We now come to consider the meat-offering, which presents, in a very
distinct manner, "the Man Christ Jesus." As the burnt-offering
typifies Christ in _death_, the meat-offering typifies Him in _life_.
In neither the one nor the other is there a question of sin-bearing.
In the burnt-offering, we see atonement, but no sin-bearing[3]--no
imputation of sin--no outpoured wrath on account of sin. How can we
know this? Because it was all consumed on the altar. Had there been
aught of sin-bearing, it would have been consumed outside the camp.
(Comp. Lev. iv. 11, 12, with Heb. xiii. 11.)
[3] That is to say, sin-bearing is not prominent. Of course, where
there is atonement, sin must be in question.
But in the meat-offering, there was not even a question of
bloodshedding. We simply find in it a beauteous type of Christ as He
lived and walked and served down here on this earth. This one fact is,
of itself, sufficient to draw the spiritual mind to the close and
prayerful consideration of this offering. The pure and perfect manhood
of our blessed Lord is a theme which must command the attention of
every true Christian. It is to be feared that great looseness of
thought prevails in reference to this holy mystery. The expressions
which one sometimes hears and reads are sufficient to prove that the
fundamental doctrine of incarnation is not laid hold of as the Word
presents it. Such expressions may very probably proceed from
misapprehension as to the real nature of His relations, and as to the
true character of His sufferings; but, from what cause soever they
arise, they should be judged in the light of holy Scripture, and
rejected. Doubtless, many who make use of those expressions would
recoil, with just horror and indignation, from the real doctrine
contained in them were it put before them in its broad and true
characters; and, for this reason, one should be sorry to attribute
unsoundness as to fundamental truth, where it may merely be inaccuracy
of statement.
There is, however, one consideration which should weigh heavily in the
estimation of every Christian, and that is, the vital nature of the
doctrine of Christ's humanity. It lies at the very foundation of
Christianity; and, for this reason, Satan has diligently sought, from
the beginning, to lead people astray in reference to it. Almost all
the leading errors which have found their way into the professing
church disclose the satanic purpose to undermine the truth as to the
Person of Christ. And even when earnest, godly men have sought to
combat those errors, they have, in many cases, plunged into errors on
the opposite side. Hence, therefore, the need of close adherence to
the veritable words which the Holy Ghost has made use of in unfolding
this profound and most sacred mystery. Indeed, I believe that, in
every case, subjection to the authority of holy Scripture, and the
energy of the divine life in the soul, will prove effectual safeguards
against every complexion of error. It does not require high
theological attainments to enable a soul to keep clear of error with
respect to the doctrine of Christ. If only the word of Christ be
dwelling richly, and "the Spirit of Christ" be in energy, in the soul,
there will be no room for Satan to thrust in his dark and horrible
suggestions. If the heart be delighting in the Christ which Scripture
unfolds, it will assuredly shrink from the false Christs which Satan
would introduce. If we are feeding upon God's reality, we shall
unhesitatingly reject Satan's counterfeit. This is the best possible
way in which to escape the entanglements of error, in every shape and
character. "The sheep _hear His voice_, and ... follow Him; for they
_know His voice_. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee
from him; for _they know not the voice of strangers_." (John x. 3-5.)
It is not, by any means, needful to be acquainted with the voice of a
stranger in order to turn away from it: all we require is to know the
voice of "the good Shepherd." This will secure us against the
ensnaring influence of every strange sound. While, therefore, I feel
called upon to warn the reader against strange sounds in reference to
the divine mystery of Christ's humanity, I do not deem it needful to
discuss such sounds, but would rather seek, through grace, to arm him
against them by unfolding the doctrine of Scripture on the subject.
There are few things in which we exhibit more failure than in
maintaining vigorous communion with the perfect manhood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Hence it is that we suffer so much from vacancy,
barrenness, restlessness, and wandering. Did we but enter with a more
artless faith into the truth that there is a real Man at the right
hand of the Majesty in the heavens--One whose sympathy is perfect,
whose love is fathomless, whose power is omnipotent, whose wisdom is
infinite, whose resources are exhaustless, whose riches are
unsearchable, whose ear is open to our every breathing, whose hand is
open to our every need, whose heart is full of unspeakable love and
tenderness towards us--how much more happy and elevated we should be,
and how much more independent of creature streams, through what
channel soever they may flow! There is nothing the heart can crave
which we have not in Jesus. Does it long for genuine sympathy? Where
can it find it, save in Him who could mingle His tears with those of
the bereaved sisters of Bethany? Does it desire the enjoyment of
sincere affection? It can only find it in that heart which told forth
its love in drops of blood. Does it seek the protection of real power?
It has but to look to Him who made the world. Does it feel the need of
unerring wisdom to guide? Let it betake itself to Him who is wisdom
personified, and "who of God is made unto us wisdom." In one word, we
have all in Christ. The divine mind and the divine affections have
found a perfect object in "the Man Christ Jesus;" and surely, if there
is that in the Person of Christ which can perfectly satisfy God, there
is that which ought to satisfy us, and which will satisfy us in
proportion as, by the grace of the Holy Ghost, we walk in communion
with God.
The Lord Jesus Christ was the only perfect Man that ever trod this
earth. He was all perfect--perfect in thought, perfect in word,
perfect in action. In Him every moral quality met in divine and
therefore perfect proportion. No one feature preponderated. In Him
were exquisitely blended a majesty which overawed, and a gentleness
which gave perfect ease in His presence. The scribes and the Pharisees
met His withering rebuke, while the poor Samaritan and "the woman that
was a sinner" found themselves unaccountably, yet irresistibly,
attracted to Him. No one feature displaced another, for all was in
fair and comely proportion. This may be traced in every scene of His
perfect life. He could say, in reference to five thousand hungry
people, "Give ye them to eat;" and when they were filled, He could
say, "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." The
benevolence and the economy are both perfect, and neither interferes
with the other: each shines in its own proper sphere. He could not
send unsatisfied hunger away; neither could He suffer a single
fragment of God's creatures to be wasted. He would meet, with a full
and liberal hand, the need of the human family, and when that was
done, He would carefully treasure up every atom. The self-same hand
that was widely open to every form of human need was firmly closed
against all prodigality. There was nothing niggardly nor yet
extravagant in the character of the perfect--the heavenly Man.
