Why was burnt offerings performed in the bible?

Answer 1

Christian View

Animal sacrifices were required until their seed would come (Jesus Christ), he was the only perfect man to make up for what Adam lost. Romans 5:12, 15 But Until that time would come Jews had to make sacrifices for their sins and to prepare them for the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:19-25 Explains: 19Why, then, the Law? It was added to make transgressions manifest, until the seed should arrive to whom the promise had been made; and it was transmitted through angels by the hand of a mediator. 20Now there is no mediator where only one person is concerned, but God is only one. 21Is the Law, therefore, against the promises of God? May that never happen! For if a law had been given that was able to give life, righteousness would actually have been by means of law. 22But the Scripture delivered up all things together to the custody of sin, that the promise resulting from faith toward Jesus Christ might be given to those exercising faith. 23However, before the faith arrived, we were being guarded under law, being delivered up together into custody, looking to the faith that was destined to be revealed. 24Consequently the Law has become our tutor leading to Christ, that we might be declared righteous due to faith. 25But now that the faith has arrived, we are no longer under a tutor.

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Jewish view

One of the topics in the Torah (Leviticus ch.1-8) is that of sacrifices. Since the Holy Temple doesn't exist today, we don't now offer sacrifices. In earlier times, sacrifices were one of the ways of serving God; a type of physical prayer. They consisted of bullocks, goats, sheep, rams, turtle-doves, or fine flour, accompanied by an offering of oil and of wine (see Numbers ch.15).

Answer 2

A:It was normal practice for the ancients to offer animal sacrifices to their gods, in the hope that this would gain their favour so that wishes would be granted. The Israelites and Jews were no different.

Christian Answer:

Approximately one year after leaving Egypt, God established the Sacrificial Laws to help remind the people of their shortcomings (sins) and keeping God in the forefront of their minds. It was to point to the greatest sacrifice to ever be made by His Son, Jesus Christ, for the redemption of all mankind.

There are several places in Scripture where God tells the people that He is not pleased with the blood of animal sacrifice as that could not truly wash away sin/guilt of the people and restore our path to Him. Only via Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection could mankind be saved. Upon His resurrection and acceptance by the Father, the need of the Sacrificial Laws ended.

Jewish answer:

One of the topics in the Torah (Leviticus ch.1-8) is that of sacrifices. Since the Holy Temple doesn't exist today, we don't now offer sacrifices. In earlier times, sacrifices were one of the ways of serving God; a type of manifest prayer. They consisted of bullocks, goats, sheep, rams, turtle-doves, or fine flour, accompanied by an offering of oil and of wine (see Numbers ch.15). Some offerings were obligatory and some were voluntary; some were for the individual and some were for the public. There was one offering which was intended to provide merit for the non-Jewish nations as well.

Some of the ideas included in the sacrifices are: gratitude (the Shelamim-offering, Leviticus ch.3), dedication to God (the Olah-offering, Leviticus ch.1), celebration (the Hagigah-offering during Festivals), atonement (the sin-offerings, Leviticus ch.4-5), and public worship (the offerings in Numbers ch.28-9).

Our traditions teach that as long as the sacrifices were offered in the Temple, the world was blessed (Talmud, Ketubot 10b) and atoned for (Sukkah 55b).

Some people have a misconception that the Prophets were not in favor of sacrifices. This is a mistake. The same Prophet Samuel who said that obedience is more important than offerings (1 Samuel ch.15), himself offered up sacrifices to God (1 Samuel ch.13).

What the Prophets meant was that repentance and obedience to God are essential; they should accompany the sacrifices (Talmud, Berakhot 23a) and cannot be replaced by the sacrifices (or anything else). All of the offerings are intended to be part of a process of drawing near to God. This ideal of offerings together with repentance is explained in the Talmud as well (Berakhot 23a). The Talmud adds that, similar to the offerings, Torah-study and repentance also must go hand in hand (Berakhot 17a).

