Burnt Offerings Meaning & The Bible

This post covers what is burnt offering, the through meaning, bible verses/ scriptures about burnt offering.

What is Burnt Offerings?

The burnt offering is in one sense the most “complete” of all the sacrifices offered to God. In every other type of offering, only a small portion is burnt on the altar. The rest is consumed by the priests, sometimes shared with those who brought the offering. But the burnt offering is to be entirely consumed by flame, as a “sweet aroma to the Lord” (Leviticus 1:9, 13, 17).

It is commonly called the burnt offering, but sometimes the whole burnt offering. The reason “whole” is added is because other offerings are burned on the altar but not the whole animal.

Leviticus 1:2-4 2. “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: “When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of the livestock—of the herd and of the flock. 3. “If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD. 4. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.

Meaning of the Burnt Offering

In Leviticus 1, The burnt offering had to be first cut into pieces to ensure that there was no defect in any part of it and then it was offered. People could offer a bullock or a sheep or a goat or even a dove or a pigeon, according to their financial ability. But each offering had to be without any blemish or defect. The burnt offering is a picture of the way Jesus presented His body throughout His earthly life to His Father – and then finally on the cross as well. All through His earthly life, He kept His body perfectly pure in every temptation before He presented it to His Father as a sacrifice on the cross.

God would not have accepted Jesus’ offering up of Himself on the cross if there was a single spot in His earthly life during the previous 33½ years. This was why when He was hungry; He did not turn the stones into bread. That would have been a sin, because the Father had not told Him to do it. His life was one of total dependence and total obedience. Jesus never did anything without the Father’s prompting, even if it appeared to be a harmless thing like turning stones into bread to satisfy one’s hunger! That is the standard of obedience to which God calls us. And that is why Jesus’ life was so triumphant. And why the Father was so delighted with Him.

Some Bible Verses on Burnt Offerings

Deuteronomy 33:10

“They shall teach Your ordinances to Jacob, And Your law to Israel. They shall put incense before You, And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.

Psalm 66:13

I shall come into Your house with burnt offerings; I shall pay You my vows,

1 Samuel 7:9

Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel and the Lord answered him.

Psalm 51:19

Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;

Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

Genesis 8:20

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Genesis 22:2-8

He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance.read more.

Exodus 10:25

But Moses said, “You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice them to the Lord our God.

Exodus 18:12

Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

Exodus 20:24

You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.

Exodus 24:5

He sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord.

Job 1:5

When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.

Leviticus 1:1-17

Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When any man of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd or the flock. If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord.read more.

Leviticus 6:8-13

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law for the burnt offering: the burnt offering itself shall remain on the hearth on the altar all night until the morning, and the fire on the altar is to be kept burning on it. The priest is to put on his linen robe, and he shall put on undergarments next to his flesh; and he shall take up the ashes to which the fire reduces the burnt offering on the altar and place them beside the altar.read more.

Leviticus 7:8

Also the priest who presents any man’s burnt offering, that priest shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has presented.

Malachi 1:8

But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?” says the Lord of hosts.

Numbers 28:9-10

‘Then on the sabbath day two male lambs one year old without defect, and two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering: This is the burnt offering of every sabbath in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.