A COMMENTARY
ON THE BOOK OF
LEVITICUS
By
ANDREW BONAR
1852 by James Nisbet
and Company
Digitally prepared and posted on the web by
Ted Hildebrandt (2004)
Public Domain.
Please report any errors to:
PREFACE
SOME years ago, while perusing the Book of
Leviticus in
the
course of his daily study of the Scriptures, the author
was
arrested amid the shadows of a past dispensation,
and
led to write short notes as he went along. Not long
after,
another perusal of this inspired book--conducted
in
a similar way, and with much prayer for the teaching
of
the Spirit of truth--refreshed his own soul yet more,
and
led him on to inquire what others had gleaned in
the
same field. Some friends who, in this age of activity
and
bustle, find time to delight themselves in the law of
the
Lord, saw the notes, and urged their publication.
There are few critical difficulties in the book;
its
chief
obscurity arises from its enigmatical ceremonies.
The
author fears he may not always have succeeded in
discovering
the precise view of truth intended to be exhi-
bited in these symbolic rites; but he has made the
attempt,
not thinking it irreverent to examine both sides
of
the veil, now that it has been rent. The Holy Spirit
PREFACE
surely
wishes us to inquire into what He has written; and
the
unhealthy tone of many true Christians may be
accounted
for by the too plain fact that they do not
meditate
much on the whole counsel of God. Expe-
rience, as well as the Word itself (Ps. i. 2, 3), might lead
us
to value very highly the habit of deeply pondering
the
discoveries of the mind of God given in all parts of
Scripture,
even the darkest.
Throughout this Commentary, the truth that
saves,
and
the truth that sanctifies, is set before the reader in a
variety
of aspects, according as each typical rite seemed
to
suggest. It may thus be useful to all classes of per-
sons.
And what, if even some of the house of
may
have their eye attracted to the Saviour, while giving
heed
to the signification of those ceremonies which to
their
fathers were sign-posts (tOtOx, Ps. lxxiv. 9) in,
the
way of life?
C0LLACE,
May 5, 1846.
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION
A FEW corrections have been made, and a few
additional
remarks
introduced, in this edition. The subjects of the
Book
of Scripture briefly expounded in these pages are
all
of a vital nature, though the form in which they were
presented
by Moses is obsolete. A writer of the middle
ages,
Hildebert, suggests much by these few lines
“Quis locus
Quisne locus votis teneat cum navita portum?
Leg
Crux Sol, Crux portus. Haec omnia praeteriere.
Crux clausit templum, Crux solvit aenigmata legis.
Sub Cruce cessat ephod, et deficit unctio regis."
CONTENTS
The
Nature of the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 1
The
Burnt Offering (Chapter 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 10
The
Meat Offering (Chapter 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 31
The Drink Offering . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
The
Peace Offerings (Chapter 3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 50
The
Sin Offering (Chapter 4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . 62
Sin
Offering for Sins of Inadvertency (Chapter 5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
The
Trespass Offering (Chapters 5 and 6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Special
Rules for Priests Who Minister at the
Altar of God (Chapters 6:8--7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 109
The
Priesthood Entering on Their Office (Chapter 8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Aaron's
Entrance on His Office (Chapter 9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
The
Fencing of the Priestly Ritual (Chapter 10) .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Remembrances
of the Broken Law - the Clean and
the Unclean (Chapter 11) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 203
Original
Sin - What Has Been Transmitted to Us
(Chapter 12 . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
The
Leprosy. Indwelling Sin - Its Horrid Features
(Chapter 13) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
The
Leprosy Removed (Chapter 14) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
The
Secret Flow of Sin from the Natural Heart,
Typified in the Running Issue (Chapter 15) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
The
Day of Atonement (Chapter 16) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
The
Use of Animal Food Regulated (Chapter 17) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Private
and Domestic Obligations - Purity in Every
Relation of Life (Chapter 18) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . 319
Duties
in the Every-Day Relations of Life
(Chapter 19) .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Warnings
Against the Sins of the Former
Inhabitants (Chapter 20) . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Personal
Duties of the Priests (Chapter 21) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Household
Laws Regarding Holy Things (Chapter 22) . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
The
Public Festivals, or Solemn Convocations
(Chapter 23) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Duty
of Priests When Out of Public View in the
Holy Place (Chapter 24) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 415
The
Sabbatic Year, and the Year of Jubilee
Millennial Times (Chapter 25) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . 431
(Chapter 26) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
Entire
Devotion to God, Induced by the Foregoing
Views of His Character (Chapter 27) . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
COMMENTARY
ON LEVITICUS
THE NATURE OF THE BOOK.
THERE
is no book, in the whole compass of that inspired
Volume
which the Holy Ghost has given us, that con-
tains more of the very words of God than Leviticus. It
is
God that is the direct speaker in almost every page;
his
gracious words are recorded in the form wherein they
were
uttered. This consideration cannot fail to send us
to
the study of it with singular interest and attention.
It has been called "Leviticus," because its typical
institutions,
in all their variety, were committed to the
care
of the tribe of Levi, or to the
priests, who were of
that
tribe. The Greek translators of the Pentateuch
devised
that name. The Talmud, for similar reasons,
calls
it MynihEKioha
traOt, “the law of the priests.” But
Jewish
writers in general are content with a simpler
title;
they take the first words of the book as the name,
calling
it xrAq;yiva,"Vayikra,” q. d. the book that
begins
with
the words, “And the Lord called.”
2 THE
NATURE OF THE BOOK
It carries within itself the seal of its Divine
origin.
As
an internal proof of its author being Divine, some
have
been content to allege the prophecy contained in
chap.
xxvi., the fulfilment of which is spread before the
eyes
of all the earth. But if, in addition to this, we find
every
chapter throughout presenting views of doctrine
and
practice that exactly dovetail into the unfigurative
statements
of the New Testament, surely we shall then
acknowledge
that it bears the impress of the Divine mind
from
beginning to end.
The Gospel
of the
grace of God, with all that follows in
its
train, may be found in Leviticus. This is the glorious
attraction
of the book to every reader who feels himself
a
sinner. The New Testament has about forty references
to
its various ordinances.
The rites here detailed were typical; and every
type
was
designed and intended by God to bear resemblance
to
some spiritual truth. The likeness between type and
antitype
is never accidental. The very excellency of these
rites
consists in their being chosen by God for the end of
shadowing
forth "good things to come" (Heb. x. 1). As
it
is not a mere accidental resemblance to the Lord's
body
and blood that obtains in the bread and wine used
in
the Lord's supper, but on the contrary, a likeness that
made
the symbols suitable to be selected for that end; so
is
it in the case of every Levitical type. Much of our
satisfaction
and edification in tracing the correspondence
between
type and antitype will depend on the firmness
with
which we hold this principle.
If it be asked why a typical mode of shewing forth
truth
was adopted to such an extent in those early days,
it
may be difficult to give a precise answer. It is plain,
such
a method of instruction may answer many purposes.
THE
NATURE OF THE BOOK 3
It
may not only meet the end of simplifying the truth,
it
may also open the mind to comprehend more, while
it
deepens present impressions of things known. The
existence
of a type does not always argue that the thing
typified
is obscurely seen, or imperfectly known. On the
contrary,
there was a type in the garden of Eden--the
tree
of life,--while life, in all its meaning, was fully com-
prehended by Adam. In all probability, there will
be
typical
objects in the millennial age; for there is to be a
river
which shall flow from
of
Shittim (Joel iii. 18), the same of which Ezekiel
(xlvii.
1) and Zechariah (xiv. 8) speak. This river is
said
to be for the healing of the
banks
grow majestic trees, whose leaves are for the heal-
ing of the nations. No doubt a spiritual
significance lies
hid
in these visible signs; the visible symbol seems to be
a
broad seal and sign of the peculiar truth manifested in
these
days, viz. the overflowing stream of the Holy Spirit
(who
shall be poured out at
David
first), winding its course over earth to convey
saving
health to all nations. Certain it is that types do
not
necessarily imply that the antitype is dimly known.
The
Lord may use them as he uses Gospel ordinances at
present,
to convey light to us, and leave more indelible
impressions.
A German writer (Hahn) has said, "Types
were
institutions intended to deepen, expand, and ennoble
the
circle of thoughts and desires, and thus heighten the
moral
and spiritual wants, as well as the intelligence and
susceptibility
of the chosen people."* And not
less truly
is
this point touched upon by the Reformer Tyndale, in
* Southey says of
Laud: "He began his dying address in that state of calm
but
deepest feeling, when the mind seeks for fancies, types, and dim similitudes,
and
extracts from them consolation and strength."--(Book of the Church.)
4 THE
NATURE OF THE BOOK
his
Prologue into the Third Book of Moses:--"Though
sacrifices
and ceremonies can be no ground or foundation.
to
build upon that is, though we can prove nought with
them--yet,
when we have once found out Christ and his
mysteries,
then we may borrow figures, that is to say,
allegories,
similitudes, and examples, to open Christ, and
the
secrets of God hid in Christ, even unto the quick,
and
can declare them more lively and sensibly with them
than
with all the words of the world. For similitudes
have
more virtue and power with them than bare words,
and
lead a man's understanding further into the pith and
marrow
and spiritual understanding of the thing, than all
the
words that can be imagined." Again he says, "Alle-
gories prove nothing; but the very use of allegories
is to
declare
and open a text, that it may be better perceived
and
understood . . . There is not a better,
more vehement,
or
mightier thing to make a man understand withal, than
an
allegory. For allegories make a man quick-witted, and
print
wisdom in him, and make it to abide, when bare
words
go but in at the one ear and out at the other."
The Epistle to the Hebrews lays down the
principles
upon
which we are to interpret Leviticus. The specimens
there
given of types applied furnish a model for our
guidance
in other cases; and the writer's manner of
address
in that Epistle leads us to suppose that it was no
new
thing for an Israelite thus to understand the ritual
of
Moses. No doubt old Simeon (Luke ii. 25) frequented
the
temple daily in order to read in its rites the future
development
of a suffering Saviour, as well as to pray
and
worship. Anna the prophetess did the same; for
all
these knew that they prophesied of the grace that was
to
come to us, and therefore inquired and searched dili-
gently
(1 Pet. i. 10). Had Aaron, or some other holy
THE NATURE OF THE BOOK 5
priest
of his line, been "carried away in the spirit," and
shewn the accomplishment of all that these rites pre-
figured,
how joyful ever after would have been his daily
service
in the sanctuary! When shewn the great Antitype,
and
that each one of these shadows pictured something
in
the person or work of that Redeemer, then, ever after,
to
handle the vessels of the sanctuary would be rich food
to
his soul. It would be "feeding beside the still waters,
and
in green pastures." For the bondage of these elements
did
not consist in sprinkling the blood, washing in the
laver,
waving the wave-shoulder, or the like; but in doing
all
this without perceiving the truth thereby exhibited.
Probably
to a true Israelite, taught of God, there would
be
no more of bondage in handling these material ele-
ments, than there is at this day to a true believer
in
handling
the symbolic bread and wine through which he
"discerns
the body and blood of the Lord." It would be
an
Israelite's hope every morning, as he left the "dwell-
ings of Jacob," to see "in the gates of
Lamb
of God, while gazing on the morning sacrifice. "I
will
compass thine altar, 0 Lord, that I may publish with
the
voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous
works"
(Ps. xxvi. 6, 7). And, as the sun declined, he
would
seek to have his soul again anointed, after a busy
day's
vexations, by beholding the evening lamb.
Tyndale says, that while there
is "a star-light of Christ"
in
all the ceremonies, there is in some so truly "the light
of
the broad day," that he cannot but believe that God
had
shewed Moses the secrets of Christ and the very
manner
of his death beforehand. At all events, it was
what
they did see of Christ through this medium that so
endeared
to them the tabernacle and temple-courts. It
was
the very home of their souls. "How amiable are
6 THE
NATURE OF THE BOOK
thy
tabernacles, 0 Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea,
even
fainteth for the courts of the Lord!" (Ps. lxxxiv. 1,
2.)
