NOTES
_on the book of_
LEVITICUS
_by_
C. H. MACKINTOSH
_"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God."_
LOIZEAUX BROTHERS
_Neptune, New Jersey_
FIRST EDITION 1880
TWENTY-SEVENTH PRINTING 1965
LOIZEAUX BROTHERS, INC., PUBLISHERS
_A Nonprofit Organization, Devoted to the Lord's Work
and to the Spread of His Truth_
NEPTUNE, NEW JERSEY
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
PREFATORY NOTE
TO THE AMERICAN EDITION
As several persons in America have, without any authority whatever
from me, undertaken to publish my four[1] volumes of "Notes," I deem
it my duty to inform the reader that I have given full permission to
Messrs. LOIZEAUX BROTHERS to publish an edition of those books in such
form as they shall consider most suitable.
C. H. MACKINTOSH.
_6 West Park Terrace, Scarborough,
May 1st, 1879._
[1] Now six.
PREFACE
In the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ there is an infinite
fullness, which meets every necessity of man, both as a sinner and as
a worshiper. The infinite dignity of His Person gives eternal value to
His work. In the book of Genesis we have seen "God's remedy for man's
ruin" in the promised seed--the Ark of Salvation, and in the rich
unfoldings of divine grace to fallen and sinful man. There we have the
_Bud_, the full-blown glories and fragrance of which shall yet fill
the heavens and the earth with joy and gladness.
In the book of Exodus we have seen "God's answer to man's question."
There, man is not only outside of Eden, but he has fallen into the
hands of a cruel and powerful enemy,--he is the bond-slave of the
world. How is he to be delivered from Pharaoh's thraldom--from Egypt's
furnace? How can he be redeemed, justified, and brought into the
promised land? God only could answer such questions, and this He did
in the blood of the slain Lamb. In the redemption-power of that blood,
every question is settled. It meets Heaven's highest claims, and man's
deepest necessities. Through its amazing efficacy, God is glorified,
man is redeemed, saved, justified, and brought to God's holy
habitation; while the enemy is completely overthrown, and his power
destroyed.
And now, in our meditations on the book of Leviticus, we find most
fully unfolded what we may call, "God's provision for man's need;" or,
a Sacrifice, a Priest, and a Place of Worship. These are essentially
necessary in drawing near unto God, as this book most abundantly
proves. But every thing therewith connected was appointed by God, and
established by His law. Nothing was left to be supplied by man's
fertile imagination, or his prudential arrangement.--"So Aaron and his
sons did _all things which the Lord commanded_ by the hand of Moses."
(Chap. viii. 36; ix. 6, 7.) Without the word of the Lord, neither
priest nor people could take a single step in the right direction. _It
is so still._ There is not a single ray of light in this dark world
but that which is shed from holy Scripture.--"Thy Word is a lamp unto
my feet, and a light unto my path." (Ps. cxix. 105.) It is truly happy
when the children of God so honor His Word as to be guided by it in
all things. We need _now_, as much as the Jew did _then_, divine
direction and divine guidance for acceptable worship. "But the hour
cometh, and now is, when the _true worshipers_ shall worship the
Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship
Him." (John iv. 23, 24.) More than sincerity or devoutness of feeling
is required in the children's worship: it must be in the unction of
the Spirit, and according to the truth of God. But we have all
(blessed be His name!) in the Person and work of our blessed Lord
Jesus. He is both our Sacrifice and Priest, and our right of entrance
into the holiest of all. O, to be kept near to His wounded side, and
in the abiding sense that He is the ground, the material, and the
sweet incense of all our worship!
Let us now briefly notice the three points already mentioned.
I. In the first place, we would observe that _sacrifice is the basis
of worship_. Acceptable worship to God must be based on a sacrifice
acceptable to Him. Man being in himself guilty and unclean, he needs a
sacrifice to remove his guilt, cleanse him from his defilements, and
fit him for the holy presence of God. "Without shedding of blood is no
remission;" and without remission, and the _knowledge_ of remission,
there can be no happy worship,--no real, hearty praise, adoration, and
thanksgiving. Going to what is called "a place of worship," and
worshiping God, are widely different things. God is holy, and man must
approach Him in His own way, and according to what He is. As Moses
said unto Aaron on the solemn occasion of the sin of Nadab and Abihu,
"This is it that the Lord spake, saying, '_I will be sanctified in
them that come nigh Me_, and before all the people I will be
glorified.'" The Lord alone could give directions as to how the people
were to draw nigh unto Him: this is the great subject of the book of
Leviticus. The "Notes" on the first seven and the sixteenth chapters
will give the reader a very full and interesting view of the ordinance
of sacrifice, and the character of Jewish worship.
It was on the ground of offered and accepted sacrifice that the
children of Israel were constituted the worshiping people of God. It
is on the same ground, namely, offered and accepted sacrifice, that
believers in Jesus are constituted the worshiping people of God now.
(Read carefully Lev. xvi; Heb. ix, x.) They have taken Israel's place,
but after a much higher order, whether we look at the sacrifice, the
priest, or the place of worship. The contrast between them is great,
and strongly marked in Scripture, especially in the epistle to the
Hebrews. The Jewish sacrifices never reached the _conscience_ of the
offerer, and the Jewish priest never could pronounce him "clean every
whit." The gifts and sacrifices which were offered under the law, as
the apostle tells us, "could not make him that did the service
perfect, as pertaining to the conscience." The conscience, observe,
always being the _reflection_ of the sacrifice, it could not be
perfect, seeing the sacrifice was not perfect; "for it is not possible
that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." Hence,
Jewish worship was connected with inefficient sacrifices, a burdensome
ritual, and an unpurged conscience, which gendered in the worshiper a
spirit of bondage and fear.
But, now, mark the contrast to all this in the once-offered and
accepted sacrifice of Christ. He "put away sin by the sacrifice of
Himself." All is done. Having "by Himself purged our sins, He sat down
on the right hand of the Majesty on high." When the worshiper comes
before God on the ground of this Sacrifice, he finds that he has
nothing to do save, as a priest, to show forth the praises of Him "who
hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light." Even Christ
has nothing more to do as regards our justification and acceptance,
"for by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are
sanctified." The Jew, by his sacrifice, was merely _ceremonially_
clean, and that only for a moment, as it were; but the Christian,
through the sacrifice of Christ, is _really_ so, and that forever. Oh,
that sweet word, "FOREVER"! It is the common privilege of all
believers to be perfected as worshipers before God, "through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." On this deeply
important point the testimony of Scripture is most full and explicit.
