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BURNT-OFFERING
When the burnt-offering began, the song of the Lord began also ...." (2 Chron 29:27; Tamid 7:3). What revealing words! God provided the sacrifice, and Israel praised, his heart inspired to sing because of the Gift on the altar. Calvary has turned man's sadness to joy, and spread anthems across the far-flung universe. When morning stars sang in ecstasy at the creation of man, the Father's voice was hushed. When angels caroled the glorious birth of His Son, His Father was silent. But when Satan's furnace roared on Golgotha, and the accepting fires of Divine love consumed the Victim on the cross, the Father's song of exultation began: His kingdom was forever safe!
While the details concerning the kinds of sacrifices and the manner of their presentation were precisely regulated, the burnt-offering was always to be a "gift" (korban, Lev 1:2), to the Lord, a willing pledge of dedication by individuals, or the whole nation. Its Hebrew name, olah, (Deut 33:10; Ps 50:9), from the verb which means "to cause to ascend," emphasizes the thought of an "offering which reaches up to God." Since "the sparks fly upwards" (Job 5:7), the Hebrew olah means to burn into a rising cloud of vapor.
A designation used by the Greek translators and the Vulgate, (holokautoma or holocausta, Mark 12:33; Heb 10:6) contains the idea that the victim was entirely "burned up," and has come into English as holocaust. Another term ( kalil, used only in Deut 33:10; Ps 51:19), means complete, and is sometimes used of "the whole burnt-offering" to add the idea of totality (Lev 6:22, 23; 1 Sam 7:9). The Hebrew root for glowing incense (quater, Gen 8:21; Lev 1:9, 17), and meaning to smolder fragrantly, when applied to the burnt-offering, describes it as reaching up to heaven as a "sweet savor" or "satisfying odor."
In contrast, we have seen that a different term (saraph), meaning destruction in judicial anger, is used of sin-offerings immolated outside the camp (Lev 4:12). This verb adds significance to the fiery execution of the careless Nadab and Abihu (Lev 10:1, 2), which resulted from their drunken sacrilege. Inspiration employs these five word pictures to alert the worshiper to aspects of the burnt-offering completely consumed on the altar, yet, rising up to Heaven as a fragrant gift, on perfumed wings of loving sacrifice, as did Mary's broken alabaster box of spikenard (cf. John 12:3).
Six Kinds of Victims
The Lord permitted six varieties of sacrificial victims. They were to be chosen from three animals and three birds: tame and docile oxen, sheep and goats from flocks and herds; domestic turtle-doves and pigeons, and occasionally wild sparrows (Lev 1:2, 4, 10, 14; 14:4, margin). As he made his selection, the thoughtful worshiper might well have considered the natural qualities of the creature which was to die in his place.
The bull or ox, sometimes called "the strong one" (Ps 22:12; Isa 34:7), was the most esteemed and expensive of offerings. This animal is often called a bullock, a term used of oxen when the KJV was published. Today the term bullock describes an animal that has been castrated, and therefore would not be allowed as a unblemished sacrifice. The power of the beast, symbolized by his horns and hoofs (Ps 69:31), enabled "the strength of the ox" to produce prodigious quantities of work (Prov 14:4) in ploughing the fields (Deut 22:10; 1 Kings 19:19) when yoked (Num 7:3; 1 Sam 6:10), and harvesting the grain (Deut 25:4; Hos 10:11). Always ready to bear burdens (Ps 144:14, margin), patiently toiling in sacrificial service in joyous abandon (Ps 29:6), the ox typified Him, Who, as the "firstling" of a bull (Deut 33:17), all the while kept His eyes on His goal, His Master's crib, at the end of the day's labors (Isa 1:3).
The gentle and meek young ram or lamb would whisper of the uncomplaining and submissive Jesus, unresistingly "brought as a lamb to the slaughter" (Isa 53:7, 8), to provide His skin as a covering for the naked sinner (cf. Gen 3:20), his wool for his garments (Lev 13:47), and his flesh as his food (1 Sam 25:18). Sheep and lambs were also used to pay tribute (2 Kings 3:4), and looked to Christ Who gave Himself as a ransom for lost souls. Sheep are obedient to their shepherd and recognize his voice (John 10:3), ready to carry out all his orders.
The vigorous goat or kid, although often associated with flocks of sheep, was not considered too valuable (Luke 15:29), and was used by Jesus to represent the wicked (Matt 25:32, 33). In the Sanctuary ritual this animal called to mind the One Who would come as a sin-offering to bear mankind's guilt, "comely in going" (Prov 30:29, 31) on His allotted way to the altar of the cross.
In pastel pigments (Ps 68:13) defenseless pigeons or doves painted the portrait of the gentle (Cant 1:15; 4:1), "harmless" or unresisting One (Matt 10:16). This bird is onomatopoeically called a turtle-dove (taurtur auriius) because of its plaintive call. The dove was first used as the harbinger of peace and reconciliation with God (Gen 8:8-12), and symbolized Him Who while "mourning" over (Isa 59:11; 38:14; Ps 74:19) human indifference, was at last clawed to death by cruel finger-nails (Lev 1:15, margin). Doves fly great distances (Ps 55:6-9) on their migrations (Jer 8:7; Cant 2:11, 12), and can home-in on their dove-cotes from afar (Isa 60:8). Because they mate for life, the dove is the emblem of tender and devoted affection and undying fidelity (Cant 1:15; 2:14; &c). These birds were the offerings of the poor (Luke 2:24), and clearly point not only to Jesus, but also to the Holy Spirit (Matt 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:31) Who aided Jesus on the cross (Heb 9;14).
Sparrows were used in the ritual of cleansing for lepers (Lev 14:4, margin). "Sold for [half] a farthing" and soon cast aside by man, they daily trust in their Father's care (Matt 10:29, 31; Luke 12:6, 7). The alert and watchful sparrow would identify Him Who would cheerfully come to dwell under the eaves of human habitations (Ps 84:3), sometimes sitting alone on the housetop (Ps 102:7), and even looking for a nesting place by God's altar, yet Whom too many "despised and esteemed not" (Isa 53:3), and heedlessly flung to the ground.
Qualities of the Victims were Characteristics of Jesus
The unique peculiarities of each of these creatures were lenses through which the worshiper focused on aspects of the nature of Jesus, Who was at once the Sacrifice and the Sacrificer. The penitent might well have chosen the victim which best expressed his understanding of the heavenly Burnt- offering Who one day would die in his stead. Economic considerations must also have played a part in this selection. The Lord was aware of the conditions of each worshiper, and allowed him to find whatever substitute he was able to obtain.
The choices of victims which might be used in burnt-offerings showed that God is no respecter of persons. Whether it consisted of a thousand bulls (cf. 1 Kings 3:4), a dove, or even a sparrow, God accepted this gift-offering from a willing and loving heart, and through it received the offerer.