And it is thus we can understand how those thou-
sands
(or rather, tens of thousands) who believed were
all
"zealous of the law" (Acts xxi. 20). The Christian
elders
of
lent
their sanction to their zeal in some degree; and
Paul
himself saw nothing necessarily sinful in it. For it
was
all well, if they used the law only as "their school-
master
to bring them to Christ" (Gal. iii. 24). It must
have
been thus that Paul himself employed his thoughts
while
"purifying himself" in the temple, and engaging in
the
other ordinances regarding vows (Acts xxi. 26). His
thoughts
would be on the Antitype; and possibly the
actual
performing of these rites by a fully enlightened
soul
might lead to some distinct views of truth contained
in
them, which would have escaped the observation of a
mere
spectator. And, if we may throw out a conjecture
on
a subject where Millennarians and Anti-millennarians
are
alike at sea--is it not possible that some such end as
this
may be answered by the temple which Ezekiel foretells
as
yet to be built? (chap. xl., &c.) Believing nations may
frequent
that temple in order to get understanding in
these
types and shadows. They may go up to the moun-
tain of the Lord's house, to be there taught his
ways
(Isa. ii. 3). In that temple they may learn how not one
tittle of the law has failed. As they look on the sons
of
Zadok ministering in that peculiar sanctuary, they
may
learn
portions of truth with new impressiveness and
fulness. Indeed, the very fact that the order of
arrange-
ment in Ezekiel entirely differs from the order
observed
in
either tabernacle or temple, and that the edifice itself
is
reared on a plan varying from every former sanctuary,
THE NATURE OF THE BOOK 7
is
sufficient to suggest the idea that it is meant to cast
light
on former types and shadows. Many Levitical rites
appear
to us unmeaning; but they would not do so if
presented
in a new relation. As it is said of the rigid
features
of a marble statue, that they may be made to
move
and vary their expression so as even to smile, when
a
skilful hand knows how to move a bright light before
it;
so may it be with these apparently lifeless figures, in
the
light of that bright millennial day. At all events, it
is
probably then that this much-neglected book of Levi-
ticus shall be fully appreciated.
tree--shall
again yield its fatness to the nations round
(Rom.
xi. 17). Their ancient ritual may then be more
fully
understood, and blessed truth found beaming forth
from
long obscurity. When Jesus, the High Priest,
comes
forth from the Holiest, there may be here fountains
of
living water to which he shall lead us--Himself seen
to
be the glorious Antitype, the Alpha and the Omega!
But let us proceed to the contents of this book.
It
will
be found that it contains a full system of truth,
exhibiting
sin and the sinner, grace and the Saviour,
comprehending,
also, details of duty, and openings into
the
ages to come--whatever, in short, bears upon a
sinner's
walk with a reconciled God, and his conversation
in
this present evil world. Our heavenly Father has
condescended
to teach his children by most expressive
pictures;
and, even in this, much of his love appears.
The one great principle of interpretation which
we
keep
before us, is apostolic practice. This is the key
we
have used. We find the sacred writers adduce the
likeness
that exists between the thing that was typified
and
the type itself, and resting satisfied there. So we
lay
down this as our great rule,--there must be obvious
8 THE
NATURE OF THE BOOK
resemblance.
And next, we search into these types, in
the
belief that Christ is the centre-truth of Revelation;
and
surely no principle is more obviously true? The
body
or substance of the law is Christ (Col. ii. 17), and
types
are a series of shadows projected from Christ "the
body."
It is this Messiah that has been, from the begin-
ning, the chief object to be unveiled to the view of
men;
and
in the fact that New Testament light has risen, lies
our
advantage in searching what these things signify.
Mr M'Cheyne, of
occasion,
regarding this point, in a letter to a friend:--
"Suppose,"
said he, "that one to whom you were a
stranger
was wrapt in a thick veil, so that you could not
discern
his features; still, if the lineaments were pointed
out
to you through the folds, you could form some idea
of
the beauty and form of the veiled one. But suppose
that
one whom you know and love--whose features you
have
often studied face to face--were to be veiled up in
this
way, how easily you would discern the features and
form
of this beloved one! Just so, the Jews
looked upon
a
veiled Saviour, whom they had never seen unveiled.
We,
under the New Testament, look upon an unveiled
Saviour; and, going back on the Old, we can see,
far
better
than the Jews could, the features and form of
Jesus
the Beloved, under that veil. In Isaac offered
(Gen.
xxii.), in the scape-goat (Lev. xvi.), in the shadow
of
the great rock (Isa. xxxii. 2), in the apple-tree
(Song
ii.
2), what exquisite pictures there are seen of Jesus!
and
how much more plainly we can see the meaning than
believers
of old!" To the same purpose John Bunyan
writes.
He represents Mansoul, in his Holy War, as
feasting
at the Prince's table, and then getting riddles set
before
them. “These riddles were made upon the
King
THE
NATURE OF THE BOOK 9
Shaddai, and Immanuel his son, and upon his wars
and
doings
with Mansoul . . .
And when they read in the
scheme
where the riddles were writ, and looked
in the
face of the Prince, things looked so like,
the one to the
other,
that Mansoul could not forbear but say, ‘This is
the Lamb! This is the
Sacrifice! This is the Rock!
This is the Red Cow! This is the Door! and This
is
the Way!”
The space of a month was occupied in delivering
the
various
ordinances of this book to Moses. This is proved
from
Exod. xl. 17, compared with Numb. i.
1. It is the
revelations
of that one memorable month that are now to
form
the subject of our study. Witsius (De Mysterio
Tab.) has remarked, that
God took only six days to
creation,
but spent forty days with Moses in directing
him
to make the tabernacle--because the work
of grace
is
more glorious than the work of creation. And so we
find
the law from Sinai occupying three
days at most,
while
these rules that exhibited the love and grace of
God
are spread over many weeks.
CHAPTER I
The Burnt Offering
"Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world"--
John i.
29
THE
TABERNACLE was that tent whose two apartments,
separated
by the veil, formed the
Most Holy. This "
tabernacle" was God's dwelling-place
on
earth; where he met with men,--the token of his
returning
to man after the fall. It was here that "the
voice
of the Lord God" was often heard, as in
the
cool of the day.
Ver. 1. And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out
of the tabernacle of the
congregation, saying,--
The cloud that guided
tabernacle;
and while this pillar stood over it, the glory
of
the Lord filled the Holy of holies within (Exod. xl.
34).
Rays
of this glory were streaming out all around, per-
haps
like the light that shone from Christ's form "on the
holy
mount," through his raiment, till the whole hill
shone.
Out of the midst of this "excellent glory" (2
Pet.
i. 17) came the voice of the Lord. He called on
Moses
as at the bush; and having fixed the undivided
* In Exod. xl. 34-38,
we have the general history of this cloud; not the nar-
rative of its motions on a particular occasion.
THE BURNT-OFFERING CHAP.
I 11
attention
of Moses on him that spake, Jehovah utters his
mind.
What love is here! The heart of our God, in
the
midst of all his own joy, yearning to pour itself out
to
man!
The date of these laws is probably a few days
after
the
tabernacle had been set up. They are given not from
Sinai,
though at its foot (see chap. xxvii. 34); but from
over
the mercy-seat, from between the cherubim, where
the
glory had so lately found a resting-place. Perhaps
this
intimated that all these institutions about to be
given
bear on the same great subject, viz. Atonement
and
its effects. Sinai and its law a few weeks before,
with
the dark apostasy in the matter of the golden calf,
had
lately taught them the necessity of reconciliation,
and
made their conscience thirst for that living water.
And
it is given here. The first clause of this book
declares
a reconciled God--"The Lord called to Moses,"
as
a man to his friend.
Ver. 2. Speak unto the children of
any man of you bring an offering unto the
Lord, ye shall bring
your offering* of the cattle, even of the
herd and of the flock.
When the Lord said, "Speak to the children of
instead
of himself addressing them, it taught the people
their
need of a Mediator. It was as if he had said,
These
things are addressed to sinners who cannot see my
face
or hear my voice, except through a daysman.
The offerings first spoken of are those that are
to be
wholly
consumed--types of complete exhaustion of wrath.
In
these cases, everything about the animal was consumed,
sinews,
horns, bones, hoof, the wool on the sheep's head,
and
the hair on the goat's beard--(Willet). Hence they
* The Septuagint render this "prosoisete ta dwra u[mw?n."
Hence,
perhaps, Heb. viii. 3, "gifts and sacrifices."
12 THE
BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I
were
called whole burnt-offerings (o[lokautwmata). God
prescribes
the symbols of atonement, even as he fixed on
the
ransom itself. It is a sovereign God that sinners are
dealing
with; and in so doing, he fixed on the herd and
the
flock, as the only class of cattle (hmAheB;), or four-
footed
beasts, that he would accept. If we are to inquire
into
a reason for this beyond his mere sovereignty, there
are
two that readily present themselves as every way
probable.
First, oxen, sheep, and goats (the herd and
flock)
are easily got by men, being at their hand. He
did
not wish to make them go in pursuit of beasts for
offering,
for salvation is brought to our hand by our God.
Second,
the characteristics of these animals fit them to
be
convenient types of various truths relating to sacrifice.
The
ox taken from feeding by the river-side, or the sheep
from
its quiet pastures,--perhaps from among the lilies
of
joy
and blessedness of his Father's presence, where he
had
been ever "by the streams that make glad the city
of
God." Another reason has been assigned, viz. all
these
were horned animals. Whether in the East such
were
reckoned more valuable than other animals we
cannot
say. It is, at least, worthy of notice, that the
horn,
which is the symbol of power and honour, is found
in
them all.
Ver. 3. If his offering be a burnt-sacrifice of the herd, let him
offer
a male, without blemish: he shall offer it of his own
voluntary will, at the door of the tabernacle of the congrega-
tion, before
the Lord.
“A male," representing the second Adam,
"without
blemish."
Christ, by his one offering, makes his Church
spotless
(Eph. v. 27), and, therefore, he was to be so
* See Guild's Moses Unveiled.
THE BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I 13
himself.
Of course, therefore, the type of him must be
so.
In the peace-offerings it was different: for these
typified
rather the effects of Christ's
atonement on the
receiver
than himself atoning; and the animal,
in that
case,
might have some defect or blemish, even as the
effects of his work may be
imperfectly experienced by
the
sinner, though the work itself is perfect. But what-
ever
speaks of Christ himself must speak of perfection.
"Before the Lord" is an expression
ever recurring: it is
remarkable
that it should occur so often. But perhaps
it
was because the Lord meant thus to insert a Divine
safeguard
against the Socinian idea, that sacrifice chiefly
had
reference to the offerer,
not to God. Every sacrifice
is
brought before "the great Inhabitant of the sanctu-
ary." So also this expression guards us
against Popish
error,
as if ministers of Christ are priests in the same
sense
as the line of Aaron. No; ministers of Christ
approach
men in behalf of God, who sends them as am-
bassadors, but these priests approached God in
behalf
of
guilty men. "He shall offer it of his own voluntary
will."*
The Gospel warrant is, "Whosoever will, let him
come."
There must be a willing soul; none but a soul
made
willing in the day of his power pays any regard
to
atonement. The Lord allows all that are willing, to
come
to the atoning provision. "Are you thirsty for
the
living God? for yonder altar's sacrifice?" might some
son
of Aaron say to a fearful soul. The fearful con-
science
replies, "I cannot well tell if I be really thirsty
for
him." "But are you, then, willing to go to yonder
altar?"
"Yes, I am." "Then you may come; for
* Some translate this, “He shall offer it in
order to be accepted.” I do
not
think this meaning can be proved to be the true one, although the Septuagint
generally
renders the expression, " dekton
e@nanti Ku<riou;" and the
here
has, "dekton
au]t& e]cilasqai e]nanti
Kuriou."
14 THE BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I
read
Leviticus i. 3, and see that it is neither riches nor
poverty,
moral attainment nor deep experience, but sim-
ply
a conscience willing to be bathed in atonement, that
is
spoken of by the God of Israel."
Come then with the sacrifice to "the door
of the taber-
nacle." The altar was near the door of the
tabernacle;
it
faced it. It was the first object that met the eye of
a
worshipper coming in. The priest met him there, and
led
the offerer with his sacrifice on to the altar. The
presenting
any sacrifice there was a type of the worship-
per's
object being to get admission into the presence of
God
by entrance at that door ("access," Eph. ii. 18).
Thus
the offerer walked silently and with holy awe to
the
door of the tabernacle, and there met his God.
As a type of Christ, it would declare Christ's
willing
offering
of himself “Lo, I come;" and how he was, in
the
fulness of time, led silently as a lamb to the slaugh-
ter. For we are to distinguish between the
presentation
of
Christ before he went forth, and the presentation of
himself
after all was done.
Ver. 4. 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.
This action of the offerer
gives us a view of faith.
