Can you imagine what it must have been like for the Israelites when they made a burnt offering. They had to take one of their best animals and offer it on an altar in the tabernacle or temple. The Bible says it had to be without blemish. This means it wasn’t allowed to have a misshaped ear or crooked leg. They had to bring this bull to the priest who would kill it. Then he would take some of the blood of the animal and sprinkle it on and around the altar. Next the animal would be cut into smaller pieces and placed on the fire that was on the altar and the animal would have to be burnt completely. To us, all this blood and awful smell of burning animals seems so gross, but the Bible says that it was a sweet aroma to the Lord.

What did this sacrifice mean? It was teaching the Israelites how sinful they were. God hates sin. God is very angry with all our sins. And the Bible says that sin must be punished with death.

But we don’t want to die do we? We don’t want our sins to stop us having a relationship with God. The good news is that God has made a way possible for us to live with him. He has made a way for Someone else to die instead of us. That Person is Jesus Christ our Lord. He died instead of us. God’s anger at our sins means we should be killed or sent to eternal hell, but instead, Jesus died for us and now we can continue to live with God.

That’s what the burnt offering pointed to. Jesus hadn’t come yet in the Old Testament and so they had to offer an animal to pay for their sins. The animal had to be totally burnt to show that really they should have been burnt because of their sins. They deserved death, but God lovingly said that an animal could die instead of them.

What a loving God we have, a God who sent Jesus to die instead of us.

Reflection with your child:

Why did the animal on the burnt offering have to be burnt completely?