The Burnt-offering was the Original Sacrifice
The burnt-offering was the earliest ritual presented by fallen man, and the most frequently mentioned in the Bible. The law emphasized no fewer than sixteen times that no rite was to displace it, and all other sacrifices must be presented in addition to "the continual burnt-offering" (Num 28:10, 15, 24, 31). Slain for centuries each morning and evening in Israel's Sanctuary as the heart of its "daily" services, this offering represented both personal and congregational consecration (Ex 29:38-46), and by this constant repetition emphasized the need for each individual to dedicate himself to the Lord on rising, and again before retiring. Jehovah thus displayed Himself as a God of system and order (Lev 1:7, 8, 12; 1 Cor 14:33, 40).
The Spirit's Role in the Ritual
The Spirit first moves the sinner to repent, and then induces him to adore (John 6:44; 12:32). As his heart glows with gratitude for the salvation provided, his love for his Saviour burns for expression. Since words seem inadequate to display this joy in forgiveness, and affirm his resolve to amend, the penitent longs to do something in appreciation. And Jehovah devised the burnt-offering to satisfy these deep yearnings, and meet this need to present a gift. While selecting his stand-in, the worshiper clung to God's promise, "it shall be accepted on his behalf" (Lev 1:3, 4; the English translation of the Hebrew as "voluntary will" in v. 3 is more precisely rendered "accepted" in v. 4 and elsewhere, cf. Lev 22:21).
Since the burnt-offering primarily represented the Redeemer, and only secondarily the sinner, it must be the best available "clean" (Lev 11:1-8) animal or bird "without blemish" (Lev 1:3; 22:19, 21-25). A bruise or defect, excessive or wanting part, or scar disqualified it. This standard reminded all participants of the perfection of God's great Sacrifice, immaculate and unscathed by the ravages of sin. Even the arch-fiend, searching for something to condemn in Jesus, could find "nothing" (John 14:30). The priest who examined the victim prior to its death was to base his decision on norms laid down by Heaven. "In the days of ancient Israel the sacrifices brought to the high priest were cut open to the backbone to see if they were sound at heart. So the sacrifices we bring today are laid open before the piercing eye of our Great High Priest. He opens and inspects every sacrifice brought by the human race that He may prove whether it is worthy of being presented to the Father" (Ms. 42, 1901).
Although not altogether a free will sacrifice the burnt-offering was to be presented without compulsion or reluctance. With heart filled with love and gratitude the penitent was to present his choicest gift to the Lord. We should first see the Saviour in this picture, willingly yielding His body as God's Burnt-offering to serve in any way His Father should decide, and then laying down His life as the sinner's ransom. Jehovah wished that these attitudes should also characterize the worshiper. Only joyous surrender was to drive him to lay himself as "a living sacrifice" (Rom 12:1) on the altar fire. Only this would enable him to approach God's Ideal, and render him "perfect to be accepted" (Lev 22:21).
Why Burnt-offerings were Presented
Burnt-offerings were presented at the Sanctuary for several reasons: (1) to display Israel's daily consecration as a nation to God (Lev 6:9); (2) to denote the cleansing and reinstatement of lepers within the covenant (Lev 14:19, 20); (3) to register the birth of a child by the mother (Lev 12:6-8; cf. Luke 2:22-24); (4) to mark their cleansing from ceremonial defilement by priests and people and lepers (Lev 14:1ff; 15:15, 30); (5) to signal consecration to the priesthood (Lev 8:18; Ex 29:15-25); (6) to note the completion of the Nazarite vow (Num 6:14); and (7) to indicate a longing for personal consecration (Lev 1:2-4).
Through the burnt-offerings the worshiper discovered the meaning of entire dedication to God. Represented by the perfect victim, clean and without blemish, unresisting and submissive, he was impressed by the fact that he could approach the altar only after the filthiness of his life had been renounced (cf. 2 Cor 7:1), and his motives cleansed of all selfishness. The burnt-offering represented Christ Who gave His all.
Accompanied by the priest, the worshiper led his substitute to the "door of the Tabernacle," or entry veil to the holy place. There he found the spot, "northward of the altar" (Lev 1:3, 11), that is, north of an imaginary line running east and west through the center of the court and Tabernacle, where stakes, or in Solomon's temple, twenty four bronze rings, were fixed (Middoth 3:5). To one of these he tethered the animal "with cords," while the priest once more examined it. Should the court be crowded, he might temporarily bind the victim to "the horns of the altar" (Ps 118:27). This tethering reminded him that "his own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins." Unless his substitute died for him he "shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray" (Prov 5:22, 23).
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The Sinner's Part in the Ritual
The sinner then tied the animal's front legs, and placing a slip-knot around its back legs drew all four together. Thus secured, the creature fell on its side, and its face was turned toward the most holy place.
The worshiper next "put" "both" his hands (Lev 1:4; Menahoth 9:8) upon its head to signal the transference of his sins to his representative. The verb pictures his leaning his entire weight upon the creature. Imagine a lamb crushed by a grown man's heft, and then envision the Lamb of God as He "fell" (Matt 26:39) under the load of human guilt in Gethsemane, and beneath His cross on the Via Dolorosa (DA 742). In this way the repentant sinner expressed his longing to obey the Spirit's invitation: "Cast all your care upon Him: for He careth for you" (1 Pet 5:7). The psalmist realized that his "iniquities . . . as an heavy burden . . . are too heavy for" him, and, because he understood the meaning of the sacrificial system, resolved: "I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin. . . . Make haste to help me, O Lord of my salvation" (Ps 38:4, 18, 22).
With hands pressing his guilt upon the victim's head, and face turned toward the most holy place, the penitent silently confessed his sins to God, and pledged amendment in the ancient Hebrew prayer which concluded with the words, "I return in repentance, and let this be for my atonement [literally, covering]" (Quoted by A. Edersheim, The Temple, 114).
The worshiper believed that his victim had now taken full responsibility for his "past" wrong doings (Rom 3:25), and bore his burden of guilt in his stead. Observe the steps along this road of faith, and "roll" (cf. Josh 5:9, margin) your load of sin upon your Sacrifice hanging on God's altar cross.
The sinner then grasped the knife and deliberately slit his victim's throat (Lev 1:5, 11). By this personal act he acknowledged that his sin was the cause of his proxy's death, and, as he watched its dying agony, he shuddered at the consequences of his deed. His compliance in the rite showed that he had accepted the claim of God's unchangeable law, agreed that death was the result of his transgression, and affirmed that his only escape was through the vicarious death of the One Who would take his place. Let us gaze on the sinner's bloody knife held in the victim's throat, and acknowledge that we, too, slay the Son of God (Heb 6:6), and that our voices join in the obscene chant, "Crucify! Crucify!"