The
offerer puts his hand on the same head whereon the
Lord's
hand was laid, and thereby agrees to all that is
implied
in his choosing that offering. God and the
believing
soul meet at the same point, and are satisfied
by
the same display of the Divine attributes.--" He
shall
put his hand."* It is yet more forcible in the
* We make no reference, here nor elsewhere, to
Jewish traditions as
to
the manner in which the thing was done, and the words used. It is strange
that
Ainsworth, Patrick, Outran, and others, should waste so much time in this
THE BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I 15
Hebrew—“He
shall lean his hand” (j`msAv;), the very
word
used in Psalm lxxxviii. 7, "Thy wrath leaneth
hard
upon me." We lean our soul on the same person
on
whom Jehovah leant his wrath.
When the worshipper had thus simply left his
sins,
conveyed
by the laying on of his hand upon the sacrifice,
he
stands aside. This is all his part. The treatment of
the
victim is the Lord's part. The happy Israelite who
saw
this truth might go home, saying, "I have put my
hand
on its head; it shall be accepted as an atonement."
Faith
in the Lord's testimony was the ground of an
Israelite's
peace of conscience,--nothing of it rested on
his
own frame of mind, character, or conduct.
Ver. 5. 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 interesting to notice here, that Outram, Witsius,
and,
others, seem to have proved that, in patriarchal
ages,
every man might offer his own sacrifice. Heads of
families,
and heads of a tribe or nation, often acted for
those
under them; but the idea that the first-born were
the
only priests is without foundation. The patriarchal
age
was taught that every man must take Christ for
himself
personally. In the Mosaic economy, however,
this
is altered. There is another truth to be shewn
forth.
Any one (2 Chrou. xxx. 17) might kill the ani-
mal--any
common Levite, or even the offerer himself
--for
there may be many executioners of God's wrath.
Earth
and hell were used in executing the Father's pur-
department.
Are these traditions anything more than human fancy--often, too,
of
a somewhat modern date? Augustine judged well when he said, “Quid scrip-
tura voluerit, non quod
illi opinati fuerint, inquirendum."
16 THE BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I
pose
toward the Prince of Life. But there is only one
appointed
way for dispensing mercy; and therefore only
priests
must engage in the act that signified the bestowal
of
pardon.
The animal is "killed" in the presence
of the Lord.
And
now, what an awfully solemn sight! The priest
“brings
forward the blood." As he bears it onward, in
one
of the bowls of the altar, all gaze upon the warm
crimson
blood! It is the life! So that when the blood
is
thus brought forward, the life of the sacrifice is brought
before
God! It is as if the living soul of the sinner
were
carried, in its utter helplessness and in all its filthi-
ness,
and laid down before the Holy One!
The blood was then "sprinkled round about
upon the
altar."
The life being taken away, the sinner's naked
soul
is exhibited! He deserves this stroke of death-
death
death in the Lord's presence, as a satisfaction to
his holi-
ness!
As the blood that covered the door on the night
of
the Passover represented the inmates' life as already
taken,
so the blood on the altar and its sides signified
that
the offerer's life was forfeited and taken. It was
thus
that Jesus "poured out his soul unto death" for us.
It was, further, "round about," as
well as "upon," the
altar.
This held it up on all sides to view; and the
voice
from the altar now is, "Look unto me, and be ye
saved,
all the ends of the earth." All
within the camp
might
look and live; for this sacrifice represents Christ's
dying
as the only way for any, and the sufficient way for all.
The altar mentioned here was the "altar of
brass;"
not
the "golden altar," which stood in the
Ver. 6. And he shall flay the burnt-offering, and
cut it into his
pieces.
* See some remarks on the brass of this altar in
a note, chap. xiv. 5.
THE BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I 17
Here, again, any one might act, as well as the
priest;
for
any of God's creatures may be the executioners of his
wrath.
“He shall flay."--The skin torn from off the
slain
animal may intimate the complete exposure of the
victim,
uncovered, and laid open to the piercing eye of
the
beholder. But specially, it seems to skew that there
is
no covering of inherent righteousness on the person of
the
sinner. While the skin was unwounded, the inward
parts
were safe from the knife; thus, so long as man had
personal
righteousness interposing, no knife could pierce
his
soul. But the taking away of the victim's skin
skewed
that the sinner had no such protection in God's
view;
even as the bringing of such skins to Adam and
Eve,
after the fall, skewed that God saw them destitute
of
every covering, and had, in his mercy, provided cloth-
ing for them by means of sacrifice.
The "cutting it into pieces" would at
last leave the
sacrifice
a mangled mass of flesh and bones. Entire dis-
location
of every joint, and separation of every limb and
member,
was the process. By this the excruciating tor-
ment due to the sinner seems signified. God's sword--
his
Abraham's knife--spares not the sacrifice; but uses
its
sharpness and strength to pierce and destroy to the
uttermost.
The slashing sword of wrath leaves nothing
to
the guilty; but, as "one woe is past, behold, another
woe
cometh quickly." Yet it is "into his pieces."
There
was an order observed--a regularity and deliber-
ate
systematic procedure. So will it be in the damna-
tion of hell; every pang will be weighed by perfect holi-
ness,
every stroke deliberated upon ere it is inflicted.
And,
in truth, this deliberate infliction is the most awful
feature
of justice. It leaves the sufferer hopeless. The
stroke
is awfully relentless, determined, righteous! Such,
18 THE BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I
too,
were the Saviour's sufferings. Every part and pore
of
his frame was thus mangled; every member of his
body,
every feeling of his soul. There was not an action
of
his life, or desire in his heart, but was combined with
woe;
and all so just, that from the cross he lifts his
eyes
to his Father, and looking on him--as he had ever
done,
cries, "But thou art holy!" (Ps. xxii. 3.)
Ver. 7. And the sons* of Aaron the priest shall put
fire upon
the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire.
This verse is well illustrated by Heb. ix. 14,
"Who,
through
the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot
to
God." Christ was prepared, in his human nature, by
the
Holy Spirit. The Father prepared the fire of wrath,
filled
the vial with that wrath, and, then poured it out.
The
Holy Spirit, as Heb. ix. 14 declares, set all things in
order,
in Christ's human nature, ready for the vial being
poured
out. At the moment when the fire came down
and
consumed him, love to God and man was at its
highest
pitch in his soul--obedience, holy regard for the
Divine
law, hatred of sin, love to man.
The wood, taken by itself, is not a type of
anything;
but
it must be taken thus:--the laying the wood in
order
preparatory to the fire coming. In this view it
represents
what we have just said.
The fire was from that fire which descended from
the
cloudy
pillar. It was, therefore, divinely intended to
shew "the wrath of God revealed from
heaven" against
all
ungodliness of men. Indeed, the fire from the bosom
of
that cloud was no less than a type of wrath from the
* We sometimes see mistakes committed in
representations of tabernacle
scenes.
Levites are made to act as priests, and Levites are exhibited blowing
the
silver trumpets. But all this was the duty of Aaron's sons alone. True;
they
were Levites, but they were the priestly family among the Levites. Priests
are
Levites, but all Levites are not priests.
THE BURNT-OFFERING CHAP, I 19
bosom
of God against him who lay in his bosom (see
chap.
vi. 9, and ix. 24).
Ver. 8. 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.
The fat did, of course, help the flame to
consume the
head,
notwithstanding the gushing stream of blood. But
what
is the type? The head was that whereon the
offerer leant his hand, conveying to it his load
of guilt.
The
fat (rd,PA) is a word that occurs
only, thrice, viz.
here,
and ver. 12, and chap. viii. 20. Some understand
it
to be the midriff; others, the fat separated from the
rest
of the flesh; but there is no way of arriving at the
certain
import. The type, however, is obvious. The
head
and this fat are two pieces--one outward, the other
inward;
thus representing the whole inner and outer
man.
Christ's whole manhood, body and soul, was
placed
on the altar, in the fire, and endured the wrath of
God.
There could be no type of his soul otherwise than
by
selecting some inward part to signify it; and that is
done
here by the "fat." It is on the fat, too, that the
fire
specially kindles. It is at the man's heart, feelings,
and
desires that God expresses his indignation most fully.
It
is the heart that is desperately wicked. It is the
carnal
mind that is enmity against God.
Ver. 9. 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 savour unto the
Lord.
Answerable
to the "head and fat" of the former
* The North American Indians long practised sacrifice; and D. Brainerd, in
his
Journal, tells us of a great sacrifice where “they burnt the fat of the inwards
in
the fire, and sometimes raised the flame to a prodigious height.”
20 THE
BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I
verse,
as parts representing the inward and outward, we
have
here the legs and the intestines. The legs and in-
testines may be supposed to be selected to mark
outward
and
inward defilement--man's polluted nature needing
to
be washed in water. But why wash these in water, if
they
are to be burnt? Because here is a sacrifice for
others--"the
just for the unjust"--Christ taking our
place.
Now, lest anything should seem to indicate per-
sonal defilement in him, these portions are washed in
water,
and then presented. Christ's body and soul, all
his
person, and all his acts, were holy. His walk was
holy,
and his inmost affections holy.
Such was the sacrifice on which the fire came!
See
Isaac
on the wood! but the knife has pierced this Isaac!
--in
symbol, the original and immutable sentence, "Thou
shalt die." Here is death; and it has come in
such a
manner
as not to leave a vestige of the victim's former
aspect.
The victim is all disfigured, and has become a
mass
of disjointed bones and mangled flesh, because thus
shall
it be in the case of the lost in hell. The lost sinner's
former
joy, and even all his relics of comfort, are gone
for
ever--no lover or friend would ever be able to re-
cognise that lost one. Even as it was with Jesus
when
he
took the position of the lost; his visage seemed to
every
eye more marred than any man, and his form more
than
the sons of men. But lo! as if even all this were
not
expressive enough, that mangled mass is committed
to
the flames, and in the consuming flame, every remain-
ing mark of its former state disappears. All is
ashes.
So
complete is the doom of the lost--as testified on this
altar,
and fulfilled by Jesus when he took the sinner's
place.
That smoke attests that God's righteousness is
fully
satisfied in the suffering victim. His blood--his
THE BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I 21
soul--is
poured out! and the flame of Divine wrath burns
up
the suffering one! The smoke ascends--"a sweet
savour to the Lord." He points to it, and shews therein
his
holy name honoured, and his law magnified. It is
sweet
to Jehovah to behold this sight in a fallen world.
It
reminds him, so to speak, of that Sabbath-rest over
the
first creation (Gen. ii. 2); only this is deeper rest, as
being
rest after trouble. This "sweet savour" is
literally
"savour of rest" (HaOHyni
Hayri); as if the savour stayed his
wrath
and calmed his soul. So Eph. v. 2. And at the
view
of that ascending smoke, more joyful hallelujahs are
sung
than will be heard over the smoke of the pit (Rev.
xix.
3). For here love has free scope as well as righteous-
ness.
What a rest will the millennial and heavenly rest
be,
when, in addition to other elements, it has in it this
element
of perfect satisfaction--" He shall, rest in his
love!"
(Zeph. iii. 17.)
Such, then, is the "ox and bullock that has
horns and
hoofs"
(Ps. lxix. 31) ; and such, too, the meaning of the
offering.
The Antitype set forth in Psalm lxix. has mag-
nified the name of the Lord, and set aside the type.
Ver. 10. And if his offering be of the flocks,
namely, of the sheep,
or of the goats, for a burnt-sacrifice; he shall bring it a
male
without blemish.
It appears that wealthier men generally selected
oxen
as
their offering;* and men less able took sheep or goats;
while
ver. 14 shews that those
yet poorer brought doves.
God
thus left the sacrifice open alike to the rich, the
middle
classes, and the labouring poor. For in Jesus
Christ
there is neither Greek nor Jew, barbarian nor
Scythian,
bond nor free; he is within reach of all alike.
* That is, oxen were always part of their
sacrifice. Thus Numb.
vii.
and I Chron. xxix. 21.
22 THE BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I
Our
High Priest welcomes sinners under the wide name,
“Him
that cometh " (John vi. 3 7); the advancing foot-
steps
of a sinner to his altar, whether he be great or small,
is
a sweet sound in our Aaron's ear.
Here is specially included the offering of the
lamb.
Morning
and evening this was done by the priest for all
liii. 7). Every day that picture was exhibited to
Ver. 11. And he shall kill it on the side of the
altar northward
before the Lord: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall
sprinkle
his blood round about upon the altar.