What a lesson for us! How often, with us, does benevolence resolve
itself into an unwarrantable profusion! and, on the other hand, how
often is our economy marred by the exhibition of a miserly spirit! At
times, too, our niggard hearts refuse to open themselves to the full
extent of the need which presents itself before us; while, at other
times, we squander, through a wanton extravagance, that which might
satisfy many a needy fellow-creature. Oh, my reader, let us carefully
study the divine picture set before us in the life of "the Man Christ
Jesus." How refreshing and strengthening to "the inward man" to be
occupied with Him who was perfect in all His ways, and who "in all
things must have the pre-eminence"!
See Him in the garden of Gethsemane. There, He kneels in the profound
depths of a humility which none but Himself could exhibit; but yet
before the traitor's band He exhibits a self-possession and majesty
which cause them to go backward and fall to the ground. His deportment
before God is prostration; before His judges and accusers, unbending
dignity. All is perfect. The self-emptiness and the self-possession,
the prostration and the dignity, are all divine.
So, also, when we contemplate the beauteous combination of His divine
and human relations, the same perfectness is observable. He could say,
"How was it that ye sought Me? Wist ye not that I must be about My
Father's business?" And, at the same time, He could go down to
Nazareth, and there set an example of perfect subjection to parental
authority. (See Luke ii. 49-51.) He could say to His mother, "Woman,
what have I to do with thee?" And yet, when passing through the
unutterable agony of the cross, He could tenderly commit that mother
to the care of the beloved disciple. In the former case, He separated
Himself, in the spirit of perfect Nazariteship, to accomplish His
Father's will; while in the latter, He gave expression to the tender
feelings of the perfect human heart. The devotion of the Nazarite and
the affection of the Man were both perfect. Neither was permitted to
interfere with the other: each shone with undimmed lustre in its
proper sphere.
Now, the shadow of this perfect Man passes before us in the "fine
flour" which formed the basis of the meat-offering. There was not so
much as a single coarse grain. There was nothing uneven--nothing
unequal--nothing rough to the touch. No matter what pressure came from
without, there was always an even surface. He was never ruffled by any
circumstance or set of circumstances. He never had to retrace a step
or recall a word. Come what might, He always met it in that perfect
evenness which is so strikingly typified by the "fine flour."
In all these things, it is needless to say, He stands in marked
contrast with His most honored and devoted servants. For example,
Moses, though "the meekest man in all the earth," yet "spoke
unadvisedly with his lips." In Peter, we find a zeal and an energy
which at times proved too much for the occasion; and, again, a
cowardice which shrank from the place of testimony and reproach. There
was the assertion of a devotedness which, when the time for action
arrived, was not forthcoming. John, who breathed so much of the
atmosphere of the immediate presence of Christ, exhibited, at times, a
sectarian and an intolerant spirit. In Paul, the most devoted of
servants, we observe considerable unevenness. He uttered words to the
high-priest which he had to recall: he sent a letter to the
Corinthians of which at first he repented and afterwards repented not.
In all, we find some flaw, save in Him who is "the fairest among ten
thousand, and altogether lovely."
In the examination of the meat-offering, it will give clearness and
simplicity to our thoughts to consider, first, the materials of which
it was composed; secondly, the various forms in which it was
presented; and, thirdly, the persons who partook of it.
As to the materials, the "fine flour" may be regarded as the basis of
the offering; and in it we have a type of Christ's humanity, wherein
every perfection met. Every virtue was there, and ready for effectual
action in due season. The Holy Ghost delights to unfold the glories of
Christ's Person, to set Him forth in all His peerless excellence, to
place Him before us in contrast with all beside. He contrasts Him with
Adam, even in his very best and highest state; as we read, "The first
man is of the earth, earthy: the second Man is the Lord from heaven."
(1 Cor. xv. 47.) The first Adam, even in his unfallen condition, was
"of the earth;" but the second Man was "the Lord from heaven."
The "oil," in the meat-offering, is a type of the Holy Ghost. But
inasmuch as the oil is applied in a twofold way, so we have the Holy
Ghost presented in a double aspect, in _connection_ with the
_incarnation_ of the Son. The fine flour was "_mingled_" with oil, and
there was oil "_poured_" upon it. Such was the type; and in the
Antitype, we see the blessed Lord Jesus Christ first "_conceived_,"
and then "_anointed_," by the Holy Ghost. (Comp. Matt. i. 18-23 with
chap. iii. 16.) This is divine! The accuracy, which is here so
apparent, draws forth the soul's admiration. It is one and the same
Spirit which records the ingredients of the type, and gives us the
facts in the Antitype. The One who has detailed for us, with such
amazing precision, the types and shadows of the book of Leviticus, has
also given us the glorious subject thereof in the gospel narratives.
The same Spirit breathes through the pages of the Old and those of the
New Testament, and enables us to see how exactly the one corresponds
with the other.
The conception of Christ's humanity by the Holy Ghost, in the womb of
the virgin, unfolds one of the most profound mysteries which can
possibly engage the attention of the renewed mind. It is most fully
set forth in Luke's gospel; and this is entirely characteristic,
inasmuch as, throughout that gospel, it would seem to be the special
object of the Holy Ghost to unfold, in His own divinely touching
manner, "the Man Christ Jesus." In Matthew, we have "the Son of
Abraham--the Son of David;" in Mark, we have the divine Servant--the
heavenly Workman; in John, we have "the Son of God"--the Eternal
Word--the Life--the Light, by whom all things were made; but the great
theme of the Holy Ghost in Luke is "the Son of Man."
When the angel Gabriel had announced to Mary the dignity which was
about to be conferred upon her, in connection with the great work of
incarnation, she, not in a spirit of scepticism, but of honest
ignorance, inquired, "How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" It
manifestly seemed to her that the birth of this glorious Person who
was about to appear should be according to the ordinary principles of
generation; and this her thought is made the occasion, in the
exceeding goodness of God, of developing much valuable light in
reference to the cardinal truth of incarnation. The angel's reply to
the virgin's question is unspeakably interesting, and cannot be too
closely considered. "And the angel answered and said unto her, 'The
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall
overshadow thee; _therefore_ also that _holy Thing_ which shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God." (Luke i. 35.)
