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Procedures for the Burnt Offering

The Lord called to Moses from the Tabernacle[a] and said to him, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you present an animal as an offering to the Lord, you may take it from your herd of cattle or your flock of sheep and goats.

“If the animal you present as a burnt offering is from the herd, it must be a male with no defects. Bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle so you[b] may be accepted by the Lord. Lay your hand on the animal’s head, and the Lord will accept its death in your place to purify you, making you right with him.[c] Then slaughter the young bull in the Lord’s presence, and Aaron’s sons, the priests, will present the animal’s blood by splattering it against all sides of the altar that stands at the entrance to the Tabernacle. Then skin the animal and cut it into pieces. The sons of Aaron the priest will build a wood fire on the altar. They will arrange the pieces of the offering, including the head and fat, on the wood burning on the altar. But the internal organs and the legs must first be washed with water. Then the priest will burn the entire sacrifice on the altar as a burnt offering. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

10 “If the animal you present as a burnt offering is from the flock, it may be either a sheep or a goat, but it must be a male with no defects. 11 Slaughter the animal on the north side of the altar in the Lord’s presence, and Aaron’s sons, the priests, will splatter its blood against all sides of the altar. 12 Then cut the animal in pieces, and the priests will arrange the pieces of the offering, including the head and fat, on the wood burning on the altar. 13 But the internal organs and the legs must first be washed with water. Then the priest will burn the entire sacrifice on the altar as a burnt offering. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

14 “If you present a bird as a burnt offering to the Lord, choose either a turtledove or a young pigeon. 15 The priest will take the bird to the altar, wring off its head, and burn it on the altar. But first he must drain its blood against the side of the altar. 16 The priest must also remove the crop and the feathers[d] and throw them in the ashes on the east side of the altar. 17 Then, grasping the bird by its wings, the priest will tear the bird open, but without tearing it apart. Then he will burn it as a burnt offering on the wood burning on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 Hebrew Tent of Meeting; also in 1:3, 5.
  2. 1:3 Or it.
  3. 1:4 Or to make atonement for you.
  4. 1:16 Or the crop and its contents. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.

Procedures for the Grain Offering

“When you present grain as an offering to the Lord, the offering must consist of choice flour. You are to pour olive oil on it, sprinkle it with frankincense, and bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. The priest will scoop out a handful of the flour moistened with oil, together with all the frankincense, and burn this representative portion on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. The rest of the grain offering will then be given to Aaron and his sons. This offering will be considered a most holy part of the special gifts presented to the Lord.

“If your offering is a grain offering baked in an oven, it must be made of choice flour, but without any yeast. It may be presented in the form of thin cakes mixed with olive oil or wafers spread with olive oil. If your grain offering is cooked on a griddle, it must be made of choice flour mixed with olive oil but without any yeast. Break it in pieces and pour olive oil on it; it is a grain offering. If your grain offering is prepared in a pan, it must be made of choice flour and olive oil.

“No matter how a grain offering for the Lord has been prepared, bring it to the priest, who will present it at the altar. The priest will take a representative portion of the grain offering and burn it on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 10 The rest of the grain offering will then be given to Aaron and his sons as their food. This offering will be considered a most holy part of the special gifts presented to the Lord.

11 “Do not use yeast in preparing any of the grain offerings you present to the Lord, because no yeast or honey may be burned as a special gift presented to the Lord. 12 You may add yeast and honey to an offering of the first crops of your harvest, but these must never be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 13 Season all your grain offerings with salt to remind you of God’s eternal covenant. Never forget to add salt to your grain offerings.

14 “If you present a grain offering to the Lord from the first portion of your harvest, bring fresh grain that is coarsely ground and roasted on a fire. 15 Put olive oil on this grain offering, and sprinkle it with frankincense. 16 The priest will take a representative portion of the grain moistened with oil, together with all the frankincense, and burn it as a special gift presented to the Lord.