There is a peculiarity here which does not occur
in the
sacrifices
of the herd, namely, it is to be killed on the
north
side of the altar. One obvious reason seems to be
this:
there was a necessity, for the sake of order, that
there
should be a separate place for killing the oxen and
the
sheep. No quarter of the heavens was sacred; and
since,
at other times, the sacrifice was presented on the
east
side, a variety like this answered the purpose of
proclaiming
that Jesus is offered to any soul in any na-
tion, east or north, i.e. from east to west, north
to south,
his
death is presented to the view of all, to be believed
by
men as soon as they see it. "Look unto me, and be
ye
saved, all the ends of the earth."†
Ver. 12, 13. And he shall cut it into his pieces, with
his head and
his fat; and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood
* An old writer asks, why Christ is called so
often "the Lamb of God,"
and
not "the ox, or the ram, of God." The reply is, because these were
not
offered
“every day," whereas the lamb was a daily offering, and therefore fitted
to
proclaim Christ's blood as always ready for use.
† Some have tried without success to discover a
deeper meaning in the
“north,"
And have suggested that the omission of it in Ps. lxxv.
6 strengthens this
idea.
But in that passage "south" also is omitted, the Hebrew being rbad;mi.mi,,
"from
the desert," referring to the caravans, which, amid all their rare
commodities,
never brought the gift spoken of.
THE BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I 23
that is on
the fire which is upon the altar. But he shall wash
the
inwards and the legs with water; and the priest shall bring
it all,
and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt-sacrifice, an
offering
made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.
The sheep or goat is not commanded to be "flayed,"
as
ver. 6 commands as to the ox or bullock; perhaps
because
flaying signified the defencelessness of the victim
left
without a covering. Now, the sheep or goat is, by its
very
nature, defenceless enough. Our attention, therefore,
in
this type, is rather fixed on the complete stroke of the
knife,
that separates all into its pieces ready for the fire.
When
the Lord said, "Awake, 0 sword, against my
Shepherd"
(Zech. xiii. 7), the Saviour was smitten to
the
very soul, and wrath came down on him like fire.
In ver. 13, the words,
"and shall bring it all near,"
intimate
the solemn care with which the priest advanced
to
the spot and lighted the wood, attending to every
point,
although his offering was one of the flock, and not
of
the herd. This clause seems intended to put equal
honour on the offering of the flock as on that of the
herd,
for the Antitype is all that gives either of them
any
importance.
The other particulars are the same as those
mentioned
in
verses 7- 9.
How simple the rules laid down for ordering his
favourite type--the lamb! But let us not fail to
notice
that
the use made of the lamb is what we are chiefly
called
to observe--not the lamb itself in particular; as if
to
shew that it is not Christ's meek nature, but Christ,
the
meek and lowly one, in his connexion with the altar,
that
we ought to be reminded of by the name "Lamb."
If
it had been his character only, or chiefly, that was
referred
to in that name--"Lamb of God," there would
24 THE
BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I
have
been no propriety in typifying him by the "ox"
and
the "goat." But if the manner of his death and
the
intention of his sufferings were mainly referred to,
then
all is appropriate.
BURNT-OFFERING OF FOWLS.
Ver. 14. And if the burnt-sacrifice for his offering
to the Lord
be of fowls, then shall he bring his offering of
turtle-doves, or
of young pigeons.
In John ii. 14, we find this third class of
offerings
referred
to, along with the other two,--oxen, sheep, and
doves.
From chap. v. 7, we learn that the poorer class were
to
bring this sort of sacrifice. "To the poor the Gospel
is
preached;" and ministers must be as solicitous for the
salvation
of the poor as of the rich.
The dove or pigeon was to be a male; for the
Hebrew
word
for "young pigeons" is hnAOy
yneB;, "sons of the
dove."
Thus it was fitter to represent Christ. And of
the
winged tribes, none were ever taken for sacrifice,
except
the dove and the turtle-dove. These abounded,
in
the
easily.*
They were fitted, also, to be emblems of Jesus,
just
as was the lamb. He is undefiled and holy, full of
love
and tenderness; therefore the dove is his type. And
as
the dove at the Deluge brought the message of peace,
and
as the turtle-dove is the known emblem of peace,
because
its voice is heard from the olive-tree (itself the
* In the course of my ordinary visits in the
country; I one day sat down to
converse
with a poor illiterate believer, at whose board a beautiful tame pigeon
used
to feed. I opened the Bible at this passage, and chewed this type of a suf-
fering Saviour. It seemed to
be specially blessed--she long remembered this
type
of Jesus: and in this simple incident, there seemed to me discernible some-
thing
of the wisdom and goodness that so provided for the poor of
THE BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I 25
type
of peace), in quiet, calm security, so, on this ground
more
specially, they are the better types of Jesus. The
previous
suffering of the offered dove, or turtle, repre-
sents Christ suffering ere he enters into peace, and
becomes
the peace-maker. Taken from his Father's
bosom,
he comes to suffer. The dove, "by the rivers of
water"
(Song v. 12), in peace and joy, is caught, and
wrung
to death on the altar. The olive-groves must be
searched,
and the turtle-dove taken from its own happy,
peaceful
olive-tree. It is then violently brought to the
altar,
and left lifeless there! Thus it was with Jesus.
But
from this suffering and death of the Peaceful One
results
"peace on earth." "He is our peace" (Eph. ii.
14).
He breathes out on us nothing less than his own
peace--"My
peace I give unto you" (John xiv. 27).
And
soon, too, as the grand and wide result of all, "the
voice
of the turtle (the herald of spring and of storms
past)
shall be heard in our land" (Song ii. 12); and the
deluge
of fire being passed, this dove shall bring its
olive-branch
to announce to the new earth that wrath is
for
ever turned away. Christ, who died to make peace,
shall
reign in peace, over a peaceful earth, which his
own
blood has made the dwelling of righteousness.
He of whom these things are spoken, when on
earth,
shewed, from such Scriptures as these, that he needed
to
suffer unto death. "Thus it is written, and thus it
behoved Christ to suffer" (Luke xxiv. 46),
said Jesus,
while
shewing the things written in the law of Moses
concerning
himself.
Ver. 15. And the priest shall bring it unto the
altar, and wring
of his head, and burn it on the altar; and the blood thereof
shall be wrung out at the side of the altar.
The
method of putting the dove to death must be
26 THE
BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I
regulated
by the nature of the victim; hence, here it is
by
"wringing off his head." But this arrangement is
the
better fitted to exhibit another. Feature in the death
of
Jesus, viz. the awful violence done to one so pure, so
tender,
and so lovely. We shrink back from the terrible
harshness
of the act, whether it be plunging the knife
into
the neck of the innocent lamb, or wringing off the
head
of the tender dove. But, on this very account, the
circumstances
are the better figure of the death of Jesus.
“He
had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his
mouth;
yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him."
After this, "the blood was to be wrung
out"
squeezed
or pressed out) over the side of the altar, till it
ran
in a crimson stream down the altar's side, in view of
all.
Then it collects at the foot of the altar; and there
is
a cry, like that from the souls under the altar in Rev.
vi.
9, against the cause of this blood-shedding, viz. sin.
A
testimony against sin ascends up into the ears of the
Lord
of Sabaoth. But his blood speaketh
better things
than
the blood of Abel, or the cry of the martyred ones;
for
the response to this cry of blood is not vengeance,
but
pardon to man.
It was the priest who performed this apparently
harsh
and
cruel act, for the Father bruised Jesus, and the
priest
acts in his name.
Ver. 16. And he shall pluck away his crop with his
feathers,
and cast it beside the altar, on the east part, by the place
of
the ashes.
The crop, containing the food, seems to be
considered
unclean,
because an emblem of man's appetites. Now, as
there
was nothing of man's sinful appetites in the Holy
One,
there must be nothing even in the type, that might
lead
us to suppose that he was otherwise than perfectly
THE BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I 27
holy.
Hence "the crop" is removed. "The feathers,"
also,
are removed, because they are a covering to the
dove;
and it must be left quite unsheltered when the
drops
of the storm fall thick and heavy upon it. These
are
to be cast to "the place of ashes," out of sight of
God;
and thus the dove is offered, in a state of purity
and
of unprotectedness, on the altar.
Ver. 17. And he shall cleave it with the wings
thereof, but shall
not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the
altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt-
sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the
Lord.
“The cleaving” (fS.awi) implies such a
separation as is
not
complete. It is only dislocation, but not disruption
of
the parts, as is also explained in the clause, "but shall
not
divide it asunder." In this we see another typical
circumstance.
It is like that in the case of the paschal
lamb--"A
bone of him shall not be broken." At the
same
time, this type gives us, in addition, a reference to
the
Saviour's racked frame on the cross, when he said,
"All
my bones are out of joint" (Ps. xxii. 14). All this
seems
intended to declare that Jesus in his death, was
whole,
though broken,--"sin for us," but "no sin in him."
"With
the wings thereof," to shew nothing left what-
soever that could be means of escape--total weakness.
Jesus
said, as he suffered, "I am poured out like water"
(Ps.
xxii. 14).
And this sacrifice is "of a sweet savour to the Lord."
It
satisfies the Father well--so much so, that we find his
redeemed
ones called by the name that refers us back to
the
sacrifice. For example--the Church is called "the
dove"
(Song ii. 14). So--"Deliver not the soul of thy
turtle-dove
into the hands of the enemy" (Ps. lxxiv. 19).
28 THE
BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I
Just
as both Christ and his Church are called "the lily,"
in
Song ii. 1, 2 ; and both his voice and theirs is " like
the
voice of many waters" in the book of Revelation
(comp.
Rev. i. 15; xiv. 2 ; xix. 6). If the Church says,
Behold,
thou art fair, my beloved (ydiOd), yea, pleasant
(Song
i. 16), it is in response to Christ, who had said,
Behold,
thou art fair, my love (ytiyAf;ra); behold, thou art
fair."
So truly one is Christ and Ms people, they are in
a
manner identified! "Lord, thou art my righteousness,
and
I am thy sin; thou hast taken from me what was
mine,
and given me what was thine." “
]W th?j glukei<aj
a]ntallagh?j! w@ th?j a]necixniastou dhmiourgiaj! w@ tw?n
a]pros-
dokh<twn eu]ergesiw?n!”—(Epist. ad Diognet. 9.) "Oh, sweet
exchange
! Oh, unsearchable device! Oh, benefits be-
yond
all expectation!"
And now, looking back on this chapter, let us
briefly
notice
that the rudimental sketch of these offerings, and
the
mode of their presentation, will be found at the gate
of
ceremonies,
at one time imitated, at another purposely
opposed.
But this is altogether erroneous.
Davison refuses to admit that sacrifice in the
patriarchal
time
was identical in meaning with sacrifice in the Mosaic
dispensation--admitting
that, if that identity could be
made
out, the Divine origin of sacrifice would be proved.†
Now,
is there one text in all the Bible to shew that
sacrifice
(which Davison gladly admits had in it the
atoning
principle in the institutions of Moses) ever has
more
than one meaning? As well might we ask evidence
to
prove that "to call on the name of the Lord" in the
* Vide Spencer, &c.
† On The
Origin and Intention of Primitive Sacrifice.
THE BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I 29
days
of Enos was quite a different act from "calling
on
the
name of the Lord" in the days of the Psalmist; or
that
"righteousness" in Abraham's day (Gen. xv. 6) was
different
from "righteousness" in Paul's days (
iv.
3). Just as we believe the Hiddekel and
Genesis
ii. are the same as the Hiddekel and
later
history; and the cherubim of Genesis iii. the same
as
those in the tabernacle; and the "sweet savour"
of
Genesis
viii. 21 the same as that in Leviticus i. 9 and
Ephesians
v. 2; so do we regard the intention of sacrifice
as
always the same throughout Scripture. There would
therefore
be need, not of proof to establish this principle,
but
of argument to refute it. Ours is the obvious and
common-sense
principle. All these ordinances were parts
of
the one telescope, through which men saw the Star of
drawn
out farther than at
the
grand object could be, best seen was more nearly
found.
But the gate of
truths
in a more rudimental form.
Some have traced the outlines of the Mosaic
ritual at
the
gate of
gate
stood the cherubim, occupying the hallowed spot
where
the Tree of Life waved its branches. This resem-
bled
the Holy of holies; and the veil that prevented the
approach
of any from without was the flaming sword,
flashing
its sheets of fire on every side. But opposite to
this
sword, at some distance, we see an altar, where our
first
parents shed the blood of sacrifice--shewing in type
how
the barred-up way of access to the Tree of Life was
to
be opened by the blood of the woman's bruised seed.