Another misconception is that Judaism changed after the Temple's destruction, and turned from a sacrifice-centered religion to a focus on prayer. It should be pointed out that Jews always worshiped in synagogues, even when the Holy Temple stood. Even within the Temple premises, there were several synagogues. During the Second Temple era, ancient Greek authors attest to the large synagogues that stood in all the countries where Jews lived. The Dioploston in Alexandria, for example, was famous for its size (Talmud, Tosefta Sukkah 4:6). In First Temple times also, synagogues served the same function that they do today (Talmud, Megillah 26b and Berakhot 31a).

Answer 3

They were performed both as a gift and offering to God:

And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. (Exodus 29.18)

and also as an atonement for sin:

And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him (Leviticus 1.4)

But now, of course, Jesus Christ is our atonement:

For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp.

Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. (Hebrews 13.11,12)

Answer 4

Animal sacrifices represented many things. The most well known sacrifice today

was to offer an animal as an atonement of sin to God...i.e. the animals were being

sacrificed as a way of asking forgiveness from God. Sacrifices were also made as a

way of becoming closer to God, during holidays, as a way of being cleansed from

impurities...the reasons for offering sacrifice were numerous. It is also important to

remember that non-animal sacrifices such as food were also given.

And it is equally important to remember that not-quite-but-almost all of the so-called

'sacrifices' were eaten by the individual or family offering them, and by the priests

(Cohens). With that in mind, we recognize that an animal sacrifice represented an

opportunity to enjoy a good piece of grilled meat, exactly as most people do today

but with the currently-out-of-vogue added dimensions of spirituality and gratitude.

Answer 5

In the Old Testament God require many different sacrifices to cover many different sins the people committed. These sacrifices were only a temporary covering for sin.

What else could the Israelites use for a sacrifice? Certainly not a human one. That would be murder. Animals and birds were used. Animals like lambs, sheep, goats, the Red heifer, doves, pigeons etc.

When the time was right God send his Son, Jesus Christ into the world to be the one and only sacrifice for sin. Jesus came to earth to die for mankind's sin and He only had to die once to take away the sin of the world instead of repeating the animal sacrifices day after day to just cover sin for a short time. Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day. Jesus' sacrifice was a perfect sacrifice.

All men are sinners (Romans 3:23). And the wages of sin is death ( Romans 6:23a). But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23b) Romans 10:9-10 tells us, " That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Answer 6

The offering of animal sacrifices and wine libations was a common practice throughout the Near East and Mediterranean regions in antiquity. The Israelites followed this practice, believing that God would be pleased at receiving animal sacrifices or offerings of wine and other farm produce.

Answer 7

As the Israelites were God's chosen peoples, they were just as 'forgetful' as all humans and had the propensity to divert away from God's Law given to them via Moses about one year earlier in the desert (eventually resulting in the 722-718 BC captivity of Northern Kingdom of Israel and the circa 586 BC captivity of the Southern Kingdom of Judah).

God then gave them the 'Sacrificial' laws in order to remind them (some say it was 'busy work' as no sacrifice could remove the guilt of sin) of their unique calling out and also to help point to the future sacrifice of the Word who became His Son - these sacrificial laws would direct religious observance in Israel until Jesus Christ's first coming and sacrificial death (our Passover Lamb) became the fulfillment of the imagery of those ceremonial laws (suggested reading: Jeremiah 7:21-24; Hebrews 9:9 and 10:1-2; Galatians 3:19-23).