Procedures for the Peace Offering

“If you present an animal from the herd as a peace offering to the Lord, it may be a male or a female, but it must have no defects. Lay your hand on the animal’s head, and slaughter it at the entrance of the Tabernacle.[a] Then Aaron’s sons, the priests, will splatter its blood against all sides of the altar. The priest must present part of this peace offering as a special gift to the Lord. This includes all the fat around the internal organs, the two kidneys and the fat around them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver. These must be removed with the kidneys, and Aaron’s sons will burn them on top of the burnt offering on the wood burning on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

“If you present an animal from the flock as a peace offering to the Lord, it may be a male or a female, but it must have no defects. If you present a sheep as your offering, bring it to the Lord, lay your hand on its head, and slaughter it in front of the Tabernacle. Aaron’s sons will then splatter the sheep’s blood against all sides of the altar. The priest must present the fat of this peace offering as a special gift to the Lord. This includes the fat of the broad tail cut off near the backbone, all the fat around the internal organs, 10 the two kidneys and the fat around them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver. These must be removed with the kidneys, 11 and the priest will burn them on the altar. It is a special gift of food presented to the Lord.

12 “If you present a goat as your offering, bring it to the Lord, 13 lay your hand on its head, and slaughter it in front of the Tabernacle. Aaron’s sons will then splatter the goat’s blood against all sides of the altar. 14 The priest must present part of this offering as a special gift to the Lord. This includes all the fat around the internal organs, 15 the two kidneys and the fat around them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver. These must be removed with the kidneys, 16 and the priest will burn them on the altar. It is a special gift of food, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. All the fat belongs to the Lord.

17 “You must never eat any fat or blood. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation, wherever you live.”

Footnotes

  1. 3:2 Hebrew Tent of Meeting; also in 3:8, 13.

God’s Selection of Israel

With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters.[a] I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them. They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children.[b] God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.[c]

Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people! Being descendants of Abraham doesn’t make them truly Abraham’s children. For the Scriptures say, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,”[d] though Abraham had other children, too. This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children. For God had promised, “I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”[e]

10 This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins.[f] 11 But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; 12 he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, “Your older son will serve your younger son.”[g] 13 In the words of the Scriptures, “I loved Jacob, but I rejected Esau.”[h]

14 Are we saying, then, that God was unfair? Of course not! 15 For God said to Moses,

“I will show mercy to anyone I choose,
    and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.”[i]

16 So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.

17 For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.”[j] 18 So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.

19 Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?”

20 No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into? 22 In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. 23 He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory. 24 And we are among those whom he selected, both from the Jews and from the Gentiles.

25 Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea,

“Those who were not my people,
    I will now call my people.
And I will love those
    whom I did not love before.”[k]

26 And,

“Then, at the place where they were told,
    ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called
    ‘children of the living God.’”[l]

27 And concerning Israel, Isaiah the prophet cried out,

“Though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand of the seashore,
    only a remnant will be saved.
28 For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth
    quickly and with finality.”[m]

29 And Isaiah said the same thing in another place:

“If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    had not spared a few of our children,
we would have been wiped out like Sodom,
    destroyed like Gomorrah.”[n]

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Footnotes

  1. 9:3 Greek my brothers.
  2. 9:4 Greek chosen for sonship.
  3. 9:5 Or May God, the one who rules over everything, be praised forever. Amen.
  4. 9:7 Gen 21:12.
  5. 9:9 Gen 18:10, 14.
  6. 9:10 Greek she conceived children through this one man.
  7. 9:12 Gen 25:23.
  8. 9:13 Mal 1:2-3.
  9. 9:15 Exod 33:19.
  10. 9:17 Exod 9:16 (Greek version).
  11. 9:25 Hos 2:23.
  12. 9:26 Greek sons of the living God. Hos 1:10.
  13. 9:27-28 Isa 10:22-23 (Greek version).
  14. 9:29 Isa 1:9 (Greek version).

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