On
this altar bloody and unbloody offerings were ap-
pointed
to be presented in their season. And when we
30 THE
BURNT-OFFERING CHAP. I
find
clean and unclean noticed (Gen. viii. 20), and in
Abraham's
case (Gen. xv. 9, 10), the heifer and goat,
the
turtle and the pigeon, and also "commandments,
statutes,
and laws" (parallel to Lev. xxvi. 46), we cannot
but
believe that these fuller institutions in Leviticus are
just
the expansion of what Adam first received. The
Levitical dispensation is the acorn of
full
oak. If so, then may we say, that the child Jesus,
wrapped
in his swaddling-clothes, was, in these ceremonies,
laid
down at the gate of
CHAPTER II
THE MEAT-OFFERING
“I beseech
you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God."--
Rom.
xii. 1
"The
things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet
smell, a
sacrifce acceptable, well pleasing to God."--Phil. iv. 18
Ver. 1. And when any will offer a meat-offering unto
the Lord,
his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil
upon
it, and put frankincense thereon.
IN
Daniel ix. 27, "He shall cause the sacrifice and
oblation
to cease," there seems to be reference made to
the
two great divisions, sacrifices with, and sacrifices
without,
blood. For the words are more exactly, “He
shall
cause sacrifice and meat-offering (hHAn;mi) to cease."
So
also in I Sam. iii. 14, and Ps. xl. 6. We have now
come
to this second class of offerings.
The meat-offering (so called by our translators
because
the
greater part of it was used for food) represents the
offerer's person and property, his body and his
posses-
sions.* When
he had by the burnt-offering; obtained full
* Ainsworth gives in substance the same meaning
of the type, when he says
that
it signified "the sanctification of persons and actions, and the
acceptation
of
them." Patrick is evidently far wrong when he speaks of these
meat-offerings
as
a merciful provision for those who could not afford to offer animal sacrifices.
32 THE
MEAT-OFFERING CHAP. II
acceptance
for his soul, he comes next to give up his
whole
substance to the Lord who has redeemed him.
The
mercies of God constrain him to give up all he has
to
the Lord. The meat-offering was generally, or rather
always,
presented along with some animal sacrifice, in
order
to shew the connexion
between pardon of sin and
devotion
to the Lord. The moment we are pardoned, all
we
are, and all we have, becomes the property of Christ.
“Ye
are not your own, for ye are bought with a price"
(1
Cor. vi. 19). Our Redeemer and kinsman buys first
Ruth,
the Moabitess herself, and nest, he claims also the
field
and inheritance. Joseph, who saves our life, buys
up
our bodies and our substance.
A type that was to represent this dedication of
body
and
property behoved to be one that had no blood
therein;
for blood is the life or soul, which has been
already
offered.
This distinction may have existed as early as
the days
of
Adam. When God instituted animal sacrifice to
represent
the atonement by death, he probably also in-
stituted this other sort; the fact of this latter
existing,
and
its meaning and use being definitely understood,
would
tend to confirm the exclusive use of animal sacrifice
when
atonement was to be shewn forth. Cain's offering
of
first fruits might have been acceptable as a meat-
offering,
if it had been founded upon the slain lamb, and
had
followed as a consequence from that sacrifice.* But
the
statement in Heb. xi. 4 lets us know that Cain had
not
faith in the seed of the woman; therefore his offering
* In this view Ambrose (De Incarnat. Dom. Sacram., cap. i.) is not
wrong:--
“Nihil invenio quod
in specie munerum reprehendam,
nisi quod et Cain munera
sua displicuisse cognovit, et Dominus dixit, Si recte
offeras, recte autem non
dividas, peccasti. Ubi igitur est
crimen? Ubi culpa? Non in oblatione muneris,
sed in oblationis affectu."
THE MEAT-OFFERING CHAP. II 33
was
hateful to God. Cain's attempt was virtually this,--
to
present himself and his property to God, as if they had
been
under no curse that needed blood first of all to wash
them.
He sought to be accepted by his holiness, and so
overthrew
salvation by Christ. Acts of clarity, substi-
tuted for Christ's work, as a means of pacifying the
con-
science,
make up precisely this sin of Cain. Nor are
they
less mistaken who think, by self-denial, and by doing
good
to others in their life and conduct, to obtain favour,
and
be accepted with God. This is offering the meat-
offering
ere the man has been cleansed by the burnt-
offering.
It is putting sanctification before justification.*
And
there is a tendency to this error in those books
which
recommend anxious souls, that are not yet come to
Christ,
to draw up a form of self-dedication, and solemnly
give
themselves to the Lord. These counsellors are in
danger
of leading souls past the blood of the Lamb,
and
of putting the meat-offering too hastily into their
hands.
This meat-offering was presented daily, along
with the
morning
and evening sacrifice, teaching us to give all we
have
to the Lord's use, not by irregular impulse on parti-
cular exigencies, but daily.
In Isaiah lxvi. 20,
the words, "They shall bring all
your
brethren an offering (hHAn;mi) to the Lord," are
very
appropriate
when we keep in mind that this is the
* An instance of such-like self-righteousness we
find among the early
Fathers.
Ephraim Syrus seems never to have found the
blood-sprinkled way,
but
to have travelled onward to eternity over a road
strewn with the palm-branches
of
good feelings and deeds of self-denial, and watered with tears at every step.
His
wretched
scheme of peace may be gathered from such congratulations as these
--Makari<zw u[ma?j, w@ gnh<sioi, o!ti o[rq^?
politei<a fi<louj e[autou>j e]poi<hsate
t& qe&?—(Logoj A.) He counts those
friends of his happy because
he
thinks they have made themselves acceptable to God by their manner of
life."
The
same remark replies to the writings of Thomas-a-Kempis.
34 THE
MEAT-OFFERING CHAP. II
typical
meaning of the meat-offering--these persons are
the
meat-offering. Perhaps, also, in 1 Samuel xxvi. 19,
"If
the Lord have stirred thee up against me, let him
accept
a meat-ofering" (HHAn;mi), there may be
reference
to
this species of offering, representing the person and all
he
possessed. At the same time, the word when
not
contrasted or conjoined with the sacrifice, is often
used
as a generic term for any offering.*
But we have still to call attention to the chief
applica-
tion of this type. It shews
forth Christ himself. And
indeed,
this should have been noticed first of all, had it
not
been for the sake of first establishing the precise
point
of view in which this type sets forth its object.
We
are to consider it as representing Christ himself, in
all
his work of obedience--soul and body. He is the
"fine
wheat," pure, unspotted; yet also "baked," &c.,
because
subjected to every various suffering. The burnt-
offering
being presented and consumed, Christ's glorious
obedience
in his human nature, and all that belonged to
him,
was accepted, as well as his sacrifice; for he and
all
that is his was ever set apart for, and accepted by
the
Father. "Lord, truly I am thy servant" (Ps. cxvi.
16).
And if it represent Christ, it includes his Church.
Christ,
and his body the Church, are presented to the
Father,
and accepted. Christ, and all his possessions in
heaven
and earth, whether possessions of dominion or
possessions
in the souls of men and angels, were all pre-
sented to, and accepted by the Father. And Christ
delights
thus to honour the Father. He will delight to
* And so the Septuagint sometimes render it by qusi<a, and sometimes by
prosfora<. In Ezek. xlv. 15,
where it occurs, the meaning would have been
brought
out more exactly by rendering the clause thus:--"One lamb out of the
flock,
from the pastures of
even
for burnt-offerings and for peace-offerings."
THE MEAT-OFFERING CHAP. II 35
deliver
up even the kingdom to the Father (1 Cor. xv.
24).
What an example for each of his people! Let us
behold
our pattern, and give up ourselves, body and soul
and
substance, to the glory of our God.
Let us now examine the chapter in detail.
The
meat-offering must be of fine flour,--the fine
wheat
of
fine
tl,so, bolted and sifted well.
It must in all cases be
not
less than the tenth of an ephah (chap. v. 11); in
most
cases far more (see Numb. vii. 13). It was taken
from
the best of their fields, and cleansed from the bran
by
passing through the sieve. The rich seem to have
offered
it in the shape of pure fine flour, white as snow,
heaping
it up, probably, as in Numb. vii. 13, on a silver
charger,
or in a silver bowl, in princely manner. It thus
formed
a type, beautiful and pleasant to the eye, of the
man's
self and substance dedicated to God, when now
made
pure by the blood of sacrifice that had removed his
sin.
For if forgiven, then a blessing rested upon his
basket
and his store, on the fruit of his body, and the
fruit
of his ground, the fruit of his cattle, and the in-
crease
of his kine (see Deut. xxviii. 3-6). Even as
Jesus,
when raised from the tomb, was henceforth no
more
under the curse of sin, but was blessed in body,
for
his body was no longer weary or feeble; and blessed
in
company, for no longer was he numbered among trans-
gressors; and blessed in all his inheritance, for
"all
power
was given him in heaven and in earth."
The oil poured on the fine flour denoted setting
apart.
It
was oil that was used by Jacob at
apart
his stone pillow to commemorate his vision; and
every
priest and king was thus set apart for his office.
Oil,
used on these occasions, is elsewhere appropriated to
36 THE MEAT-OFFERING CHAP. II
mean
the Spirit's operation--the Spirit setting apart
whom
he pleases for any office.
The frankincense, fragrant in its smell, denoted
the
acceptableness
of the offering. As a flower or plant--
the
rose of Sharon or the balm of Gilead--would induce
any
passing traveller to stoop down over them, and regale
himself
with their fragrance, so the testimony borne by
Christ's
work to the character of Godhead brings the
Father
to bend over any to whom it is imparted, and to
rest
over him in his love. The Lord Jesus says to his
Church,
in Song iv. 6, "Until the day break, and the
shadows
flee away, I will get me to the mountain of
myrrh,
and the hill of frankincense." This spot must be
the
Father's right hand. In like manner, then, it ought
to
be the holy purpose of believing souls who are look-
ing for Christ, to dwell so entirely amid the
Redeemer's
merits,
that, like the maidens of king Ahasuerus (Esther
ii.
12), they shall be fragrant with the sweet odours,
and
with these alone, when the Bridegroom comes.
When
Christ presented his human person and all he
had,
he was indeed fragrant to the Father, and the oil
of
the Spirit was on him above his fellows (see Isa. lxi. 1;
Ps.
xlv. 7 ; Heb. ix. 14).
And equally complete in him is every believer
also.
Like
Jesus, each believer is God's wheat--his fine flour.
He
is clothed in the fine linen, white and clean, and
stands
by Christ's side, in the likeness of Christ. Even
now
is he able to say, "As he is (at the Father's right
hand),
so are we in this world"--as completely righteous,
as
really accepted (1 John iv. 17).
Ver. 2. And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the
priests: and
he shall take thereout his handful
of the flour thereof, and of
the oil thereof; with all the frankincense thereof; and the
priest
THE MEAT-OFFERING CHAP. II 37
shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering
made by fire, of a sweet savour
unto the Lord.
One of Aaron's sons was to take a handful out of
what
was
brought, a handful of flour, and a proportional quan-
tity of the oil. Along with this he was to take “all
the
frankincense," because all was needed to express the
complete
acceptance. This is "the memorial of the
meat-offering"*--a
part for the whole. In dedication
of
our body and property, we need not go through every
article
in detail, but we take some part as a specimen
and
an earnest of all the rest.
In Acts x. 4, Cornelius's "prayers and
alms" are called
a
memorial." These alms and prayers were a specimen
of
the whole man's dedication. He was a believer, like
old
Simeon, already accepted, and this meat-offering of
his,
the dedication of self and substance, expressed by
prayers
and alms, was acknowledged on the part of God
by
the gift of more light and liberty.
Ver. 3. And the remnant 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.
The offering is declared "most holy."
And to shew
that
the mass was so, as well as the handful, the remnant
is
given to Aaron's sons to feast upon. Even Aaron, who
bore
on his mitre " Holiness to the Lord," could
safely
eat
of it.
* Isaiah (1xvi. 3) refers first to the
burnt-offering, speaking of slaying the
lamb
and the ox; and then in the next clause, to the meat-offering, speaking of
him
that "offers a hHAn;mi and maketh
a frankincense-memorial" hnAbol;
ryKiz;ma.
Abel's
offering, Paradise Lost, xi.
“* * * * * A
shepherd next,
More meek, came with the firstlings of his flock
Choicest and best; then, sacrificing laid
The inwards and the fat, with incense strew'd,
on the cleft wood."
38 THE
MEAT-OFFERING CHAP. II
In this manner we are assured of the true and
thorough
acceptance
of our dedicated things, when once we are
forgiven.
