John Calvin Commentary Leviticus 1

And the Lord called to Moses.

In these seven chapters, Moses will generally discuss the sacrifices. But since we read of many things here whose use has passed away, and others whose grounds I do not understand, I intend to content myself with a brief summary. From this summary, however, the reader may fully perceive that whatever has been left to us concerning the legal sacrifices is still profitable, provided we are not overly curious.

Let those who choose to hunt for allegories receive the praise they seek; my object is only to benefit my readers, and it will be sufficient to briefly summarize what I think is useful to be known.

Although only burnt offerings are treated in this chapter, the rule laid down concerning them has a more extensive application. Moses teaches what animals God desired to be offered to Him, so that they might be acceptable, and also by whom and with what ceremonies they were to be offered. He enumerates three kinds: from the herd, from the flocks, and from fowls. The case of the red heifer, from which the ashes of atonement were made, was different and unique. Here, the question concerns the ordinary sacrifices by which private individuals used either to atone for their sins or to testify to their piety.

He commands, therefore, that the cattle, as well as the lambs and kids, should be males, and also perfect and free from all blemish. We see, then, that only clean animals were chosen for the sacrifices. Again, not all clean animals pleased God, but only domestic ones, such as allow themselves to be directed by the hand and will of men. For, though deer and roes are sometimes tamed, God did not admit them to His altar. This, then, was the first rule of obedience: that men should not indiscriminately offer this or that victim, but bulls or bull-calves from their herds, and male lambs or kids from their flocks.

Freedom from blemish is required for two reasons. First, since the sacrifices were types of Christ, it was fitting that in all of them His complete perfection, by which His heavenly Father was to be propitiated, should be represented. Second, the Israelites were reminded that all uncleanness was repudiated by God, so that His service would not be polluted by their impurity.

But while God exhorted them to cultivate true sincerity, He also abundantly taught them that unless they directed their faith to Christ, whatever came from them would be rejected. For the purity of a brute animal would not have satisfied Him if it had not represented something better.

In the second place, it is prescribed that whoever presented a burnt offering should lay his hand on its head, after he had come near the door of the tabernacle. This ceremony was not only a sign of consecration but also of its being an atonement,²⁴⁹ since it was substituted for the man, as is expressed in the words of Moses: And it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him (Leviticus 1:4).

There is, then, not the least doubt that they transferred their guilt and whatever penalties they had deserved to the victims, so that they might be reconciled to God. Now, since this promise could not have been in any way deceptive, it must be concluded that in the ancient sacrifices there was a price of satisfaction which would release them from guilt and blame in the judgment of God. Yet, this was not as though these brute animals were sufficient in themselves for expiation, except insofar as they were testimonies of the grace to be manifested by Christ.

Thus, the ancients were reconciled to God in a sacramental manner by the victims, just as we are now cleansed through baptism. Hence it follows that these symbols were useful only as they were exercises for faith and repentance, so that the sinner might learn to fear God’s wrath and to seek pardon in Christ.

And he shall kill the bullock. The ceremony of killing is further described, namely, that the priest should prepare the victim itself and pour its blood upon the altar. This was because it was not permissible for a private individual to kill the victim with his own hands; instead, what the priest did in their name was credited to them.²⁵⁰

However, it is worth noting that although they brought the pledge of reconciliation from their own homes, the ministers of expiation had to be sought elsewhere. No one was qualified for such a distinguished office except one who was graced by the holy anointing of God. It was, therefore, clearly shown that all mortals are unworthy to approach God to propitiate Him, and that the hands of all are, in a way, polluted or profane, except those that God Himself has purged.

For the honor of sacrificing came only from the grace of the Spirit, for which the external anointing was a pledge. We now understand how it was that individuals offered sacrifices to God, and yet the priest alone performed this office.

The altar was sprinkled with the blood so that the people would know that the blood poured from the victim did not fall on the ground but was consecrated to God and gave off, as it were, a sweet savor—just as the blood of Christ now appears before His face. I will not discuss the rest, since it does not seem worthwhile to elaborate on the third kind of offering, i.e., of birds.

Yet we must remember that up to this point, Moses only speaks of the burnt offerings, whose flesh was entirely burned; for this was not the case with all offerings, as we shall see later. Although, then, it is twice said that the priests shall lay the parts, the head and the fat, etc., we must not understand this to mean that he only commanded the fat and the head to be burned, but rather that nothing was to be left except the skin.

Some think that פדר pheder,²⁵¹ is a severed head, and I do not reject their opinion, as long as we do not exclude the fat. Whatever was unclean in the victim, God required it to be washed, so that it would not contaminate the offering.

The question now arises why it was burned, either wholly or partially. My own opinion is that by the fire, the efficacy of the Spirit is represented, on which all the benefit of the sacrifices depends. For unless Christ had suffered in the Spirit, He would not have been a propitiatory sacrifice.

Fire, then, was like the seasoning that gave their true savor to the sacrifices, because the blood of Christ was to be consecrated by the Spirit, so that it might cleanse us from all the stains of our sins. God intended this to be more fully represented in the burnt offerings, yet no victim was offered of which some part was not consumed by fire.