For the worshipers once purged should have _"no more conscience of
sins"_.--"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all
sin."--"And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." (1
John i. 7; Heb. x.) By the work of Christ for _us_, our sins were all
put away; and now, by faith in God's word, we know that they are all
forgiven and forgotten. Hence, we can draw near to God, and stand in
His holy presence, in the happy assurance that there is neither sin
nor stain upon us. Our Great High-Priest has pronounced us "clean
every whit." (John xiii.) Believing this, the sense of guilt is taken
away,--we have "NO MORE CONSCIENCE OF SINS."
This deeply precious truth, observe, does not mean that there is no
more _consciousness_ of sins. Far from it. Or that we may not get a
bad conscience through failure; or that we need not be exercised "to
have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward man." Not at
all. It simply means that Christ, by the one, perfect, finished
sacrifice of Himself, has forever put away all our sins--root and
branch. And having been led to know and believe this, how can there
be sins on the conscience? Christ has put them all away. The precious
blood of our once-offered and accepted Sacrifice has cleansed us from
every spot and stain of sin. There may be the deepest sense of
indwelling sin, and of many sins and shortcomings in our every-day
life, and the painful confession of them all to God; still there is
the full assurance that Christ died for our sins, put them all away,
and that not one of them can ever be laid to our charge. This is
indeed a most wonderful truth; but it is the great, the needed truth
for a worshiper. How could we stand in God's presence, where all is
perfection, if we were not as clean as He would have us to be? We must
be clean enough for the eye of Infinite Holiness. But, blessed be God,
all who believe in Jesus, and rest on His finished sacrifice, are
forgiven and justified; they have eternal life, righteousness, and
peace. The first cry for mercy of the guilty sinner is answered by the
blood of the Sacrifice. It penetrates to the deepest depths of his
need; it raises him to the highest heights of heaven, and fits him to
be there, a happy worshiper, in the immediate presence of the throne
of God.--"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for
the unjust, that He might bring us to God."--"For if the blood of
bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean,
sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; how much more shall the
blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself
without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve
the living God!" (1 Peter iii. 18; Heb. ix. 13, 14.)
II. In the second place, we have in the rich provisions of God's
grace, _the Lord Jesus Christ as our Great High-Priest in the presence
of God for us_. He ministers there for us.--"We have such a
High-Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty
in the heavens; a Minister of the sanctuary, and of the true
tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." (Heb. viii. 1, 2.)
His work of sacrifice having been fully completed, He sat down. Aaron
is represented as being always in a standing position. His work was
never finished. He stood "daily ministering, and offering oftentimes
the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but this Man,
after He had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the
right hand of God." Immediately after the law of the Lord had been
given as to sacrifice, the priesthood was established. (See "Notes" on
chapters viii, ix.) The saints have both in Christ. He is our
Sacrifice and our Priest. He appeared once on the cross _for us_: He
now appears in heaven _for us_: ere long He will appear in glory _with
us_. To know what He accomplished on the cross, and what He is now
doing in the sanctuary above, will nourish in our hearts the hope of
His coming, and lead us to long for His appearing in glory.
In the New Testament we only read of two orders of priests, namely,
Christ as the Great High-Priest in heaven, and the common priesthood
of all believers on the earth. "Ye also, as lively stones, are built
up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual
sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." (1 Peter ii. 5.) And
again, "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own
blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father."
(Rev. i. 5. 6.) These passages clearly prove the common standing of
all believers as priests unto God. There is no mention in the New
Testament of any peculiar class or order of Christians who hold the
office of priests, as distinct from other Christians. Christ is the
_Great_ High-Priest over the house of God, and all His people are, in
virtue of their connection with Him, priests, and privileged to enter,
as once-purged worshipers, into the holiest of all. Even the apostles
never took the place of priests, as distinct from or superior to the
humblest child of God. They might know their privileges better than
many, and enjoy them more. Their gifts and callings as to the ministry
of the Word were distinct and special, but as worshipers, they stood
on the same ground as all others, and, together with them, worshiped
God through Jesus Christ, the Great High-Priest of all His people.
In the priestly ministry of our blessed Lord, there are many points of
special interest; we only notice the two following:--
1. As our Great High-Priest, He _represents_ us in the sanctuary
above. And, oh, what a Representative!--God's beloved Son, the
glorified Man, whose name is above every name!--"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. 24.) Oh, what dignity! what nearness to God is
ours! Oh that our hearts appreciated it more! When Aaron appeared
before the Lord in his garments of glory and beauty, he represented
the children of Israel. Their names were engraven in precious stones
in the beautiful breastplate. Blessed type of our real and everlasting
place in the heart of Christ, who appears, not _annually_, like Aaron
of old, but _continually_ in the presence of God _for us_. The name of
each believer is kept continually before the eye of God, in all the
glory and beauty of Christ, His well-beloved Son. He is our
righteousness, we possess His life, enjoy His peace, are filled with
His joy, and radiate His glory. Although without right, title, or
privilege in ourselves, we have all in Him. He is there _for us_ and
_as us_. His name be forever praised.
"He stands in heaven their Great High-Priest,
And bears their names upon His breast."
It is by His continual intercession in heaven that saints on earth are
succored and sustained in their wilderness journey, and, at the same
time, upheld as worshipers within the vail, in all the sweet fragrance
of His own divine excellencies; and neither their ignorance nor their
lack of enjoyment of these things alters or affects their blessed,
glorious, and eternal reality, "seeing He ever liveth to make
intercession for them." (Heb. vii. 25.)
2. As our Great High-Priest, He presents to God the gifts and
sacrifices of His worshiping people. Under the law, the worshiper
brought his offering to the priest, and by him it was presented to the
Lord, on His own altar. Every thing was arranged by the priest,
according to the word of the Lord. How perfectly all this is done for
the worshiper now by his High-Priest in heaven! Our prayers, praises,
and thanksgiving, all pass through His hands before they reach the
throne of God. What a wonderful mercy this is, when we think of our
confused and mixed services! So much that is of the flesh mingles with
that which is of the Spirit. But the blessed Lord knows how to divide
and separate between them. That which is of the flesh must be
rejected, and consumed as wood, hay, and stubble, while that which is
of the Spirit is precious, preserved, and presented to God in the
value and sweet savor of His own perfect sacrifice. "_By Him_
therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually,
that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks unto His name." (Heb.
xiii. 15.) The kindness of the Philippians to Paul was "an odor of a
sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God." Hence the
importance of the exhortation, "Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do
all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father
by Him." (Col. iii. 17.)
