Leviticus 1:3

3 “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 may be accepted by the LORD .

Leviticus 1:3 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 1:3

If his offering [be] a burnt sacrifice of the herd
So called, because consumed by fire, see ( Leviticus 6:9 ) even all of it except the skin, and therefore its name with the Greeks is "a whole burnt offering", as in ( Mark 12:33 ) its name in Hebrew is (hlwe) , which comes from a word which signifies to "ascend" or "go up", because not only it was carried up to the altar by the priest, which was common to other sacrifices, but being burnt upon it, it ascended upwards in smoke and vapour; it was typical of Christ's dolorous sufferings and death, who therein sustained the fire of divine wrath, and his strength was dried up like a potsherd with it. Jarchi on ( Leviticus 1:1 ) says, there were in the burnt offerings mysteries of future things:

let him offer a male;
and not a female, pointing at the Messiah's sex, and his strength and excellency, the child that was to be born, and the Son to be given, whose name should be Immanuel:

without blemish;
or [perfect], having no part wanting, nor any part superfluous, nor any spot upon it, see ( Leviticus 22:19-24 ) denoting the perfection of Christ as man, being in all things made like unto his brethren, and his having not the least stain or blemish of sin upon him, either original or actual, and so could, as he did, offer up himself without spot to God, ( Hebrews 2:17 ) ( 9:14 ) ( 1 Peter 1:19 ) :

and he shall offer it of his own voluntary will;
not forced or compelled to it, or with any reluctancy, but as a pure freewill offering; so our Lord Jesus Christ laid down his life of himself, and freely gave himself an offering and a sacrifice, and became cheerfully and readily obedient unto death:

at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the Lord;
it was to be done openly and publicly, and in the presence of the Lord, to whom it was offered up; showing, that Christ's sacrifice would be offered up to God, against whom we have sinned, by which his law would be fulfilled, his justice satisfied, and wrath appeased, and that his death would be public and notorious; see ( Luke 24:18-20 ) .

Leviticus 1:3 In-Context

1 The LORD called to Moses from the Tabernacle and said to him,
2 “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.
3 “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 may be accepted by the LORD .
4 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.
5 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.

Footnotes 1

Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.