The Priest's and Birds Offered as Burnt-offerings
Should a bird be presented as a burnt-offering, the sinner's clumsy fingers grasped no killing blade. Instead, "the priest shall bring it unto the altar" and "pinch off the head with his nail" (Lev 1:15, margin). My soul, shudder at this act! He then tore off its crop and feathers with his fingers and flung them on the ashes piled to the east of the altar prior to their removal. He squeezed the blood out of its tiny body and smeared the sides of the altar with it. Then taking the knife he cut open its carcass to expose its heart, and, salting it, tossed it all on the altar. All this must be done in perfect silence (Zebahim 6:4, 5, 7).
This brutal ritual pictured the Priest-Victim taking Himself to Calvary to ensure His own death with the pledge, "I lay down by life" for you (John 10:15, 17). For fifteen centuries this cruel rite anticipated the horror of Christ's priestly duty in offering Himself. Neither God nor demon compelled Him to step from His throne, and tramp alone to Old Skullface, there to endure the pain of His self-inflicted death. The heart of the bird, cut open for all to see, was a tableau of the Saviour's death, the inmost secrets of His life exposed to the universe. The fate of this tortured turtle-dove should move us to feel the agony which our salvation cost. The Victim-Priest deliberately poured out His own life's blood that we might grasp the depths of His love. But let us return to the Sanctuary and our worshiper and his bleeding victim.
The Skin of the Victim
The dead animal was hung from hooks affixed in frames furnished in the court (Middoth 3:5), and there the offerer flayed it, and presented its pelt to the priest (Lev 7:8). These acts remind us of the old, old song of the proto-gospel: "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them" (Gen 3:21). The "covering" of the murdered Lamb provided the robe to conceal the nakedness of man's sin, and anticipated Christ's "fine linen" "wedding garment," glistening with His righteousness, from which He makes the trousseau for His repentant bride (Rev 19:7, 8). When she "puts off" the filthy rags of her past life, He imputes His life of obedience to her as her heavenly robe. And then, day by day, He "puts on" or imparts His grace to enable her to grow into the likeness of her Lord (Col 3:8-10).
The sharpened blade had a further task. "He shall cut [the victim] into his pieces" (Lev 1:12). The Jews remember that God "commanded" a precise technique for dissecting the sacrifices (Deut 12:21; Hullin 1:1, n. 7). And so the knife sliced limb from limb and dismembered the carcass in the manner required by the law. At this point the priest slit open its heart so that its blood might flow freely. See Jesus in this act. Pierced by the Roman lance, the "fountain . . . for sin and for unrighteousness" (Zech 13:1) gushed forth. The fat or suet, suggesting beauty, magnificence, and preciousness, was removed from its "inwards" (Lev 1:8, 9), and the entire creature was "rightly divided," to use Paul's expression, possibly borrowed from this ritual (cf. 2 Tim 2:15).
Washing the Sacrificial Parts
The priest bathed (cf. Ezek 40:38) the "inwards" and the "legs" in water ladled from the laver, and dried them with towels. These two parts of the creature might symbolize inner thoughts and outward walk, and their cleansing in water directs us to the sinless Saviour, and the goal He set for His disciples. The gospel "laver," translated "washing," is a symbol for the word of God (loutron, from the same root as the LXX loutera, laver, Eph 5:26; Tit 3:5). When the believer decides to place himself as a "living sacrifice" on the altar, the Spirit uses the "water" of the word to cleanse the inner secrets of his mind as well as his outward "walk" or conduct. This part of the ritual vividly turns the mind of the Christian reader to the goal of the Saviour's cleansing actions in the Upper Room (John 13:1ff).
"The sinew that shrank" was cut out and flung on the heap of ashes, which had been temporarily gathered at the east of the altar (Hullin 7:1). Dissected from each back leg, by the law it might neither be eaten nor offered. This tendon recalled Jacob's defeat and victory at the river Jabbok (Gen 32:25, 32), and suggested that God wanted nothing flawed placed on His altar.
Through all these rites the priest had assisted the offerer. He had caught the blood spurting from the dying victim's jugular vein in a silver vessel (See A. Edersheim, The Temple, 115), pointed at its bottom so that it could not be set down, and had continually stirred it to prevent its coagulating, until the penitent, his duties completed, was free to ponder what his representative was about to do on his behalf.
The Blood Must be Sprinkled
He watched as the ministrant carried the blood up the ramp to the platform, or "compass" around the altar (Middoth 3:1, 3). Moving to its north-eastern corner, he flung some of it on the altar's eastern and northern sides in one gesture. Walking around this ledge to its south-western corner, he repeated this act on the altar's western and southern sides (Lev 1:5; "scattered," Ezek 10:2). The residue he emptied at the base of the altar to form its symbolic foundation of blood.
Only the priest might apply sacrificial blood, for it was sacred. The Lord explained: "The life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul" (Lev 17:11).
Because of the life (here rendered soul, nephesh), the blood is able to make atonement. The Hebrew word rendered atonement (kafar), literally means to cover up. When Wycliffe translated this word as "at-one-ment," he was describing the results of this rite, not giving its meaning.
In imagination join John the Revelator in watching Jesus, both Victim and Priest, spilling His blood in Gethsemane and on Golgotha, and then ascending to His Father in triumph. While meditating amid the crags of Patmos, the veil of the celestial Sanctuary was lifted, and the prophet's gaze was directed to God's throne in the most holy place. There he saw the bleeding Lamb paying His blood as the price of human redemption (Rev 5:6). The flock of God is ransomed by the Shepherd's death! Rejoice! His blood has bought our lives, and all blessings flow from this crimson Fountain-head. Eternal Spirit, grant us light to read this sign aright.
Salt Must be Added to Every Offering
The victim's dismembered and washed parts were salted by the priest before he placed them on the altar to be burned. "In the ritual service, salt was added to every sacrifice. This . . . signified that only the righteousness of Christ could make the service acceptable to God.
Referring to this practice Jesus said, `Every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.' 'Have salt in your selves, and have peace one with another' (Mark 9:49, 50). All who present themselves a `living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God' (Rom 12:1), must receive the saving salt, the righteousness of our Savior" (DA 439).
Since salt inhibits decay, "the Spirit . . . is compared to salt, because of its preserving qualities" (4T 319). "The savor of salt is divine grace" (5T 559), and thus it symbolizes the special ministry of the Spirit which flavors every aspect of the Christian's life, and establishes the "covenant of salt" between God and fallen man (Lev 2:13; Num 18:19; 2 Chron 13:5). In Biblical times those who agreed to eat food containing salt surrendered all the enmity they might have cherished against their host, and by this mutual act both parties pledged loyalty to each other. These salted portions, the "food" of the altar (Lev 3:11, 16; 21:17, margin), were "eaten" or devoured by the "consuming fire," and this assured the participants that fellowship with Heaven had been cemented. God had done His part.
The sinner then tied the animal's front legs, and placing a slip-knot around its back legs drew all four together. Thus secured, the creature fell on its side, and its face was turned toward the most holy place.
