisfying. There are grades. There are no grades in perfect. It either is or is not because perfect means without flaw.

Sacrifice

I would already have indicated my understanding of a sacrifice in talking about offerings. The technical definition is identified by H2077 Hebrew: zebach (zeh'-ach).

• 1. (properly) a slaughter, i.e. the flesh of an animal.
• 2. (by implication) a sacrifice (the victim or the act).

What this definition points out is that in sacrifices there is typically a victim. The victim normally portrays Christ as is made clear in Hebrews. There are however exceptions, most notably the red heifer, and you will also notice other female animals specified for sacrifices.

There is an additional aspect of a sacrifice that comes out in the English definition of the word and for this I will use Websters dictionary from which I extract:

• 1 : an act of offering to a deity something precious especially : the killing of a victim on an altar
• 2 : something offered in sacrifice
• 3a : destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else
• 3b : something given up or lost

This is the part that I pointed to at the beginning with the example of David and the threshingfloor of Arunah. A sacrifice is something of value that WE give up and so my definition puts this as the key component of the meaning. In religious sacrificing we also point to the ultimate sacrifice, the sacrifice of Christ, so in the case of sacrificing to God in the Old Testament, it usually prescribed the death of an animal. That is the method in which the sacrifice was demonstrated but the sacrifice is what is given up. If we ignore this aspect of the meaning then we ignore the sacrifice of Isaac, and Abel's sacrifice. The point is that we cannot rely only on the use of a specific word to recognise a sacrifice but an understanding of what it means.

The first place that the word is used is long after Abel or Abraham.

This is where he and Laban parted ways. They promised before God that they would not cross that border to do the other harm.

The second place is when Jacob found out that Joseph was still alive.

To me these are very important because Jacob was not a giver, he was a supplanter. Israel is now a giver to the point where it is a sacrifice.

The third place is Moses appealing to pharaoh to let Israel worship God.

This situation is repeated through to Exodus 10.

It is here that we also see that the things we own must be used in service to God. We must sacrifice of these things in worship.

God sets the sacrifice of the firstborn as a memorial: Exodus 13.

Notice that a memorial is not a repetition. The Israelites did not die but it is their firstborn that are used in the symbol. God did not require them to kill Egyptians either. The child is not actually killed either but redeemed. The sign meant that He would always redeem His firstborn and that was Israel (Exodus 4:22). God had killed the firstborn of Egypt in recompense for His firstborn.

Jethro acknowledges that God is above all Gods.

In Jethro's single offering he made several sacrifices.

God's accepted altar

Getting back to the subject of the altar; God says that if we want to send something to Him we have to send it to His specific address not just leave it lying around anywhere for Him to pick up. His address and his abode is constructed according to His specifications. It has to be of the materials that He provides in the way that He provides it. We cannot decide for Him how His stones are to be formed (lively stones) and we cannot set foot on His premises and behave as we like. We have to present ourselves with respect.

If we construct a temple or Tabernacle then some of the symbolism is borne by the buildings but if you construct an altar alone e.g. in the open of a mountain, then all of the symbolism of the residence is carried by the stacked stones or earth.

A jealous God

He does not share worship with anyone.

Anything in competition with God for worship must be destroyed. Israel had to destroy altars found in the Promised Land.

Blood of my sacrifice

If you have a sacrifice of blood then it must be without leaven.

Sacrifices are not the only way that we relate to God. Blood sacrifices are not the only sacrifices that we can make. The old Testament Passover was a yearly blood sacrifice. Is it so in the New Testament? Each man has to answer that for himself. If you are offering yourself is it a dead (blood) sacrifice or a living one?

As with offerings, official sacrifices were performed by young men at first.

God is the only God in His rest. God is the only king in His kingdom. If we are representing His Kingdom then it can have only one king.

Laying on of hands

The laying on of hands depicts the same in the Old Testament as the New Testament. It demonstrates that the act is done under a higher authority and you are just an agent. It is linked to the idea of consecration where approval must be sought from a higher authority. In other words, it is not done as the person pleases but according to a directive that they are following. It demonstrates that they are subject to a higher authority. It could have been the lifting of a foot and we would have to do that instead. The laying on of hands demonstrates that we are a conduit for something that was given to us.

The benefits only applied if done as instructed by a higher authority.

