Leviticus 22: An offering without defect accepted
Begin in prayer
Before we read Leviticus 22, where God requires the priests to guard the holy things and commands that every sacrifice be without defect to be accepted, let us bow our heads. Ask the Lord to show us Christ, the Lamb without blemish.
To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to Yahweh than sacrifice.
Proverbs 21:3
Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that You accept only an offering without defect, and lead us to rest in the finished sacrifice of Your sinless Son, Jesus Christ. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.
See where we're going
In Leviticus 22 the LORD tells Aaron and his sons not to eat the holy offerings while unclean, lest they profane His name. Only members of the priest's household may eat the holy bread, and anyone who eats it unwittingly must restore it with a fifth added. In verses 17 to 25, God commands that any burnt offering or peace offering brought for a vow must be without defect. Blind, injured, or maimed animals are rejected. Finally, God gives rules for young animals and thank offerings, declaring, I am the LORD who makes you holy.
As you read Leviticus 22, look for the answers:
- What happens if a priest approaches the holy things while his uncleanness is upon him? (verses 3 to 7)
- Who inside a priest's house may eat of his bread, and what must a man do if he eats a holy thing unwittingly? (verses 10 to 14)
- What kind of animal must be brought so that the worshipper may be accepted, and what animals are rejected? (verses 19 to 22)
Reflect together
Key truth
God guards His holy things and accepts only a sacrifice without defect, fulfilled in Christ.
Leviticus 22 guards the honor of God's sanctuary and His holy name. First, no priest could eat the holy offerings while unclean, until he bathed in water and the sun went down (verses 2 to 7). Second, no outsider could eat the holy food, only those born in the priest's house or bought with his money (verses 10 to 13). Through Christ's blood, sinners who were once strangers are bought at a price and brought into God's household (Ephesians 2 verse 13). Third, verses 18 to 25 repeat one rule, “you shall offer a male without defect” so “that you may be accepted” (verse 19). Whatever had a defect was not acceptable (verse 20). That ceremonial rule pointed to Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb whose one sacrifice makes believers accepted (1 Peter 1 verse 19).
How does Leviticus 22 show us that God guards His holy things and accepts only a sacrifice without defect, fulfilled in Christ?
No priest may eat holy things unclean, and only his household may share.
If a priest approached the holy things in uncleanness, “that soul shall be cut off from before me” (verse 3). He had to bathe in water and wait until sunset before eating (verses 6 and 7). Outsiders could not eat the priest's bread, only those born in his house or bought with his money (verses 10 and 11). By His blood, Christ bought His people and brought strangers near into God's household (Ephesians 2 verse 13).
An offering must be without defect to be accepted on the altar.
Anyone bringing a burnt offering or peace offering for a vow had to bring an animal “without defect” (verses 18 to 21). Verse 20 warns, “But whatever has a defect, that you shall not offer; for it shall not be acceptable for you.” Blind, injured, or maimed animals could never win acceptance before a holy God (verse 22). Only Christ, the sinless Lamb of God without blemish, is accepted for sinners (1 Peter 1 verse 19).
God commands thanksgiving and obedience because He makes His people holy.
A newborn animal stayed seven days with its mother, and both could not be killed on one day (verses 27 and 28). A thank offering had to be eaten on the same day (verses 29 and 30). Then God calls Israel to keep His commandments and not profane His holy name (verses 31 and 32). Verses 32 and 33 declare, “I am Yahweh who makes you holy,” fulfilled in Christ who sanctifies believers.
Memorise
that you may be accepted, you shall offer a male without defect, of the bulls, of the sheep, or of the goats.
Leviticus 22:19
Looking to Jesus in my life
Ask yourself in your heart, am I bringing God my own flawed works, or trusting Jesus the spotless Lamb?
In Leviticus 22, no unclean person or stranger could eat the holy things, and no blemished animal could be offered on the altar. In verse 19 God says, “that you may be accepted, you shall offer a male without defect.” And in verse 20 He warns, “But whatever has a defect, that you shall not offer; for it shall not be acceptable for you.”
Think of what this means when we stand before the holy God. Every work we bring is stained by sin, and we ourselves were strangers outside God's household. If we try to win God's acceptance by our own flawed prayers, gifts, or obedience, we cannot be accepted. Yet God Himself provided the offering without defect. Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God, lived without a single blemish of sin. On the cross He died in His people's place to bear their sin, and three days later He rose from the dead. Nothing can be added to His offering, and where sins are forgiven, there is no more offering for sin.
Stop trusting your own flawed record to make you acceptable to God. Turn from your sin today and trust in Jesus Christ. Everyone who comes to Him is forgiven, brought into God's family, and accepted forever.
Parent's note
Tell your children that our best deeds still have sin's defect, so we are accepted only through Jesus, the spotless Lamb. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.
Pray together
Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that Jesus offered Himself without defect on the cross so that sinners who trust Him are forgiven and accepted forever, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.
Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
Hebrews 10:18
Holy Father, we confess that all our own works are stained with sin and could never make us acceptable before You. Thank You for sending Your Son Jesus, the Lamb without blemish or spot, to die on the cross for sinners. Please forgive our sins through faith in His finished offering, bring each of us into Your household, and help us honor Your holy name. Amen.