The worshiper next "put" "both" his hands (Lev 1:4; Menahoth 9:8) upon its head to signal the transference of his sins to his representative. The verb pictures his leaning his entire weight upon the creature. Imagine a lamb crushed by a grown man's heft, and then envision the Lamb of God as He "fell" (Matt 26:39) under the load of human guilt in Gethsemane, and beneath His cross on the Via Dolorosa (DA 742). In this way the repentant sinner expressed his longing to obey the Spirit's invitation: "Cast all your care upon Him: for He careth for you" (1 Pet 5:7). The psalmist realized that his "iniquities . . . as an heavy burden . . . are too heavy for" him, and, because he understood the meaning of the sacrificial system, resolved: "I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin. . . . Make haste to help me, O Lord of my salvation" (Ps 38:4, 18, 22).
With hands pressing his guilt upon the victim's head, and face turned toward the most holy place, the penitent silently confessed his sins to God, and pledged amendment in the ancient Hebrew prayer which concluded with the words, "I return in repentance, and let this be for my atonement [literally, covering]" (Quoted by A. Edersheim, The Temple, 114).
The worshiper believed that his victim had now taken full responsibility for his "past" wrong doings (Rom 3:25), and bore his burden of guilt in his stead. Observe the steps along this road of faith, and "roll" (cf. Josh 5:9, margin) your load of sin upon your Sacrifice hanging on God's altar cross.
The sinner then grasped the knife and deliberately slit his victim's throat (Lev 1:5, 11). By this personal act he acknowledged that his sin was the cause of his proxy's death, and, as he watched its dying agony, he shuddered at the consequences of his deed. His compliance in the rite showed that he had accepted the claim of God's unchangeable law, agreed that death was the result of his transgression, and affirmed that his only escape was through the vicarious death of the One Who would take his place. Let us gaze on the sinner's bloody knife held in the victim's throat, and acknowledge that we, too, slay the Son of God (Heb 6:6), and that our voices join in the obscene chant, "Crucify! Crucify!"
The Priest's and Birds Offered as Burnt-offerings
Should a bird be presented as a burnt-offering, the sinner's clumsy fingers grasped no killing blade. Instead, "the priest shall bring it unto the altar" and "pinch off the head with his nail" (Lev 1:15, margin). My soul, shudder at this act! He then tore off its crop and feathers with his fingers and flung them on the ashes piled to the east of the altar prior to their removal. He squeezed the blood out of its tiny body and smeared the sides of the altar with it. Then taking the knife he cut open its carcass to expose its heart, and, salting it, tossed it all on the altar. All this must be done in perfect silence (Zebahim 6:4, 5, 7).
This brutal ritual pictured the Priest-Victim taking Himself to Calvary to ensure His own death with the pledge, "I lay down by life" for you (John 10:15, 17). For fifteen centuries this cruel rite anticipated the horror of Christ's priestly duty in offering Himself. Neither God nor demon compelled Him to step from His throne, and tramp alone to Old Skullface, there to endure the pain of His self-inflicted death. The heart of the bird, cut open for all to see, was a tableau of the Saviour's death, the inmost secrets of His life exposed to the universe. The fate of this tortured turtle-dove should move us to feel the agony which our salvation cost. The Victim-Priest deliberately poured out His own life's blood that we might grasp the depths of His love. But let us return to the Sanctuary and our worshiper and his bleeding victim.
The Skin of the Victim
The dead animal was hung from hooks affixed in frames furnished in the court (Middoth 3:5), and there the offerer flayed it, and presented its pelt to the priest (Lev 7:8). These acts remind us of the old, old song of the proto-gospel: "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them" (Gen 3:21). The "covering" of the murdered Lamb provided the robe to conceal the nakedness of man's sin, and anticipated Christ's "fine linen" "wedding garment," glistening with His righteousness, from which He makes the trousseau for His repentant bride (Rev 19:7, 8). When she "puts off" the filthy rags of her past life, He imputes His life of obedience to her as her heavenly robe. And then, day by day, He "puts on" or imparts His grace to enable her to grow into the likeness of her Lord (Col 3:8-10).
The sharpened blade had a further task. "He shall cut [the victim] into his pieces" (Lev 1:12). The Jews remember that God "commanded" a precise technique for dissecting the sacrifices (Deut 12:21; Hullin 1:1, n. 7). And so the knife sliced limb from limb and dismembered the carcass in the manner required by the law. At this point the priest slit open its heart so that its blood might flow freely. See Jesus in this act. Pierced by the Roman lance, the "fountain . . . for sin and for unrighteousness" (Zech 13:1) gushed forth. The fat or suet, suggesting beauty, magnificence, and preciousness, was removed from its "inwards" (Lev 1:8, 9), and the entire creature was "rightly divided," to use Paul's expression, possibly borrowed from this ritual (cf. 2 Tim 2:15).
Washing the Sacrificial Parts
The priest bathed (cf. Ezek 40:38) the "inwards" and the "legs" in water ladled from the laver, and dried them with towels. These two parts of the creature might symbolize inner thoughts and outward walk, and their cleansing in water directs us to the sinless Saviour, and the goal He set for His disciples. The gospel "laver," translated "washing," is a symbol for the word of God (loutron, from the same root as the LXX loutera, laver, Eph 5:26; Tit 3:5). When the believer decides to place himself as a "living sacrifice" on the altar, the Spirit uses the "water" of the word to cleanse the inner secrets of his mind as well as his outward "walk" or conduct. This part of the ritual vividly turns the mind of the Christian reader to the goal of the Saviour's cleansing actions in the Upper Room (John 13:1ff).
"The sinew that shrank" was cut out and flung on the heap of ashes, which had been temporarily gathered at the east of the altar (Hullin 7:1). Dissected from each back leg, by the law it might neither be eaten nor offered. This tendon recalled Jacob's defeat and victory at the river Jabbok (Gen 32:25, 32), and suggested that God wanted nothing flawed placed on His altar.
Through all these rites the priest had assisted the offerer. He had caught the blood spurting from the dying victim's jugular vein in a silver vessel (See A. Edersheim, The Temple, 115), pointed at its bottom so that it could not be set down, and had continually stirred it to prevent its coagulating, until the penitent, his duties completed, was free to ponder what his representative was about to do on his behalf.
The Blood Must be Sprinkled
He watched as the ministrant carried the blood up the ramp to the platform, or "compass" around the altar (Middoth 3:1, 3). Moving to its north-eastern corner, he flung some of it on the altar's eastern and northern sides in one gesture. Walking around this ledge to its south-western corner, he repeated this act on the altar's western and southern sides (Lev 1:5; "scattered," Ezek 10:2). The residue he emptied at the base of the altar to form its symbolic foundation of blood.
Only the priest might apply sacrificial blood, for it was sacred. The Lord explained: "The life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul" (Lev 17:11).
