You are to lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you. The hand-laying that was established in the ordination of the priests (Exodus 29:10) is now required of every Israelite offerer: the worshipper lays their hand on the animal's head in an act of identification and transfer. The animal that will be consumed on the altar is the animal with which the worshipper has identified. The substitutionary principle is stated explicitly: accepted on your behalf, to make atonement for you. Romans 5:11 says we have received atonement through Christ — the hand-laying of Leviticus 1:4 is the Old Testament gesture for the faith-union that Romans describes.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Publish a note on this verse