III. In the third place, we observe that _the Christian's only place
of worship is inside the vail_, "whither the Forerunner is for us
entered." Outside the camp is his place as a witness; inside the vail
is his place as a worshiper. In both positions Christ is surely with
him. "Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His
reproach." "Having therefore, brethren, _boldness to enter into the
holiest_ by the blood of Jesus." (Heb. xiii. 13; x. 19.) To know these
two positions in communion with Christ Himself, through the teaching
of the Spirit, is unspeakable blessedness. The Church has no divinely
consecrated place of worship on earth. Our place is in heaven, in
virtue of the sacrifice and of the priestly ministry of Christ there
for us. Whatever may be the character of the building in which
Christians are gathered together in the name of the Lord Jesus, their
true and only sphere of worship is the heavenly sanctuary. Through
faith in God's word, and by the power of His Holy Spirit, they worship
Him in "the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man."
Israel had "a worldly sanctuary," and accordingly the character of
their worship was worldly; "the way into the holiest of all was not
yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing."
But the way has been opened up by the blood of Jesus. The same stroke
that slew the Lamb rent the vail from top to bottom. The way into the
holiest of all was then laid open, and Christ, with all His
blood-washed ones, entered into the immediate presence of God, without
a vail. There is no _outer_-court-worship now for the people, and
_temple_-worship for the priest, as under the law. These distinctions
are unknown in the Church of the living God. It is all priestly
worship and temple worship now. All are equally near, all have equal
liberty, all are equally acceptable, through the presence and
intervention of the Great High-Priest of His people. The same precious
blood that cleansed us from all sin, has brought us near to God as
children, and as worshiping priests. And if we really know the
wondrous efficacy and power of that blood in the heavenly places, we
shall be at home and happy there in all the liberty and dignity of
sonship, and in all the official nearness and standing of once-purged
worshipers, in the most holy place.
Oh that our hearts may be kept in the sweet remembrance, knowledge,
and power of the rich provisions of God's grace for all our need! Oh
that we may never lose sight of the blood on the mercy-seat, the
Minister of the sanctuary, and of our holy, heavenly, and eternal
place of worship!
We must now leave the dear reader, earnestly commending to his most
prayerful and diligent study this precious book of Leviticus. The
light which it sheds on the Person and work of Christ--the ground and
character of our communion with God, is deeply blessed to the heart
that desires to live in the enjoyment of these eternal realities. He
will find the "Notes" most helpful in unfolding the text, and in
giving an interesting and practical view to many of the ceremonies
which we are prone to pass over as uninteresting and uninstructive to
us. See, for example, the eleventh chapter.
And now, may the Lord graciously own, use, and bless this little
volume, for the glory of His own name, and for the comfort and
blessing of many precious souls.
_A. M._
_London, May, 1860._
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
The rapid sale of a large edition of this volume evidences an amount
of interest in the study of the book of Leviticus for which I
unfeignedly bless the Lord. Too many, even of the people of God, seem
to think that this section of inspiration contains nothing of any
interest or value to them. They regard it as a detail of rites and
ceremonies with which they have nothing to do--a record of by-gone
institutions, affording no instruction or edification for them. That
this is a great mistake, thousands are now discovering. Very many who
for years looked upon the book of Leviticus as little more than a dry
catalogue of Jewish ordinances, are now discovering in it an
exhaustless mine of spiritual wealth, for which they cannot be too
thankful. They have brought its marvelous pages under the light of the
New Testament scriptures, and they can only wonder at that which is
now unfolded to their gaze. That they may discover yet more of the
precious treasure, is my earnest desire on their behalf.
I have carefully revised the following pages, and, I may say, I have
left them very much as I found them. An expression here and there
which seemed likely to be misunderstood, I have slightly touched. I
have also added a brief note or two. These trifling matters excepted,
the second edition is a reprint of the first, and, as such, it is
again committed to the care of Him from whom all blessings flow. May
He be graciously pleased to crown it still further with the stamp of
His approval. His seal and sanction are all that any book requires to
make it useful; and truly, we may say, the book that has not these
has nothing.
The Lord grant a more abundant blessing, and His name shall have all
the praise.
_C. H. M._
CONTENTS
_Page._
CHAPTER I, 1
" II, 30
" III, 71
" IV.-V. 13, 102
" V. 14-VI. 7, 134
" VIII. & IX, 152
" X, 175
" XI, 200
" XII, 218
" XIII. & XIV, 225
" XV, 270
" XVI, 277
" XVII, 302
" XVIII.-XX, 307
" XXI. & XXII, 321
" XXIII, 330
" XXIV, 353
" XXV, 362
" XXVI, 373
" XXVII, 377
NOTES ON THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS
CHAPTER I.
Ere entering upon the details of the chapter before us, there are two
things which demand our careful consideration; namely, first,
Jehovah's position; and secondly, the order in which the offerings are
presented.
"And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the
tabernacle of the congregation." Such was the position from which
Jehovah made the communications contained in this book. He had been
speaking from Mount Sinai, and His position there gave marked
character to the communication. From the fiery mount "went a fiery
law;" but here, He speaks "out of the tabernacle of the congregation."
This was an entirely different position. We have seen this tabernacle
set up, at the close of the preceding book.--"And he reared up the
court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging
of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. Then a cloud covered
the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the
tabernacle.... For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by
day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of
Israel, throughout all their journeys." (Exod. xl. 33-38.)
Now, the tabernacle was God's dwelling-place in grace. He could take
up His abode there, because He was surrounded on all sides by that
which vividly set forth the ground of His relationship with the
people. Had He come into their midst in the full display of the
character revealed upon Mount Sinai, it could only have been to
"consume them in a moment," as "a stiff-necked people;" but He retired
within the vail--type of Christ's flesh (Heb. x. 20.), and took His
place on the mercy-seat, where the blood of atonement, and not the
"stiff-neckedness" of Israel, was that which met His view and
satisfied the claims of His nature. The blood which was brought into
the sanctuary by the high-priest was the type of that precious blood
which cleanses from all sin; and although Israel after the flesh saw
nothing of this, it nevertheless justified God in abiding amongst
them--it "sanctified to the purifying of the flesh." (Heb. ix. 13.)
Thus much as to Jehovah's position in this book, which must be taken
into account in order to a proper understanding of the communications
made therein. In them we shall find inflexible holiness united with
the purest grace. God is holy, no matter from whence He speaks. He was
holy on Mount Sinai, and holy above the mercy-seat; but in the former
case, His holiness stood connected with "a devouring fire," in the
latter, it was connected with patient grace. Now the connection of
perfect holiness with perfect grace is that which characterizes the
redemption which is in Christ Jesus, which redemption is, in various
ways, shadowed forth in the book of Leviticus. God must be holy, even
though it should be in the eternal condemnation of impenitent sinners;
but the full display of His holiness in the salvation of sinners calls
forth Heaven's loudest and loftiest note of praise.--"Glory to God in
the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men." (Luke ii. 14.)