Because of the life (here rendered soul, nephesh), the blood is able to make atonement. The Hebrew word rendered atonement (kafar), literally means to cover up. When Wycliffe translated this word as "at-one-ment," he was describing the results of this rite, not giving its meaning.
In imagination join John the Revelator in watching Jesus, both Victim and Priest, spilling His blood in Gethsemane and on Golgotha, and then ascending to His Father in triumph. While meditating amid the crags of Patmos, the veil of the celestial Sanctuary was lifted, and the prophet's gaze was directed to God's throne in the most holy place. There he saw the bleeding Lamb paying His blood as the price of human redemption (Rev 5:6). The flock of God is ransomed by the Shepherd's death! Rejoice! His blood has bought our lives, and all blessings flow from this crimson Fountain-head. Eternal Spirit, grant us light to read this sign aright.
Salt Must be Added to Every Offering
The victim's dismembered and washed parts were salted by the priest before he placed them on the altar to be burned. "In the ritual service, salt was added to every sacrifice. This . . . signified that only the righteousness of Christ could make the service acceptable to God.
Referring to this practice Jesus said, `Every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.' 'Have salt in your selves, and have peace one with another' (Mark 9:49, 50). All who present themselves a `living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God' (Rom 12:1), must receive the saving salt, the righteousness of our Savior" (DA 439).
Since salt inhibits decay, "the Spirit . . . is compared to salt, because of its preserving qualities" (4T 319). "The savor of salt is divine grace" (5T 559), and thus it symbolizes the special ministry of the Spirit which flavors every aspect of the Christian's life, and establishes the "covenant of salt" between God and fallen man (Lev 2:13; Num 18:19; 2 Chron 13:5). In Biblical times those who agreed to eat food containing salt surrendered all the enmity they might have cherished against their host, and by this mutual act both parties pledged loyalty to each other. These salted portions, the "food" of the altar (Lev 3:11, 16; 21:17, margin), were "eaten" or devoured by the "consuming fire," and this assured the participants that fellowship with Heaven had been cemented. God had done His part.
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Every Part of the Victim Must be Presented to God
The "head" (rosh), "fat" (cheleb or pader), "legs" (kar'a) and "inwards" (qereb) were consumed by the flames (Lev 1:8, 9).
"Head" represents man's will and thoughts, the power of his intellect (cf. Gen 3:15), his ability to plan and carry out his designs, His kingship and "dominion" or preeminence. God is the "Head" of Christ (Eph 4:15; 5:23-33) and Christ is the "Head" of every man (1 Cor 11:3).
"Legs" tell of man's daily walk, his life's direction, his power to move from here to there at his discretion. "Legs" may also suggest strength (Ps 147:10; cf. Deut 28:35).
"Inwards" include the kidneys and liver, besides the bowels and viscera (Gen 41:21, margin; Ex 29:13, 22), as well as the heart, and suggest the inner thoughts and affections (Ps 5:9; 64:6). "Inwards" whisper of secret longings and ambitions (Job 36:36), and may also mean the seat of the life-forces (1 Kings 17:21, margin).
"Fat" is strictly the suet which covers the inner organs. Fat was the sign of health and strength in Bible times.
Expressions like "the fat" or oil "of the earth" (Gen 27:28, 39), "the fat of the wheat" (Ps 147:14; 81:16; Deut 32:14) suggest the highest quality. When he used the phrase "the fat of the mighty" (2 Sam 1:22) David meant the royal strength and dignity of Saul and Jonathan. The "best" part of the oil or the sacrifice is the translation of the Hebrew fat (Num 18:12, 29, margin). "Fat" adds overtones of well-being (yaqar, cf. Isa 43:24), or richness. "The fat of lambs" is their "preciousness" (Ps 37:20, margin). To "eat the fat of the land" or its "good" (Gen 45:18) meant to enjoy the best it had to give. "Fat" also suggests the fullness of spiritual blessings which God extends to His priests (Jer 31:14), and the richness of the revelations which grow out of the Sanctuary (Ps 36:8; cf. Ps 63:5; Rom 11:17).
These four precious portions of the offering point directly to the fullness of Christ's consecration. His example calls upon all to yield every part of themselves fully to God. The Saviour's teaching sums up this dedication: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" (Mat 22:37). The Antitypical Burnt-offering gave Himself to His Father without reservation (Eph 5:2), and "as He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17).
The priest took the washed and salted portions, and, one by one, flung them upon the burning fig-wood logs he had "laid" "in order" (Gen 22:9) on the grate of the altar (Lev 1:7; cf. 1 Kings 18:33). Picking up a flesh-hook he then grouped these disarranged pieces "in order" (Lev 1:8, 12; 6:12), that is, into the semblance of the creature's form. Sing! This acted parable is the spring of peace and hope. When the disciple first casts himself on God's altar as a "living sacrifice" his life often seems confused and disarrayed. But wait! Our Priest is ever in control; He has the instruments of a further ministry. In His good time He will bring "order" (cf. 1 Cor 14:40; Ps 37:23; Prov 4:26, margin) out of our jumbled experiences. Eternal Spirit, help us to grasp this hope with both hands!
The Fire Used on the Altar
The fire on the altar was sacred, for God Himself had ignited it at Sinai when the Tabernacle worship had been inaugurated (Lev 9:24; cf. 1 Chron 21:26; 2 Chron 7:1), and was called "the fire of the altar" (Lev 6:9). Fire obtained from any other source was termed "strange fire" and could not be used in the Tabernacle (Lev 10:1, 2; Num 3:4; 26:61). The Lord had then left the priests with the responsibility to ensure that the sacred flame never went out. They did this while on the march in the wilderness by adding incense to coals carried in a fire pan (PP 348). When the Tabernacle was reerected, they used these embers to kindle the altar wood, and from it lighted all the sacred fires needed to keep the services going: to bake the shewbread, to light the lamps, to consume the incense, and to carry out every other ceremonial act requiring fire. The message is clear, throughout life's wanderings the incense, representing Christ's merits and intercession, must keep our prayers aglow. Only the flame of God's love kindled on the censers of our hearts will accomplish this.
The rabbis remembered that while the logs used for burning the sacrifices on the altar might be obtained from any tree "save only olive-wood and the wood of the vine," "their custom was to use only boughs of the fig-tree or walnut-tree or of oleaster-wood" (Tamid 2:3). In Scripture the fruitless fig tree, the first choice for the altar, is used as an illustration of hypocrisy (DA 581; 5T 146). The four gospels often note that nothing "burned" the Lamb of God quite as fiercely as did Pharisaic self-righteousness!
Watch the blazing coals of the altar feed on each part of the victim's flesh until only ash remained. Fire portrays an aspect of Deity which purifies (Isa 6:4-7), and consumes (Deut 4:24; Heb 12:29). His embracing flame ratified Abel's offering, approved his worship, and accepted his person. Fire vaporized and thus accepted Elijah's sacrifice, vindicated his faith, and validated his prophetic ministry (1 Kings 18:24). But these flames also warned of the lake of death in which Sodom and Gomorrah drowned, and in which the devil and all who choose to follow him will end. The alternatives are clear, either the heavenly fire consumes the substitute bearing the confessed sins of the penitent on the altar, or the sinner perishes with his guilt in the lake of fire.