Ceremonially clean place outside the camp

I find that this is another feature of sacrifices which I feel very inadequate to describe. There is not a lot to go on from the Bible for describing what this is precisely. The English clean place is translated from Hebrew tahowr maqowm.

Tahowr (Strongs H2889)
• pure (in a physical, chemical, ceremonial or moral sense).

Maqowm (Strongs H4725)
• 1. (properly) a standing, i.e. a spot.
• 2. but used widely of a locality (general or specific).
• 3. (figuratively) of a condition (of body or mind).

What we know is that it seems to have been a place free of pollutants and not just ritually cleansed.

It was the standard required for eating the Peace Ofering. For the peace offerings, which were given to seek a better relationship with God, you could not have it symbolically making God's representative sick.

It is also specified for the Sin offering for the priest. This was a burnt offering and hence completely consumed by fire to God. Limitations appear to arise because of the size and construction of the brazen altar. The carcass of the Burnt Offering was consumed on the altar if it was of the flock but that standard had to be maintained for the carcass of a bull even though it was too big to fit and be burned on the altar. The carcass was completely consumed by God so it had to be clean to be accepted.

As for Burnt offerings they were consumed on the altar but the ashes had to be maintained at the standard expected for a perfect God that we worship, hence the ashes went to a clean place.

The Red heifer was used to make a water of purification.

It would not make sense to have the water of purification making people sick. Taken together it appears that the clean place did not just mean that you mumbled something and waved your hand. It had to be actually cleaned and maintained free of pollutants. I believe that it was probably an altar made of stones somewhere out of the reach of potential tampering. But there is more.

This type of offering could not possibly be done on one brazen altar. For Solomon to accomplish this there had to be several altars built to the requirements that God set up outside of the brazen altar. Altar is identified by Strongs H4196 Hebrew mizbeach. In the Bible they were typically made of earth or unhewn stone

Altars were generally erected in conspicuous places (Genesis 22:9; Ezekiel 6:3; 2 Kings 23:12; 16:4; 23:8). So it appears that this clean place was not necessarily far away from civilization, but probably in a place that could be secured and easily avoided.

As for the meaning of outside the camp, that is also somewhat hazy to me. Outside the camp was not necessarily clean ritually or otherwise clean. When Nadab and Abihu the sons of Aaron were killed by God for using strange fire their relatives were told to take their ashes outside the camp (Leviticus 10:45). Infectious lepers had to live outside the camp (Leviticus 13:45-46). Stoning was to be done outside the camp (Numbers 15:35) possibly to show that they were cut off from God's people in death.

The combination of clean and outside the camp appears to be practical as well as symbolic. Was it a garden in the hills? I really don't know. A cave (or some caves) makes sense because you could secure it with a boulder and prevent animals from scavenging it or worse. In the wilderness it seems to have been away from the tents and in the Promised land away from the city. There are definite parallels with how the body of Christ was treated even to the point where it was put in a new cave. Enter Hebrews 13.

Hebrews clarifies some things that are not obvious by just reading the Old Testament. The writer specifies that it was animals whose blood was taken into the Sanctuary. Earlier I defined my misunderstanding of the word sanctuary and pointed out that the problem could have arisen from here. In the Old Testament sanctuary appears to mean the entire compound but here it seems to mean inside the Holy Place. It represented a reproach. The part of the operation that took place outside the camp appears to represent bearing one's reproach. In combination, the link with Christ shows up by being crucified on Golgotha outside the city and being buried in a new cave that was clean.

Table of Offerings and sacrifices

I am setting out to provide an understanding and give evidence for my perspective on offerings and sacrifices in a way that any ordinary person like me can understand. This is not set out to be any official document. In describing sacrifices and offerings several words appear repeatedly. Let me offer my definitions for some of these so that we can reconcile our understanding.

Caul

Caul fat is a membrane that encases the digestive organs of some animals. Because it doesn't tear, it's mostly used as a casing to wrap foods. Anatomically speaking, caul fat is the thin, lacy membrane of an animal surrounding the internal organs, known as the greater omentum. It is known that sausages were made using intestines from ancient Akkadian times but I have not found a reference to caul in ancient food. The earliest record that I have uncovered is from Apicius de re Coquinaria (About the Kitchen by Apicius) where he uses caul fat to encase a sausage/burger. I believe that the use of caul was familiar to the Egyptians and hence to the Israelites.

