Sacrifices under the Law of Moses—Six Acts

Animal sacrifices under the law of Moses consisted of a six-part process,272 which focused on Jesus Christ and His Atonement. The accompanying chart lists these six acts, together with a brief explanation for each one.

Action #	Action	Three Acts Conducted by the Worshipper
1	Presentation of the Sacrifice	The worshipper presented the sacrifice at the door of temple or on the north side of the altar (Lev. 1:3; 3:2)
2	Laying on of Hands	The worshipper laid his hands on the sacrifice to consecrate the offering to God and to make the sacrifice the offerer’s substitute (Lev. 1:4; 16:21; Num. 8:10; 27:18, 20)
3	Slaughter of the Animal	The worshipper or priest slaughtered the animal
		Three Acts Conducted by the Priests
4	Sprinkling or Pouring of the Blood	For most animal sacrifices, the priest collected the animal’s blood and sprinkled a portion of it on the sides of the altar and poured the remainder at the altar’s base (Ex. 29:12; Lev. 1:5; 3:2; 4:7; 8:15; Num. 18:17; cf. Lev. 17:11)
5	Burning of the Sacrifice	Depending on the sacrifice, the priest burned all or part of the animal on the altar
6	Partaking of the Sacrificial Meal	Participants of the sacrificial meal included, depending on the sacrifices, (a) Worshippers and priests, in the case of the peace offerings (Lev. 7:11–36); (b) Only the priests and their wives and children (Lev. 10:14; 22:10–12; Num. 18:11–13); (c) Only the priests (Lev. 6:16, 26; 7:6; 24:9)

Note that worshippers conducted acts one through three, and acts four and five pertained to the priests. Act six, partaking of the sacrificial meal, pertained to priests and worshippers.