The Smoke of the Sacrifice
The smoke ascending from the burnt-offering gave evidence of the progress of the holocaust, and the ashes proclaimed, "It is finished!" The fires of God's justice had accepted the victim, and His love was satisfied. These ashes looked forward to the "fullness of the time" (Gal 4:4) when Heaven's Sacrifice will have paid redemption's price to "the uttermost farthing" (cf. Matt 5:25, 26).
Recall the bruised and bleeding Victim, heaven's Burnt-offering, loaded with man's guilt, crushed under his sins, cut by his hatred, hanging on the cruel tree through his vindictive spite, until His cry, "Into Thy hands I commend My spirit" marked the moment He cast Himself into His Father's arms (Luke 23:46). An understanding of the scope of the burnt-offering will remove the fear of punishment, and assure the believing worshiper of his acceptance "in the Beloved" (Eph 1:6).
Following His resurrection the Saviour ascended to heaven to hear from His Father's lips that His sacrifice was acceptable, and then returned for forty days to comfort His disciples. The verbs used by the Spirit in describing His ascent (anabaino, "going up," John 20:17; Eph 4:8.10; and anaphero, "carried up," Luke 24:51; Heb 7:27), are the very ones used in the Greek Old Testament to picture the results of the burning of the sacrifice. As the penitent observed the clouds of smoke ascending to heaven with "the sparks [that] fly upwards" (Job 5:7), he came to believe that he had been accepted by God because he had chosen to identify with His innocent substitute Sacrifice.
The Lord evaluated this rite as "a sweet savor" (Lev 1:9, 13, 17). "A sweet savor [means] wholly acceptable to God" (6BC 1059). The Hebrew indicates "rest" (Gen 8:21, margin), and recalls the Creator's satisfaction at His perfected task (Gen 2:1-3). Rest suggests the fulfillment of a bride and groom married in love (Ruth 1:9; 3:1), and anticipates the joy of the redeemed in eternal fellowship with Christ the Bridegroom (Matt 11:28-30). Augustine long ago remarked, "our souls are restless till they find rest in Thee." When the perfume of Calvary's Burnt-offering reached heaven the Father was delighted with all that was purchased by His Holocaust.
As this odor spread around the world, it proclaimed, "Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor" (Eph 5:2). And when Jesus sees souls saved as the result of the "travail of His soul," He, too, will be "satisfied" (Isa 53:11). Then the universe will "rest" secure in perfect harmony with God. When we understand the meaning of the Burnt-offering dying on Calvary, we can proclaim to all: God allowed Christ to die for us that we might live with Him forever!
In Israel's ritual the willing burnt-offering also represented the penitent's gift of his own life as a "living sacrifice" in full surrender to the Divine mandate. In this act of devotion and service, the disciple follows the Divine Exemplar and declares, "Lord, I hold nothing back. All I am is Christ's."
The Offering of Isaac
The most dramatic burnt-offering in Old Testament history was the one which Abraham sacrificed at God's terrifying command: "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering" (Gen 22:2). As the "friend of God" (2 Chron 20:7; James 2:21-23) the patriarch's only claim to fame at that time was that he had a son by Sarah. What else have I achieved that history will remember? he might have asked. He had written no book; built no city; given to society no helpful invention. Should he fail in raising his son to manhood, whose life was one day to give rise to the Messiah, Abraham might have reasoned that his visible accomplishments were zero. Viewed from a human perspective, by complying with the Divine order to kill his son, he was actually destroying the very essence of what he had lived for, as well as his future. He must have thought: The knife on Mt. Moriah will end everything as far as I am concerned. But he carried out His Divine mandate in spite of all this.
At the supreme moment of offering up Isaac, Abraham reached the point at which, for all he could do about it, Isaac was dead. In his mind and purpose the father had accomplished the slaughter of his only son. He had steeled his will and driven his muscles, and then, having once started the blade on its downward way he was powerless to arrest its descent. Only at that point in the drama did the Angel of the Lord stay his hand. Abraham's dedication displays more clearly than any other Old Testament illustration, the scope of the burnt-offering. In sacrificing Isaac to God Abraham had emptied his life of its content, as Christ did in His kenosis (Phil 2:5-12).
As the story unfolds, Abraham saw the ram caught in a crown of thorns. In imagination we watch, amazed and thrilled, as doomed Isaac was spared because a substitute died in his place. Christ perceived that Abraham had understood the meaning of what he had carried through, and so was able to focus the significance of his memorable deed on "My day" (John 8:56). It was, and is even yet, a tableau of what the Father and His only Son accomplished on Calvary on our behalf, so near the very spot at which Isaac had been sacrificed.
Let us recapitulate: Through the burnt-offering of a male without blemish, slain in place of the Israelite worshiper, pouring out its blood so that the priest might make atonement, we see Jesus dying on Calvary, and then applying His spilled blood to bring about the atonement of the world, Himself the Victim, Himself the Priest. As we watch the burnt-offering ascending to heaven in smoke we are reminded of the ascent of Jesus as our Representative before the throne of God. By pressing his hands on the victim the penitent identified himself with it, and this emphasizes our need to be one with our Sacrifice Who died for us, was buried, rose and ascended to the Father as a "sweet savor," armed with the power of His sacrifice, ready to present the merits of His atonement on our behalf.
Across the centuries Paul calls to each of us: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Rom 12:1). Eternal Spirit, grant us grace to make this daily "sacrifice of the living affections--a working of the works of righteousness--[to] meet the mind of God" (RH 16 Dec 1884).
The "head" (rosh), "fat" (cheleb or pader), "legs" (kar'a) and "inwards" (qereb) were consumed by the flames (Lev 1:8, 9).
"Head" represents man's will and thoughts, the power of his intellect (cf. Gen 3:15), his ability to plan and carry out his designs, His kingship and "dominion" or preeminence. God is the "Head" of Christ (Eph 4:15; 5:23-33) and Christ is the "Head" of every man (1 Cor 11:3).
"Legs" tell of man's daily walk, his life's direction, his power to move from here to there at his discretion. "Legs" may also suggest strength (Ps 147:10; cf. Deut 28:35).
"Inwards" include the kidneys and liver, besides the bowels and viscera (Gen 41:21, margin; Ex 29:13, 22), as well as the heart, and suggest the inner thoughts and affections (Ps 5:9; 64:6). "Inwards" whisper of secret longings and ambitions (Job 36:36), and may also mean the seat of the life-forces (1 Kings 17:21, margin).
"Fat" is strictly the suet which covers the inner organs. Fat was the sign of health and strength in Bible times.