Inwards

Inwards appears to mean core or centre. This is where the ancients identified to be the seat of the mind, feelings, affections and the home of the soul. It includes the intellect (wisdom in the inward parts, Job 38:36); the moral nature (inward part is very wickedness, Psalms 5:9); the spiritual nature (my law in their inward parts, Jeremiah 31:33). It is from this that we get the expression inwardly or the inward man.

Kidney/reins

In the Old Testament the kidneys (reins) are associated with the seat of emotions and secret thoughts and is applied in metaphor to omens, moral discernment, meditation and inspiration.

H3629 kilyah
• 1. a kidney (as an essential organ).
• 2. (figuratively) the mind (as the interior self).
• 3. (thus) the reins of a bridle.
• 4. (by analogy) self-control, self-restraint (referring to character [good or lacking], and thus, moral strength).
• 5. (of ancient times, and modern Orient) kidneys are considered the seat of the feelings and passions, the inward impulses.
• 6. (together with the heart) combined, they denote the moral composition of man.

The same Hebrew word is also translated as reins in the KJV

The liver

The liver is the heaviest internal organ. It is associated with spiritual and mystical aspects of the man.

Passover

There are two cases where an entire Feast day is constructed around a sacrifice. One special case is the Passover lamb, which I am discussing now, and the other is at Yom Kippur. The original instructions for celebrating Passover were given in Exodus 12. Coming on to the end of the instructions we have

From verse 2 when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, is interpreted by some to say that the Passover was only to be kept in the Promised Land. There is only one instance of the celebration recorded in the wilderness.

At that time Moses was instructed to direct them to keep it just as it had been kept originally. The original instruction said that they, rather than priests, should kill it and so it could not have been done as the later sacrifices were. Indeed there does not seem to have been any other sacrifices

Passover is the only sacrifice that as originally given does not depend on an Aaronic priesthood. There is no record of it being kept correctly until the time of Samuel (II Chronicles 35:18). As for these other sacrifices that will be identified, they do not appear to have existed.

Atonement/Yom Kippur

With reference to Jeremiah 7:22 this celebration was not originally given with sacrifices. All of the Feasts feature copious sacrifices but this one specifies a goat that is slaughtered and one (the Azazel) that is lead away. Like Passover, this subject cannot be done justice here and is left for discussion on its own. Details take up the whole of Leviticus 16.

Five Basic Offerings

There are actually five basic offerings: Burnt Offerings, Grain Offerings, Sin Offerings, Trespass offerings and Peace offerings. These are further classified and I attempt to show how below. The priest's portion of an offering could only be eaten by those who legally were under the house of Aaron. Married women were excluded if the husband was not a priest (Leviticus 22:10-16).

Burnt Offering

According to Numbers 28:3-10, there was a national burnt offering of one lamb required each weekday morning and evening and the amounts were doubled on the Sabbath.

For personal Burnt Offerings God required that it must be accompanied by a meal offering if it was deemed that the person could afford it.

God preferred that the burnt offering included a drink offering and a grain offering along with the meat.

We are to be sacrificed continually

And as the command in Numbers above suggests, even more so on the Sabbath.

Eastons 1897 Bible Dictionary

Burnt Offering

...whole burnt offering. It was the most frequent form of sacrifice, and apparently the only one mentioned in the book of Genesis. Such were the sacrifices offered by Abel (Genesis 4:3-4, here called minhah; i.e., a gift), Noah (Genesis 8:20), Abraham (Genesis 22:2, 7-8, 13), and by the Hebrews in Egypt (Exodus 10:25)...

There were burnt Offerings beyond the daily requirement. The Daily Burnt Offerings were done at the time of the morning and the evening prayer (the third and ninth hours). For a more precise understanding of the timing you can try the Agape Bible Study website JEWISH TIME DIVISIONS IN THE 1ST CENTURY AD, https://www.agapebiblestudy.com/charts/jewishtimedivision.htm. That time translates to 9-10 AM for morning 3-4 PM for evening. The offering included a Grain Offering and a Drink Offering (Exodus 29:38-42; Numbers 28:3-8). Victims sacrificed for basic offering were increased on Feasts or holy Days like the weekly Sabbath when the amounts were doubled (Numbers 28:9-10). Other times include new moons or months, the Passover, Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles where amounts could vary dramatically especially at Tabernacles (Numbers 28:11-29:39). In Leviticus 1 the instructions for the personal burnt offering is laid out. The offering depended on the persons financial means. The animal had to be a male (young bull, lamb, goat, turtledove, or young pigeon) and it had to be perfect.

