He Shall Lay His Hand On The Head

“He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.”

There are three things to notice immediately in this verse. First, the idea of identification is present. The one making the offering lays his hand on the head of his sacrifice. Second, the idea of substitution is also present. His offering is accepted in his place. Third, atonement is accomplished. The ideas of identification, substitution and atonement are crucial to the doctrine of salvation.

The book of Leviticus is divided into two major sections. First, chapters 1–16 focus on the way we have access to God. It is through biblical worship. By biblical I mean the way God has stipulated. Second, chapters 17–27 focus on how to be acceptable to God. This is through obedience to biblical prescriptions. We are to approach God in the way he has commanded. We have access to God, if this is according to his commands. We walk before him according to his laws.

Worship in Leviticus required sacrifice. In order to approach God there had to be an acceptable sacrifice. You could not bring any sacrifice. It had to be one of the sacrifices or offerings that God had stipulated. The laws for sacrifice are in chapters 1–7. There are special requirements for the people, and for the priests. The acceptable sacrifices are as follows: burnt offering, grain offerings, peace offerings, and sin offerings. There are specific instructions for each offering. Israel had to be careful to follow these instructions. The emphasis is on the fact that we cannot worship God as we determine or like. God must be worshiped according to his rules.

Cain failed to worship God as required. He certainly knew the standard and what was required of him, but he worshiped in his own way (Gen. 4:1–7). Nadab and Abihu knew what was required. They were the sons of Aaron, but according to Leviticus 10:1, 2, they offered strange fire or unauthorized fire before the Lord. Fire came from God and consumed them. The New Testament records a similar event in the Early Church when Ananias and Sapphira lied about the sale of their property (Acts 5:1–11). The result of their deaths was that great fear came upon the whole church and all who heard about what had happened. Peter says they had lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3, 9). The Bible teaches that the only way to approach God is through sacrifice. Not just any sacrifice, but a sacrifice where blood is shed. Hebrews 9:22 says “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” In the Old Testament, the sacrifice was an animal. The animal could be a lamb, a ram, a goat, a bull, a pigeon or a dove. In every case, the animal’s blood was required. Without blood being shed there was no forgiveness.

Our verse says that atonement was made for the person making the offering. Atonement was tied to the shedding of blood. There were some offerings that did not require the shedding of blood. The shedding of blood has to do primarily with personal sin. Atonement obviously carried the idea of forgiveness with it. The word used for atonement means “to cover.” Psalm 32:1 says “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” In the Old Testament, the sacrifices only temporarily covered the sins of the people. They did not remove the sins or eliminate judgment. Hebrews 10:4 says “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” The offerings in Leviticus point to the death of Christ. The burnt offering points to actual atonement because Jesus is unblemished, therefore, he can pay for our sins with his blood. His sacrifice is the sacrifice God accepts on our behalf. The grain offering is about consecration. Jesus was completely dedicated to the Father’s will. The peace offering points to reconciliation. We are now at peace with God because Jesus is our peace. The sin offering reminds us that God’s justice needs satisfying. His wrath must be poured out on the sinner. God cannot excuse sin. He must punish sin. So our Lord Jesus Christ makes satisfaction in his substitutionary death for us. This is propitiation. Propitiation means that God’s wrath is appeased. Expiation usually refers to the removal of sin. The guilt offering reminds us that repentance is necessary. Since Christ has paid for all our sin, we must turn from our sins.

The burnt offering in Leviticus 1 was to be without blemish. There could be no defilement in the sacrifice, even though the person who made the sacrifice was defiled. To offer a defiled or sub-standard sacrifice would be unacceptable to God. The priest was to inspect the animal when presented to him. The sinful person would place his hands on the sacrifice’s head. This was a symbolic gesture connecting him to the sacrifice. He was identifying with the sacrifice. He probably would make a request for forgiveness with a prayer of repentance. This identification is important. We are to identify with Jesus. This means that we recognize that our sins were laid on him. A transfer has taken place. God punishes Jesus because sin has been laid upon him. This is the imputation of our sins to Christ. We confess that it is our sin.

But we also recognize that Jesus took our place. He is our sin-bearer. He is our substitute. Substitution is a very important truth in the atonement. First Peter 2:24 says “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” Second Corinthians 5:21 says the same thing, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” This was a declaration to the sinner that his sins were forgiven, because an unblemished sacrifice was offered in his stead. Atonement had been made and secured (Lev. 1:4).

The word “atonement” occurs in Leviticus some 50 times out of about 90 occurrences in the Bible. That’s more than 50 percent. The KJV uses the word “atonement” in Romans 5:11 where it is translated by other versions as “reconciliation.” Reconciliation points to the reestablishment of friendly relations. We have been reconciled to God through Jesus (2 Cor. 5:18). This refers to Jesus’ death in our place. We are reconciled by his death. Colossians 1:20 points out that our reconciliation is by the blood of his cross. The result is peace with God. So the sinner in Leviticus could walk away from his sacrifice restored to fellowship with God. His reconciliation, however, would be short-lived if he sinned. He would have to bring another sacrifice and go through the whole process again. Our reconciliation, however, is a permanent reconciliation. Jesus is the once-for-all sacrifice. He does not need to keep on offering himself (Heb. 9:25, 26; 10:1–14).

The Old Testament is full of types of Christ. The Levitical offerings all point to Jesus’ atoning sacrifice. The Cross is at the center of all God’s dealings with us. It is a solemn work. We stand amazed at the work of Christ on our behalf. When the time was right, Jesus came forth to give himself a ransom for us. He fulfills all the covenant obligations as our representative. All that Adam failed to do, Jesus has done. He is the mediator of the New Covenant, which has better promises than the old. Jesus fulfills this work as our Prophet, Priest and King. We have been made holy through his offering once for all (Heb. 10:10). Without the Cross, all humanity must perish. Sin destroys, Jesus restores! We must identify with our Substitute. He has made atonement for us. Our sins are forgiven. Live in the light of that!