“He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.” Leviticus 1:4
Today, we start the 3rd Book of The Old Testament, Leviticus. Moses begins by giving instruction regarding the various Offerings. He says here in Chapter 1, “When anyone of you brings an offering to the Lord”, and continues on for the next 3 chapters. We see that these mainly are animals from the Flock (sheep and goats) or from the Herd (cattle), and at varying ages. He addresses the various types of Offerings, Burnt, Peace, and Sin, and the various Individuals or Groups they are offered for. But they all had one requirement in common; they were to “lay their hand on the head of” the Offering.
Why was that?
At the end of Today’s Verse we are given some insight; “that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf”. It had to do with Sin and Forgiveness. In a Nutshell, this was Substitutionary Atonement; the Innocent Victim (the Animal) takes the place of the Guilty Sinner (the Jew). Moses addresses this at the end of Chapter 4 where we read, “Thus the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven”. But also notice in Today’s Verse, the “Identification” with the animal; “He shall lay his hand on the head”. Ownership of Sin needs to takes place. The heart should cry out, “This Should Be Me”! Beyond the aspect of the Sacrifice of the Innocent for the Guilty, this addresses the need for Repentance. Though the Jews could go through the motion of offering an Animal on their behalf without being impacted, placing their hand on the head of the Animal while its throat was slit, gave them extra impetus!
Isn’t The Imagery Clear? The Innocent Lamb of God is Sacrificed on our behalf as we realize, “that should be me on that cross”! And thus, we are Forgiven and Cleansed from our Sins!