Answer 8

Because God commanded it. One of the topics in the Torah (Leviticus ch.1-8) is that of sacrifices. Since the Holy Temple doesn't exist today, we don't now offer sacrifices. In earlier times, sacrifices were one of the ways of serving God; a type of manifest prayer. They consisted of bullocks, goats, sheep, rams, turtle-doves, or fine flour, accompanied by an offering of oil and of wine (see Numbers ch.15). Some offerings were obligatory and some were voluntary; some were for the individual and some were for the public. There was one offering which was intended to provide merit for the non-Jewish nations as well.
Some of the ideas included in the sacrifices are: gratitude (the Shelamim-offering, Leviticus ch.3), dedication to God (the Olah-offering, Leviticus ch.1), celebration (the Hagigah-offering during Festivals), atonement (the sin-offerings, Leviticus ch.4-5), and public worship (the offerings in Numbers ch.28-9).
Our traditions teach that as long as the sacrifices were offered in the Temple, the world was blessed (Talmud, Ketubot 10b) and atoned for (Sukkah 55b).
Some people have a misconception that the Prophets were not in favor of sacrifices. This is a mistake. The same Prophet Samuel who said that obedience is more important than offerings (1 Samuel ch.15), himself offered up sacrifices to God (1 Samuel ch.13).
What the Prophets meant was that repentance and obedience to God are essential; they should accompany the sacrifices and cannot be replaced by the sacrifices (or anything else). All of the offerings are intended to be part of a process of drawing near to God. This ideal of offerings together with repentance is explained in the Talmud as well (Berakhot 23a). The Talmud adds that, similar to the offerings, Torah-study and repentance also must go hand in hand (Berakhot 17a).
Another misconception is that Judaism changed after the Temple's destruction, and turned from a sacrifice-centered religion to a focus on prayer. It should be pointed out that Jews always worshiped in synagogues, even when the Holy Temple stood. Even within the Temple premises, there were several synagogues. During the Second Temple era, ancient Greek authors attest to the large synagogues that stood in all the countries where Jews lived. The Dioploston in Alexandria, for example, was famous for its size (Talmud, Tosefta Sukkah 4:6). In First Temple times also, synagogues served the same function that they do today (Talmud, Megillah 26b and Berakhot 31a).

Answer 9

One of the topics in the Torah (Leviticus ch.1-8) is that of sacrifices. Since the Holy Temple doesn't exist today, we don't now offer sacrifices. In earlier times, sacrifices were one of the ways of serving God; a type of manifest prayer. They consisted of bullocks, goats, sheep, rams, turtle-doves, or fine flour, accompanied by an offering of oil and of wine (see Numbers ch.15).Some offerings were obligatory and some were voluntary; some were for the individual and some were for the public. There was one set of offerings which was intended to provide merit for the non-Jewish nations as well.

Some of the ideas included in the sacrifices are: gratitude (the Shelamim-offering, Leviticus ch.3), dedication to God (the Olah-offering, Leviticus ch.1), celebration (the Hagigah-offering during Festivals), atonement (the sin-offerings, Leviticus ch.4-5), and public worship (the offerings in Numbers ch.28-29).
Our traditions teach that as long as the sacrifices were offered in the Temple, the world was blessed (Talmud, Ketubot 10b) and atoned for (Sukkah 55b).

Note:
Some people have a misconception that the Prophets were not in favor of sacrifices. This is a mistake. The same Prophet Samuel who said that obedience is more important than offerings (1 Samuel ch.15), himself offered up sacrifices to God (1 Samuel ch.13).
What the Prophets meant was that repentance and obedience to God are essential; they shouldaccompany the sacrifices and cannot be replaced by the sacrifices (or anything else). All of the offerings are intended to be part of a process of drawing near to God. This ideal of offerings together with repentance is explained in the Talmud as well (Berakhot 23a). The Talmud adds that, similar to the offerings, Torah-study also needs to be accompanied by repentance (Berakhot 17a).

Another misconception is that Judaism changed after the Temple's destruction, and "turned from a sacrifice-centered religion" to one of prayer. This too is a mistake. Jews always worshiped in synagogues, even when the Holy Temple stood. Within the Temple premises itself, there were several synagogues. During the Second Temple era, ancient Greek authors attest to the large synagogues that stood in all the countries where Jews lived. The Dioploston in Alexandria, for example, was famous for its size (Talmud, Tosefta Sukkah 4:6). In First Temple times also, synagogues served the same function that they do today (Talmud, Megillah 26b and Berakhot 31a).

See also:

Why was the Temple destroyed?

How has Judaism changed?