From this magnificent passage, we learn that the human body into which
the Eternal Son entered was formed by "the power of the Highest." "A
body hast _Thou_ prepared Me." (Comp. Ps. xl. 6 with Heb. x. 5.) It
was a real human body--real "flesh and blood." There is no possible
foundation here on which gnosticism or mysticism can base its vapid
and worthless theories,--no warrant for the cold abstractions of the
former, or the misty fancies of the latter. All is deep, solid, and
divine reality: the very thing which our hearts needed--the very thing
which God has given. The early promise had declared that "the seed of
the woman shall bruise the serpent's head," and none but a real man
could accomplish this prediction--one whose nature was as real as it
was pure and incorruptible. "Thou shalt conceive in thy womb," said
the angelic messenger, "and bring forth a Son."[4] And then, lest
there should be any room for an error in reference to the mode of this
conception, he adds such words as prove, unanswerably, that the "flesh
and blood" of which the Eternal Son "took part," while absolutely
real, was absolutely incapable of receiving, of retaining, or of
communicating a single taint. The humanity of the Lord Jesus was
emphatically "_that holy Thing_." And inasmuch as it was wholly
without taint, it was wholly without a seed of mortality. We cannot
think of mortality, save in connection with sin; and Christ's humanity
had naught to do with sin, either personally or relatively. Sin was
imputed to Him on the cross, where He was "made sin for us." But the
meat-offering is not the type of Christ as a sin-bearer. It
foreshadows Him in His perfect life here below--a life in which He
suffered, no doubt, but not as a sin-bearer--not as a substitute--not
at the hand of God. Let this be distinctly noted. Neither in the
burnt-offering nor in the meat-offering have we Christ as a
sin-bearer. In the latter, we see Him _living_; and in the former, we
see Him _dying_; but in neither is there a question of the imputation
of sin, nor of enduring the wrath of God on account of sin. In short,
to present Christ as the sinner's substitute any where else save on
the cross, is to rob His life of all its divine beauty and excellency,
and to displace the cross altogether. Moreover, it would involve the
types of Leviticus in hopeless confusion.
[4] "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His
Son, made of a woman, made under the law." (γενομενον εκ
γυναικος, γενομενον υπο νομον.) This is a most
important passage, inasmuch as it sets forth our blessed Lord as Son
of God and Son of Man.--"God sent forth _His_ Son, made _of a woman_."
Precious testimony!
I would, at this point, solemnly admonish my reader, that he cannot be
too jealous in reference to the vital truth of the Person and the
relations of the Lord Jesus Christ. If there be error as to this,
there is no security as to any thing. God cannot give the sanction of
His presence to aught that has not this truth for its foundation. The
Person of Christ is the living--the divine centre round which the Holy
Ghost carries on all His operations. Let slip the truth as to Him, and
you are like a vessel broken from its moorings, and carried, without
rudder or compass, over the wild watery waste, and in imminent danger
of being dashed to fragments upon the rocks of Arianism, Infidelity,
or Atheism. Question the eternal Sonship of Christ, question His
deity, question His unspotted humanity, and you have opened the
floodgate for a desolating tide of deadly error to rush in. Let no one
imagine, for a moment, that this is a mere matter to be discussed by
learned theologians--a curious question--a recondite mystery--a point
about which we may lawfully differ. No; it is a vital, fundamental
truth, to be held in the power of the Holy Ghost, and maintained at
the expense of all beside--yea, to be confessed under all
circumstances, whatever may be the consequences.
What we want, is, simply to receive into our hearts, by the grace of
the Holy Spirit, the Father's revelation of the Son, and then our
souls shall be effectually preserved from the snares of the enemy, let
them take what shape they may. He may speciously cover the trap of
Arianism or Socinianism with the grass and leaves of a most plausible
and attractive system of interpretation; but directly the devoted
heart discovers what this system attempts to make of the blessed One
to whom it owes every thing, and where it attempts to put Him, it
finds but little difficulty in sending it back to where it manifestly
came from. We can well afford to do without human theories; but we can
never do without Christ--the Christ of God--the Christ of God's
affections--the Christ of God's counsels--the Christ of God's word.
The Lord Jesus Christ, God's eternal Son--a distinct Person in the
glorious Trinity--God manifest in the flesh--God over all, blessed
forever, assumed a body which was inherently and divinely pure, holy,
and without the possibility of taint--absolutely free from every seed
or principle of sin and mortality. Such was the humanity of Christ,
that He could at any moment, so far as He was personally concerned,
have returned to heaven, from whence He had come and to which He
belonged. I speak not here of the eternal counsels of redeeming love,
or of the unswerving love of the heart of Jesus--His love to God--His
love to God's elect, or of the work that was needful to ratify God's
everlasting covenant with the seed of Abraham and with the whole
creation. Christ's own words teach us that "it behoved Him to suffer,
and to rise from the dead the third day." (Luke xxiv. 46.) It was
necessary that He should suffer, in order to the full manifestation
and perfect accomplishment of the great mystery of redemption. It was
His gracious purpose to "bring many sons unto glory." He would not
"abide alone," and therefore He, as the "corn of wheat," should "fall
into the ground and die." The more fully we enter into the _truth_ of
His Person, the more fully do we apprehend the _grace_ of His work.
When the apostle speaks of Christ's being "made perfect through
suffering," it is as "the Captain of our salvation" that he
contemplates Him, and not as the Eternal Son, who, as regards His own
abstract Person and nature, was divinely perfect, and could not
possibly have aught added to Him. So, also, when He Himself says,
"Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to-day and to-morrow, and
the third day I shall be perfected" (Luke xiii. 32.), He refers to His
being perfected, in the power of resurrection, as the Accomplisher of
the entire work of redemption. So far as He was personally concerned,
He could say, even on His way forth from the garden of Gethsemane,
"Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He shall
presently give Me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then
shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?" (Matt. xxvi.
53, 54.)
It is well that the soul be clear as to this--well to have a divine
sense of the harmony which exists between those scriptures which
present Christ in the essential dignity of His Person and the divine
purity of His nature, and those which present Him in His relation with
His people and as accomplishing the great work of redemption. At times
we find both these things combined in the same passage, as in Heb. v.
8, 9,--"Though _He were a Son_, yet learned He obedience by the things
which He suffered; and being made perfect, He became the author of
eternal salvation to all them that obey Him." We must, however, bear
in mind that not one of those relations into which Christ voluntarily
entered--whether as the expression of divine love to a lost world, or
the Servant of the divine counsels--not one of these could possibly
interfere with the essential purity, excellency, and glory of His
Person. "The Holy Ghost came upon" the virgin, and "the power of the
Highest overshadowed her;" and "therefore that holy Thing which was
born of her was called the Son of God." Most magnificent unfolding,
this, of the deep secret of Christ's pure and perfect humanity--the
great Antitype of the "_fine flour mingled with oil_"!
