The priesthood being instituted, as in the two preceding chapters, we
are here introduced to the position of true priestly worship and
communion. The order is marked and instructive, and, moreover,
precisely corresponds with the order of the believer's experience. At
the brazen altar, he sees the ashes of his sins; he then sees himself
linked with One who, though personally pure and spotless, so that He
could be anointed without blood, has, nevertheless, associated us with
Himself in life, righteousness, and favor; and, finally, he beholds,
in the golden altar, the preciousness of Christ, as the material on
which the divine affections feed.
Thus it is ever; there must be a brazen altar and a priest before
there can be a golden altar and incense. Very many of the children of
God have never passed the brazen altar; they have never yet, in
spirit, entered into the power and reality of true priestly worship.
They do not rejoice in a full, clear, divine sense of pardon and
righteousness,--they have never reached the golden altar. They hope to
reach it when they die; but it is their privilege to be at it _now_.
The work of the cross has removed out of the way every thing which
would act as a barrier to their free and intelligent worship. The
present position of all true believers is at the golden altar of
incense.
This altar typifies a position of wondrous blessedness. There we enjoy
the reality and efficacy of Christ's intercession. Forever done with
self and all pertaining thereto, so far as any expectation of good is
concerned, we are to be occupied with what He is before God. We shall
find nothing in self but defilement. Every exhibition of it is
defiling; it has been condemned and set aside in the judgment of God,
and not a shred or particle thereof is to be found in the pure incense
and pure fire, on the altar of pure gold: it could not be. We have
been introduced, "by the blood of Jesus," into the sanctuary--a
sanctuary of priestly service and worship, in which there is not so
much as a trace of sin. We see the pure table, the pure candlestick,
and the pure altar; but there is nothing to remind us of self and its
wretchedness. Were it possible for aught of that to meet our view, it
could but prove the death-knell of our worship, mar our priestly food,
and dim our light. Nature can have no place in the sanctuary of God.
It, together with all its belongings, has been consumed to ashes; and
we are now to have before our souls the fragrant odor of Christ,
ascending in grateful incense to God: this is what God delights in.
Every thing that presents Christ in His own proper excellence is sweet
and acceptable to God. Even the feeblest expression or exhibition of
Him, in the life or worship of a saint, is an odor of a sweet smell in
which God is well pleased.
Too often, alas! we have to be occupied with our failures and
infirmities. If ever the workings of indwelling sin be suffered to
rise to the surface, we must deal with our God about them, for He
cannot go on with sin. He can forgive it, and cleanse us from it; He
can restore our souls by the gracious ministry of our great
High-Priest; but He cannot go on in company with a single sinful
thought. A light or foolish thought, as well as an unclean or covetous
one, is amply sufficient to mar a Christian's communion, and interrupt
his worship. Should any such thought spring up, it must be judged and
confessed, ere the elevated joys of the sanctuary can be known afresh.
A heart in which lust is working is not enjoying the proper
occupations of the sanctuary. When we are in our proper priestly
condition, nature is as though it had no existence; then we can feed
upon Christ: we can taste the divine luxury of being wholly at leisure
from ourselves, and wholly engrossed with Christ.
All this can only be produced by the power of the Spirit. There is no
need of seeking to work up nature's devotional feelings, by the
various appliances of systematic religion; there must be pure fire as
well as pure incense. (Comp. Lev. x. 1, with xvi. 12.) All efforts at
worshiping God by the unhallowed powers of nature come under the head
of "strange fire." God is the object of worship; Christ the ground
and the material of worship; and the Holy Ghost the power of worship.
Properly speaking, then, as in the brazen altar we have Christ in the
value of His sacrifice, so in the golden altar we have Christ in the
value of His intercession. This will furnish my reader with a still
clearer sense of the reason why the priestly office is introduced
between the two altars. There is, as might be expected, an intimate
connection between the two, for Christ's intercession is founded upon
His sacrifice. "And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it
once in a year with the blood of the sin-offering of atonements: once
in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your
generations: it is most holy unto the Lord." All rests upon the
immovable foundation of SHED BLOOD. "Almost all things are by the law
purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It
was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens
should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with
better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy
places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into
heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." (Heb. ix.
22-24.)