How complete is the assurance we have of the
acceptance
of Christ and all that are his! Nay, even of
their
substance. There is a blessing "on their basket
and
on their store." So completely is its curse removed,
that
under the tree in the plains of Mamre, angels,
and
the Lord of angels, eat of Abraham's bread and his
fatted
calf!
But the declaration, "It is a thing most
holy," teaches
us
how we should regard every member of our body as
belonging
to God; and everything we possess." Ye are
not
your own." "It is most holy." How little do we feel
it
to be so!
Ver. 4. And if thou bring an oblation of a
meat-offering baken in
the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled
with
oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.
A part of the type of the fine flour, already
noticed,
may
be that Christ was ground by sore agony, and
endured
unutterable anguish when bruised for us. And
so
the wine of the drink-offering, afterwards noticed,
would
imply a reference to the wine-press, out of which
he
came. And in like manner, the oven here mentioned,
and
the other articles exposed to the fire, would contain
a
reference to his enduring the fierce flame of wrath.*
But admitting this use of the emblems to be
doubtful,
we
find a certain and obvious meaning in the diversities of
form
in which the meat-of Bring appears. As in chap. i.
we
saw that God, for the sake of the less wealthy, took
a
lamb or a dove, when a more costly sacrifice would have
* Willet quotes Pellicanus,
who applies these varieties in the preparation of
the
meat-offering to the manifold nature of afflictions " Nunc
Clibanus, nunc
Patilla, nunc Craticula dici possunt:" a true remark, whether contained here or
not.
THE MEAT-OFFERING CHAP. II 39
been
beyond the reach of the offerer; so it is here: for
the
sake of different ranks in society, the meat-offering
has
a form in which any one may be able to present it.
If
he is rich, let him bring his fine flour from the finest of
the
wheat. If he is not able to do this, let him bring "a
meat-offering
baleen in the oven." If he cannot afford
this,
having no oven, then let him bring somewhat "baken
in
the fire plate," or pan. If even this is not in his power,
he
will at least possess a frying pan, and. let him bring
what
it prepares. God excuses none, of whatever rank,
from
dedicating themselves and their substance to him.
The
widow has two mites to cast into the Lord's treasury.
In
1 Chron. xxiii. 29, this gradation seems referred to
when
it is said, "For that which is baked in the pan,
and
for that which is fried, and for all manner of measure
and
size."
The oven was a utensil which was generally
possessed
by
all in the middle ranks of life. If they have this, let
them
prepare in it "cakes" (tOL.Ha), of a larger size, and
wafers"
(Myqyqir;
cakes of a
smaller size, and bring
these
as their meat-offering. The larger cakes must have
"oil
mingled through them;" the smaller and thinner must
have
oil on them. In both cases, the oil that sets apart
must
not be wanting. Nay, where it is possible, it must
form
part, as it were, of the substance, by being mingled
with
it.
And there must be no leaven; for leaven
indicates
corruption
at work. If we give grudgingly, with restless,
impatient,
tumultuous, anxious feelings, we are offering
with
leaven. We must dedicate self and substance in
Christ's
spirit--"Not my will, but thine be done."
Ver. 5. And if thy oblation be a meat-offering, baken in a pan, it
shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil.
40 THE
MEAT-OFFERING CHAP. II
This is another form in which it may be
presented, if
the
man be yet poorer than the last mentioned; if he use
the
"fire plate" in his house, and not "the oven." The
only
article of furniture absolutely necessary for prepar-
ing food seems to have been the
"frying-pan" of verse 7.
Anything
more than that indicated comfort and ease.
The
"cakes" and "wafers" of last verse evidently inti-
mated
a moderate degree of luxury. And this man also
possessed
some degree of independence in his circum-
stances.
Perhaps he occupied the station of a tradesman,
if
not somewhat above that. He, too, must dedicate all
to
the Lord.
Ver. 6. Thou shalt part it
in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is
a meat-offering.
This division into pieces may shew that every part of
our
substance is to be given up. We must allow God to
divide
and choose and appropriate as he pleases. And
then,
each part must be "anointed with oil;" set apart by
the
priest's hand. Both the whole, as a whole, and every
part
of it, must be given up to the Lord.
Ver. 7. And if thy oblation be a meat-offering baken in the frying-
pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil.
The shallow frying-pan (a shallow vessel, of
earth, used
to
this day by the Arabs, and called Tagen) indicated
poverty,
if the man had this and no other culinary utensil.
It
was used in boiling, and therefore was indispensable.
He,
too, must offer what he has. God is willing to have
him
and his; he does not despise the poor. Nay, by
attending
to different classes of men; he finds out op-
portunities of some new exhibition of his wisdom and
grace.
Here the opportunity is afforded of enforcing
the lesson,
THE MEAT-OFFERING CHAP. II 41
that
whatever is wanting, oil must not be wanting: the
Spirit
must set apart whatever is really dedicated.
Ver. 8. And thou shalt
bring the meat-offering that is made of
these things unto the Lord: and when it is
presented unto the
priest, he shall bring it unto the altar.
A poor worshipper might be apt to be
discouraged
when
he witnessed the more costly gifts of others: there-
fore
the Lord kindly condescends to assure; his heart by
specially
inserting here these directions to the priest, viz.
that
he must take the humblest meat-offering, and present
it
on the altar. The priest might be ready to neglect so
poor
an offering; but here he is warned., "When the
offerer presents it, the priest shall bring
it." Our Master
was
ever more tender-hearted than his disciples. The
disciples
rebuked those who brought little children to
him;
but Jesus said, "Suffer them to come." Jehovah,
God
of Israel, is Jesus, the Son of man!
Ver. 9. And the priest shall take from the meat-offering
a memorial
thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar: it
is an offering
made by fire, of a sweet savour
unto the Lord.
The memorial is what was directed to
be taken, ver. 2.
And
this is to be done as much in this poorer offering as
when
it was fine flour. There is no virtue in the size or
in
the quality of the thing.
The "sweet savour"
reminds us of Paul's words to the
Philippians,
when they had, though poor, given him what
they
could spare of their substance: "I have received of
Epaphroditus the things which were
sent from you, an
odour of a sweet smell" (Phil. iv. 18). Jesus in
heaven
smells
this sweet savour, and will reward it at the day of
his
appearing.
Ver, 10.
And that which is left of the meat-offering shall be
42 THE
MEAT-OFFERING CHAP. II
Aaron's and his sons'; it is a thing most holy of the
offerings
of the
Lord made by fire.
It is most holy (see ver.
3 again), and it is taken from
the
fire-offerings of the Lord, expressing complete appro-
priation by the Lord, of the things offered to
him. He
takes
what we offer; it is not a mere compliment. We
may
not say, "I give myself to the Lord," and then do as
we
please. The Lord takes us at our word. We are no
more
our own, nor is our body ours, nor our members,
nor
our money, nor our health, nor our talents, nor our
reputation,
nor our affections, nor our relations, nor our
very
life itself. All is the Lord's--in his treasury--
"among
the offerings made by fire," that ascend up to
heaven
in the smoke of the altar.
Then follow some general rules in regard to the
general
subject
of meat-offerings.
Ver. 11. No meat-offering, which ye shall bring unto
the Lord,
shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor
any honey, in any offering of the Lord made by fire.
Leaven indicates corruption, and is the very
opposite
of
salt, which preserves (ver. 13), and which must never
be
wanting. Honey includes all that is sweet, like the
honey*
of grapes, figs, and the reed or calanus (which grew
on
the banks of the waters of Merom), and it is
forbidden
both
because it turns to sourness, and leads to fermen-
tation, and perhaps also because it is a luxury; and
the
Lord
desires nothing of earthly sweetness. His offerings
must
have neither corruption nor carnal sweetness. We
must,
like Christ, be the Lord's; holy and separate from the
world,
not pleasing ourselves. In chap. xxiii. 17, there is
* Jarchi says, yrp qytm
lk–“all sweetness of fruit,"--sweet things
obtained
from any fruit. Honey was reckoned corrupting, because it ferments. The
Chaldee uses in the sense of fermenting, a word
derived from wbAd;,
“honey."--(Rosenmuller.)
THE MEAT-OFFERING CHAP. II 43
a
special lesson taught by the presence of leaven in the two
loaves
of the first-fruits; it is altogether unlike this case.
Ver. 12. As for the oblation of the first fruits, ye
shall offer them
unto the Lord; but they shall not be burnt on the altar for
a
sweet savour.
The first ripe fruits of any sort are meant.
These,
when
offered, were typical of presenting the person's self
and
substance, and hence are included in the subject of
meat-offering.
But they are not to be brought to the
altar,
because they shew us Christ in a peculiar aspect;
and
that aspect seems to be Christ glorified, or raised up,
after
suffering. Hence there is no burning of any part
of
them, for the suffering is done. The Holy Spirit takes
truth
in portions, and seems sometimes to turn our eye
away
from one portion of truth on purpose to let us see
better
some other portion, by keeping our attention for a
time
fixed on that alone.
Ver. 13. 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.
This salt indicates corruption removed and
prevented;
and
in the case of the meat-offering, it is as if to say, Thy
body
and thy substance are become healthy now; they
shall
not rot. They are not like those of the ungodly in
James
v. 2, "Your riches are corrupted." There is a
blessing
on thy body and thy estate. And next it in-
timates the friendship (of which salt was a
well-known
emblem)
now existing between God and the man. God
can
sup with man, and man with God (Rev. iii. 18).
There
is a covenant between him and God, even in re-
gard to the beasts of the field (Job v. 23), and
fowls of
heaven
(Hos. ii, 18). The friendship of God extends to
44 THE
MEAT-OFFERING CHAP. II
his
people's property; and to assure us of this he appoints
the
salt in the meat-offering--the offering that especially
typified
their substance. How comforting to labouring
men!
how cheering to care-worn merchants--if they dedi-
cate themselves to God, he is interested in their
property
as
much as they themselves are! "Who is a God like
unto
thee!" But more; "with all thine offerings
thou shalt
offer
salt," declared that the sweet savour of these sacri-
fices was not momentary and passing, but enduring and
eternal.
By this declaration he sprinkles every sacrifice
with
the salt of his unchanging satisfaction. And "the
covenant
by sacrifice" (Ps. 1. 5) is thus confirmed on the
part
of God: he declares that he on his part will be
faithful.
Ver. 14. And if thou offer a meat-offering of thy
first fruits unto
the Lord, thou shalt offer, for
the meat-offering of thy first-
fruits, green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn
beaten
out of full ears.
These are voluntary meat-offerings, and they
differ
from
those of verse 12. The sense is, "If thou wishest
to
make a common meat-offering out of these first-fruits,
it
shall be done in the following manner." A peculiar
typical
circumstance attends these. These are "ears of
corn,"
a figure of Christ (John xii. 24); and "ears of the
best
kind," for so the Hebrew intimates. They
are
"dried by the fire," to represent Jesus feeling the
wrath
of his Father, as when he said, "My strength is
dried
up," i.e. the whole force of my being is dried up
(Ps.
xxii. 15); "I am withered like grass" (Ps. cii.
4).
0
how affecting a picture of the Man of sorrows! How
like
the very life! The best ears of the finest corn in
the
plains of
instead
of being left to ripen in the cool breeze, and
THE MEAT-OFFERING CHAP. II 45
under
a genial sun, are withered up by the scorching fire.
It
was thus that the only pure humanity that ever walked
on
the plains of earth was wasted away in three-and-
thirty
years by the heat of wrath he had never deserved.
While
obeying night and day, with all his soul and
strength,
the burning wrath of God was drying up his
frame.
"Beaten out of full ears," represents the bruises
and
strokes whereby he was prepared for the altar.
“Though
he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the
things
which he suffered" (Heb. ii. 10). It is after this
preparation
that he is a perfect meat-offering, fully de-
voted,
body and substance, to the Lord.
In all this he is "First fruits,"
intimating that many
more
shall follow. He the first-fruits, then all that are
his
in like manner. We must be conformed to Jesus in
all
things; and here it is taught us that we must be con-
formed
to him in self-dedication--self-renunciation. We
must
please the Father; as he left us an example, saying,
"I
do always those things that please him" (John viii.
29),
even under the blackest sky.
Ver. 15. And thou shalt put
oil upon it, and lay frankincense
thereon: it is a meat-offering.
Ver. 16. And the priest shall burn the memorial of
it, part of the
beaten corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof,* with all
the
frankincense thereof: it is an offering made, by fire unto the
Lord.
The smoke and the fragrance ascend to heaven.
