It could be male or female, but must be without defect. The offering could be cattle (3:1), sheep (3:7), or a goat (3:12). This category, first discussed in Leviticus 3, included Thanksgiving Offerings (Lev 7:12), Freewill Offerings (7:16), and Wave Offerings (7:30). The third offering is the shelem, or Peace Offering. Although the minchah was instructed to be a freewill offering of grains, it appears that earlier freewill offerings expressing devotion to God and gratitude for His goodness and providence may have been the “first fruits” of livestock (Gen 4:4). The remainder went to the priests for their meal (2:10). Unlike the whole Burnt Offering, only a portion of the offering was to be burnt (2:9). Generally it was cooked bread-baked (2:4), grilled (2:5), fried (2:7), roasted, or made into cereal (2:14)-though always seasoned (2:13), unsweetened, and unleavened (2:11). The instructions for the grain offerings are given in Leviticus 2. The purpose of the Grain Offering was a voluntary expression of devotion to God, recognizing His goodness and providence.
The second type of offering in the Old Testament is the minchah, or Grain Offering. Although this does occur during the worst of Israel’s history (Judges 11), God made it clear that He would not accept children as burnt offerings (Gen 22), and the instructions given in Leviticus explicitly limit the type of animals to be offered as burnt sacrifices to bulls, rams, and birds.
The primary contrast between the Old Testament Burnt Offering and the Canaanite Burnt Offering was that the Canaanites would offer children as burnt sacrifices for their own atonement. The Burnt Offering was likely the earliest type of atonement offering in the Old Testament (Job 1:5, Gen 8:20).
The animal was to be burnt whole overnight (6:8-13), though its skin was given to the priest (1:6). The offering could be a bull (1:3), sheep or goat (1:10), or dove or pigeon (1:14). The instructions for the Burnt Offering are given in Lev 1:3-17. The purpose of the Burnt Offering was for general atonement of sin and expression of devotion to God. The first offering is the olah, literally, “an offering of ascent,” commonly called the Burnt Offering.
Get the acclaimed Bible study series by Sandra Richter on the Old Testament from our store now! DVDs or streaming video available as well. The system was an outward expression of a person or community’s inward desire to restore the broken relationships between humanity and God and humanity and the world.
Rather, the sacrificial system in the Old Testament was a means of grace by which one who unintentionally sinned might make reparations for that sin without paying with his or her life, or with the life of his or her child. The Prophet Samuel said, “to obey is better than sacrifice,” (1 Sam 15:22), and Jeremiah likewise negates Burnt Offerings for atonement and says that disobedience results in calamity (Jer 44:23). The following offerings-the Burnt Offering, the Grain Offering, the Peace Offering, the Purification Offering, and the Reparation Offering-should not be viewed as legalistic rites one must perform to earn God’s grace. These are just a few examples of the five types of offerings in the Old Testament. Malachi then builds to a climax that begins with the return to proper tithes and grain offerings (1:11, 3:3, 3:10) to initiate the day of the LORD. The last of the Prophets, Malachi, cites improper animal sacrifices (1:8) as the reason God no longer accepts the Grain Offerings (1:10, 2:13). Genesis 3:20 may allude to the first sacrifice, where the LORD God offered garments of skin to Adam and Eve to express devotion and commitment to His priests (humanity) serving in His temple (the Heavens and the Earth), an act that may foreshadow the Burnt Offering more fully described in Leviticus. These offerings run throughout the majority of the Old Testament. The Old Testament can be said to revolve around a system of sacrificial offerings mitigated by priests during rituals to atone for the sins of humanity, especially of Israel.
But the 5 main Old Testament sacrifices are worth knowing, and Jeremiah Garrett provides some basic information here. Ultimately, the sacrificial system was inadequate, which is why Jesus came to earth. The sacrificial system of the Old Testament was a means of grace by which the relationship between God and humanity begins to be restored.