Part 1.1 - The Burnt Offering

CHAPTER I. THE BURNT OFFERING. THE tabernacle with its vessels and furniture was all completed according to the word of the Lord to His servant Hoses:-" And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount" (Exodus 25:40).

It was set up according to the ordering of the Lord in its minutest details:-" And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was showed thee in the mount " Exodus 26:30).

There was on earth an exhibition in type of that which Moses had seen on the mount, in heaven, beyond the region of blackness and darkness and tempest, in the glory which had made his own countenance radiant. And the fellowship of these things was to be learnt in the representation of them, made with hands indeed and failing, but " figures of the true," showing where and how, according to the express arrangement of God, access to Him might be obtained. But it was not specially connected with any earthly locality; it was a moveable tent, to be set up in the midst of the camp, though apart from it. Separated by sin from His people, God would now appoint a place and means whereby He might draw near to them, and speak to His servant Moses among them, without the need of summoning him away to the heavenly glory on the mount. And not only so, but this tent of meeting was also " the tabernacle of the congregation," to which all were free at all times to come, only in the way that God had appointed. The place of offering was the brazen altar before the door of the tabernacle, standing directly opposite the sanctuary of God’s presence, whence He would look out, and behold that which was passing outside. The way into the holiest was not yet made manifest; but the vail was, as we know, the flesh of Jesus, through which God would look ; and through which, too, faith might pass. The first offering was the burnt sacrifice, that which should be wholly burnt, that which should be altogether for God, entirely acceptable in itself to Him. It was, of express ordinance, to be "of the cattle-of the herd, or flock-a male without blemish ;" but, if he who brought it were poor, it might be "of the fowls." Thus God has met man, in his deepest and lowest condition of necessity, in the way marked out for the approach of any to present before Him the one great and infinitely acceptable burnt offering. But He has not made the way of approach free and open, and within the compass of the extremest case of need, that we may lightly regard it. Let not any who have the offering of the flock or the herd, be content to bring before God but a pair of turtle doves or pigeons. The same God who says, " Believe and be saved," also adds, "If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled," &c. (Colossians 1:23). The character of the offering was "a male without blemish "-perfection. The place of the offering was " at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the Lord,"-on earth, the place of the offerers, but before the presence of God in heaven. The purpose of the offering was that it might be accepted for him who brought it-the perfect offering in the place of the imperfect offerer. The manner of its being presented ;-" He shall put his hand upon the head of the offering." And the result:-" it shall be accepted for him, to make atonement for him." But atonement, in this offering, probably signifies rather acceptance than cleansing or expiation, as in the sin offering. It should give a man full freedom of access to God, as a worshipper before Him, even as the offering was perfect, and perfectly acceptable. The detailed manner of the offering was as follows. It must be killed; for no measure of obedience short of obedience unto death would be perfect and acceptable before God. Man had sinned, and God had declared that death was the result of sin. Life had reverted to God, and life must be given to bring back the sinner to his place before God. The Lord Jesus came forward as the spotless victim to be offered, one that God could accept.

He offered Himself of His own voluntary will, according to His own words, " I lay it down of myself." Here was perfection in the offering of a perfect sacrifice, "even unto death." But when the blood was shed, the priests, Aaron’s sons, began to take their part in the offering,-in the sprinkling of the blood round about the altar. And herein we see our own communion with the spotless victim offered upon earth, but accepted as a sweet savour by God in heaven. The animal was then flayed, and cut in pieces, searched and examined in every part, lest there should be lurking in it any hidden spot or blemish of corruption which might ascend in the smoke before God. It might have been supposed that Jesus, in stooping down to mingle with the evil of this world, and entering into the sympathies of our fallen nature, had contracted defilement thereby; but no, "the inwards and the legs " were found, as all the rest, to have received no taint whatever. They had been in the midst of the defilement, in constant contact with it, but they were not defiled; they remained intrinsically pure and spotless. These, with the head and the fat-that which characterized the offering, all its intelligence, all its nature, and the internal proof of its soundness and perfection-were all without omission (except the blood and the skin) to be laid in order upon the fire-upon that which was to try and prove their purity and acceptance-and all were consumed. And from the whole arose before God " a savour of rest," " a sweet savour unto the Lord." The burnt offering must be of the herd, of the flock, or of the fowls.

God requires a perfect offering. Such only can be acceptable, and a sweet savour to Him; not only the best of its kind, but of the best kind. Such was Christ, and such should be our apprehension of Him, and such our own offering (Ephesians 5:1-2). This is a voluntary offering, and the whole is to be burnt (except the blood and the skin). It may be of the flocks or herds, but must be a male without blemish. That of the herd is set forth first, as being the most perfect type of what it represented. It was of the best kind of animal, perfect, and found to be so when cut to pieces and seen of God.

Leviticus 1:4. He shall put his hand on the head of the offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement. The former clause seems generally to imply impartation; but since the latter does not here signify expiation, but rather acceptance, the laying on of the hand may imply recognition (according to the measure of understanding),or identification.

Leviticus 1:10. Next, of the flocks. Less than a full estimate of what God requires may be allowed, or rather, less than a full understanding of it. But the addition of a special ordinance seems to intimate that no one may presume to think lightly of the lesser offering.

It must be killed on the north side of the altar. And this is the place where Ezekiel saw the image of jealousy.

God looks with a jealous eye upon any who slight or undervalue His burnt offering. This is a most needed caution; for, in Ezekiel’s time, God’s sacrifice had become so far disregarded, that at last an abomination had taken the place of it (Ezekiel 8:1-18.). It is not said that it shall be accepted,-it might be so, it would be, if it were found to be perfect of its kind. It was, as in the former case, to be cut in pieces, and, in the end, it is said to be " a sweet savour."

Leviticus 1:14. But further, the offering might be of the fowls, though only of the kind specified. The reason of this is shown in Leviticus 5:7; Leviticus 12:8; Leviticus 14:21. "If he be poor and cannot get so much," &c. And this is indeed like the glad tidings preached to the poor. There might be but a very slight understanding of the extent of the full value of the offering; but one thing is absolutely required, the admission that a sacrifice is needed, that acceptance and access to God are desired. For the whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. The cry may be no more than, " Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief;" but tho Lord has declared, " Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out."

Tho north side of the altar was not appointed for this offering, there was much less of detail in the examination. The need of acceptance was known ; its perfection and completeness in all its particulars was but little understood. Tho head was to be wrung off, and the bird cleft down with the wings, but not divided. God saw that it was perfect of its kind, and it was a sweet savour unto Him.

Tho birds afforded no skin for a covering: the feathers wore to to burnt. This is significant: skins were first given as a covering for nakedness, in lieu of the fig loaves which man had provided for himself. There will over bo to us a sense of something wanting, unless we so discern the perfection of Christ as to feel that He is all in all.

Again, in the case of the animals, the inwards were washed and afterwards burnt, as having been proved to be pure, though in contact with defilement; but the crop of tho bird was to be cast away. This points to some lingering suspicion and distrust in the heart, a falling short of the full apprehension of what Christ is.

Nevertheless, the offering is a burnt sacrifice, a " sweet savour unto the Lord."

Christ is referred to in the New Testament as the Lamb. May we thence infer that the Church’s apprehension of Him is signified thereby; while the more perfect animal indicates God’s sense of the value of His sacrifice, and the fowl the imperfect understanding of

Israelite ?