From verse 11-16 we have the atonement money for the congregation. All
were to pay alike.--"The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall
not give less, than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the
Lord, to make an atonement for your souls." In the matter of
atonement, all must stand on one common platform. There may be a vast
difference in knowledge, in experience, in capacity, in attainment, in
zeal, in devotedness, but the ground of atonement is alike to all. The
great apostle of the Gentiles and the feeblest lamb in all the flock
of Christ stand on the same level as regards atonement. This is a very
simple and a very blessed truth. All may not be alike devoted and
fruitful; but "the precious blood of Christ," and not devotedness or
fruitfulness, is the solid and everlasting ground of the believer's
rest. The more we enter into the truth and power of this, the more
fruitful shall we be.
In the last chapter of Leviticus we find another kind of valuation.
When any one made "a singular vow," Moses valued him according to his
age. In other words, when any one ventured to assume the ground of
capacity, Moses, as the representative of _the claims_ of God,
estimated him "after the shekel of the sanctuary." If he were "poorer"
than Moses' estimation, then he was to "present himself before the
priest," the representative of _the grace_ of God, who was to value
him "according to his ability that vowed."
Blessed be God, we know that all His claims have been answered, and
all our vows discharged, by One who was at once the Representative of
His claims and the Exponent of His grace, who finished the work of
atonement upon the cross, and is now at the right hand of God. Here is
sweet rest for the heart and conscience. Atonement is the first thing
to get hold of, and we shall never lose sight of it. Let our range of
intelligence be ever so wide, our fund of experience ever so rich, our
tone of devotion ever so elevated, we shall always have to fall back
upon the one simple, divine, unalterable, soul-sustaining doctrine of
THE BLOOD. Thus it has ever been in the history of God's people, thus
it is, and thus it ever will be. The most deeply-taught and gifted
servants of Christ have always rejoiced to come back to "that one
well-spring of delight," at which their thirsty spirits drank when
first they knew the Lord; and the eternal song of the Church in glory
will be, "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His
own blood." The courts of heaven will ever resound with the glorious
doctrine of the blood.
From verse 17-21 we are presented with "the brazen laver and its
foot"--the vessel of washing and the basis thereof. These two are
always presented together. (See chap. xxx. 28; xxxviii. 8; xl. 11.) In
this laver the priests washed their hands and feet, and thus
maintained that purity which was essential to the proper discharge of
their priestly functions. It was not, by any means, a question of a
fresh presentation of blood; but simply that action by which they were
preserved in fitness for priestly service and worship.--"When they go
into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water,
that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister,
to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord: so they shall wash their
hands and their feet, that they die not."
There can be no true communion with God, save as personal holiness is
diligently maintained. "If we say that we have fellowship with Him,
and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth." (1 John i. 6.)
This personal holiness can only flow from the action of the Word of
God on our works and ways.--"By the words of Thy lips I have kept me
from the paths of the destroyer." Our constant failure in priestly
ministry may be accounted for by our neglecting the due use of the
laver. If our ways are not submitted to the purgative action of the
Word--if we continue in the pursuit or practice of that which,
according to the testimony of our own consciences, the Word distinctly
condemns, the energy of our priestly character will assuredly be
lacking. Deliberate continuance in evil and true priestly worship are
wholly incompatible. "Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is
truth." If we have any uncleanness upon us, we cannot enjoy the
presence of God. The effect of His presence would then be to convict
us by its holy light. But when we are enabled, through grace, to
cleanse our way, by taking heed thereto according to God's Word, we
are then morally capacitated for the enjoyment of His presence.
My reader will at once perceive what a vast field of practical truth
is here laid open to him, and also how largely the doctrine of the
brazen laver is brought out in the New Testament. Oh that all those
who are privileged to tread the courts of the sanctuary, in priestly
robes, and to approach the altar of God, in priestly worship, may keep
their hands and feet clean by the use of the true laver.
It may be interesting to note that the laver, with its foot, was made
"of the looking-glasses of the women assembling, which assembled at
the door of the tabernacle of the congregation." (See chap. xxxviii.
8.) This fact is full of meaning. We are ever prone to be "like a man
beholding his natural face in a glass; for he beholdeth himself and
goeth away, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was."
