Who Slays the Animal and Why Burn All That Good Food When It Could Be Given to the Poor?

Leviticus 1:5-9:

⁵ He shall slay the young bull before the Lord; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall offer up the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

⁶ He shall then skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces.

⁷ The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. 

⁸ Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head and the suet over the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar. 

⁹ Its entrails, however, and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall offer up in smoke all of it on the altar for a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord.

Thoughts on the Passage

Notice the first pronoun in verse 5, is “He” and it contains a capital as per normal punctuation with a word starts a sentence. However, some commentators (Matthew Henry among them) think the “He” refers to “the priests”.  Guzik and Jamieson disagree, saying the animal was to be killed by the offerer of the sacrifice and then the priests take over. I’m personally siding with the latter, otherwise what would be the purpose of the next phrase in the text which says, “. . . and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall offer up the blood. . .”?  Further to that, given the purpose of the sacrifice and the parallel implications for us with respect to Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, it makes sense that the words at the end of the first phrase of the verse, “before the Lord” is really indicative of a sinner freely making this sacrifice “unto the Lord”.

Whenever we make a sacrifice for God, be it a tithe or donation, a service, or an act of worship, it is necessary that we remind ourselves that we are making such an offering “before the Lord”.  Doing so will help us have the right heart for the action we are engaging in.

On the issue, of who did the slaughtering referred to in our text, Guzik writes: “Of course, the priest would assist as necessary, and the priests would do the heavy work of skinning and cutting the animal up. But the one who brought the offering delivered the deathblow. The individual Israelite cut the jugular vein of the bull, in the presence of the priests at the Tabernacle of Meeting. This was a solemn testimony to the need for sacrifice.”

Robert Jamieson does indicate that “in later times” the Levites did do the actual killing.

The blood of the animal, representing its life, was sprinkled on the altar of sacrifice. The rest of the animal (one assumes after it was washed or cleansed of any bodily waste or impurity, was burnt on the altar. This total offering was a sweet aroma before God’s throne. Guzik says this reflects an “I surrender all” attitude. Nothing was held back.

There clearly was an order to how God wanted this and other sacrifices to be carried out. You couldn’t establish your own procedures as many of us do with so many things. (One example that comes to mind is how, often for the sake of time or convenience, churches modify the taking of Communion.) No, offerings at least, had to be made the way God wanted them to be made.

In verse 8, we are told how the priests had to arrange various parts of the offering over the fire.  The reference to “the suet” says Robert Jamieson, is a reference to the fat of the body, especially that about the kidneys.

In verse 9, however, the animal’s inwards and his (remember it was to be a male animal) were to be washed and then offered up in smoke which became the main contributor to the “soothing aroma to the Lord”.

Matthew Henry does raise a most interesting perspective regarding the burning of all this good meat.  It reminds me of how Judas reacted to Mary Magdalene’s washing of Christ’s feet as recorded in John 12. Judas says, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to poor people?”   Henry writes:

“. . .  the fat (the legs and inwards being first washed), were to be burnt together upon the altar,  ‘But to what purpose,’ would some say, ‘was this waste? Why should all this good meat, which might have been given to the poor, and have served their hungry families for food a great while, be burnt together to ashes?' So was the will of God; and it is not for us to object or to find fault with it. When it was burnt for the honor of God, in obedience to his command, and to signify spiritual blessings, it was really better bestowed, and better answered the end of its creation, than when it was used as food for man. We must never reckon that lost which is laid out for God. The burning of the sacrifice signified the sharp sufferings of Christ, and the devout affections with which, as a holy fire, Christians must offer up themselves their whole spirit, soul, and body, unto God.”

Perhaps it’s time for the church to reconsider how it does certain things as part of our service and worship?  And if the church won’t, at least each of us would be wise to think about anything that we may need to approach or do differently.  God does not require us to kill an animal for Him today – His Son was already sacrificed once and for all. What He wants is us to give Him our hearts and our obedience, freely and totally.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.