The Alternative Offering of Birds (Leviticus 1:14-17).
A further offering was available as an alternative for the poorer members of the community. It differs in presentation because of the nature of the offering but for all practical purposes it follows the pattern already described. Only the differences are emphasised. We may therefore again assume the general pattern, including probably the hand laid on for identification.
‘And if his oblation to Yahweh be a burnt-offering of birds, then he shall offer his oblation of turtle-doves, or of pigeons.'
The type of birds that may be offered are prescribed, either two turtle-doves or two young pigeons. Both were edible birds and may well have been reared domestically, although wild doves and pigeons lived in the hilly country in Palestine. Thus they were available to anyone at the cost of obtaining them. The dove especially was a bird of peace, thus symbolising the prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)
‘And the priest shall bring it to the altar, and wring off its head, and burn it on the altar; and its blood shall be drained out on the flat side of the altar, and he shall take away its crop with its contents (waste material, filth), and cast it beside the altar on the east part, in the place of the ashes,'
In this case the actual slaughter is carried out by the priest. This was because, in view of the smallness of the offering, the limited amount of blood was more easily dealt with in this way, and the slaughter was quick and easy. Having been ‘identified' with the offerer the bird is brought to the altar, its head wrung off and burned on the altar, and its blood drained off on the side of the altar. The crop and its contents (‘its waste material') were thrown into the ash pit which was available for the fat impregnated ashes to the east of the altar. (‘Feathers' (LXX) is an alternative possible translation instead of ‘contents, waste material'. The word occurs only here but see Ezekiel 17:3; Ezekiel 17:7 for an almost parallel word rendered feathers).
So the unclean parts are removed before the birds are offered up, a reminder that when we offer ourselves up to God we must first ensure that any uncleanness within our hearts is dealt with by the blood of Christ (1 John 1:7) while we are making our offering.
‘And he shall rend it by its wings, but shall not divide it in two; and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt-offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasing odour to Yahweh.'
Each dead bird was then to be ‘torn by its wings', but not to be totally split, after which it was burned on the wood on the altar which was over the fire. The rending is presumably to reveal its innards (which were too small to wash, unless that is the purpose of the rending), but it is interesting that it is not to be torn in two. It is not mimicking Genesis 15. It is a whole offering. The purpose would seem to be in order to stress that both the inner and the outer was offered to Yahweh. It is an offering of the whole. It was laid bare before God. Nothing is to be hidden from or withheld from God.
In the same way when Jesus Christ was offered nothing was hidden. He was, as it were, torn open and laid bare before God. And He was found perfect, and therefore fully satisfactory so that He could make possible our approach to God, by His righteousness being put to our account. His holiness, together with His death, neutralised our sin as He bore it on Himself. In the same way also, when we bring our lives to God, nothing must be allowed to be hidden. Our inmost hearts too must be laid bare. But in our case the crop and what is unclean must be removed by forgiveness and atonement.
“It is a whole burnt-offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasing odour to Yahweh.” This offering is as acceptable to Yahweh as a bull-ox, because He sees the heart of the offerer. That it is a fire-offering stresses that it is purified and wholly burnt up. And if the heart is right the offering smells pleasing to Him.