S5: Day 30: Leviticus 1–3

Summary

Podcast Summary: A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace

Episode: S5: Day 30: Leviticus 1–3
Hosts: Shelby (A) and C.J. Gossage (B)
Date: January 30, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, hosts Shelby and C.J. begin the journey through the book of Leviticus by discussing chapters 1 through 3. Recognizing the challenges and unfamiliarity many readers face with Leviticus, they provide historical context, clarify the purpose of the opening sacrifices, and connect Leviticus’ ancient rituals with modern Christian faith. The central theme is discovering God’s compassion and grace, even within a text often viewed as legalistic or distant.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to Leviticus and the Hosts

• [00:05-00:45] Shelby welcomes C.J. as a new co-host and team editor at The Daily Grace Company.
  • C.J. shares brief background as a new team member and Texan.

2. Leviticus in the Scriptural Narrative

• [01:00-02:01] Shelby asks C.J. to set the stage after Exodus.

  • C.J. explains: Exodus ends with Moses erecting the Tabernacle and God’s presence filling it.
  • Leviticus begins with “now what?”—instructions for how Israel is to approach God through sacrifices in the new Tabernacle.

  “At the very end of Exodus, at the last several verses, God's presence takes up residence in the Tabernacle. And that's kind of where we start in Leviticus. It's like the Tabernacle is up. So now what?” —C.J. [02:01]

3. The First Three Offerings (Leviticus 1–3)

• [02:34-03:56] C.J. clarifies the three voluntary offerings described:

  • Burnt Offering (Lev. 1): Entire animal or most of it offered to God as thanksgiving, gratitude, or worship. Modern analogy: Christian prayer, tithing, or giving.
  • Grain Offering (Lev. 2): Flour and oil mixture (no leaven), given as an act of gratitude or worship.
    • “Shout out to all the sourdough bakers.” —Shelby [03:22]
    • C.J. jokes it’s not quite sourdough, “but a flour and oil mixture… again, a gift or expression of gratitude.” [03:24]
  • Peace Offering (Lev. 3): A shared festive meal symbolizing communion between God, priests, and worshipers.

  “The peace offering, you can think of as a festive meal that takes place between God and the priests and the worshipers… everyone takes a piece and everyone takes a part.” —C.J. [03:56]

4. Relevance for Today

• [04:06-05:01] Shelby notes Christians don’t perform sacrifices—how, then, are these chapters meaningful now?

  • C.J.: Principles remain the same; we give our money, time, and prayers as gratitude and worship. “Think of [the sacrifices] as a way to commune with God.”
  • He encourages viewing these ancient rituals as pointers to communion with God, which Christians now experience through prayer, worship, and Scripture.

  “…the idea is we give our money, our time, our prayers to God as expressions of gratitude and worship… Instead of viewing these as sacrifices in the sense that we just cut up animals and offer them to God, think of them as a way to commune with God.” —C.J. [04:12, 04:53]

5. Key Takeaway: God’s Compassion in Leviticus

• [05:01-05:39] Shelby reflects on the importance of seeking God’s compassion and mercy throughout Leviticus.
  • “It might not always be obvious or… jumping off the page, but I know it’s there…” —Shelby [05:01]

6. Closing Encouragement

• [01:05] C.J. encourages listeners not to give up:
  • “Don’t give up. Push forward. Keep going. Good for you.” —C.J. [01:05]

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Notable Quotes

• “Leviticus is strange and it is difficult… Don't give up. Push forward. Keep going.”
  —C.J. Gossage [01:05]

• “We should view Leviticus, as with all of Scripture, as marked by God's grace and compassion.”
  —C.J. [01:22]

• “Think of [the sacrifices] as a way to commune with God… and that is a way to understand the voluntary offerings in Leviticus 1–3.”
  —C.J. [04:53]

• “Reading through, you might feel so distant or, like, detached from these chapters, but when you explain it in that way, I can see… parallels… in my own life.”
  —Shelby [05:01]

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Segment Timestamps

• 00:05 — Shelby welcomes C.J.; C.J. intro
• 01:00 — Setting the Biblical stage: Exodus to Leviticus
• 02:34 — Overview of Leviticus 1–3: voluntary offerings
• 04:06 — Application to Christian life today
• 05:01 — Takeaway: Finding God’s compassion and mercy in Leviticus
• 05:36 — Closing thoughts

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Episode Tone & Approach

The hosts maintain an encouraging, conversational, and accessible tone. They acknowledge Leviticus’ challenges while inviting listeners to look deeper for God’s compassion and to find relevance for their own faith journeys.

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Summary Takeaway

Leviticus 1–3 details ancient voluntary offerings, which can feel distant but hold rich meaning when viewed as acts of worship and communion with God. The hosts encourage listeners not to be discouraged by the book’s strangeness, but to look for God’s grace throughout—even in the tough passages. Through contextual explanation and practical application, this episode provides reassurance and clarity for all Bible readers navigating Leviticus.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, this is a year in the Bible with Daily Grace. I am Shelby, and I'm here with CJ and we're so excited to walk you through the book of Leviticus. This is a challenging book, but we're also going to learn a lot through it. C.J. you're joining us as a co host on this podcast for the first time. So before we get into talking about Leviticus, can you introduce yourself and what you do at The Daily Grace Company?

