What is the meaning of Leviticus 7:38? Which the LORD gave - The verse begins by underscoring that the instructions for sacrifices originated with the LORD Himself, not human tradition (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21). - Because they are God-given, the offerings carry His authority and reveal His character—holy, orderly, merciful (Deuteronomy 4:1-2). - This reminder also ties the details of Leviticus back to the covenant promises first spoken in Exodus 20:1 and reaffirmed in Exodus 25:40. Moses on Mount Sinai - God chose Moses as the covenant mediator (Exodus 19:3-6; Deuteronomy 5:2). - Mount Sinai was where God’s presence descended in fire and cloud, marking these laws as coming from the same voice that thundered the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:12; Hebrews 12:18-21). - John 1:17 notes that “the Law was given through Moses,” linking Sinai to the unfolding plan that would ultimately point to Christ. On the day He commanded the Israelites - “The day” anchors the commandments in real time and history: they were delivered on a definite occasion, not gradually invented (Exodus 24:3-8). - That same day set Israel apart as a nation under covenant obligation (Leviticus 8:34-35). - The immediacy recalls the urgency of obedience; God speaks, His people respond (Psalm 95:7-8). To present their offerings to the LORD - Offerings were God’s gracious means for sinful people to approach Him (Leviticus 1:3-4; Hebrews 9:22). - Each sacrifice—burnt, grain, fellowship, sin, guilt—taught facets of atonement, gratitude, and fellowship (Leviticus 1–7; Hebrews 10:1-10). - Ultimately, they foreshadowed the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God (John 1:29; Ephesians 5:2). - Even today, believers are called to present themselves as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1). In the Wilderness of Sinai - The location reminds us that God met His people in a barren place, sustaining and shaping them before they entered the land (Exodus 19:1; Numbers 1:1). - The wilderness became a classroom of dependence, testing, and revelation (Deuteronomy 8:2-5). - God’s presence in the desert assures believers that He still guides and provides in life’s “wilderness” seasons (Isaiah 43:19). summary Leviticus 7:38 grounds the sacrificial system in five anchors: it was given by the LORD, through Moses, at a fixed historical moment, for the purpose of ordered worship, and in a wilderness context that highlighted God’s sustaining grace. The verse affirms Scripture’s divine origin and shows how every detail of the Law pointed ahead to the ultimate offering of Christ, inviting God’s people—then and now—to respond with wholehearted obedience and gratitude. |
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