This doxology could not have been sung in connection with "the fiery
law." No doubt there was "glory to God in the highest," but there was
no "peace on earth" nor "good pleasure in men," inasmuch as it was the
declaration of what men ought to be ere God could take pleasure in
them. But when "the Son" took His place as a man on the earth, the
mind of Heaven could express its entire delight in Him as the One
whose Person and work could combine, in the most perfect manner,
divine glory with human blessedness.
And now, one word as to the order of the offerings, in the opening
chapters of the book of Leviticus. The Lord begins with the
burnt-offering, and ends with the trespass-offering. That is to say,
He leaves off where we begin. This order is marked and most
instructive. When first the arrow of conviction enters the soul, there
are deep searchings of conscience in reference to sins actually
committed. Memory casts back its enlightened eye over the page of
one's past life, and sees it stained with numberless trespasses
against God and man. At this point of the soul's history, it is not so
much occupied with the question of the root from whence those
trespasses have sprung, as with the stern and palpable fact that such
and such things have actually been committed; and hence it needs to
know that God has provided a Sacrifice through which "all trespasses"
can be "frankly forgiven." This is presented to us in the
trespass-offering.
But, as one advances in the divine life, he becomes conscious that
those _sins_ which he has committed are but branches from a root,
streams from a fountain; and, moreover, that _sin_ in his nature is
that fountain--that root. This leads to far deeper exercise, which can
only be met by a deeper insight into the work of the cross. In a word,
the cross will need to be apprehended as that in which God Himself has
"condemned _sin in the flesh_." (Rom. viii. 3.) My reader will
observe, it does not say, "_sins_ in the _life_," but the root from
whence these have sprung, namely, "_sin_ in the _flesh_." This is a
truth of immense importance. Christ not merely "died for our _sins_,
according to the Scriptures," but He was "made _sin_ for us." (2 Cor.
v. 21.) This is the doctrine of the sin-offering.
Now, it is when the heart and conscience are set at rest, through the
knowledge of Christ's work, that we can feed upon Himself as the
ground of our peace and joy in the presence of God. The
trespass-offering and the sin-offering must be known ere the
peace-offering, joy-offering, or thanksgiving-offering can be
appreciated. Hence, therefore, the order in which the peace-offering
stands corresponds with the order of our spiritual apprehension of
Christ.
The same perfect order is observable in reference to the
meat-offering. When the soul is led to taste the sweetness of
spiritual communion with Christ--to feed upon Him, in peace and
thankfulness, in the divine presence, it is drawn out in earnest
desire to know more of the wondrous mysteries of His Person; and this
desire is most blessedly met in the meat-offering, which is the type
of Christ's perfect manhood.
Then, in the burnt-offering, we are conducted to a point beyond which
it is impossible to go, and that is, the work of the cross, as
accomplished under the immediate eye of God, and as the expression of
the unswerving devotion of the heart of Christ. All these things will
come before us, in beauteous detail, as we pass along; we are here
only looking at the order of the offerings, which is truly marvelous,
whichever way we travel, whether _outward_ from God to us, or _inward_
from us to God. In either case, we begin with the cross and end with
the cross. If we begin with the burnt-offering, we see Christ, on the
cross, doing the will of God--making atonement according to the
measure of His perfect surrender of Himself to God. If we begin with
the trespass-offering, we see Christ, on the cross, bearing our sins,
and putting them away according to the perfection of His atoning
sacrifice; while in each and all we behold the excellency, the beauty,
and the perfection of His divine and adorable Person. Surely, all this
is sufficient to awaken in our hearts the deepest interest in the
study of those precious types which we shall now proceed to consider
in detail. And may God the Holy Ghost, who penned the book of
Leviticus, expound its contents in living power to our hearts, that
so, when we have reached the close, we may have abundant cause to
bless His name for many thrilling and soul-stirring views of the
Person and work of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to whom
be glory, now, henceforth, and for evermore. Amen.
* * * * *
In the burnt-offering, with which our book opens, we have a type of
Christ "offering Himself without spot to God." Hence the position
which the Holy Ghost assigns to it. If the Lord Jesus Christ came
forth to accomplish the glorious work of atonement, His highest and
most fondly cherished object in so doing was the glory of God. "Lo, I
come to do Thy will, O God," was the grand motto in every scene and
circumstance of His life, and in none more markedly than in the work
of the cross. Let the will of God be what it might, He came to do it.
Blessed be God, we know what our portion is in the accomplishment of
this "will;" for by it "we are sanctified, through the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ once." (Heb. x. 10.) Still, the primary aspect
of Christ's work was Godward. It was an ineffable delight to Him to
accomplish the will of God on this earth. No one had ever done this
before. Some had, through grace, done "that which was right in the
sight of the Lord;" but no one had ever perfectly, invariably, from
first to last, without hesitation, and without divergence, done the
will of God. But this was exactly what the Lord Jesus did. He was
"obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Phil. ii. 8.) "He
steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem." And as He walked from
the garden of Gethsemane to the cross of Calvary, the intense devotion
of His heart told itself forth in these accents,--"The cup which My
Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?"
Now, in all this self-emptied devotedness to God there was truly a
sweet savor. A perfect Man on the earth accomplishing the will of God,
even in death, was an object of amazing interest to the mind of
Heaven. Who could fathom the profound depths of that devoted heart
which displayed itself, under the eye of God, on the cross? Surely,
none but God; for in this, as in every thing else, it holds good that
"no man knoweth the Son, but the Father," and no one can know aught
about Him save as the Father reveals Him. The mind of man can, in some
measure, grasp any subject of knowledge "under the sun,"--human
science can be laid hold of by the human intellect; but no man knoweth
the Son save as the Father reveals Him, by the power of the Holy
Ghost, through the written Word. The Holy Ghost delights to reveal
the Son--to take of the things of Jesus and show them unto us. These
things we have, in all their fullness and beauty, in the Word. There
can be no new revelation, inasmuch as the Spirit brought "_all_
things" to the apostles' memory, and led them into "_all_ truth."
There can be nothing beyond "all truth;" and hence, all pretension to
a new revelation and the development of new truth (meaning thereby
truth not contained in the sacred canon of inspiration) is an effort
on man's part to add to what God calls "all truth." No doubt the
Spirit may unfold and apply, with new and extraordinary power, truth
contained in the Word; but this is obviously a very different thing
from our traveling outside the range of divine revelation for the
purpose of finding principles, ideas, or dogmas which shall command
the conscience. This latter can only be regarded in the light of
impious presumption.