It appears that with the burnt offering God is interested in us giving as much of ourselves as possible bur takes our limitations into account. We empty ourselves and give ourselves to God because the priest kept the skin. The skin also represents our covering from shame, which is the consequence of sin. When Araunah offered to give David his threshing floor, oxen, and wood for free so that David could sacrifice, David refused because he recognized that he could not offer burnt offerings that cost him nothing (2 Samuel 24:18-25).

Holmans Bible Dictionary

Burnt Offering - Scott Langston

If a bird was brought, the priest killed it. After the priest arranged the various parts on the altar, the entire animal was burned as a sacrifice. The only portion that remained was the hide, and the priest received it (Leviticus 7:8).

All that was left was a shell of the person (the hide) which was kept by the priest (pictures Christ). The symbolism is dual. When the lamb represents Christ the skin is the covering which He gave us in order to cover our shame, shame being the wages or consequence of sin. When the lamb represents us as in Romans 12:1, then it is an empty husk.

They were to be accompanied by trumpet blasts

I presume that for the national burnt offering a Levite would do the part of the offerer. The priest kept the hide.

Grain Offering (also called Meal or Tribute Offering)

The grain offerings were mostly voluntary but in some cases they were required to accompany other offerings. One such instance is the commanded offerings on Yom Kippur (Numbers 29:7-11).

Sin offering

The elders of the congregation took the place of the offender, representing the congregation

The elders of the congregation was the offender representing the congregation

Holmans Bible Dictionary Sin Offering Scott Langston

Holmans Bible Dictionary

Sin Offering - Scott Langston

Sin offering (chattat; purification in REB). This was designed to deal with sin that was committed unintentionally. The sacrifice varied according to who committed the sin. If the priest or the congregation of Israel sinned, then a bull was required. A leader of the people had to bring a male goat, while anyone else sacrificed a female goat or a lamb

.

Leviticus 4:1-6:7 lays out these facts. So the emphasis of the sin offering is on responsibility in the sight of God. To him that much is given much is required (Luke 12:48). A sin is not more important than another but damaging your ability to function in the role given by God is of great significance. The Priests (who represented Christ) had a level of responsibility to God that is not found among the congregation. The congregation was separated by some having more authority in the Kingdom of Israel and those who had less. This suggests that our cleanness from sin has a bearing on our authority in the Kingdom. Notice also that a female is sometimes required. This raises the question: even though the blood of the sacrifice always points to the blood at Passover, does the sacrifice always portray Christ?

From Leviticus 4, this was designed to deal with sin that was committed unintentionally.

Notice that there seems to be a deliberate contrast between the sin offering and the burnt offering. The burnt offering must be a male while the sin offering had to be female. It is repeated in Numbers 6:14.

Leviticus 1:1-3 shows that there were only three classes of sin offering but the others were allowed because of poverty, so what is being portrayed will be represented in the main types.

If you read the whole chapter you will see no mention of grain as an offering, however the poor were allowed to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons.

And under extreme conditions grain was allowed because of poverty, so what is being portrayed will be concealed in the main types:

1. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23 [KJV]).
2. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission (Hebrews 9:22 [KJV]).

Notice that the second phrase in Hebrews 9:22 goes beyond the Torah and articulates a principle behind it all, . . . without shedding of blood is no remission.

The one bringing the offering placed a hand on the animal and then slaughtered it.

When the priest or the congregation sinned, the blood was sprinkled seven times before the veil in the sanctuary, and some of it was placed on the horns of the incense altar. The rest of the blood was poured out at the base of the sacrificial altar. The priests represented Christ as well as the saints and therefore had to also cleanse the veil which also represented Christ. For others who sinned, the sprinkling of the blood before the veil was omitted. Another contrast is given with the disposal procedures in v11-12.

The same internal organs that were designated for burning in the peace offering were designated in this sacrifice. Only those parts were burned on the altar.

The rest of the animal was taken outside of the camp to the place where the ashes of the sacrifices were disposed of, and there it was burned.

