Birds, A Worthy Replacement || Leviticus 1:14-17 || A Year in Leviticus #4

Welcome to Day 4 of our “A Year in Leviticus” devotional series. We’re going to slow things down in 2025 and spend the year in the book of Leviticus. The goal of this series is to understand its historical context and see how we can apply its teaching today.

Today, we’re focusing on Leviticus 1:14-17. We’re continuing our discussion on the burnt offerings to understand what it means when a bird is sacrificed. Is this even important? Stay tuned to find out.

Leviticus 1:14-17

NASB	NLT	VOICE
14 ‘But if his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering from the turtledoves or from young doves.	14 “If you present a bird as a burnt offering to the Lord, choose either a turtledove or a young pigeon.	14 But if you have no flock or herd of your own, then you may offer Me birds; your offering is to be turtledoves or young pigeons.
15 The priest shall bring it to the altar, and pinch off its head, and offer it up in smoke on the altar; and its blood is to be drained out on the side of the altar.	15 The priest will take the bird to the altar, wring off its head, and burn it on the altar. But he first he must drain its blood against the side of the altar.	15 The priest will take it to the altar, pull off its head, and offer up the sacrifice as smoke on the altar. Its blood will be drained onto the side of the altar.
16 He shall also remove its craw with its feathers and throw it beside the altar eastward, to the place of the fatty ashes.	16 The priests must also remove the crop and the feathers and throw them in the ashes on the east side of the altar.	16 The priest will remove the crop and feathers and toss them on the eastern side of the altar in the ash pile.
17 Then he shall tear it by its wings, but shall not sever it. And the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, on the wood which is one the fire; it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord	17 Then, grasping the bird by its wings, the priest will tear the bird open, but without tearing it apart. Then he will burn it as a burnt offering on the wood burning on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord.	17 Then the priest will tear the bird open by its wings without separating them completely from its body. The priest will offer up the burnt offering as smoke on the wood-fire of the altar, and the smoke of the sacrifice will rise and be a pleasant aroma to Me.

Here’s my breakdown:

• If you don’t have an animal from a flock or herd, then you can use a bird (specifically a turtledove or young dove/pigeon.)
• The priest will take the bird(s) to the altar and take its head off, drain the blood of the bird, and burn it on the altar.
• He will remove the craw (a thin-walled muscular pouch in the bird’s throat that stores food before its digests) and feathers to the east side of the altar, where the ash pile is.
• He will separate the bird by the wings without tearing it apart.
• He will take the prepared bird and burn it.

There are questions I have that I want to discuss with you all and see where it leads us:

• Why a turtledove or a young pigeon?
• Why did the blood have to be drained?
• Why did the craw and feathers have to go to the east side of the altar?

A Turtledove or Pigeon

These birds were used interchangeably in the Bible. Turtledoves migrated during the winter, which I assume is why pigeons were acceptable. However, these two birds have a biblically symbolic meaning:

• Turtledoves stand for chastity, silent prayers, preaching and confession of faith, solitude, and contemplation.
• Pigeons represent simplicity and active living, messiness and realness of life and faith.

When one would take these birds to the altar, they are sacrificing their isolation, current faith posture, chaos of life, and more so that God would forgive them for their sinful behavior that led to their guilt, chaos, and isolation and restore their relationship with them.

Why Did the Blood Have to be Drained?

It comes from the Old Testament belief that the blood is the “life” of the creature. If the blood was drained, the entire animal could be symbolically offered to God as a complete sacrifice. This showed that there was a complete surrender and atonement for sin by the person offering the bird. It stands for the commitment to honoring an intentional, whole-hearted change of heart that turns one away from the sinful nature and toward what it means to follow God.

The East Side of the Altar

The east side of the altar stood for the rising sun (and the later belief of the second coming of Jesus.) The east is associated with the new beginnings, rebirth, and the light of dawn. The ash pile was there because it was the most accessible point to collect and dispose of them. The ash pile showed the tangible perspective of sin being removed.

There’s a new beginning when we repent of our sins. While we might not have the tangible perspective of our repentance like the Jewish people did in Leviticus, we do have the change of heart. The tangible perspective found is our new mindset, a new clarity, a new lifestyle. We change our current ways that cause us to sin to ways that cause us to be more like Jesus to the world around us today.

Using a bird for the burnt offering was a substitute for an animal of the herd or flock. These animals stood for the messiness and chaos of life. The priests would sacrifice his animal in a way that showed complete intentionality and whole-hearted commitment to repentance. The ashes from this offering show us the tangible removal of our sin and the restoration of our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Next time, we begin our discussion on the grain offering. Until then, stay blessed!

• Associated Scripture
  • Lev 1:14
    • Genesis 15:9
• • • Leviticus 12:8
  • Lev 1:15
    • Leviticus 5:9