And here let me observe, that between humanity as seen in the Lord
Jesus Christ and humanity as seen in us there could be no union. That
which is pure could never coalesce with that which is impure. That
which is incorruptible could never unite with that which is
corruptible. The spiritual and the carnal--the heavenly and the
earthly--could never combine. Hence, therefore, it follows that
incarnation was not, as some have attempted to teach, Christ's taking
our fallen nature into union with Himself. If He could have done this,
there would have been no need of the death of the cross. He needed
not, in that case, to feel "straitened" until the baptism was
accomplished--the corn of wheat did not need to "fall into the ground
and die." This is a point of grave moment. Let the spiritual mind
ponder it deeply. Christ could not possibly take sinful humanity into
union with Himself. Hear what the angel saith to Joseph, in the first
chapter of Matthew's gospel,--"Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to
take unto thee Mary thy wife; for _that which is conceived in her is
of the Holy Ghost_." See how Joseph's natural sensibilities, as well
as Mary's pious ignorance, are made the occasion of a fuller
unfolding of the holy mystery of Christ's humanity, and also of
guarding that humanity against all the blasphemous attacks of the
enemy.
How, then, is it that believers are united to Christ? Is it in
incarnation, or resurrection? In resurrection, assuredly. How is this
proved? "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it
abideth _alone_." (John xii. 24.) At this side of death, there could
be no union between Christ and His people. It is in the power of a new
life that believers are united to Christ. They were dead _in sin_, and
He, in perfect grace, came down and (though Himself pure and sinless)
was "made sin," "died _unto sin_," put it away, rose triumphant over
it and all pertaining to it, and, in resurrection, became the Head of
a new race. Adam was the head of the old creation, which fell with
him. Christ, by dying, put Himself under the full weight of His
people's condition, and having perfectly met all that was against
them, rose victorious over all, and carried them with Him into the new
creation, of which He is the glorious Head and Centre. Hence, we read,
"He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." (1 Cor. vi. 17.) "But
God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us,
even when were _dead in sins_, hath quickened us _together with
Christ_, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and
made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Eph. ii.
4-6.) "For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His
bones." (Eph. v. 30.) "And you, being _dead in your sins_ and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, _hath He quickened together with Him_,
having forgiven you all trespasses." (Col. ii. 13.)
Passages might be multiplied, but the above are amply sufficient to
prove that it was not in incarnation, but in death, that Christ took a
position in which His people could be "quickened together with Him."
Does this seem unimportant to the reader? Let him examine it in the
light of Scripture. Let him weigh all the consequences. Let him view
it in its bearing upon Christ's Person, upon His life, upon His death,
upon our condition by nature in the old creation, and our place
through mercy in the new. Let him consider it thus, and I feel
persuaded he will no longer regard it as a light matter. Of one thing,
at least, he may rest assured, that the writer of these pages would
not pen a single line to prove this point did he not consider it to be
fraught with the most momentous results. The whole of divine
revelation so hangs together--is so adjusted by the hand of the Holy
Ghost--is so consistent in all its parts, that if one truth be
disturbed, the entire arch is injured. This consideration should
suffice to produce, in the mind of every Christian, a holy caution,
lest, by some rude touch, he mar the beauteous superstructure. Every
stone must be left in its divinely appointed place; and,
unquestionably, the truth as to Christ's Person is the key-stone of
the arch.
Having thus endeavored to unfold the truth typified by the "fine flour
_mingled_ with oil," we may remark another point of much interest in
the expression, "He shall _pour_ oil upon it." In this we have a type
of the anointing of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Holy Ghost. The body
of the Lord Jesus was not merely formed mysteriously by the Holy
Ghost, but that pure and holy vessel was also anointed for service by
the same power. "And it came to pass when all the people were
baptized, and Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was
opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape as a dove upon
Him, and there was a voice from heaven, saying, 'Thou art My beloved
Son; in Thee I am well pleased." (Luke iii. 21, 22.)
The anointing of the Lord Jesus by the Holy Ghost previous to His
entrance upon His public ministry is of immense practical importance
to every one who really desires to be a true and an effectual servant
of God. Though conceived, as to His manhood, by the Holy Ghost;
though, in His own proper Person, "God manifest in the flesh;" though
embodying in Himself all the fullness of the Godhead; yet, be it well
observed, when coming forth as man to do the will of God on the earth,
whatever that will might be--whether preaching the gospel, teaching in
the synagogues, healing the sick, cleansing the leper, casting out
devils, feeding the hungry, or raising the dead--He did all by the
Holy Ghost. That holy and heavenly vessel in which God the Son was
pleased to appear in this world was formed, filled, anointed, and led
by the Holy Ghost.
What a deep and holy lesson for us! A most needful and salutary
lesson! How prone are we to run unsent! How prone to act in the mere
energy of the flesh! How much of that which looks like ministry is
only the restless and unhallowed activity of a nature which has never
been measured and judged in the divine presence! Truly, we need to
contemplate more closely our divine "meat-offering"--to understand
more fully the meaning of the "fine flour anointed with oil." We need
to meditate more deeply upon Christ Himself, who, though possessing,
in His own Person, divine power, nevertheless, did all His work,
wrought all His miracles, and, finally, "offered Himself, without spot
to God, by the eternal Spirit." He could say, "I by the Spirit of God
cast out devils."
Nothing is of any value save that which is wrought by the power of the
Holy Ghost. A man may write; but if his pen be not guided and used by
the Holy Ghost, his lines will produce no permanent results. A man may
speak; but if his lips be not anointed by the Holy Ghost, his word
will not take permanent root. This is a solemn consideration, and if
properly weighed, would lead to much watchfulness over ourselves, and
much earnest dependence upon the Holy Ghost. What we need is thorough
self-emptiness, so that there may be room left for the Spirit to act
by us. It is impossible that a man full of himself can be the vessel
of the Holy Ghost. Such an one must first be emptied of himself, and
then the Spirit can use him. When we contemplate the Person and
ministry of the Lord Jesus, we see how that in every scene and
circumstance He acted by the direct power of the Holy Ghost. Having
taken His place as man down here, He showed that man should not only
live by the Word, but act by the Spirit of God. Even though, as man,
His will was perfect--His thoughts, His words, His acts, all
perfect--yet He would not act save by the direct authority of the
Word, and by the direct power of the Holy Ghost. Oh that in this, as
in every thing else, we could more closely, more faithfully, follow in
His steps! Then, indeed, would our ministry be more effective, our
testimony more fruitful, our whole course more entirely to the glory
of God.