[B]

Yeah. My name is C.J. gossage, and I'm actually a newbie to both the Daily Grace and Texas. I just moved here with my family back in September, and I'm on the editing team. And. Yeah. So I work on the resources that Daily Grace Company produces.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Great editor. We've really enjoyed having you as a part of the team and really excited that you're joining us on the podcast now. Okay. We want to talk about Leviticus. I want to start by just talking about the book overall altogether.

[B]

What.

[A]

What should we be keeping in mind as we read through this book over the next week and a half or so?

[B]

Yeah. So, number one, like you said, Leviticus is strange and it is difficult, or at least there are some portions that are strange and difficult, and we'll get into some of those. So I guess I have a word of encouragement if this is where you're at in the year in the Bible reading plan. Don't give up. Push forward. Keep going. Good for you. And the second thing I'd like to say is I think a lot of times people view the Old Testament, especially Leviticus, as very legalistic or lacking in compassion or grace or something like that. And I think we should view Leviticus, as with all of Scripture, as marked by God's grace and compassion. And I'll try to flag some of those points throughout the episodes.

[A]

Okay, great. Well, I'm really looking forward to that because I've certainly struggled with that in Leviticus myself. Okay, we're going to talk specifically about chapters one through three today, but before we get there, can you just kind of set the stage for us? We're coming out of Exodus. We're entering Leviticus. Where are we at in kind of the narrative of Scripture here?

[B]

Yeah. So at the very end of Exodus, Moses constructed or erected the tabernacle. He had all the components, and he built it up. And at the very end of Exodus, at the last. In the last several verses, God's presence takes up residence in. In the tabernacle. And that's kind of where we start In Leviticus, it's like the tabernacle is up. So now what? Now what do we do? And in this first little portion of Leviticus, Leviticus 1 through 7, we learn about the different sacrifices that are to be sacrificed or offered in the tabernacle. Now that it's built up.

[A]

Okay, perfect. Let's get into chapters one through three then. What's going on in these chapters?

[B]

Great. So in Leviticus 1:3, we have the first three offerings that are described. And these are often described as voluntary offerings, meaning the. They're sort of just marked by worship and gratitude. So in Leviticus 1, we have what's called the burnt offering. And that's where most of the animal, if not all of the animal, is offered up to God as sort of thanksgiving or act of gratitude or worship. This would probably be analogous to, like, Christian prayers or Christian tithing or some sort of gift that would give to God. The Second one, Leviticus 2, is the grain offering. And I guess for people who like sourdough, this might be. They might have a special affinity with this. I don't know.

[A]

Shout out to all the sourdough bakers.

[B]

My wife said that when I was talking to her about this one. It's flour and oil. There is no leaven in this one, so it's not technically sourdough, I guess, but a flour and oil mixture that's offered up to God as well. Again, it's a gift or an expression of gratitude or worship. And then third, we have what's called the peace offering. And the peace offering you can think of is like a festive meal that takes place between God and the priests and the worshipers or the offerors, and everyone takes a piece and everyone takes apart, and it's the idea of communing with God.

[A]

Okay, that's super cool. All that makes sense to me. But we don't do these things today. Right? Like, I go to church every Sunday. I've never offered a burnt offering.

[B]

I hope. I hope that's true.

[A]

So what do these things mean for us today? How can you actually apply these things to our lives?

[B]

Yeah, so I guess two things. The first thing that comes to mind is, again, we have to kind of remember where we're at in scripture. Indeed, we're not ancient Israelites who are offering sacrifices at the tabernacle, but I feel like the principles still remain. The idea is we give our money, our time, our prayers to God as expressions of gratitude and worship, and that's a way that we can understand Leviticus 1 through 3. And these three voluntary offerings. And the second thing I would say is that instead of viewing these as sacrifices in the sense that we just cut up animals and offer them to God, think of them as a way to commune with God. And again, that's another thing that we can sort of map our Christian experience onto Leviticus with is we want to commune with God through prayer and worship and reading Scripture. And that is a way to understand the voluntary offerings in Leviticus 1:3.

[A]

Okay, that's super helpful. And, you know, reading through, you might feel so distant or, like, detached from these chapters, but when you explain it in that way, I can see how. How the sacrifices they were making, the ways that they were communing with God through the actions they were taking, I can see parallels to that in my own life. But overall, I think my biggest takeaway is actually for this episode, that I'm gonna be looking for God's compassion and mercy throughout Leviticus. And it might not always be obvious. It might not always be the thing that's jumping off the page, but I know that it's there, and I'm glad you're gonna walk us through that.

[B]

Good deal.

[A]

Looking forward to going through the rest of Leviticus.

[B]

Me too.

[A]

All right, we'll see you back tomorrow for more in the book of Leviticus.