Sacrifices (The Five Offerings)

God did not ask for sacrifices because He was in need. Sacrifices were not meant to be food for God; in His presence, they served as a symbol. It was not God who truly needed the sacrifices, but humanity. Because of His holiness and justice, God instituted sacrifices as a way to redeem humanity, giving people a chance to repent and be saved. Whether it was an ox, a lamb, a dove, fine flour, or the first fruits of the field, these offerings prefigured Christ, signifying His substitutionary death for us.

Therefore, the five offerings—the burnt offering, the grain offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the guilt offering—all have a special, prefigurative meaning. They clearly demonstrate God’s salvation and the Lord Jesus’s redemption.

God chose clean animals such as cattle, sheep, doves, and turtledoves as sacrificial animals. For crops, He chose fine, smooth, snow-white flour. The sacrifices also had to be without blemish or defect. “Do not offer to the Lord any animal that is blind, injured or maimed, or has a running sore or festering or open sores; do not offer any of these on the altar as a food offering to the Lord” (Leviticus 22:22, Deuteronomy 17:1). “Such animals are… not acceptable” (Leviticus 22:25). Our Lord was perfect and without blemish, and He lived a sinless life. Therefore, the sacrifices that prefigured Him were required to have the same characteristics.

(Compiled and edited based on the Chinese Union Version and a comprehensive biblical interpretation.)