With the setting up of the Tabernacle a new order of worship for Is'ra-el was established. Up to this time Mo'ses alone had been the one through whom God spoke to the people, and who served as their spokesman to God. Now God dwelt among His people in an unseen and mysterious manner, but in a very real sense, in the Holy of Holies. Now there was also provided a means of reaching the LORD every day through the system of sacrificial offerings and ministries of the priesthood, and the people might secure pardon for their sins by offering the sacrifices of repentance.
Just as the moral law had been issued through Mo'ses from Mount Si'nai, so the laws of worship for the system of sacrifices and ceremonies were given from the Tabernacle. Both were given with equal solemnity, and both were equally binding upon the Is'ra-el-ites.
In giving Is'ra-el this code of sacrifices, God provided a way by which His people could always reach Him. From the beginning there had been a feeling in the heart of mankind that some sort of sacrificial offering was needed in the worship of God. This feeling grew out of a sense of sin and need, and the knowledge of obligation to God. It was to meet this sense of sin and need, and to provide for Is'ra-el the sacrifices which foreshadowed the atonement made for all believers by Je'sus Christ, that God gave the Mo-sa'ic, or Aa'ron-ic, system of offerings.
The Divine way for man's approach to God has always been by sacrifice. The objects of the sacrifices appointed for ancient Is'ra-el were the following: to provide a satisfactory way for man to lay his problems before the LORD, to awaken and maintain reverence for God, to secure greater consecration and obedience, and to open a new channel for the expression of man's feelings toward his Maker.
In the Divinely given ritual for the He'brews there were three principal classes of sacrifices: the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the peace offering. In addition, there were several sacrifices of less importance, including the meat offering, the trespass offering, and consecrations of various kinds. These were usually offered in connection with other sacrifices.
The first of these sacrifices, both in the order in which they were given, and in importance, was the burnt offering. Its chief purpose was to make atonement for sin, and thereby to keep open man's channel of communication with God.
The animal to be offered in making this sacrifice must be chosen from the best of the flocks or herds, and must be absolutely free from any flaws or defects. It was entirely consumed by the fire, with no part being withheld from God.