Expressions like "the fat" or oil "of the earth" (Gen 27:28, 39), "the fat of the wheat" (Ps 147:14; 81:16; Deut 32:14) suggest the highest quality. When he used the phrase "the fat of the mighty" (2 Sam 1:22) David meant the royal strength and dignity of Saul and Jonathan. The "best" part of the oil or the sacrifice is the translation of the Hebrew fat (Num 18:12, 29, margin). "Fat" adds overtones of well-being (yaqar, cf. Isa 43:24), or richness. "The fat of lambs" is their "preciousness" (Ps 37:20, margin). To "eat the fat of the land" or its "good" (Gen 45:18) meant to enjoy the best it had to give. "Fat" also suggests the fullness of spiritual blessings which God extends to His priests (Jer 31:14), and the richness of the revelations which grow out of the Sanctuary (Ps 36:8; cf. Ps 63:5; Rom 11:17).
These four precious portions of the offering point directly to the fullness of Christ's consecration. His example calls upon all to yield every part of themselves fully to God. The Saviour's teaching sums up this dedication: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" (Mat 22:37). The Antitypical Burnt-offering gave Himself to His Father without reservation (Eph 5:2), and "as He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17).
The priest took the washed and salted portions, and, one by one, flung them upon the burning fig-wood logs he had "laid" "in order" (Gen 22:9) on the grate of the altar (Lev 1:7; cf. 1 Kings 18:33). Picking up a flesh-hook he then grouped these disarranged pieces "in order" (Lev 1:8, 12; 6:12), that is, into the semblance of the creature's form. Sing! This acted parable is the spring of peace and hope. When the disciple first casts himself on God's altar as a "living sacrifice" his life often seems confused and disarrayed. But wait! Our Priest is ever in control; He has the instruments of a further ministry. In His good time He will bring "order" (cf. 1 Cor 14:40; Ps 37:23; Prov 4:26, margin) out of our jumbled experiences. Eternal Spirit, help us to grasp this hope with both hands!
The Fire Used on the Altar
The fire on the altar was sacred, for God Himself had ignited it at Sinai when the Tabernacle worship had been inaugurated (Lev 9:24; cf. 1 Chron 21:26; 2 Chron 7:1), and was called "the fire of the altar" (Lev 6:9). Fire obtained from any other source was termed "strange fire" and could not be used in the Tabernacle (Lev 10:1, 2; Num 3:4; 26:61). The Lord had then left the priests with the responsibility to ensure that the sacred flame never went out. They did this while on the march in the wilderness by adding incense to coals carried in a fire pan (PP 348). When the Tabernacle was reerected, they used these embers to kindle the altar wood, and from it lighted all the sacred fires needed to keep the services going: to bake the shewbread, to light the lamps, to consume the incense, and to carry out every other ceremonial act requiring fire. The message is clear, throughout life's wanderings the incense, representing Christ's merits and intercession, must keep our prayers aglow. Only the flame of God's love kindled on the censers of our hearts will accomplish this.
The rabbis remembered that while the logs used for burning the sacrifices on the altar might be obtained from any tree "save only olive-wood and the wood of the vine," "their custom was to use only boughs of the fig-tree or walnut-tree or of oleaster-wood" (Tamid 2:3). In Scripture the fruitless fig tree, the first choice for the altar, is used as an illustration of hypocrisy (DA 581; 5T 146). The four gospels often note that nothing "burned" the Lamb of God quite as fiercely as did Pharisaic self-righteousness!
Watch the blazing coals of the altar feed on each part of the victim's flesh until only ash remained. Fire portrays an aspect of Deity which purifies (Isa 6:4-7), and consumes (Deut 4:24; Heb 12:29). His embracing flame ratified Abel's offering, approved his worship, and accepted his person. Fire vaporized and thus accepted Elijah's sacrifice, vindicated his faith, and validated his prophetic ministry (1 Kings 18:24). But these flames also warned of the lake of death in which Sodom and Gomorrah drowned, and in which the devil and all who choose to follow him will end. The alternatives are clear, either the heavenly fire consumes the substitute bearing the confessed sins of the penitent on the altar, or the sinner perishes with his guilt in the lake of fire.
The Smoke of the Sacrifice
The smoke ascending from the burnt-offering gave evidence of the progress of the holocaust, and the ashes proclaimed, "It is finished!" The fires of God's justice had accepted the victim, and His love was satisfied. These ashes looked forward to the "fullness of the time" (Gal 4:4) when Heaven's Sacrifice will have paid redemption's price to "the uttermost farthing" (cf. Matt 5:25, 26).
Recall the bruised and bleeding Victim, heaven's Burnt-offering, loaded with man's guilt, crushed under his sins, cut by his hatred, hanging on the cruel tree through his vindictive spite, until His cry, "Into Thy hands I commend My spirit" marked the moment He cast Himself into His Father's arms (Luke 23:46). An understanding of the scope of the burnt-offering will remove the fear of punishment, and assure the believing worshiper of his acceptance "in the Beloved" (Eph 1:6).
Following His resurrection the Saviour ascended to heaven to hear from His Father's lips that His sacrifice was acceptable, and then returned for forty days to comfort His disciples. The verbs used by the Spirit in describing His ascent (anabaino, "going up," John 20:17; Eph 4:8.10; and anaphero, "carried up," Luke 24:51; Heb 7:27), are the very ones used in the Greek Old Testament to picture the results of the burning of the sacrifice. As the penitent observed the clouds of smoke ascending to heaven with "the sparks [that] fly upwards" (Job 5:7), he came to believe that he had been accepted by God because he had chosen to identify with His innocent substitute Sacrifice.
The Lord evaluated this rite as "a sweet savor" (Lev 1:9, 13, 17). "A sweet savor [means] wholly acceptable to God" (6BC 1059). The Hebrew indicates "rest" (Gen 8:21, margin), and recalls the Creator's satisfaction at His perfected task (Gen 2:1-3). Rest suggests the fulfillment of a bride and groom married in love (Ruth 1:9; 3:1), and anticipates the joy of the redeemed in eternal fellowship with Christ the Bridegroom (Matt 11:28-30). Augustine long ago remarked, "our souls are restless till they find rest in Thee." When the perfume of Calvary's Burnt-offering reached heaven the Father was delighted with all that was purchased by His Holocaust.
As this odor spread around the world, it proclaimed, "Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor" (Eph 5:2). And when Jesus sees souls saved as the result of the "travail of His soul," He, too, will be "satisfied" (Isa 53:11). Then the universe will "rest" secure in perfect harmony with God. When we understand the meaning of the Burnt-offering dying on Calvary, we can proclaim to all: God allowed Christ to die for us that we might live with Him forever!
In Israel's ritual the willing burnt-offering also represented the penitent's gift of his own life as a "living sacrifice" in full surrender to the Divine mandate. In this act of devotion and service, the disciple follows the Divine Exemplar and declares, "Lord, I hold nothing back. All I am is Christ's."
