Sermon Outline, July 11

Covenant by Sacrifice, Leviticus 1:1-17

INTRODUCTION
According to Psalm 50:5, Yahweh�s �godly ones,�EIsrael, �make a covenant with My by sacrifice.�E Through sacrificial rites, Yahweh both entered into covenant and renewed covenant with Israel. The New Testament also uses sacrificial language to describe the making and renewal of covenant: Jesus made a new covenant in His blood (Matthew 26:28; Exodus 24:8), and we renew covenant through sacrificial worship (Hebrews 13:15; 1 Peter 2:5).

THE TEXT
�Now Yahweh 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 Yahweh, you shall bring your offering of the livestock �Eof the herd and of the flock. . . .��E(Leviticus 1:1-17).

EXODUS TO SINAI
Israel�s exodus from Egypt passed through several stages, climaxing in the covenant-making event at Sinai. The progression was marked at key points by sacrifices. First, there was the Passover, when the Israelites slaughtered lambs and spread the blood on the doorposts of their Egyptian homes (Exodus 12). After they passed through the water of the Sea of Reeds (Exodus 14), they gathered at Mount Sinai and were cleansed and consecrated (Exodus 19:10, 14). Moses ascended into the cloud and Yahweh spoke to him about the terms of the covenant (Exodus 19-23). Then the people took an oath to keep the covenant (Exodus 24:3), and the young men offered burnt offerings (or, better, �ascension offerings�E and peace offerings (Exodus 24:5-8). Finally, Moses, Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel ascended Sinai for a sacrificial meal (Exodus 24:9-11).

The sequence of events at Sinai is very similar to the sequence of a Christian worship service. We gather in God�s presence, as Israel gathered at Sinai. We are cleansed by confession of sin, and then the Lord speaks to us. We respond by promising to keep covenant (by saying �Amen�Eto the Word of God, by giving our tithes and offerings). Then, we eat and drink in the presence of God. Our whole worship service, like Israel�s covenant-making at Sinai, involves an ascent into the presence of God. This is a sign that our worship services are covenant-renewal services.

COVENANT BY SACRIFICE
Israel�s initial covenant-making involved sacrifice, and every sacrifice that Israel offered repeated and recapitulated the initial covenant-making event. We can see this by looking at the ritual of the �ascension�Eoffering in Leviticus 1. (�Ascension�Eis a better translation of the Hebrew name for this offering, �olah, which comes from a verb that means �to go up, to
ascend.)

Notice the sequence of this offering:
-The worshiper brings an animal to the door of the tabernacle (v. 3).
-The worship leans his hand on the head of the animal, designating the animal as his representative and substitute (v. 4). This corresponds to the setting aside of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:3-6).
-The worshiper slays the animal (v. 5). This corresponds to the slaughter of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:6).
-The priest splashes blood on the altar (v. 5). This corresponds to putting the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts of the house (Exodus 12:7).
-The priest stokes up the fire on the altar (v. 7). By this, the altar becomes a small-scale representation of Sinai, which was crowned with a flaming cloud (Exodus 19:16).
-The worshiper washes portions of the animal (v. 9). This corresponds to Israel�s passage through the water. It is a baptism.
-Then the priest puts the washed portions of the animal onto the altar fire, which turns the animal to smoke (v. 9). This corresponds to Moses�Eascent into the cloud as a representative of Israel.

Thus, whenever an Israelite offered an animal offering, he was recapitulating the history of Israel�s exodus and covenant-making at Sinai. Through this, he renewed covenant with Yahweh.

PURIFICATION, ASCENSION, COMMUNION
Some passages of the Old Testament describe a sequence of different sacrifices. Looking at some of these passages, a similar point emerges. During the ordination rite for Aaron and his sons, Moses first offering a �sin�Eor �purification�Eoffering (Leviticus 8:14-17), then an ascension offering (Leviticus 8:18-21), and finally the �ram of ordination�E(literally, �ram of filling�E, which was a form of peace offering (Leviticus 8:22-29). We know this was a kind of peace offering because Aaron and his sons ate portions of the offering (Leviticus 8:31-36), and Israelite laymen were only permitted to eat of the peace offering. We find the same sequence in the rite to end a Nazirite vow (Number 6:14), and a similar sequence in 2 Chronicles 29:20-36.

This sequence makes sense when we consider the meaning of these various sacrifices: Purification offerings are for cleansing, and the blood of a purification �opens a way�Einto God�s presence. Ascension offerings represent the ascent of the worshiper into the presence of God. In a peace offering, an animal is slaughtered for a meal. This sequence, like the others, repeats the basic sequence of Passover, Exodus, and Ascent to Sinai.

Jesus has finally and fully recapitulated Israel�s history, and has ascended to the right hand of the Father. That �sacrifice�Ebrings in the New Covenant. Yet, in our worship we still continually renew covenant in order to remain in good fellowship with the Triune God. And the basic ordering is the same as in the Old Covenant: First, we are called and gathered into God�s presence; then we are cleansed through confession and absolution; then we ascend through a sacrifice of praise into God�s presence, where we hear His word declared; on the mountain, the Lord feeds us; and then He sends us off the mountain and back into the world to declare the things we have heard and seen.

COVENANT DIALOGUE
Covenant-renewal worship involves a dialogue between the Lord and His people. As in a wedding, first the Bridegroom speaks (I, George, take you Amanda) and then the Bride responds (I, Amanda, take you George). At Sinai, the people responded with a promise to keep Torah after Moses brought it to them (Exodus 24:7). Most of the Psalms reflect this dialogic pattern: Often, each verse is written in two parallel lines, and in some cases the second line is a recurring refrain (cf. Psalm 136). John witnessed a similar pattern in the heavenly worship (Revelation 4-5).

This dialogic pattern is already part of our liturgy. An elder prays or reads Scripture, for example, and all the people respond with an �Amen.�E But expanding this feature of biblical worship will make our worship more lively and energetic, and will increase the congregation�s participation. This expansion would involve responsive or antiphonal reading or chanting of Psalms and including some of the traditional dialogic elements from historic liturgies (the �sursum corda,�Ethe �kyrie,�Eand so on).

posted by Peter J. Leithart on Thursday, July 08, 2004 at 06:22 AM

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