All is
accepted--Christ
first, then each of his people. He
passed
through suffering, fire, and flame--then was
accepted.
They, being reckoned one with him, are
treated
as if they had done so too. Whatever sufferings
are
left to them are not atoning, but only sanctifying.
* lfa, “una
cum," says Rosenmuller.
46 THE
DRINK-OFFERING CHAP. II
THE DRINK-OFFERING,
Some one might here ask, Why is there no mention
of
the
wine-offering or drink-offering? It is rather remark-
able
that the drink-offering should be omitted in the
midst
of so full a setting forth of tabernacle rites. It is,
often
joined with burnt-offerings and meat-offerings, as in
Ezek.
xlv. 17. But properly speaking, the drink-offering
was
not a part of any sacrifice; though it was never
offered
by itself alone. It was a rite superadded, to ex-
press
the worshipper's hearty concurrence in all that he
saw
done at the altar. Hence, it could be deferred till
a
convenient time arrived. It appears from Numbers
xv.
2, 4, that it was not to be observed till they came to
and
Engedi.
But we may notice, in passing, the object and
meaning
of
this ordinance. It was "strong wine poured unto the
Lord"
(Numb. xxviii. 7). Wine is the representation of
joy,
and hence it was an expression, on the offerer's
part,
of
his cheerful and hearty acquiescence in all that was
done
at the altar. He saw the lamb slain--a type of
atoning
blood for his guilty soul; he saw the meat-offer-
ing presented--a type of entire dedication to the
Lord;
and,
therefore, when he lifted up the cup of wine, and
poured
it forth before the Lord at the altar, over the
ashes
of the sacrifice, and the memorial of the meat-
offering,
offering, his so doing was equivalent to his saying, "In
all
this I do heartily acquiesce. I welcome atoning blood
to
my guilty soul, and I give up my redeemed soul to him
that
has atoned for me. Amen, Amen!"
It is to this drink-offering that reference is
made in
Judges
ix. 13, where wine is said to "cheer God and
THE DRINK-OFFERING CHAP. II 47
man."
It is not to wine used at table for convivial pur-
poses
that allusion is there made, but to wine used at the
altar.
There it did truly gladden God and man. Like
the
water of the well of
it
expressed the heart poured out. The Lord rejoiceth to
see
a sinner accept the offered atonement. Is not the
shepherd's
heart glad when he finds the lost Sheep? Does
not
the father weep for very joy as he sees his prodigal
return,
and fall upon his neck? And likewise the Lord
rejoiced
to see a ransomed sinner giving himself up to his
God,
as he rejoiced over Abraham when he did not with-
hold
even Isaac. "He taketh pleasure in them that
fear
him."
On the other hand, the sinner himself was glad
as
he poured out the wine; for there is "joy and peace
in
believing," in accepting the offered Saviour.
Nor less
so
in giving up all to the Lord; for he that giveth up
“houses
and lands" for Christ's sake, receives a hundred-
fold
more in this present life. Is it not, then, true, that
“wine
made glad the heart of God and man?" Might
not
the vine that grew in
leave
my wine, that cheereth God and man?” The olive,
in,
the same manner, could say, "Should I leave my
fatness,
wherewith by me they honour God and man?"
(Judges
ix. 9;) because olive-oil supplied the tabernacle
lamps,
as well as lighted up the halls of princes; and
some
part of a hin of oil--the special symbol of conse-
cration--must accompany every meat-offering
(Numb.
xv.
5, 6).
If it be here asked, Did our Lord fulfil the type of
the
drink-offering? We say, Yes; by the entire willing-
ness
he ever felt, to suffer, and to obey for us. Even on
the
night wherein he was betrayed, he sang, and gave
God
praise that he must die. And perhaps there is
48 THE
DRINK-OFFERING CHAP. II
more
meaning in the words of Luke xxii. 20 than is
generally
noticed. “This cup is the New Testament in
my
blood." This wine-cup not only exhibits the blood
that
seals the New Covenant, but exhibits it as the wine
that
may cheer our souls. The blood of the grape of the
True
Vine gladdens God and man.
But returning to the immediate subject of the
chapter
before
us, let us sum it up by briefly quoting Hannah's
offering
(1 Sam. i. 24) when Samuel was weaned. We
find
there three bullocks. This is the burnt-offering-a
bullock
for herself, and for her husband, and for her
child;
and as if to express her belief that her child
needed
atoning blood, she offers a bullock for him as
well
as for herself, nay (ver. 25), expressly offers it at
the
moment of presenting him. Next, we find the ephah
of
flour. This is the meat-offering. It expressed the
dedication
of themselves, and all they had, to God. An
ephah contained ten omers
or ten deals, and three of
these
was the usual quantity that went to each meat-
offering
(Numb. xv. 9, 12) on such an occasion as this.
But
here, no doubt, their meat-offering had more than
three
omers, just in order to skew overflowing love.
The
bottle of wine, last of all, was intended for the
drink-offering;
and as an ephah of flour was far more
than
was required by law, even for so many persons
(Numb.
xv. 9), so no doubt this bottle of wine was more
than
full measure, and was poured out before the Lord
to
express the entire cheerfulness wherewith all this was
done
by the parties concerned. It was after all this
(1
Sam. i. 28, and ii. 1) that they filled the
tabernacle
with
the voice of adoration and praise, and then returned
rejoicing
to Ramah.
That this mode of worshipping the Lord was not
THE DRINK-OFFERING CHAP. II 49
infrequent
in
The
three worshippers whom Saul met "going up to God
to
one
for each, to be a burnt-offering; 2. A
loaf of bread,
or
large cake; one for each, to be a meat-offering; 3. As
bottle
of wine; one for all, as in Samuel's case.
"Happy are the people that are in such a
case; yea,
happy
the people whose God is the Lord!" Happy the
people
where again and again some thankful worshipper
is
saying, "What shall I render to the Lord for all his
benefits
towards me? I will take the cup of salvation,
and
call upon the name of the Lord" (Ps. cxvi. 13).
The
drink-offering of wine, poured out before the Lord
over
the peace-offering that some Israelite had brought
in
the way of thanks for benefits received (as Numb.
xv.
3 directs), this is "the cup of salvation." And from
time
to time the courts of the Lord's house are enlivened
by
the happy countenance of some grateful worshipper,
who
smiles with delight as the priest pours out for him
the
sparkling wine of
less
true that the Lord himself rejoices--his heart is
"cheered;"
he rests in his love, making his love the very
canopy
over all.
CHAPTER III
THE PEACE-OFFERING
"Therefore,
being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through
our Lord Jesus Christ;
by whom also we have access by faith into this
grace wherein we stand."--
Ver. 1. And if his oblation be a sacrifice of
peace-offering; if he
offer it of the herd, whether it be a male or female, he
shall
offer it without blemish before the Lord
THE
PEACE-OFFERING* is introduced to our notice with-
out
any formal statement of the connexion between it
and
the preceding offerings. That there is a connexion is
taken
for granted, and the prophet Amos (v. 22) refers
to
this understood order when he says, "Though ye offer
me
burnt-offerings, and your meat-offerings, I will not
accept
them; neither will I regard the peace-offerings of
your
fat beasts." The connexion is simply this: a justi-
fied soul, devoted to the Lord in all things,
spontaneously
engages
in acts of praise and exercises of fellowship. The
Lord
takes for granted that such a soul, having free ac-
cess to him now, will make abundant use of that
access.
Often
will this now redeemed sinner look up and sing,
* In Hebrew the word is always plural, except in
Amos v. 22. It is in every
other
place MymilAw;, perhaps equivalent to
"things pertaining to peace"--things
that
spoke of peace, viz. the divided pieces of the sacrifice, some parts burnt on
the
altar, some feasted upon by the priest, some by the offerer.
Various sorts
of
blessing, included in the word peace, were thus set forth.
THE PEACE-OFFERINGS CHAP.
III 51
"0
Lord, truly I am thy servant; I and thy servant,
and
the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my
bonds.
I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and
will call upon the name of the Lord" (Ps. cxvi.
16).
The animal might be a female. In this offering
the
effects
of atonement are represented more than the manner
of
it; and therefore there is no particular restriction to
males.*
Just as we afterwards find that part of
the
animal
was to be feasted upon, and not all to be burned,
as
in the whole burnt-offering; because here the object
principally
intended is to shew Christ's offering conveying
blessing
to the offerer. It is true, that in the,
peace-offering
presented
by the priest himself, and in that presented at
the
season of first-fruits, there is an injunction that it be
a
male that is offered; but the reason in these cases may
be,
that on occasions which were more than ordinarily
solemn,
there was a special intention to exhibit something
of
the manner, as well as the effects, of Christ's sacrifice
--himself,
as well as what he accomplished, was to be
shewn.
It must be "without blemish;" for it
represents "the
holy
child Jesus;" "altogether lovely;" "who knew no
sin"--the
Head of a Church that is to be "without spot,
or
wrinkle, or any such thing."
Ver. 2. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of
his offering,
and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation:
and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood upon
the
altar round about.
The offerer's hand,
resting on the head of the animal,
was
equivalent to his pointing to Christ as the source of
his
blessings; q. d. "The chastisement of my peace is
* So, a kid might be taken as well as a lamb for
the Passover (Exod. xiii. 5)
Attention
was directed to the use made of the blood; not to the kind of animal
52 THE
PEACE-OFFERINGS CHAP. III
laid
upon him; therefore I am come this day, laden with
benefits,
to give thanks while I enjoy the blessing" (see
above,
chap. i. 5). And let us again notice the words,
“kill
it at the door of the tabernacle." We cannot cross
the
threshold of his Father's house, and enter his many
mansions,
except by his peace-speaking blood. "Being
justified
by faith, we have peace--we have access into his
grace"
(
Ver. 3, 4. And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the
peace-offering
an offering made by fire unto the Lord; the fat that covereth
the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, and
the
two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the
flanks,
and the caul above the liver, with
the kidneys, it shall he take
away.
From a comparison of Exod.
xxix. 13, it becomes plain
that
all the pieces here mentioned were to be removed
from
the animal, and burnt by themselves. "It shall he
take"
is equivalent to "this--all this shall he take."
They were not to burn the whole animal, but only
these
portions. These portions were like "the memorial"
(chap.
ii. 2) in the case of the meat-offering. And the
parts
chosen for this end are the richest parts, the fat--
the
fat within, and the fat that might be said to be without
(ver. 9), in the case of the lamb.
Peculiar care is to be given to take out all the
fat that
was
within, "the fat that covers the inwards," or intestines;
next,
"the kidneys," which are composed of the richest
substance,
richer than even fat;* then "the fat in which
the
kidneys" are imbedded, and which is "on the loins"
(flanks),
i.e. the inner fat muscles of the loins which had
* Hence Deut. xxii. 14, “the fat of the kidneys
of wheat," is used to ex-
press
the highest degree of richness in the wheat. Patrick quotes Aristotle de
Animal., iii. 9, "e@xousi de nefroi malista tw?n splagxnw?n pimelhn."
THE PEACE-OFFERINGS CHAP.
III 53
the
collops of fat (Job xv. 27); and "the caul (tr,t,yi)
above
the liver and above the kidneys" (see the margin
and
the original Hebrew). It is not easy to ascertain the
meaning
of "the caul," some making it one of the
lobes
of
the liver (Gesenius, from the Septuagint); others the
midriff;
and others the gall-bladder. It is every way
likely
that it was some fat part near the liver and
kidneys.
Now, observe that all these portions of the animal
are
the
richest; and also deeply seated, near the heart. In
an
offering of thanks and fellowship, nothing was more
appropriate
than to enjoin that the pieces presented
should
be those seated deep within. We approach a
reconciled
God, to hold fellowship with him as Adam did
in
the
throne do in their holy worship. We come to praise,
to
glorify, to enjoy our God. What, then, can we bring
but
the most inward feelings, all of the richest kind, and-
all,
from the depth of the soul. Our reins (Heb. tOylAK;,
same
as " kidneys") must yield their desires, in all abund-
ance, to the God that trieth
the "heart and reins" (Ps,
vii.
9). Our loins were before "filled with pain" (Isa.
xxi.
3), because sin's "loathsome disease" spread through
them
(Ps. xxxviii. 7); therefore now we consecrate their
strength,
using it all for him, "the effectual working of
whose
power" has set us free. Yea, whatever can be
found
anywhere in or about our heart and reins, we yield
it
all to him who "poured out his soul unto death." This
is
communion with God.