In the gospel narrative, we have Christ presented to us in the varied
phases of His character, His Person, and His work. To those precious
documents the people of God in all ages have rejoiced to betake
themselves, and drink in their heavenly revelations of the object of
their love and confidence--the One to whom they owed every thing, for
time and eternity. But very few, comparatively, have ever been led to
regard the rites and ceremonies of the Levitical economy as fraught
with the most minute instruction in reference to the same commanding
theme. The offerings of Leviticus, for example, have been too much
regarded as so many antiquated records of Jewish customs, conveying no
intelligible voice to our ears--no spiritual light to our
understandings. However, it must be admitted that the apparently
abstruse records of Leviticus, as well as the sublime strains of
Isaiah, take their place amongst the "things which were written
aforetime," and they are, therefore, "for our learning." True, we
shall need to study those records, as indeed all Scripture, with a
humble, self-emptied spirit; with reverent dependence upon the
teaching of Him who graciously penned them for us; with sedulous
attention to the general scope, bearing, and analogy of the entire
body of divine revelation; with an effectual curb on the imagination,
that it may not take unhallowed flights; but if thus, through grace,
we enter upon the study of the types of Leviticus, we shall find in
them a vein of the richest and finest ore.
We shall now proceed to examine the burnt-offering, which, as we have
remarked, presents Christ offering Himself without spot to God.
"If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a
male, without blemish." The essential glory and dignity of Christ's
Person form the basis of Christianity. He imparts that dignity and
glory to every thing He does, and to every office He sustains. No
office could possibly add glory to Him who is "God over all, blessed
forever"--"God manifest in the flesh"--the glorious "Immanuel"--"God
with us"--the Eternal Word--the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.
What office could add to the dignity of such an One? In point of
fact, we know that all His offices are connected with His humanity;
and in assuming that humanity, He stooped from the glory which He had
with the Father before the world was. He thus stooped in order to
glorify God perfectly in the very midst of a scene where all was
hostile to Him. He came to be "eaten up" by a holy, unquenchable zeal
for the glory of God, and the effectual carrying out of His eternal
counsels.
The unblemished male of the first year was a type of the Lord Jesus
Christ offering Himself for the perfect accomplishment of the will of
God. There should be nothing expressive either of weakness or
imperfection. "A male of the first year" was required. We shall see,
when we come to examine the other offerings, that "a female" was in
some cases permitted; but that was only expressive of the imperfection
which attached to the worshiper's apprehension, and in no wise of any
defect in the offering, inasmuch as it was "unblemished" in the one
case as well as in the other. Here, however, it was an offering of the
very highest order, because it was Christ offering Himself to God.
Christ, in the burnt-offering, was exclusively for the eye and heart
of God. This point should be distinctly apprehended. God alone could
duly estimate the Person and work of Christ; He alone could fully
appreciate the cross as the expression of Christ's perfect
devotedness. The cross, as foreshadowed by the burnt-offering, had an
element in it which only the divine mind could apprehend; it had
depths so profound, that neither mortal nor angel could fathom them.
There was a voice in it which was intended exclusively for, and went
directly to, the ear of the Father. There were communications between
the cross of Calvary and the throne of God which lay far beyond the
highest range of created intelligence.
"He shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord." The use of the word
"_voluntary_" here brings out with great clearness the grand idea in
the burnt-offering. It leads us to contemplate the cross in an aspect
which is not sufficiently apprehended. We are too apt to look upon the
cross merely as the place where the great question of sin was gone
into and settled between eternal Justice and the spotless Victim--as
the place where our guilt was atoned for, and where Satan was
gloriously vanquished. Eternal and universal praise to redeeming love!
the cross was all this; but it was more than this,--it was the place
where Christ's love to the Father was told out in language which only
the Father could hear and understand. It is in the latter aspect that
we have it typified in the burnt-offering, and therefore it is that
the word "voluntary" occurs. Were it merely a question of the
imputation of sin, and of enduring the wrath of God on account of sin,
such an expression would not be in moral order. The blessed Lord Jesus
could not, with strict propriety, be represented as _willing_ to be
"made sin"--_willing_ to endure the wrath of God and the hiding of
His countenance; and in this one fact we learn, in the clearest
manner, that the _burnt-offering does not foreshadow Christ on the
cross bearing sin_, but Christ on the cross accomplishing the will of
God. That Christ Himself contemplated the cross in these two aspects
of it is evident from His own words. When He looked at the cross as
the place of sin-bearing--when He anticipated the horrors with which,
in this point of view, it stood invested, He exclaimed, "Father, if
Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me." (Luke xxiii. 42.) He shrank
from that which His work, as a sin-bearer, involved. His pure and holy
mind shrank from the thought of contact with sin, and His loving heart
shrank from the thought of losing, for a moment, the light of God's
countenance.
But then, the cross had another aspect. It stood before the eye of
Christ as a scene in which He could fully tell out all the deep
secrets of His love to the Father--a place in which He could, "of His
own voluntary will," take the cup which the Father had given Him, and
drain it to the very dregs. True it is that the whole life of Christ
emitted a fragrant odor, which ever ascended to the Father's
throne--He did always those things which pleased the Father--He ever
did the will of God; but the burnt-offering does not typify Him in His
life--precious, beyond all thought, as was every act of that
life,--but in His death, and in that, not as one "made a curse for
us," but as one presenting to the heart of the Father an odor of
incomparable fragrance.
This truth invests the cross with peculiar charms for the spiritual
mind. It imparts to the sufferings of our blessed Lord an interest of
the most intense character. The guilty sinner, no doubt, finds in the
cross a divine answer to the deepest and most earnest cravings of
heart and conscience: the true believer finds in the cross that which
captivates every affection of his heart, and transfixes his whole
moral being: the angels find in the cross a theme for ceaseless
admiration. All this is true; but there is that in the cross which
passes far beyond the loftiest conceptions of saints or angels,
namely, the deep-toned devotion of the heart of the Son presented to
and appreciated by the heart of the Father. This is the elevated
aspect of the cross which is so strikingly shadowed forth in the
burnt-offering.
And here let me remark that the distinctive beauty of the
burnt-offering must be entirely sacrificed if we admit the idea that
Christ was a sin-bearer all His life. There would then be no force, no
value, no meaning in the word "voluntary." There could be no room for
voluntary action in the case of one who was compelled, by the very
necessity of his position, to yield up his life. If Christ were a
sin-bearer in His life, then, assuredly, His death must have been a
_necessary_, not a voluntary, act. Indeed, it may be safely asserted
that there is not one of the offerings the beauty of which would not
be marred, and its strict integrity sacrificed, by the theory of _a
life_ of sin-bearing. In the burnt-offering, this is especially the
case, inasmuch as it is not, in it, a question of sin-bearing, or
enduring the wrath of God, but entirely one of voluntary devotedness,
manifested in the death of the cross. In the burnt-offering, we
recognize a type of God the Son accomplishing, by God the Spirit, the
will of God the Father. This He did "of His own voluntary will."
"Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I
might take it again." (John x. 17.) Here we have the burnt-offering
aspect of the death of Christ. On the other hand, the prophet,
contemplating Him as the sin-offering, says, "His life _is taken_ from
the earth" (Acts. viii. 33.) (which is the LXX. version of Isaiah
liii. 8.). Again, Christ says, "No one [ου δεις] taketh it from Me,
but I lay it down of Myself." Was He a sin-bearer when He said this?
Observe, it is "No one,"--man, angel, devil, or else. It was His own
voluntary act, to lay down His life that He might take it again. "I
delight to do Thy will, O My God." Such was the language of the divine
burnt-offering--of Him who found His unutterable joy in offering
Himself without spot to God.
Now, it is of the last importance to apprehend with distinctness the
primary object of the heart of Christ in the work of redemption. It
tends to consolidate the believer's peace. The accomplishment of God's
will, the establishment of God's counsels, and the display of God's
glory, occupied the fullest, deepest, and largest place in that
devoted heart which viewed and estimated every thing in reference to
God. The Lord Jesus never once stopped to inquire how any act or
circumstance would affect Himself. "He humbled Himself"--"He made
Himself of no reputation"--He surrendered all. And hence, when He
arrived at the close of His career, He could look back upon it all,
and say, with His eyes lifted up to heaven, "I have glorified Thee on
the earth; I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do." (John
xvii. 4.) It is impossible to contemplate the work of Christ, in this
aspect of it, without having the heart filled with the sweetest
affections toward His Person. It does not detract, in the smallest
degree, from our sense of His love to us, to know that He made God His
primary object in the work of the cross. Quite the opposite. His love
to us, and our salvation in Him, could only be founded upon God's
established glory. That glory must form the solid basis of every
thing. "As truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the
glory of the Lord." (Numb. xiv. 21.) But we know that God's eternal
glory and the creature's eternal blessedness are, in the divine
counsels, inseparably linked together, so that if the former be
secured, the latter must needs be so likewise.
"And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering; and it
shall be accepted for him, to make atonement for him." The act of
laying on of hands was expressive of full identification. By that
significant act, the offerer and the offering became one; and this
oneness, in the ease of the burnt-offering, secured for the offerer
all the acceptableness of his offering. The application of this to
Christ and the believer sets forth a truth of the most precious
nature, and one largely developed in the New Testament, namely, the
believer's everlasting identification with, and acceptance in, Christ.
"As He is, so are we in this world." "We are in Him that is true." (1
John iv. 17; v. 20.) Nothing, in any measure, short of this could
avail. The man who is not in Christ is in his sins. There is no middle
ground: you must be either in Christ or out of Him. There is no such
thing as being _partly_ in Christ. If there is a single hair's breadth
between you and Christ, you are in an actual state of wrath and
condemnation; but, on the other hand, if you are in Him, then are you
"as He is" before God, and so accounted in the presence of infinite
holiness. Such is the plain teaching of the Word of God. "Ye are
complete in Him"--"accepted in the Beloved"--"members of His body, of
His flesh, and of His bones." "He that is joined unto the Lord is one
spirit." (1 Cor. vi. 17; Eph. i. 6; v. 30; Col. ii. 10.) Now, it is
not possible that the Head can be in one degree of acceptance and the
members in another. No; the head and the members are one. God counts
them one, and therefore they are one. This truth is at once the ground
of the loftiest confidence, and of the most profound humility. It
imparts the fullest assurance of "boldness in the day of judgment,"
inasmuch as it is not possible that aught can be laid to the charge of
Him with whom we are united: it imparts the deep sense of our own
nothingness, inasmuch as our union with Christ is founded upon the
death of nature and the utter abolition of all its claims and
pretensions.
Since, therefore, the Head and the members are viewed in the same
position of infinite favor and acceptance before God, it is perfectly
evident that all the members stand in one acceptance, in one
salvation, in one life, in one righteousness. There are no degrees in
justification. The babe in Christ stands in the same justification as
the saint of fifty years' experience. The one is in Christ, and so is
the other; and this, as it is the only ground of life, so it is the
only ground of justification. There are not two kinds of life, neither
are there two kinds of justification. No doubt there are various
measures of enjoyment of this justification--various degrees in the
knowledge of its fullness and extent--various degrees in the ability
to exhibit its power upon the heart and life; and these things are
frequently confounded with the justification itself, which, as being
divine, is necessarily eternal, absolute, unvarying, entirely
unaffected by the fluctuations of human feeling and experience.
But, further, there is no such thing as progress in justification. The
believer is not more justified today than he was yesterday; nor will
he be more justified to-morrow than he is to-day; yea, a soul who is
"in Christ Jesus" is as completely justified as if he were before the
throne. He is "_complete_ in Christ;" he is "_as_" Christ. He is, on
Christ's own authority, "clean every whit." (John xiii. 10.) What
more could he be at this side of the glory? He may [and if he walks in
the Spirit, will] make progress in the sense and enjoyment of this
glorious reality; but, as to the thing itself, the moment he, by the
power of the Holy Ghost, believed the gospel, he passed from a
positive state of unrighteousness and condemnation into a positive
state of righteousness and acceptance. All this is based upon the
divine perfectness of Christ's work; just as, in the case of the
burnt-offering, the worshiper's acceptance was based upon the
acceptableness of his offering. It was not a question of what he was,
but simply of what the sacrifice was.--"_It_ shall be accepted _for
him_, to make atonement for him."
"And he shall kill the bullock before the Lord; and the priests,
Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round
about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation." It is most needful, in studying the doctrine of the
burnt-offering, to bear in mind that the grand point set forth therein
is not the meeting of the sinner's need, but the presentation to God
of that which was infinitely acceptable to Him. Christ as foreshadowed
by the burnt-offering is not for the sinner's conscience, but for the
heart of God. Further, the cross in the burnt-offering is not the
exhibition of the exceeding hatefulness of sin, but of Christ's
unshaken and unshakable devotedness to the Father; neither is it the
scene of God's outpoured wrath on Christ the sin-bearer, but of the
Father's unmingled complacency in Christ the voluntary and most
fragrant Sacrifice. Finally, "atonement" as seen in the burnt-offering
is not merely commensurate with the claims of man's conscience, but
with the intense desire of the heart of Christ to carry out the will
and establish the counsels of God--a desire which stopped not short of
surrendering up His spotless, precious life, as "a voluntary offering"
of "sweet savor" to God.
From the carrying out of this desire, no power of earth or hell, men
or devils, could shake Him. When Peter ignorantly sought to dissuade
Him, by words of false tenderness, from encountering the shame and
degradation of the cross--"Pity Thyself, Lord: this shall not be unto
Thee"--what was the reply? "Get thee behind Me, Satan: Thou art an
offense unto Me; for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but
those that be of men." (Matt. xvi. 22, 23.) So, also, on another
occasion, He says to His disciples, "Hereafter I will not talk much
with you; for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me.