The next ingredient in the meat-offering demanding our consideration
is "the frankincense." As has been remarked, the "fine flour" was the
basis of the offering. The "oil" and "frankincense" were the two
leading adjuncts; and, truly, the connection between these two latter
is most instructive. The "oil" typifies the _power_ of Christ's
ministry; the "frankincense" typifies the _object_ thereof. The former
teaches us that He did every thing by the Spirit of God; the latter,
that He did every thing to the glory of God. The frankincense presents
that in the life of Christ which was exclusively for God. This is
evident from the second verse--"And he shall bring it [the
meat-offering] to Aaron's sons, the priests: and he shall take
thereout his handful of flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with
_all the frankincense_ thereof; and the priest shall burn the
memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a
sweet savor unto the Lord." Thus was it in the true meat-offering--the
Man Christ Jesus. There was that in His blessed life which was
exclusively for God. Every thought, every word, every look, every act
of His emitted a fragrance which went up immediately to God. And as,
in the type, it was the "fire of the altar" that drew forth the sweet
odor of the frankincense; so, in the Antitype, the more He was
"tried," in all the scenes and circumstances of His blessed life, the
more fully was it manifested that, in His manhood, there was nothing
that could not ascend as an odor of a sweet smell to the throne of
God. If in the burnt-offering we behold Christ "offering Himself
without spot to God," in the meat-offering we behold Him presenting
all the intrinsic excellence and perfect actings of His human nature
to God. A perfect, a self-emptied, an obedient Man on the earth doing
the will of God, acting by the authority of the Word, and by the power
of the Spirit, had a sweet odor which could only be for divine
acceptance. The fact that "all the frankincense" was consumed on the
altar, fixes its import in the simplest manner.
It now only remains for us to consider an ingredient which was an
inseparable adjunct of the meat-offering, namely, "_salt_."--"And
every oblation of thy meat-offering shalt thou season with salt;
neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be
lacking from thy meat-offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt
offer salt." The expression, "Salt of the covenant," sets forth the
enduring character of that covenant. God Himself has so ordained it,
in all things, that naught can ever alter it--no influence can ever
corrupt it. In a spiritual and practical point of view, it is
impossible to overestimate the value of such an ingredient. "Let your
conversation be always with grace, seasoned with _salt_." The whole
conversation of the Perfect Man exhibited the power of this principle.
His words were not merely words of grace, but words of pungent
power--words divinely adapted to preserve from all taint and
corrupting influence. He never uttered a word which was not redolent
with "frankincense," and "seasoned with salt." The former was most
acceptable to God; the latter, most profitable for man.
Sometimes, alas! man's corrupt heart and vitiated taste could not
tolerate the pungency of the divinely-salted meat-offering. Witness,
for example, the scene in the synagogue of Nazareth. (Luke iv. 16-29.)
The people could "bear Him witness, and wonder at the _gracious_ words
which proceeded out of His mouth;" but when He proceeded to season
those words with _salt_, which was so needful in order to preserve
them from the corrupting influence of their national pride, they would
fain have cast Him over the brow of the hill whereon their city was
built.
So, also, in Luke xiv, when His words of "grace" had drawn "great
multitudes" after Him, He instantly throws in the "salt," by setting
forth, in words of holy faithfulness, the sure results of following
Him. "Come, for all things are now ready,"--here was the "grace;" but
then, "Whosoever forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be My
disciple,"--here was the "salt." Grace is attractive; but "salt is
good." Gracious discourse may be popular; but salted discourse never
will. The pure gospel of the grace of God may, at certain times, and
under certain circumstances, be run after by "the multitude" for
awhile; but when the "salt" of a fervid and faithful application is
introduced, it will soon thin the benches of all save such as are
brought under the power of the Word.
Having thus considered the ingredients which composed the
meat-offering, we shall now refer to those which were excluded from
it.
The first of these was "leaven." "No meat-offering, which ye shall
bring unto the Lord, shall be made with leaven." This ingredient is
used throughout the inspired volume, without so much as a single
exception, as the symbol of _evil_. In chap. xxiii. of our book, which
will be noticed in due course, we find leaven admitted in the two
loaves which were offered on the day of Pentecost; but from the
meat-offering leaven was most sedulously excluded. There was to be
nothing sour--nothing that would puff up--nothing expressive of evil
in that which typified "the Man Christ Jesus." In Him, there could be
nothing savoring of nature's sourness, nothing turgid--nothing
inflated: all was pure, solid, and genuine. His word might, at times,
cut to the quick; but it was never sour. His style never rose above
the occasion. His deportment ever exhibited the deep reality of one
walking in the immediate presence of God.
In those who bear the name of Jesus, we know, too well, alas! how
leaven shows itself in all its properties and effects. There has been
but one untainted sheaf of human fruit--but one perfectly unleavened
meat-offering; and, blessed be God, that one is ours--ours to feed
upon in the sanctuary of the divine presence, in fellowship with God.
No exercise can be more truly edifying and refreshing for the renewed
mind than to dwell upon the unleavened perfectness of Christ's
humanity--to contemplate the life and ministry of One who was
absolutely and essentially unleavened. In all His springs of thought,
affection, desire, and imagination, there was not so much as a
particle of leaven. He was the sinless, spotless, perfect Man. And the
more we are enabled, by the power of the Spirit, to enter into all
this, the deeper will be our experience of the grace which led this
perfect One to place Himself under the full consequences of His
people's sins, as He did when He hung upon the cross. This thought,
however, belongs entirely to the sin-offering aspect of our blessed
Lord. In the meat-offering, sin is not in question. It is not the type
of a sin-bearer, but of a real, perfect, unblemished Man, conceived
and anointed by the Holy Ghost, possessing an unleavened nature, and
living an unleavened life down here, emitting ever Godward the
fragrance of His own personal excellency, and maintaining amongst men
a deportment characterized by "grace seasoned with salt."
But there was another ingredient, as positively excluded from the
meat-offering as "leaven," and that was "honey."--"For ye shall burn
no leaven, _nor any honey_, in any offering of the Lord made by fire."
(Ver. 11.) Now, as "leaven" is the expression of that which is
positively and palpably _evil_ in nature, we may regard "honey" as the
significant symbol of that which is apparently _sweet_ and attractive.
Both are disallowed of God, both were carefully excluded from the
meat-offering, both were unfit for the altar. Men may undertake, like
Saul, to distinguish between what is "vile and refuse" and what is
not; but the judgment of God ranks the delicate Agag with the vilest
of the sons of Amalek. No doubt, there are some good moral qualities
in man, which must be taken for what they are worth. "Hast thou found
_honey_, eat so much as is convenient;" but, be it remembered, it
found no place in the meat-offering, nor in its Antitype. There was
the fullness of the Holy Ghost, there was the fragrant odor of the
frankincense, there was the preservative virtue of "the salt of the
covenant,"--all these things accompanied the "fine flour" in the
Person of the true "Meat-offering," but "no honey."