Such was the rich offering of his soul which
Jesus made
as
our peace-offering, when "by the eternal Spirit he
offered
himself to God." Every deep affection, every
emotion,
all that love could feel, all that desire could
54 THE
PEACE-OFFERINGS CHAP. III
yearn
over, was presented by him to the Father in that
hour
when he became "our peace" (Eph. ii. 14).
And all these feelings were at the moment tried
and
tested
by the fire which blazed around them. The just
wrath
of God seemed to spurn and thrust down each
heartfelt
emotion; yet all remained unchanged and
undiminished,
and were poured into the mould of the
Father's
heart by that very heat of wrath.
We, as reconciled, are to pour out these same
feelings
in
all their fulness, but under the kindly influence of
love.
The
heat of love, not the fire of wrath, is to melt our
souls
and pour forth our feelings.
Ver. 5. And Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon
the
burnt-sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is on the fire:
it
is an offering made by fire of a sweet savour
unto the Lord.
Here the Septuagint have "o]smh eu]wdiaj
Kuri&," the
terms
employed by Paul in Eph. v. 2--"qusia
ei]j o]smhn
eu]wdiaj."
The parts thus prepared, the fat parts, are to
be put
on
the altar; but not at random, anywhere on the altar.
A
particular mode is fixed upon. They are to be put
"on
the sacrifice that is upon the wood which feeds the
flame"
of the altar. The daily sacrifice is referred to,
which
typified the atonement in all its fulness. Upon
this,
therefore, must the pieces of the peace-offerings be
laid.
Our daily acts of communion with God, our daily
praise,
our daily thanksgiving, must be founded afresh on
the
work of Jesus. "By him therefore let us offer the
sacrifice
of praise to God continually" (Heb. xiii. 15).
Ver. 6. And if his offering, for a sacrifice of
peace-offering unto the
Lord, be of the flock, male or female, he shall offer it
without
blemish.
The Father's delight in his Son seems plainly
exhibited
THE PEACE-OFFERINGS CHAP.
III 55
in
the ever-recurring direction--"without blemish." The
eye
of God rested with infinite complacency on the spot-
lessness of Jesus. "Behold my servant whom I
have
chosen,
mine elect (q.d. my chosen Lamb), in whom my
soul
delighteth." It is an expression that teaches us
by
its
frequent repetition, both the holy delight which the
Father
had in "the holy child Jesus," and the delight he
will
have in his unblemished Church. It is a holy God
that
speaks; it is the author of the holy law. The law-
giver
is he who prescribes the type of a fulfilled and
satisfied
law. We recognise the God and Father of our
Lord
and Saviour “just, while he justifies.” It is truly
pleasant,
unspeakably precious, to see God's thorough
demand
for spotlessness; for thus we are assured, that
beyond
all doubt, our reconciliation is solid. It is full
reconciliation
to a God who is fully satisfied.
Ver. 7, 8. If he offer a lamb for his offering, then
shall he offer
if, before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand upon the head
of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congre-
gation: and
Aaron's sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof
round about upon the altar.
The lamb is as fully acknowledged as the
offering from
the
herd--the bullock or heifer; for it is not the thing
itself,
but what it represented, that has value in it. One
of
the ends answered by permitting a gradation in the
value
of the things sacrificed, was this; it turned atten-
tion to the Antitype, instead of the type itself--to
the
Lamb
of God, instead of the value of the mere animal.
Ver. 9, 10. And he shall offer, of the sacrifice of the
peace-
offering, an offering made by fire unto the Lord; the fat
thereof, and the whole rump, it shall he take off hard by
the
back-bone; and the fat that covereth
the inwards, and all the
fat that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the
fat
56 THE
PEACE-OFFERINGS CHAP. III
that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above
the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.
The only difference here, from ver. 3; 4, is, that here
we
have, in addition to the other pieces already noticed,
"the
rump," or tail (hyAl;xA). In Syrian sheep, this
was
a
part of the animal which the shepherd reckoned very
valuable;
it is large,* and, being composed of a substance
between
fat and marrow, is not inferior in taste and
quality
to marrow. Still the richest portions are claimed
for
the altar. Every rich thought, every rich emotion,
every
intense feeling, was devoted by Christ for us, and
is
to be now sent back by us to him. And it is said,
"the
tail he shall remove close by the back-bone," q.d.
take
it entire and complete--leaving nothing behind.
Perhaps we are entitled to consider the Psalmist
as
referring
to this offering in Ps. lxiii. 5, "My soul shall
be
satisfied as with marrow and fatness"--here is the
reference
to the pieces presented--q.d. My soul shall
be
satisfied, as if I had received all that is intimated by
the
rich pieces of the peace-offering. And so also, when
Isaiah
says (lv. 2), "Eat ye that which is good, and
let
your
soul delight itself in fatness," q.d. Come to
the great
peace-offering,
and take the richest portions, even those
selected
for God! Enjoy the very love wherewith the
Father
loveth the Son!
Ver. 11. And the priest shall burn it upon the altar:
it is the food
of the offering made by fire unto the Lord.
Instead of saying, "It is a sweet savour," we have
here
another expression, equally significant. "It is the
food,
the sacrifice made by fire." It is called "food," or
"bread,"
because God is now regarded as a Father feast-
* This is so well known that writers usually
refer us to Aristotle de Animal.,
viii.
28, where he says, "Ou[raj e]xei to platoj
phxewj."
THE PEACE-OFFERINGS CHAP.
III 57
ing his prodigal children who have returned home,
or as
a
friend entertaining guests. Hence Ezekiel xliv. 7, "Ye
offer
my bread, the fat and the blood;" and hence the
altar
is called "the table of the Lord" (Mal. i.
7; also
Lev.
xxi. 22). This represents God as one at table
with
his people; they feast together. He is no more
their
foe. If it was the chief aggravation of Judas's sin,
He
that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel
against
me;" then it is impossible for God to be other-
wise
than an eternal friend, "an everlasting Father," to
those
whom he invites home. In this view we see the
keenness
of the reproach in Mal. i. 7, 12, and in Ezek.
xliv.
7. They treated the privilege of children and
friends
with contempt; God, in his most kindly aspect,
was
despised and scorned.
Ver. 12, 13. And if his offering be a goat, then he shall
offer it
before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of
it, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation:
and
the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon the
altar round about. And he shall offer thereof his offering,
even an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
The goat stands here in the same relation to the
peace-offering
from the herd, as did the turtle-dove and
pigeon
to the bullock of the whole burnt-sacrifice. The
poorer
sort might bring the goat; when he could not
bring
the blood of bulls, he brought the blood of goats.
And
thus, still, they were prevented from attaching im-
portance to the mere type.
The goat represents Jesus as one taken out of
the
flock
for the salvation of the rest. Let us suppose we
saw
"a flock of goats appearing from
(Song
vi. 5). The lion from
flock
; one is seized, and is soon within the jaws of the
58 THE
PEACE-OFFERINGS CHAP. III
lion!
This prey is enough; the lion is satisfied, and
retires;
the flock is saved by the death of one. This inci-
dental
substitution does not, indeed, shew forth the man-
ner of our Substitute's suffering; but it is an
illustration
of
the fact, that one dying saved the whole flock. The
goat
is one of a class that goes in flocks in
so
are fitted to represent Christ and his people. And,
perhaps,
the fact of an animal like the goat being selected
to
be among the types of Christ, was intended to prevent
the
error of those who would place the value of Christ's
undertaking
in his character alone. They say, "Behold
his
meekness--he is the Lamb of God!" Well, all that
is
true; it is implied in his being "without blemish."
But
that cannot be the true point to which our eye is
intended
to be directed by the types; for what, then,
becomes
of the goat? They may tell us of the meekness
of
the lamb, and patience of the bullock, and tenderness
of
the turtle-dove; but the goat, what is to be said of it?
Surely
it is not without a special providence that the goat
is
inserted, where, if the order of chap. i. had been fol-
lowed,
we would have had a turtle-dove? The reason is,
to
let us see that the main thing to be noticed in these
types
is the atonement which they represented. Observe
the
stroke that falls on the victim, the fire that consumes
the
victim, the blood that must flow from the victim,
whether
it be a bullock, a lamb, a turtle-dove, or a
goat.
The Socinian view of
Christ's death is thus contra-
dicted by these various types; and our eye is intently
fixed
on the atoning character of the animal, more than
on
anything in its nature.
While other types do exhibit the character and
nature
of
the Saviour, it was fitting that one type, such as
this
THE PEACE-OFFERINGS CHAP.
III 59
of
the goat, should thus guard us against the idea that
that
in itself was atonement.
Ver, 14-16. The fat that covereth
the inwards, and all the
fat that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the
fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul
above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.
And
the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of
the
offering made by fire, for a sweet savour.
This offered goat is as fully accepted, as a
peace-
offering,
as was the lamb or bullock; for the atoning
aspect
of the type is just as complete in this case as in
any
other. "It is food--an offering made by fire "--as
ver. 11.
Ver. 17. All the fat is the Lord's. It shall be a
perpetual
statute for your generations, throughout all your dwellings,
that ye eat neither fat nor blood.
Some think "the fat " is the fat of
beasts used in sacri-
fice (chap. vii. 25). But, perhaps, it was the fat
of all
beasts
used "in their dwellings." Those parts mentioned
as
sacrificial must always be set aside. But the fat of
other
parts of the animal (the fat that was part of the
flesh)
was used, and reckoned a luxury; see Neh. viii. 10
--"Eat
the fat." This is the most probable explanation.
There
may be a reproof intended in Ezek. xxxiv. 3, "Ye
eat
the fat," as if they even took the forbidden portions.
"Blood,"
because the life--the sign of atonement--must
not
be eaten. It is the solemn type of the poured-out
soul.
Thus in the dwellings of
keep
them in daily remembrance of the Great Sacrifice.
Their
deep and awful reverence must be felt at home as
well
as in the sanctuary. Their homes are made a sanc-
tuary thereby, as they set apart the fat and the
blood at
60 THE PEACE-OFFERINGS CHAP. III
their
tables! And thus they live as redeemed men,
realising their dependence on the blood of Jesus,
and
delighting
to cast the crown at his feet in every new
remembrance
of his work.
Few ordinances were more blessed than these
Peace-
offerings.
Yet, like the Lord's Supper with us, often
were
they turned to sin. The lascivious woman in Prov.
vii.
14, comes forth saying, "I have peace-offerings with
me;
this day have I paid my vows." She had actually
gone
up among the devoutest class of worshippers to pre-
sent
a thank-offering, and had stood at the altar as one
at
peace with God. Having now received from the priest
those
pieces of the sacrifice that were to be feasted upon,
lo!
she hurries to her dwelling, and prepares a banquet
of
lewdness. She quiets her conscience by constraining
herself
to spend some of her time and some of her sub-
stance
in his sanctuary. She deceives her fellow-creatures,
too,
and maintains a character for religion; and then she
rushes
back to sin without remorse. Is there nothing
of
this in our land? What means Christmas-mirth, after
pretended
observance of Christ's being born? What
means
the sudden worldliness of so many on the day fol-
lowing
their approach to the Lord's Table? What means
the
worldly talk and levity of a Sabbath afternoon, or
evening,
after worship is done?
Contrast with this the true worshipper, as he
appears
in
Psalm lxvi. He has received mercies, and is truly
thankful.
He comes up to the sanctuary with his offer-
ings, saying--
"I will go into thy house with
burnt-offerings; I will
pay
thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my
mouth
hath spoken, when I was in trouble " (ver. 13,
14).
THE PEACE-OFFERINGS. CHAP. III. 61
In the "burnt-offerings,"
we see his approach to the
altar
with the common and general sacrifice; and next,
in
his "paying vows," we see he has brought his peace-
offerings
with him. Again, therefore, he says at the
altar--
"I will offer unto thee
burnt-sacrifices of fatlings "
(ver. 15).
This is the general offering,
brought from the best of
his
flock and herd. Then follow the peace-offerings-
"With the incense (treFoq;, fuming smoke) of rams;
I
will offer bullocks with goats. Selah."
Having brought his offerings, he is
in no haste to de-
part,
notwithstanding; for his heart is full. Ere, there-
fore,
he leaves the sanctuary, he utters the language of a
soul
at peace with God--
“Come and hear, all ye that fear
God, and I will de-
clare what he hath done for my soul. I cried unto him
with
my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.
If
I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear
me:
but verily God hath heard me; he hath attended
to
the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which path
not
turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me!"
This, truly, is one whom "the
very God of peace" has
sanctified,
and whose whole spirit, and body, and soul,
he will preserve blameless unto the coming of th