Regular Burnt Offering (Regular Prayer Time)

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Picture from The Phillip Medhurst Colletion: A regular burnt offering is a daily sacrifice to God.

A regular burnt offering is a sacrifice offered to God twice every day. In the Old Testament times, it involved the offering of a lamb at the earthly sanctuary. In the New Testament era, prayer is offered at the same time of sacrifice, thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Meaning of Regular Burnt Offering

The burnt offering refers to placing an animal on the altar and burning it as a sacrifice to God. Among them, the regular burnt offering was offered every morning and afternoon. In Hebrew, it is Ola Tamid (תָּמִיד עֹלָה); Olah (עֹלָה)[1] means “burnt offering,” and Tamid (תָּמִיד)[2] implies “continuity” or “regularity”. In Exodus, it is written as a “burnt offering to be made regularly,”[3] and in the book of Daniel, it is referred to as “the daily sacrifice.”[4]


“Say to them: ‘This is the offering made by fire that you are to present to the LORD : two lambs a year old without defect, as a regular burnt offering each day. Prepare one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight,”

Numbers 28:3–4


In the Old Testament times, a lamb was sacrificed for each regular burnt offering. Along with it, a tenth of an ephah[5] of the finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin[6] of oil from pressed olives, and a drink offering of wine were presented.[7] The priests entered the sanctuary to offer the sacrifice according to the law, while the people participated by praying at the same time.[8]

Time of Regular Burnt Offering

The regular morning burnt offering was offered at the third hour of the Jewish time system. The regular afternoon burnt offering, called the “evening sacrifice,” was not performed in the evening after the sun had set but was offered at the ninth hour, when the sun was going to set. Even in the New Testament times, the Jews continued to pray according to this time. In the New Testament, it is written that Cornelius, a Roman centurion who revered God despite being a Gentile, prayed at the ninth hour according to the Jewish custom.

Cornelius answered: “Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon [the ninth hour, KJV]. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me

Acts 10:30


The Jewish time system divided the daytime period into twelve equal parts. Sunrise was at 0 hour and sundown was at 12th hour. Since the sun rises around 6 AM in modern times, there is approximately a six-hour difference from the Jewish time system. Thus, the third hour, the regular time in the morning, corresponds to around 9 AM in modern times, and the ninth hour, the regular time in the afternoon, is around 3 PM.
The third and ninth hours in the Jewish system of time correspond to approximately 9 AM and 3 PM in today's time.

For details, refer to: Biblical Time Reckoning

Reality of Regular Burnt Offering

The earthly sanctuary is a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary.[9] Therefore, the sacrifices made in the earthly sanctuary serve as a prophecy of the true sacrifices that would occur in the heavenly sanctuary.[10]

The reality of all sacrificial offerings in the Old Testament is Jesus Christ. Jesus fulfilled the roles of the Passover lamb,[11] the offering on the Day of Atonement,[12][13] the offering of the Feast of Firstfruits,[14][15] and the offering of the Sabbath.

The regular burnt offering is also a prophecy that Jesus Christ, the reality of the lamb, would suffer on the cross.[16] The two times when the lamb was offered as a burnt offering correspond to the time when Jesus was crucified and the time when He died, thus fulfilling the prophecy.


They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). . . . It was the third hour when they crucified him. . . . And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, . . . With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

Mark 15:22–37


Jesus was crucified at the third hour, when the regular burnt offering was made in the morning, and died at the ninth hour when the regular burnt offering was made in the afternoon. With His crucifixion, Jesus fulfilled the two times of the daily burnt offering. And in the New Testament era, these times became the prayer times. Just as animals were sacrificed as offerings to communicate with God in the earthly sanctuary, in its reality in the heavenly sanctuary, the blood of Christ’s sacrifice is offered, and through this, the prayers of the saints reach to the throne of God.[17] The saints of the early Church participated in the true sacrifice that Christ performed in the heavenly sanctuary by praying at the third and the ninth hours when Jesus was sacrificed on the cross.[18][19]

Blessing of Regular Burnt Offering

The Bible records that the forefathers of faith received special blessings and answers from God when they prayed at the time of the regular burnt offering.

  • Elijah

During the reign of King Ahab of North Israel, the prophet Elijah faced off against 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah.[20] This confrontation was aimed to prove who the true God was by calling on their respective deity to answer with fire on the altar.[21] After building the altar and arranging the burnt offering, Elijah earnestly prayed to God at the time of the evening sacrifice. God heard Elijah’s prayer and sent down a mighty fire in an instant.


At the time of sacrifice [the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, KJV], the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

1 Kings 18:36–38

  • Daniel

During the Babylonian captivity, the prophet Daniel, too, received blessings by praying in the regular burnt offering. God heard his prayer at the evening sacrifice, that is, the regular burnt offering, and even before the prayer was finished, God sent His angel and answered it.


While I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you,”

Daniel 9:21–23

  • Cornelius

Although Cornelius was a Gentile, he revered God and prayed in designated time according to the regular burnt offering time. Then an angel appeared and told him to call for Peter, and Cornelius heard the gospel from Peter and was blessed to receive Christ.[22]


At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, . . . he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon [the ninth hour, KJV] he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter.”

Acts 10:1–5

  • Saints in the New Testament Times

The saints in the New Testament can receive answers and blessings from God when they pray at the regular burnt offering time in the New Testament. God poured out the blessing of the Holy Spirit not at any other time, but during the time of the regular burnt offering prayer.


When the day of Pentecost came, . . . All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. . . . Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning [the third hour of the day, KJV]!”

Acts 2:1–15


After Jesus’ ascension, the apostles prayed for the blessing of the Holy Spirit. And their prayers were answered on the Day of Pentecost, at the third hour (around 9 AM), which was the time of regular burnt offering. Through this, it has become evident that the regular burnt offering of the new covenant, fulfilled through the sacrifice of Jesus, is a designated time to communicate with God through prayer. Not only in Old Testament times, but also in the New Testament, God’s people can meet with God and receive His blessings by praying at the regular prayer time.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Strong's Hebrew: 5930. עֹלָה, Bible Hub
  2. ↑ Strong's Hebrew: 8548. תָּמִיד, Bible Hub
  3. ↑ "Exodus 29:41–42".
  4. ↑ "Daniel 8:11".
  5. ↑ Ephah, ChristianAnswers.Net
  6. ↑ Hin, Bible Hub
  7. ↑ "Numbers 28:5–8".
  8. ↑ "Luke 1:8–10".
  9. ↑ "Hebrews 8:5".
  10. ↑ "Hebrews 10:1".
  11. ↑ "1 Corinthians 5:7".
  12. ↑ "Leviticus 16:27–34".
  13. ↑ "Hebrews 13:10–12".
  14. ↑ "Leviticus 23:10–11".
  15. ↑ "1 Corinthians 15:20".
  16. ↑ "John 1:29".
  17. ↑ "Revelation 8:3–4".
  18. ↑ "Acts 2:1–15".
  19. ↑ "Acts 3:1".
  20. ↑ "1 Kings 18:19–20".
  21. ↑ "1 Kings 18:23–24".
  22. ↑ "Acts 10:44–48".
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