What a lesson for the heart is here! yea, what a volume of wholesome
instruction! The blessed Lord Jesus knew how to give nature and its
relationships their proper place: He knew how much "honey" was
"convenient." He could say to His mother, "Wist ye not that I must be
about My Father's business?" and yet He could say, again, to the
beloved disciple, "Behold thy mother." In other words, nature's claims
were never allowed to interfere with the presentation to God of all
the energies of Christ's perfect manhood. Mary, and others too, might
have thought that her human relation to the blessed One gave her some
peculiar claim or influence, on merely natural grounds. "There came,
then, His brethren ["after the flesh"] and His mother, and standing
without, sent unto Him, calling Him. And the multitude sat about Him;
and they said unto Him, 'Behold, Thy mother and Thy brethren without
seek for Thee.'" What was the reply of the true Meat-offering? Did He
at once abandon His work, in order to respond to nature's call? By no
means. Had He done so, it would have been to mingle "honey" with the
meat-offering, which could not be. The honey was faithfully excluded
on this as on every occasion when God's claims were to be attended to,
and instead thereof, the power of the Spirit, the odor of the
"frankincense," and the virtues of the "salt" were blessedly
exhibited. "And he answered them, saying, 'Who is My mother, or My
brethren?' And He looked round about on them which sat about Him, and
said, 'Behold My mother and My brethren! For whosoever shall do the
will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and mother.'"[5]
(Mark iii. 31-35.)
(Note, next page.)
[5] How important to see, in the above beautiful passage, that doing
God's will brings the soul into a relationship with Christ of which
His brethren according to the flesh knew nothing, on merely natural
grounds! It was as true with respect to those brethren as any one else
that "except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Mary would not have been saved by the mere fact of her being the
mother of Jesus. She needed personal faith in Christ as much as any
other member of Adam's fallen family: she needed to pass, by being
born again, out of the old creation into the new. It was by treasuring
up Christ's words in her heart that this blessed woman was saved. No
doubt she was "highly favored" in being chosen as a vessel to such a
holy office; but then, as a lost sinner, she needed to "rejoice in God
her Saviour," like any one else. She stands on the same platform, is
washed in the same blood, clothed in the same righteousness, and will
sing the same song as all the rest of God's redeemed.
This simple fact will give additional force and clearness to a point
already stated, namely, that incarnation was not Christ's taking our
nature into union with Himself. This truth should be carefully
pondered. It is fully brought out in 2 Cor. v.--"For the love of
Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for
all, then were all dead: and that He died for all, that they which
live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which
died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man
after the flesh; yea, _though we have known Christ after the flesh,
yet now henceforth know we Him no more_. Therefore if any man be _in
Christ_, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new." (Ver. 14-17.)
There are few things which the servant of Christ finds more difficult
than to adjust, with spiritual accuracy, the claims of natural
relationship, so as not to suffer them to interfere with the claims of
the Master. In the case of our blessed Lord, as we know, the
adjustment was divine. In our case, it often happens that divinely
recognized duties are openly neglected for what we imagine to be the
service of Christ,--the doctrine of God is constantly sacrificed to
the apparent work of the gospel. Now, it is well to remember that true
devotedness always starts from a point within which all godly claims
are fully secured. If I hold a situation which demands my services
from ten till four every day, I have no right to go out to visit or
preach during those hours. If I am in business, I am bound to maintain
the integrity of that business in a godly manner. I have no right to
run hither and thither preaching while my business at home lies "in
sixes and sevens," bringing great reproach on the holy doctrine of
God. A man may say, I feel myself called to preach the gospel, and I
find my situation, or my business, a clog. Well, _if you are divinely
called and fitted_ for the work of the gospel, and that you cannot
combine the two things, then resign your situation, or wind up your
business, in a godly manner, and go forth in the name of the Lord.
But, clearly, so long as I hold a situation, or carry on a business,
my work in the gospel must begin from a point within which the godly
claims of such business or situation are fully responded to. This is
devotedness: aught else is confusion, however well intended. Blessed
be God, we have a perfect example before us in the life of the Lord
Jesus, and ample guidance for the new man in the Word of God; so that
we need not make any mistakes in the varied relationships which we may
be called, in the providence of God, to fill, or as to the various
claims which God's moral government has set up in connection with such
relationships.
II. The second point in our theme is the mode in which the
meat-offering was prepared. This was, as we read, by the action of
fire,--it was "baken in an oven"--"baken in a pan," or "baken in a
frying-pan." The process of baking suggests the idea of suffering. But
inasmuch as the meat-offering is called "a sweet savor" (a term which
is never applied to the sin-offering or trespass-offering), it is
evident that there is no thought of suffering for sin--no thought of
suffering the wrath of God on account of sin--no thought of suffering
at the hand of Infinite Justice, as the sinner's substitute. The two
ideas of "sweet savor" and suffering for sin are wholly incompatible
according to the Levitical economy. It would completely destroy the
type of the meat-offering were we to introduce into it the idea of
suffering for sin.
In contemplating the _life_ of the Lord Jesus, which, as we have
already remarked, is the special subject foreshadowed in the
meat-offering, we may notice three distinct kinds of suffering,
namely, suffering for righteousness, suffering by the power of
sympathy, and suffering in anticipation.
As the righteous Servant of God, He suffered in the midst of a scene
in which all was contrary to Him; but this was the very opposite of
suffering for sin. It is of the utmost importance to distinguish
between these two kinds of suffering. The confounding of them must
lead to serious error. Suffering as a righteous One standing amongst
men on God's behalf is one thing, and suffering instead of man under
the hand of God is quite another. The Lord Jesus suffered for
righteousness during His _life_: He suffered for sin in His _death_.
During His life, man and Satan did their utmost; and even at the cross
they put forth all their powers; but when all that they could do was
done--when they had traveled, in their deadly enmity, to the utmost
limit of human and diabolical opposition, there lay, far beyond, a
region of impenetrable gloom and horror into which the Sin-bearer had
to travel, in the accomplishment of His work. During His life, He ever
walked in the unclouded light of the divine countenance; but on the
cursed tree, the dark shadow of sin intervened and shut out that
light, and drew forth that mysterious cry, "My God, My God, why hast
Thou forsaken Me?" This was a moment which stands absolutely alone in
the annals of eternity. From time to time during the life of Christ
down here, heaven had opened to give forth the expression of divine
complacency in Him; but on the cross, God forsook Him, because He was
making His soul an offering for sin. If Christ had been a sin-bearer
all His life, then what was the difference between the cross and any
other period? Why was He not forsaken of God during His entire course?