If the person making the sacrifice was not a priest then the priest was allowed to eat some of the meat (Leviticus 6:24-30). The church not only symbolically drank Christs blood but ate his flesh. Perhaps there are two symbols represented here : the blood for salvation and the body for the priesthood.

Guilt/Trespass Offering

When you unintentionally break a law. Along with the trespass offering, if your actions deprived someone then you must pay compensation to the person plus a fifth to the priest.

The priest had to eat his portion within the court of tabernacle

Peace Offering

In Hebrew, words are built on roots, that are generally formed from three consonants. One such example is the root sh-l-m. From that root we derive shalom (peace, well-being), shulam (was paid for) and shalem (whole), among others. In Hebrew vav, tav, yod and mem are letters of the alphabet. The basic rule for forming the plural is that feminine nouns change their last letter to the letters vav tav making the sound ot, while masculine nouns get an extra yod mem at the end which has the sound im or iym.  In English the definite article i.e. saying it defines the entity, meaning that there is only one, is the word the. In Hebrew the definite article is provided in the prefix with the sound ha. This one-letter prefix is named hey in Hebrew. The term peace offering (Hebrew: zevah shelamim) is generally constructed from slaughter offering (Hebrew: zevah) and a plural of sh-l-m i.e. (Hebrew: zevah hashelamiym), but is sometimes found without zevah as shelamim (notice that it is plural) alone. There is therefore no direct translation into English hence is  rendered peace offering (KJV 1611, JPS 1917) and offering of well-being (NRSV). My personal interpretation is that this offering is for seeking harmony or a good relationship with God. Peace offerings were required to be without blemish.

That was the fundamental offering but it could be transformed into any of the following:

• Vow Offerings
  
• Free Will Offering
  
• Thank Offering

Thank Offering

The Peace Offering would be transformed into a Thank Offering by adding these items.

a Vow, or a Free Will Offering

A vow or freewill offering could actually be almost anything except in the case of the Nazarite Vow. In building the Tabernacle the materials were all freewill offerings. The Hebrew nedabah freewill offering was free in a legal sense only. You were not legally compelled to to offer it. Hebrew Neder is a kind of vow or oath. The requirements of a votive offering (Vow Offering) were more stringent than the freewill.

To terminate a Nazarite Vow the nazarite offered three sacrificial offerings at the Temple in Jerusalem: first a ewe lamb for a sin offering, the second a male lamb for a burnt offering, finally a peace offering which was a ram, a basket of unleavened bread and a drink offering (numbers 6:13-21).

If the worshipper wanted the sacrifice of the burnt offering to be considered a freewill offering then there were no additional requirements.

If the worshiper wanted the sacrifice of the peace offering to be considered a freewill offering then it had to be treated differently but there was no additional sacrifice. All had to be eaten the same day or the day following when it was offered otherwise the remains had to be burned.

Wave offering and heave Offering

I find it interesting that Christ was lifted up on the cross once and for all to save us all and we have this offering called a Heave offering which is of the breast or heart and is lifted only once. Christs death in generally seen in the Passover. Some element of that has to be in these offerings.

The wave offering and heave Offering were actually prescribed parts of other offerings. They were parts that were redeemed from a whole. We see a distinction between the wave offering and the heave offering in the same sacrifice.

The Heave Offering is associated with the Hebrew verb rum to raise or lift up high. To the ancient Hebrews the word breast meant the connection with emotions and feelings so that indicates the overwhelming love that Christ is to the Father and the love displayed by Christs sacrifice (John 3:16). The Wave offering is associated with nuf which has to do with moving up and down or rocking to and fro. The right arm is about action (to and fro and up and down) and shows the value of and the reliance placed on Christ. As I see it the Heave is of the heart or breast and is once connected as it is lifted up and is never released as is the love in us through the Spirit. On the other hand (pun intended) the Wave is the active work of love as we carry out our assignments by the same Spirit back and forth working with God. Christ came to earth, went back back on resurrection day, came back and was ascended and is coming back to accomplish the work of love. Together they seem to represent Christ and the work of the redeemed bringing many sons unto glory. In the Christian Church they remind us of the heart of Christ permanently raised up and connected to the Father and with us through the Holy Spirit, plus the eternal work of Christ up and down and back and forth on the family's behalf. All heave offerings and Wave offerings went to the priest (Numbers 18:8-20).

