What is the meaning of Leviticus 9:10? On the altar Leviticus 9:10 opens with the location. Everything that follows happens “on the altar,” the spot God set apart for substitutionary sacrifice. • Exodus 29:37 reminds us, “For seven days you are to make atonement for the altar and consecrate it; then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches the altar must be holy.” The altar itself is holy not because of its materials, but because God declared it so. • Hebrews 13:10 points ahead: “We have an altar from which those who serve at the tabernacle have no right to eat.” The New Covenant altar is spiritual, yet the principle stands—God meets His people at a consecrated place of sacrifice. The verse’s first words tell us that forgiveness and fellowship begin where God says, not where we invent. he burned To “burn” here is to offer completely to God. Fire consumes what is laid down, signifying total surrender. • Leviticus 1:9 uses the same language: “He shall burn all of it on the altar… a pleasing aroma to the LORD.” • Hebrews 9:14 shows the ultimate fulfillment: Christ “offered Himself unblemished to God,” the perfect once-for-all offering. The priest’s action models wholehearted devotion; no half measures belong on God’s altar. the fat, the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver God singles out these inner parts for burning. Why? • The fat symbolizes richness and energy—what is best (cf. Leviticus 3:16, “all the fat is the LORD’s”). • Kidneys and liver are hidden organs that purify and filter. Offering them pictures God’s claim on the deepest motives and desires. • Leviticus 3:4-5 repeats the command: “The priest shall burn them on the altar… a pleasing aroma.” By specifying internal organs, the Lord teaches that true atonement reaches the heart, not merely external behavior. from the sin offering This isn’t any sacrifice; it is the sin offering, designed to remove guilt. • Leviticus 4:35 explains, “In this way the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.” • Hebrews 10:12 connects the type to the antitype: “When this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.” Every aspect of the ritual drives home the cost of sin and the grace of atonement God provides. as the LORD had commanded Moses The verse ends by stressing obedience. The priest’s worship is acceptable only because it follows God’s revealed pattern. • Exodus 40:16 testifies, “Moses did everything just as the LORD had commanded him.” • John 14:15 affirms the principle for every believer: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Genuine worship isn’t creative self-expression; it is loving submission to God’s word. summary Leviticus 9:10 shows a priest offering specific inner parts of the sin offering on God’s consecrated altar, doing exactly what God commanded. The scene teaches that: • Forgiveness starts where God appoints it—at the altar of sacrifice. • Atonement requires total, wholehearted surrender. • God claims not just outward acts but the hidden depths of the heart. • Sin is costly, yet God graciously provides a substitute. • Obedience to God’s revealed instructions is the only acceptable path of worship. The verse, though brief, directs our eyes to the perfect sacrifice of Christ and calls us to respond with reverent, obedient devotion. |
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