Nature's looking-glass can never furnish a clear and permanent view of
our true condition. "But whoso looketh into the perfect law of
liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but
a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." (James i.
23-25.) The man who has constant recourse to the Word of God, and who
allows that Word to tell upon his heart and conscience, will be
maintained in the holy activities of the divine life.
Intimately connected with the searching and cleansing action of the
Word is the efficacy of the priestly ministry of Christ. "For the Word
of God is quick and powerful [_i.e._, _living_ and _energetic_], and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart; neither is there
any creature that is not manifest in His sight; but all things are
naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." Then
the inspired apostle immediately adds, "Seeing then that we have a
great High-Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of
God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a high-priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was
in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.[15] Let us
therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain
mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Heb. iv. 12-16.)
[15] Literally, "sin excepted" (χωρις αμαρτιας); _i.e._, He was
tempted--tested and tried--in every way from without, sin excepted,
for sin was not in Him.
The more keenly we feel the edge of the Word, the more we shall prize
the merciful and gracious ministry of our High-Priest. The two things
go together. They are the inseparable companions of the Christian's
path. Hence, it is only as I am making use of the laver that I can
approach the altar. Worship must ever be presented in the power of
holiness. We must lose sight of nature, as reflected in a
looking-glass, and be wholly occupied with Christ, as presented in the
Word. In this way only shall the "hands and feet"--the works and
ways--be cleansed, according to the purification of the sanctuary.
From verse 22-33 we have the "holy anointing oil," with which the
priests, together with all the furniture of the tabernacle, were
anointed. In this we discern a type of the varied graces of the Holy
Ghost, which were found, in all their divine fullness, in Christ. "All
thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory
palaces, whereby they have made thee glad." (Ps. xlv. 8.) "God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power." (Acts
x. 38.) All the graces of the Spirit, in their perfect fragrance,
centred in Christ; and it is from Him alone they can flow. He, as to
His humanity, was conceived of the Holy Ghost; and, ere He entered
upon His public ministry, He was anointed with the Holy Ghost; and
finally, when He had taken His seat on high, in token of an
accomplished redemption, He shed forth upon His body, the Church, the
precious gifts of the Holy Ghost. (See Matt. i. 20; iii. 16, 17; Luke
iv. 18, 19; Acts ii. 33; x. 45, 46; Eph. iv. 8-13.)
It is as those who are associated with this ever-blessed and
highly-exalted Christ that believers are partakers of the gifts and
graces of the Holy Ghost; and, moreover, it is as they walk in
habitual nearness to Him that they either enjoy or emit the fragrance
thereof. The unrenewed man knows nothing of this. "Upon man's flesh it
shall not be poured." The graces of the Spirit can never be connected
with man's flesh, for the Holy Ghost cannot own nature. Not one of the
fruits of the Spirit was ever yet produced "in nature's barren soil."
We "must be born again." It is only as connected with the new man, as
being part of "the new creation," that we can know any thing of the
fruits of the Holy Ghost. It is of no possible value to seek to
imitate those fruits and graces. The fairest fruits that ever grew in
nature's fields, in their highest state of cultivation--the most
amiable traits which nature can exhibit--must be utterly disowned in
the sanctuary of God. "Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured;
neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it:
it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. Whosoever compoundeth any
like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be
cut off from his people." There must be no counterfeit of the Spirit's
work; all must be of the Spirit--wholly, really of the Spirit.
Moreover, that which is of the Spirit must not be attributed to man.
"The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for
they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they
are spiritually discerned." (1 Cor. ii. 14.)
There is a very beautiful allusion to this "holy anointing oil" in one
of the "songs of degrees."--"Behold," says the Psalmist, "how good and
how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like
the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard,
even Aaron's beard; that went down to the skirts of his garments."
(Psalms cxxxiii. 1, 2.) The head of the priestly house being anointed
with the holy oil, the very "skirts of his garments" must exhibit the
precious effects. May my reader experience the power of this
anointing! May he know the value of having "an unction from the Holy
One," and of being "sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise"! Nothing
is of any value in the divine estimation save that which connects
itself immediately with Christ, and whatever is so connected can
receive the holy anointing.
