The Role Of The Worshiper In Old Testament Sacrificial Ritual

The procedural order of sacrificial worship outlined in the following paragraphs is a reconstruction based on the prescriptions for the offerings and sacrifices set forth in Leviticus 1–5 Details may vary given the specific type of sacrifice being presented, whether offerings of expiation, offerings of consecration, or offerings of fellowship.

Step 1.

The person offering the sacrifice must be ceremonially clean. Ritual purity was secured by washing one's clothes and bathing, and in some cases special offerings were presented to the priest (cf. Num. 19:17–21).

Step 2.

The worshiper approached the tabernacle with his or her offering.

Step 3.

The officiating priest received the worshiper, took the sacrificial (animal) victim, and led the worshiper to the altar of burnt offering in the tabernacle courtyard. The family of the worshiper may have watched from the gate or followed the two into the court area to observe from a better vantage point.

Step 4.

After a statement of confession, a prayer, or praise (depending on the type of offering), the worshiper placed his hand on the (animal) victim's head and slit its throat with a knife. (Here the priest would collect the blood to be used in the sacrifice.)

Step 5.

The worshiper, perhaps with the priest's help, would then skin the animal and cut it into quarters. (Once the sacrifice was brought into contact with the altar of burnt offering, the formal priestly duties commenced.)

Step 6.

The worshiper witnessed the priestly activity, including burning the sacrifice on the altar. The worshiper may have responded to the priestly activity in some way, for instance with prayer, silent reflection and meditation, chanting, or singing of liturgical responses (depending on the nature of the sacrifice).

Step 7.

After the sacrifice was consumed by fire on the altar, the priest formally dismissed the worshiper with some type of blessing or benediction. In some instances, the worshiper ate a fellowship meal with the priest from the remnant of the sacrificial animal upon completion of the burnt offering. In other cases the remainder of the sacrificial animal was taken home and eaten by the worshiper and his family. The remaining portions of the sacrifice were to be eaten within two days or destroyed by fire (cf. Lev. 19:5–8).