What does removing the crop and feathers symbolize in Leviticus 1:16? “He shall remove its crop with its contents and cast it to the east side of the altar, in the place for ashes.” What Is Literally Happening • The priest severs the bird’s crop (the pouch containing partially digested food) along with its feathers or plumage. • Both are carried to the ash heap east of the altar, away from the fire where the body of the bird will be consumed. Protecting the “Pleasing Aroma” • Anything that would produce a foul odor—fermenting food or singed feathers—is kept off the altar (compare Leviticus 1:9, 13). • The sacrifice, once cleansed of what offends the senses, rises as “a soothing aroma to the LORD.” Symbolic Lessons for the Worshiper • Removal of the crop pictures cleansing from inner defilement—everything we have taken in that does not belong in a holy offering (Psalm 51:6,10). • Discarding the feathers speaks of stripping away outward show or pride; only genuine devotion ascends to God (Micah 6:8; Proverbs 16:18). • Both acts echo the demand for purity seen elsewhere: leaven removed at Passover (Exodus 12:15) and “old leaven” purged from the church (1 Corinthians 5:7). Foreshadowing Christ • The unwanted parts are carried to the place for ashes—paralleling Jesus bearing our uncleanness “outside the camp” (Hebrews 13:11-12). • His self-offering was “without blemish to God” (Hebrews 9:14); He removed our defilement so that our worship can be accepted. Practical Takeaways Today • Regularly let God expose and cut away thoughts, habits, or affections that spoil the fragrance of worship (2 Corinthians 7:1). • Approach Him with humility, not the “feathers” of self-promotion. • Offer bodies and lives as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1), confident that through Christ the Father still delights in a pure, wholehearted offering. |
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