What was the difference between Christ on the cross, and Christ on the
holy mount of transfiguration? Was He forsaken of God on the mount?
was He a sin-bearer there? These are very simple questions, which
should be answered by those who maintain the idea of a life of
sin-bearing.
The plain fact is this: there was nothing either in Christ's humanity
or in the nature of His associations which could possibly connect Him
with sin, or wrath, or death. He was "made sin" on the cross; and
there He endured the wrath of God, and there He gave up His life, as
an all-sufficient atonement for sin; but nothing of this finds a place
in the meat-offering. True, we have the process of baking--the action
of fire; but this is not the wrath of God. The meat-offering was not a
sin-offering, but a "sweet savor" offering. Thus, its import is
definitely fixed; and, moreover, the intelligent interpretation of it
must ever guard, with holy jealousy, the precious truth of Christ's
spotless humanity, and the true nature of His associations. To make
Him, by the necessity of His birth, a sin-bearer, or to place Him
thereby under the curse of the law and the wrath of God, is to
contradict the entire truth of God as to incarnation--truth announced
by the angel, and repeated again and again by the inspired apostle.
Moreover, it destroys the entire character and object of Christ's
life, and robs the cross of its distinctive glory. It lowers the sense
of what sin is, and of what atonement is. In one word, it removes the
key-stone of the arch of revelation, and lays all in hopeless ruin and
confusion around us.
But, again, the Lord Jesus suffered by the power of sympathy; and this
character of suffering unfolds to us the deep secrets of His tender
heart. Human sorrow and human misery ever touched a chord in that
bosom of love. It was impossible that a perfect human heart could
avoid feeling, according to its own divine sensibilities, the
miseries which sin had entailed upon the human family. Though
personally free both from the cause and the effect--though belonging
to heaven, and living a perfect heavenly life on the earth, yet did He
descend, by the power of an intense sympathy, into the deepest depths
of human sorrow; yea, He felt the sorrow more keenly, by far, than
those who were the direct subjects thereof, inasmuch as His humanity
was perfect. And, further, He was able to contemplate both the sorrow
and its cause according to their just measure and character in the
presence of God. He felt as none else could feel. His feelings, His
affections, His sensibilities, His whole moral and mental
constitution, were perfect; and hence none can tell what such an One
must have suffered in passing through such a world as this. He beheld
the human family struggling beneath the ponderous weight of guilt and
wretchedness; He beheld the whole creation groaning under the yoke;
the cry of the prisoner fell upon His ear; the tear of the widow met
His view; bereavement and poverty touched His sensitive heart;
sickness and death made Him "groan in the spirit;" His sympathetic
sufferings were beyond all human conception.
I shall quote a passage for my reader, illustrative of that character
of suffering to which we are now referring.--"When the even was come,
they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils; and He
cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick;
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet,
saying, '_Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses_.'"
(Matt. viii. 16, 17.) This was entirely sympathetic--the power of
fellow-feeling, which in Him was perfect. He had no sicknesses or
infirmities of His own. Those things which are sometimes spoken of as
"sinless infirmities," were, in His case, but the evidences of a
veritable, a real, a perfect manhood. But by sympathy--by perfect
fellow-feeling, "He _took_ our infirmities, and _bare_ our
sicknesses." None but a perfect man could have done this. We may feel
for and with each other, but only Jesus could make human infirmity and
sickness His own.
Now, had He been bearing all these things by the necessity of His
birth, or of His relations with Israel and the human family, we should
have lost all the beauty and preciousness of His voluntary sympathy.
There could be no room for voluntary action when absolute necessity
was laid upon Him. But, on the other hand, when we see His entire
freedom, both personally and relatively, from human misery and that
which produced it, we can enter into that perfect grace and compassion
which led Him to "take our infirmities, and bear our sicknesses," in
the power of true sympathy. There is, therefore, a very manifest
difference between Christ's suffering as a voluntary sympathizer with
human misery, and His sufferings as the sinner's substitute. The
former are apparent throughout His entire _life_; the latter are
confined to His _death_.
Finally, we have to consider Christ's sufferings by anticipation. We
find the dark shadow of the cross casting itself athwart His path, and
producing a very keen order of suffering, which, however, must be as
clearly distinguished from His atoning suffering as either His
suffering for righteousness or His suffering by sympathy. Let us take
a passage in proof--"And He came out, and went, as He was wont, to the
mount of Olives; and His disciples also followed Him. And when He was
at the place, He said unto them, 'Pray that ye enter not into
temptation.' And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and
kneeled down, and prayed, saying, 'Father, if Thou be willing, remove
this cup from Me: nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done.' And
there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And
being in an agony, He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it
were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." (Luke xxii.
39-44.) Again, we read, "And He took with Him Peter and the two sons
of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith He
unto them, 'My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye
here, and watch with Me.'... He went away again the second time, and
prayed, saying, 'O My Father, if this cup may not pass from Me, except
I drink it, Thy will be done.'" (Matt. xxvi. 37-42.)
From these verses, it is evident there was a something in prospect
which the blessed Lord had never encountered before,--there was a
"cup" being filled out for Him of which He had not yet drunk. If He
had been a sin-bearer all His life, then why this intense "agony" at
the thought of coming in contact with sin and enduring the wrath of
God on account of sin? What was the difference between Christ in
Gethsemane and Christ at Calvary if He were a sin-bearer all His life?
There was a material difference; but it is because He was not a
sin-bearer all His life. What is the difference? In Gethsemane, He was
_anticipating_ the cross; at Calvary, He was actually _enduring_ it.
In Gethsemane, "there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven,
strengthening Him;" at Calvary, He was forsaken of all. There was no
angelic ministry there. In Gethsemane, He addresses God as "_Father_,"
thus enjoying the full communion of that ineffable relationship; but
at Calvary, He cries, "My _God_, My _God_, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"
Here the Sin-bearer looks up and beholds the throne of Eternal Justice
enveloped in dark clouds, and the countenance of Inflexible Holiness
averted from Him, because He was being "made sin for us."
