Leviticus 22: 17-33, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them, Whatsoever he be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, that will offer his oblation for all his vows, and for all his freewill offerings, which they will offer unto the LORD for a burnt offering; Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats. But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you. And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein. Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD. Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. Ye shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land. Neither from a stranger’s hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And whether it be cow or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day. And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will. On the same day it shall be eaten up; ye shall leave none of it until the morrow: I am the LORD. Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the LORD. Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you, That brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD.”
An oblation is simply an offering made to the Lord voluntarily and burnt offerings are offerings that are consumed on the altar. When a person wants to bring an offering to the Lord it is important for that person to bring an offering that has no blemish. An animal or other offering that has a blemish is less valuable than ab offering without any blemish. To offer something that is of lesser value is treating the Lord with contempt and is insulting to Him. On the other hand, before there was sin in the world everything was very good. This tells us that blemishes are the fruit of sin. We also know that God cannot look on iniquity (Hab 1: 13, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:”) This means that a person bringing something that is stained by sin to the Lord as a gift is provoking the Lord. Only a fool would provoke the Lord but the Lord was gracious and made sure that the people would understand what they were doing so that they would not provoke Him.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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