Heave offerings (a permanent connection of love)

A heave offering (Hebrew: terumah). There were two groups of terumot:

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terumah_(offering) timestamp 11:42, 23 May 2021

There were two groups of terumot:

Sacrifice/redemption of the first-born:

• Redemption of first-born male children (pidyon haben). (Note that pidyon haben redemption-monies are still given to Kohanim, and the Kohen still customarily lifts the redemption coins up as part of the contemporary pidyon haben ceremony, but the "heave" element is not arequirement for a valid pidyon haben to occur in the absence of aTemple in Jerusalem under contemporary Jewish law.)
  
• Tithe of Firstfruits (Hebrew bikkurim ) (Not done in the absence of a Temple in Jerusalem).

General tithes:

• The general offering (terumah) or the "great offering"(terumah gedolah) was a portion of the finished grain, wine and oil separatedfor the Jewish priest prior to the "first tithe" (maaser rishon)separated for a Levite . Unlike the "first tithe" (maaser rishon), theTorah did not specify any minimum measure for a terumah offering;hence, even one grain of barley could satisfy the requirement to separate terumah. A passage in the Book of Ezekiel suggests that the"great offering" (terumah gedolah) should consist of 1/50 of theowner's grain, wine or oil.
  
• The Mitzvah of Challah ("dough bread", challah ) Contemporary practice is to burn rather than give to the priest.
  
• Portion of gift offerings, of slaughter offerings, which were allocated to the priests.
  
• Portion of the terumat hamaaser, the Levite Tithe, which applies only to produce grown in the Land of Israel.

I find it interesting that this indicates that the love connection with the Jews has been severed by the destruction of the Temple. Heave Offerings fall into two categories: #1 Redemption of the first, #2 - Tithes and other offerings. All heave Offerings went to the Priest (numbers 18:8,11).

Numbers 18:18 [KJV] says And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder are thine. This indicates that the firstborn animals were both a heave offering and a wave offering. If they were unclean then they were replaced with a clean animal, Exodus 13:13 [KJV] And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem. In most of these cases the whole sacrifice is a wave or heave offering but only with the peace offering it is different. In that case most of the offering returned to the offerer.

Wave offering (the work of love)

The wave offering (Hebrew: tenufah), sheaf offering or omer offering (korban omer). According to Numbers 18:18 the first born were also wave offerings.

specific offerings and Sacrifices

Specific offerings

The Red Heifer

The sacrifice of a red heifer was required to make the water of purification. It appears that to find a heifer that qualifies is extremely rare.

Another instance in which a heifer was used was to clear guilt when a murder victim was discovered. To show that they were guiltless a heifer that was never yoked or worked was beheaded in a valley that was not cultivated. Then the elders of the city closest to the murder washed tehir hands over the carcass and proclaimed that they were not aware of it or had taken part in it.

Pronouncing a leper or any infectious person clean - Leviticus 14:1-29

Interestingly cleansing a leper is different from cleansing from touching a dead person. It is found in Leviticus 14:1-29. In summary Pronouncing a leper clean required two live clean birds, a piece of cedar wood, a scrap of crimson fabric, and some twigs of hyssop. The quarantine period was 7 days. On the first day one bird was killed and the blood captured by running water over it into a pot. The other items were dipped in the bloody water. The man was then sprinkled and pronounced clean. The live bird was released and the man washed his clothes bathed, shaved himself of all hair and remained in quarantine until the seventh day. On that day he repeated the washing and shaving. On the following day, the eighth day, he offered a trespass offering, a wave offering, a sin offering and a burnt offering. As part of the ceremony a log of oil was used sprinkle before the Lord and perform a ritual anointing of the person. It was costly and exceptions were prescribed for those who could not afford it.

Other Offerings

Offerings to hallow the priests

At atonement the ram chosen by God

The other goat at Atonement

Consecrating Aaron and his sons

The daily sacrifice

Consecrating the incense altar

Ransom offering when Israel is numbered

Use of the brazen laver to wash before coming to any altar

Consecrating the tabernacle and all vessels, including those for offerings

Golden calf peace offering

offerings for the sanctuary

Acknowledgements

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/sacrifices-and-offerings-karbanot