The reader will, I trust, find no difficulty in examining this subject
for himself. He will be able to trace, in detail, the three characters
of the _life_-sufferings of our blessed Lord, and to distinguish
between them and His _death_-sufferings--His sufferings for sin. He
will see how that when man and Satan had done their utmost, there yet
remained a character of suffering which was perfectly unique, namely,
suffering at the hand of God on account of sin--suffering as the
sinner's substitute. Until He came to the cross, He could ever look up
and bask in the clear light of His Father's countenance; in the
darkest hour, He found a sure resource above. His path down here was a
rough one. How could it be otherwise, in a world where all was
directly contrary to His pure and holy nature? He had to "endure the
contradiction of sinners against Himself;" He had to endure "the
reproach of them that reproached God." What had He not to endure? He
was misunderstood, misinterpreted, abused, maligned, accused of being
mad, and of having a devil. He was betrayed, denied, deserted, mocked,
buffeted, spit upon, crowned with thorns, cast out, condemned, and
nailed between two malefactors. All these things He endured at the
hand of man, together with all the unutterable terrors which Satan
brought to bear upon His spirit; but, let it be once more emphatically
repeated, when man and Satan had exhausted their power and enmity, our
blessed Lord and Saviour had to endure a something compared with which
all the rest was as nothing, and that was the hiding of God's
countenance--the three hours of darkness and awful gloom, during which
He suffered what none but God could know.
Now, when Scripture speaks of our having fellowship with Christ's
sufferings, it refers simply to His sufferings for righteousness--His
sufferings at the hand of man. Christ suffered for sin that we might
not have to suffer for it.--He endured the wrath of God that we might
not have to endure it (this is the ground of our peace); but as
regards suffering from man, we shall always find that the more
faithfully we follow in the footsteps of Christ, the more we shall
suffer in this respect; but this is a matter of gift, a matter of
privilege, a favor, a dignity. (See Phil. i. 29, 30.) To walk in the
footsteps of Christ--to enjoy companionship with Him--to be thrown
into a place of sympathy with Him, are privileges of the very highest
order. Would that we all entered more fully into them! But, alas! we
are too well content to do without them--too well satisfied, like
Peter, to "follow afar off"--to keep aloof from a despised and
suffering Christ. All this is, undoubtedly, our heavy loss. Had we
only more fellowship with His sufferings, the crown would glisten far
more brightly in our soul's vision. When we shrink from fellowship
with Christ's sufferings, we rob ourselves of the deep joy of His
present companionship, and also of the moral power of the hope of His
future glory.
III. Having considered the ingredients which composed the
meat-offering, and the various forms in which it was presented, it
only remains for us to refer to the persons who partook of it. These
were the head and members of the priestly house. "And that which is
left of the meat-offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a
thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire." (Ver. 10.)
As in the burnt-offering we observed the sons of Aaron introduced as
types of all true believers, not as convicted sinners, but as
worshiping priests; so in the meat-offering we find them feeding upon
the remnant of that which had been laid, as it were, on the table of
the God of Israel. This was a high and holy privilege. None but
priests could enjoy it. This is set forth with great distinctness in
"the law of the meat-offering," which I shall here quote at
length.--"And this is the law of the meat-offering: The sons of Aaron
shall offer it before the Lord, before the altar. And he shall take of
it his handful, of the flour of the meat-offering, and of the oil
thereof, and _all the frankincense_ which is upon the meat-offering,
and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savor, even the memorial
of it, unto the Lord. And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his
sons eat: _with unleavened bread_ shall it be eaten _in the holy
place_; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall
eat it. It shall not be baken with leaven. I have given it unto them
for their portion of My offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is
the sin-offering, and as the trespass-offering. _All the males_ among
the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute forever
in your generations concerning the offerings of the Lord made by fire:
_every one that toucheth them shall be holy_." (Lev. vi. 14-18.)
Here, then, we are furnished with a beauteous figure of the Church
feeding "in the holy place," in the power of practical holiness, upon
the perfections of "the Man Christ Jesus." This is our portion,
through the grace of God; but, we must remember, it is to be eaten
"with unleavened bread." We cannot feed upon Christ if we are
indulging in any thing evil. "Every one that toucheth them shall be
holy." Moreover, it must be "in the holy place." Our position, our
practice, our persons, our associations, must be holy ere we can feed
upon the meat-offering. Finally, it is "all the males among the
children of Aaron shall eat of it." That is to say, real priestly
energy, according to the divine idea of it, is required in order to
enjoy this holy portion. Aaron's "_sons_" set forth the idea of
_energy_ in priestly action: his "_daughters_," _feebleness_ therein.
(Compare Numb. xviii. 8-13.) There were some things which the sons
could eat which the daughters could not. Our hearts should earnestly
desire the highest measure of priestly energy, so that we may
discharge the highest priestly functions, and partake of the highest
order of priestly food.
In conclusion, let me add, that inasmuch as we are made, through
grace, "partakers of the divine nature," we can, if living in the
energy of that nature, walk in the footsteps of Him who is
foreshadowed in the meat-offering. If only we are self-emptied, our
every act may emit a sweet odor to God. The smallest as well as the
greatest services may, by the power of the Holy Ghost, present the
fragrance of Christ. The paying of a visit, the writing of a letter,
the public ministry of the Word, giving a cup of cold water to a
disciple, giving a penny to a pauper, yea, the commonplace acts of
eating and drinking--all may emit the sweet perfume of the name and
grace of Jesus.
So, also, if only nature be kept in the place of death, there may be
in us the exhibition of that which is not corruptible, even a
conversation seasoned with the "salt" of abiding communion with God.
But in all these things we fail and come short; we grieve the Holy
Spirit of God in our ways. We are prone to self-seeking or
men-pleasing in our very best services, and we fail to "season" our
conversation. Hence our constant deficiency in the "oil," the
"frankincense," and the "salt;" while, at the same time, there is the
tendency to suffer the "leaven" or the "honey" of nature to make its
appearance. There has been but one perfect "meat-offering;" and,
blessed be God, we are accepted in Him. We are the "sons" of the true
Aaron; our place is in the sanctuary, where we can feed upon the holy
portion. Happy place! Happy portion! May we enjoy them more than ever
we have done! May our retirement of heart from all but Christ be more
profound! May our gaze at Him be so intense that we shall have no
heart for the attractions of the scene around us, nor yet for the ten
thousand petty circumstances in our path which would fret the heart
and perplex the mind! May we rejoice in Christ in the sunshine and in
the darkness; when the gentle breezes of summer play around us, and
when the storms of winter rage fiercely abroad; when passing over the
surface of a placid lake, or tossed on the bosom of a stormy ocean.
Thank God, "we have found Him" who is to be our satisfying portion
forever! We shall spend eternity dwelling upon the divine perfections
of the Lord Jesus. Our eyes shall never be averted from Him when once
we have seen Him as He is.
May the Spirit of God work mightily in us, to strengthen us "in the
inner man"! May He enable us to feed upon that perfect Meat-offering,
the memorial of which has been fed upon by God Himself! This is our
holy and happy privilege. May we realize it yet more fully!