But that the world may know that _I love the Father_, and as the
Father gave Me commandment, even so I do." (John xiv. 30.) These and
numerous other kindred scriptures bring out the burnt-offering phase
of Christ's work, in which, it is evident, the primary thought is His
"offering Himself without spot to God."
In full keeping with all that has been stated in reference to the
special point in the burnt-offering, is the place which Aaron's sons
get, and the functions assigned them therein. They "sprinkle the
blood;" they "put the fire upon the altar;" they "lay the wood in
order upon the fire;" they "lay the parts, the head and the fat, in
order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar."
These are very prominent actions, and they form a marked feature of
the burnt-offering, as contrasted with the sin-offering, in which
Aaron's sons are not mentioned at all. "The sons of Aaron" represent
the Church, not as "one body," but as a priestly house. This is easily
apprehended. If Aaron was a type of Christ, then Aaron's house was a
type of Christ's house, as we read, in Heb. iii, "But Christ as a Son
over His own house; whose house are we." And again, "Behold I and the
children whom God hath given Me." Now, it is the privilege of the
Church, as led and taught by the Holy Ghost, to gaze upon and delight
in that aspect of Christ which is presented in this opening type of
Leviticus. "Our fellowship is with the Father," who graciously calls
us to participate with Him in His thoughts about Christ. True, we can
never rise to the height of those thoughts, but we can have fellowship
therein, by the Holy Ghost, who dwells in us. It is not here a
question of having the conscience tranquilized by the blood of Christ
as the sin-bearer, but of communion with God in the matter of Christ's
perfect surrender of Himself on the cross.
"_The priests_, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the
blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle
of the congregation." Here we have a type of the Church bringing the
memorial of an accomplished sacrifice, and presenting it in the place
of individual approach to God. But we must remember, it is the blood
of the burnt-offering, and not of the sin-offering;--it is the Church,
in the power of the Holy Ghost, entering into the stupendous thought
of Christ's accomplished devotedness to God, and not a convicted
sinner entering into the value of the blood of the sin-bearer. I need
hardly say that the Church is composed of sinners, and convicted
sinners, too; but "Aaron's sons" do not represent convicted sinners,
but worshiping saints,--it is as "_priests_" they have to do with the
burnt-offering. Many err as to this. They imagine that because one
takes the place of a worshiper (being invited by the grace of God, and
fitted by the blood of Christ so to do), he thereby refuses to
acknowledge himself a poor worthless sinner. This is a great mistake.
The believer is, in himself, "nothing at all;" but in Christ, he is a
purged worshiper. He does not stand in the sanctuary as a guilty
sinner, but as a worshiping priest, clothed in "garments of glory and
beauty." To be occupied with my guilt in the presence of God is not
humility as regards myself, but unbelief as regards the Sacrifice.
However, it must be very evident to my reader that the idea of
sin-bearing--the imputation of sin--the wrath of God--does not appear
in the burnt-offering. True, we read, "It shall be accepted for him,
_to make atonement_ for him;" but then, it is "atonement," not
according to the depths and enormity of human guilt, but according to
the perfection of Christ's surrender of Himself to God, and the
intensity of God's delight in Christ. This gives us the very loftiest
idea of atonement. If I contemplate Christ as the sin-offering, I see
atonement made according to the claims of divine justice with respect
to sin; but when I see atonement in the burnt-offering, it is
according to the measure of Christ's willingness and ability to
accomplish the will of God, and according to the measure of God's
complacency in Christ and His work. What a perfect atonement must that
be which is the fruit of Christ's devotion to God! Could there be any
thing beyond this? Assuredly not. The burnt-offering aspect of
atonement is that about which the priestly household may well be
occupied in the courts of the Lord's house forever.
"And he shall flay the burnt-offering, and cut it into his pieces."
The ceremonial act of "flaying" was peculiarly expressive. It was
simply the removing of the outward covering, in order that what was
_within_ might be fully revealed. It was not sufficient that the
offering should be outwardly "without blemish," "the hidden parts"
should be all disclosed, in order that every sinew and every joint
might be seen. It was only in the case of the burnt-offering that this
action was specially named. This is quite in character, and tends to
set forth the depth of Christ's devotedness to the Father. It was no
mere surface-work with Him. The more the secrets of His inner life
were disclosed--the more the depths of His being were explored, the
more clearly was it made manifest that pure devotion to the will of
His Father, and earnest desire for His glory, were the springs of
action in the great Antitype of the burnt-offering. He was, most
assuredly, a whole burnt-offering.
"And cut it into his pieces." This action presents a somewhat similar
truth to that taught in the "sweet incense _beaten small_." (Lev.
xvi.) The Holy Ghost delights to dwell upon the sweetness and
fragrance of the sacrifice of Christ, not only as a whole, but also in
all its minute details. Look at the burnt-offering as a whole, and you
see it without blemish: look at it in all its parts, and you see it to
be the same. Such was Christ; and as such He is shadowed forth in this
important type.
"And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and
lay the wood in order upon the fire. And the priests, Aaron's sons,
shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood
that is on the fire which is upon the altar." This was a high position
for the priestly family. The burnt-offering was wholly offered to
God,--it was all burnt upon the altar.[2] Man did not partake of it;
but the sons of Aaron the priest (themselves being likewise priests)
are here seen standing round the altar of God, to behold the flame of
an acceptable sacrifice ascending to Him--an odor of sweet smell. This
was a high position--high communion--a high order of priestly
service--a striking type of the Church having fellowship with God, in
reference to the perfect accomplishment of His will in the death of
Christ. As convicted sinners, we gaze on the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and behold therein that which meets all our need. The cross,
in this aspect of it, gives perfect peace to the conscience. But then,
as priests, as purged worshipers, as members of the priestly family,
we can look at the cross in another light--even as the grand
consummation of Christ's holy purpose to carry out, even unto death,
the will of the Father. As convicted sinners, we stand at the brazen
altar, and find peace through the blood of atonement; but as priests,
we stand there to behold and admire the completeness of that
burnt-offering--the perfect surrender and presentation of the spotless
One to God.
[2] It may be well, at this point, to inform the reader that the
Hebrew word which is rendered "burn" in the case of the burnt-offering
is wholly different from that which is used in the sin-offering. I
shall, because of the peculiar interest of the subject, refer to a few
of the passages in which each word occurs. The word used in the
burnt-offering signifies "incense," or to "burn incense," and occurs
in the following passages, in some one or other of its various
inflections: Lev. vi. 15--"And all the _frankincense_, ... and shall
_burn_ it upon the altar;" Deut. xxxiii. 10--"They shall put _incense_
before Thee, and whole _burnt_-sacrifice upon Thine altar;" Exod. xxx.