In the concluding paragraph of this most comprehensive chapter, we
have the "sweet spices tempered together, pure and holy." This
surpassingly precious perfume presents to us the unmeasured and
unmeasurable perfections of Christ. There was no special quantity of
each ingredient prescribed, because the graces that dwell in Christ,
the beauties and excellencies that are concentrated in His adorable
Person, are without limit. Naught save the infinite mind of Deity
could scan the infinite perfections of Him in whom all the fullness of
Deity dwelleth; and as eternity rolls along its course of everlasting
ages, those glorious perfections will ever be unfolding themselves in
the view of worshiping saints and angels. Ever and anon, as some fresh
beams of light shall burst forth from that central Sun of divine
glory, the courts of heaven above, and the wide fields of creation
beneath, shall resound with thrilling Alleluiahs to Him who was, who
is, and who ever shall be the object of praise to all the ranks of
created intelligence.
But not only was there no prescribed quantity of the ingredients; we
also read, "Of each there shall be a like weight." Every feature of
moral excellence found its due place and proper proportions in Christ.
No one quality ever displaced or interfered with another; all was
"tempered together, pure and holy," and emitted an odor so fragrant
that none but God could appreciate it.
"And thou shalt beat some of it _very small_, and put of it before the
testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet
with thee: it shall be unto you most holy." There is uncommon depth
and power in the expression "very small." It teaches us that every
little movement in the life of Christ, every minute circumstance,
every act, every word, every look, every feature, every trait, every
lineament, emits an odor produced by an equal proportion--"a like
weight" of all the divine graces that compose His character. The
smaller the perfume was beaten, the more its rare and exquisite temper
was manifested.
"And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to
yourselves according to the composition thereof; it shall be unto thee
holy for the Lord. Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell
thereto, shall even be cut off from his people." This fragrant perfume
was designed exclusively for Jehovah. Its place was "before the
testimony." There is that in Jesus which only God could appreciate.
True, every believing heart can draw nigh to His matchless Person, and
more than satisfy its deepest and most intense longings; still, after
all God's redeemed have drunk to the utmost of their capacity, after
angels have gazed on the peerless glories of the Man Christ Jesus as
earnestly as their vision is capable of,--after all, there will be
that in Him which God alone can fathom and enjoy. No human or angelic
eye could duly trace the exquisitely minute parts of that holy perfume
"beaten very small," nor could earth afford a proper sphere in which
to emit its divine and heavenly odor.
Thus, then, we have, in our rapid sketch, reached the close of a
clearly marked division of our book. We began at "the ark of the
covenant," and traveled out to "the altar of brass;" we returned from
"the altar of brass," and have come to the "holy perfume;" and, oh,
what a journey is this, if only it be traveled, not in company with
the false and flickering light of human imagination, but by the
infallible lamp of the Holy Ghost! What a journey, if only it be
traveled, not amid the shadows of a by-gone dispensation, but amid the
personal glories and powerful attractions of the Son which are there
portrayed! If my reader has so traveled it, he will find his
affections more drawn to Christ than ever; he will have a loftier
conception of His glory, His beauty, His preciousness, His excellency,
His ability to heal a wounded conscience and satisfy a longing heart;
he will have his eyes more thoroughly closed to all earth's
attractions, and his ears closed to all earth's pretensions and
promises;--in one word, he will be prepared to utter a deeper and more
fervent Amen to the words of the inspired apostle when he says, "IF
ANY MAN LOVE NOT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, LET HIM BE ANATHEMA
MARAN-ATHA."[16] (1 Cor. xvi. 22.)
[16] It is interesting to note the position of this most solemn and
startling denunciation. It occurs at the close of a long epistle in
the progress of which the apostle had to rebuke some of the grossest
practical evils and doctrinal errors. How solemn, therefore, how full
of meaning the fact, that when he comes to pronounce his anathema, it
is not hurled at those who had introduced those errors and evils, but
at the man who loves not the Lord Jesus Christ! Why is this? Is it
because the Spirit of God makes little of errors and evils? Surely
not: the entire epistle unfolds His thoughts as to these. But the
truth is, when the heart is filled with love to the Lord Jesus Christ,
there is an effectual safeguard against all manner of false doctrine
and evil practice. If a man does not love Christ, there is no
accounting for the notions he may adopt, or the course he may pursue.
Hence the form and the position of the apostolic anathema.