1--"And thou shalt make an altar to _burn incense_ upon;" Ps. lxvi.
15--"With the _incense_ of rams;" Jer. xliv. 21--"The _incense_ that
ye _burned_ in the cities of Judah;" Cant. iii. 16--"Perfumed with
myrrh and _frankincense_." Passages might be multiplied, but the above
will suffice to show the use of the word which occurs in the
burnt-offering.
The Hebrew word which is rendered "burn" in connection with the
sin-offering, signifies to burn in general, and occurs in the
following passages: Gen. xl. 3--"Let us make brick, and _burn_ them
thoroughly." Lev. x. 16--"And Moses diligently sought the goat of the
_sin_-offering, and, behold, it was _burnt_." 2 Chron. xvi. 14--"And
they made a very great _burning_ for him."
Thus, not only was the sin-offering burnt in a different place, but a
different word is adopted by the Holy Ghost to express the burning of
it. Now, we cannot imagine, for a moment, that this distinction is a
mere interchange of words, the use of which is indifferent. I believe
the wisdom of the Holy Ghost is as manifest in the use of the two
words as it is in any other point of difference in the two offerings.
The spiritual reader will attach the proper value to the above most
interesting distinction.
We should have a very defective apprehension of the mystery of the
cross were we only to see in it that which meets man's need as a
sinner. There were depths in that mystery which only the mind of God
could fathom. It is therefore important to see that when the Holy
Ghost would furnish us with foreshadowings of the cross, He gives us,
in the very first place, one which sets it forth in its aspect
Godward. This alone would be sufficient to teach us that there are
heights and depths in the doctrine of the cross which man never could
reach. He may approach to "that one well-spring of delight," and drink
forever--he may satisfy the utmost longings of his spirit--he may
explore it with all the powers of the renewed nature; but, after all,
there is that in the cross which only God could know and appreciate.
Hence it is that the burnt-offering gets the first place. It typifies
Christ's death as viewed and valued by God alone. And surely, we may
say, we could not have done without such a type as this; for not only
does it give us the highest possible aspect of the death of Christ,
but it also gives us a most precious thought in reference to God's
peculiar interest in that death. The very fact of His instituting a
type of Christ's death which was to be exclusively for Himself,
contains a volume of instruction for the spiritual mind.
But though neither man nor angel can ever fully sound the amazing
depths of the mystery of Christ's death, we can, at least, see some
features of it which would needs make it precious, beyond all thought,
to the heart of God. From the cross, He reaps His richest harvest of
glory. In no other way could He have been so glorified as by the death
of Christ. In Christ's voluntary surrender of Himself to death, the
divine glory shines out in its fullest brightness; in it, too, the
solid foundation of all the divine counsels was laid. This is a most
comforting truth. Creation never could have furnished such a basis.
Moreover, the cross furnishes a righteous channel through which divine
love can flow. And, finally, by the cross Satan is eternally
confounded, and "principalities and powers made a show of openly."
These are glorious fruits produced by the cross; and, when we think of
them, we can see just reason why there should have been a type of the
cross exclusively for God Himself, and also a reason why that type
should occupy the leading place--should stand at the very top of the
list. Again let me say, there would have been a grievous blank among
the types had the burnt-offering been lacking, and there would be a
grievous blank in the page of inspiration had the record of that type
been withheld.
"But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water; and the priest
shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt-sacrifice, an offering made
by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord." This action rendered the
sacrifice typically what Christ was essentially--pure--both inwardly
and outwardly pure. There was the most perfect correspondence between
Christ's inward motives and His outward conduct. The latter was the
index of the former. All tended to the one point, namely, the glory of
God. The members of His body perfectly obeyed and carried out the
counsels of His devoted heart--that heart which only beat for God, and
for His glory, in the salvation of men. Well, therefore, might the
priest "burn _all_ on the altar." It was all typically pure, and all
designed only as food for the altar of God. Of some sacrifices the
priest partook; of some, the offerer; but the burnt-offering was "all"
consumed on the altar. It was exclusively for God. The priests might
arrange the wood and the fire, and see the flame ascend (and a high
and holy privilege it was so to do); but they did not eat of the
sacrifice: God alone was the object of Christ in the burnt-offering
aspect of His death. We cannot be too simple in our apprehension of
this. From the moment that the unblemished male was voluntarily
presented at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, until it
was reduced to ashes by the action of the fire, we discern in it
Christ offering Himself, by the Eternal Spirit, without spot to God.
This makes the burnt-offering unspeakably precious to the soul. It
gives us the most exalted view of Christ's work. In that work, God
had His own peculiar joy--a joy into which no created intelligence
could enter. This must never be lost sight of. It is unfolded in the
burnt-offering, and confirmed by "the law of the burnt-offering," to
which we shall just refer.
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 'Command Aaron and his sons,
saying, This is the law of the burnt-offering: It is the
burnt-offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto
the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it. And the
priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he
put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed
with the burnt-offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the
altar. And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments,
and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place. And the
fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out:
and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the
burnt-offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of
the peace-offerings. The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it
shall never go out.'" (Lev. vi. 8-13.) The fire on the altar consumed
the burnt-offering and the fat of the peace-offering. It was the apt
expression of divine holiness, which found in Christ and His perfect
sacrifice a proper material on which to feed. That fire was never to
go out. There was to be the perpetual maintenance of that which set
forth the action of divine holiness. Through the dark and silent
watches of the night, the fire blazed on the altar of God.
"And the priest shall put on his linen garment," etc. Here, the priest
takes, in type, the place of Christ, whose personal righteousness is
set forth by the white linen garment. He having given Himself up to
the death of the cross in order to accomplish the will of God, has
entered, in His own eternal righteousness, into heaven, bearing with
Him the memorials of His finished work. The ashes declared the
completion of the sacrifice, and God's acceptance thereof. Those ashes
placed beside the altar indicated that the fire had consumed the
sacrifice--that it was not only a completed, but also an accepted,
sacrifice. The ashes of the burnt-offering declared the acceptance of
the sacrifice: the ashes of the sin-offering declared the judgment of
the sin.
Many of the points on which we have been dwelling will, with the
divine blessing, come before us with increasing clearness, fullness,
precision, and power as we proceed with the offerings. Each offering
is, as it were, thrown into relief by being viewed in contrast with
all the rest. All the offerings taken together give us a full view of
Christ. They are like so many mirrors, arranged in such a manner as to
reflect in various ways the figure of that true and only-perfect
Sacrifice. No one type could fully present Him. We needed to have Him
reflected in life and in death--as a Man and as a Victim, Godward and
usward; and we have Him thus in the offerings of Leviticus. God has
graciously met our need; and may He give us an enlarged capacity to
enter into and enjoy His provision.