The Offering of Isaac
The most dramatic burnt-offering in Old Testament history was the one which Abraham sacrificed at God's terrifying command: "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering" (Gen 22:2). As the "friend of God" (2 Chron 20:7; James 2:21-23) the patriarch's only claim to fame at that time was that he had a son by Sarah. What else have I achieved that history will remember? he might have asked. He had written no book; built no city; given to society no helpful invention. Should he fail in raising his son to manhood, whose life was one day to give rise to the Messiah, Abraham might have reasoned that his visible accomplishments were zero. Viewed from a human perspective, by complying with the Divine order to kill his son, he was actually destroying the very essence of what he had lived for, as well as his future. He must have thought: The knife on Mt. Moriah will end everything as far as I am concerned. But he carried out His Divine mandate in spite of all this.
At the supreme moment of offering up Isaac, Abraham reached the point at which, for all he could do about it, Isaac was dead. In his mind and purpose the father had accomplished the slaughter of his only son. He had steeled his will and driven his muscles, and then, having once started the blade on its downward way he was powerless to arrest its descent. Only at that point in the drama did the Angel of the Lord stay his hand. Abraham's dedication displays more clearly than any other Old Testament illustration, the scope of the burnt-offering. In sacrificing Isaac to God Abraham had emptied his life of its content, as Christ did in His kenosis (Phil 2:5-12).
As the story unfolds, Abraham saw the ram caught in a crown of thorns. In imagination we watch, amazed and thrilled, as doomed Isaac was spared because a substitute died in his place. Christ perceived that Abraham had understood the meaning of what he had carried through, and so was able to focus the significance of his memorable deed on "My day" (John 8:56). It was, and is even yet, a tableau of what the Father and His only Son accomplished on Calvary on our behalf, so near the very spot at which Isaac had been sacrificed.
Let us recapitulate: Through the burnt-offering of a male without blemish, slain in place of the Israelite worshiper, pouring out its blood so that the priest might make atonement, we see Jesus dying on Calvary, and then applying His spilled blood to bring about the atonement of the world, Himself the Victim, Himself the Priest. As we watch the burnt-offering ascending to heaven in smoke we are reminded of the ascent of Jesus as our Representative before the throne of God. By pressing his hands on the victim the penitent identified himself with it, and this emphasizes our need to be one with our Sacrifice Who died for us, was buried, rose and ascended to the Father as a "sweet savor," armed with the power of His sacrifice, ready to present the merits of His atonement on our behalf.
Across the centuries Paul calls to each of us: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Rom 12:1). Eternal Spirit, grant us grace to make this daily "sacrifice of the living affections--a working of the works of righteousness--[to] meet the mind of God" (RH 16 Dec 1884).
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This is a blessing OntheDL, thankyou. I am going to copy all of this off.
God Bless you
Jim Larmore
God Bless you
Jim Larmore
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Or if you want to wait, I'll compile everything (word docs, hi-res animation videos and pictures) into a single CD/DVD at the end of the our sanctuary. We are about 2/3 done.
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"On the city's pearly gates the names of the twelve tribes assure all people that it is possible for every one to be saved. The only condition is that they must sell all they possess in order to buy the Pearl of great price (Matt 13:45, 46"
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it." Matthew 13:45, 46
Jon
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MEAL-and DRINK-OFFERINGS
God required a cereal offering, with olive oil and grape juice, to accompany every burnt-and peace-offering (Lev 2:1; Num 15:2-19). He had not insisted on this in the wilderness, as the people had only manna (Menahoth 4:3). But in the Promised Land this offering was to be a "present" (korban) to Him in appreciation for all of life's material blessings. In giving it Israel was saying, "Thank You!" Its Hebrew name, mincah (Lev 2:1), first occurs in the story of Cain and Abel (Gen 4:3, 4), and comes from a root meaning to appease or satisfy. Its significance is illustrated in the circumstances of Jacob's donation to Esau (Gen 32:13-21), and that of the ten brothers to Joseph in Egypt (Gen 43:11). Modern translators have rendered mincah grain-or cereal-offering.
Since man was originally a tiller of the soil and a harvester of its produce, the fruit of his labor constituted his wealth, and from it he brought offerings to his bountiful Creator. The cereals from which the Israelites made their selections were barley, spelt, goat-grass, oats (Menahoth 10:7), and sometimes rice (Hallah 1:1; 3:7, 10; 4:3). These helpful grasses, lacking the majesty of the cedar or the loveliness of the orchid, the strength of the oak or the longevity of the sequoia, are yet vital to life, providing man and other creatures with their daily bread. But from among these, wheaten flour was the first choice for the Sanctuary presentation. The rabbis affirm, "fine-flour . . . is the special sense of the term `meal-offering"' (Menahoth 13:1).
Bread Making a "Cruel" Activity
Ponder again the "cruelty" which underlies the making of flour and bread, and read this story as a parable of the preparation of the Bread of Life. The farmer's share first cuts a grave in the earth, into which he flings "the corn of wheat" to lie and die in darkness and alone (John 12:24). Then Heaven's sun and rain vivify the germ, and eventually the seed springs up, "first the blade, then the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear" (Mark 4:28). Then "in the fullness of the time" man's sickle cuts off the heads of grain, and his flails thrash them unmercifully, for "bread corn is bruised" (Isa 28:28; cf. 53:5). Eventually the gale drives off the chaff.
The miller next crushes the grist between his stones, and sifts the meal "through thirteen sieves" (Menahoth 6:7) until it is free from all unevenness. Like its Antitype, the grain-offering must be presented at the altar with every preparation completed. This "fine flour," as the very life-essence of the cereal, illustrates man's harvest, the products of his best efforts, his work and worth (PP 72), and is a prophetic type of Jesus, the harvest of heaven's "Corn of wheat."
But should the worshiper decide to make the flour into bread, strong hands must knead and poke and pummel its substance. Then the fire must burn, and the oven's rage be directed on the loaf. All these acts picture what the Bread of life "suffered" (Mark 9:19; Heb 5:8), as beaten and bruised and pushed, He patiently submitted to man's inhumanity, until miscarried justice and obscene prejudice snatched away His final breath.
Olives Crushed to Produce Oil
Olive oil (Lev 2:4; Terumoth 11:3), produced when ripe olives are crushed beneath a beam or stone, was a part of every meal-offering. This method differed from that used for producing the oil for the lamps, for which the ripe olives were beaten with rods. The rabbis recall that "the [mincah] cakes required to be mingled [with oil], and the wafers to be anointed. How did they anoint them? In the form of [a cross like the Greek letter] chi" (Menahoth 6:3). This cruciform chrism sang a prophetic song: "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and [that is to say] with power" (Acts 10:38).
Oil is a symbol of the softening and soothing ministry of the Spirit (cf. 1 Sam 10:1, 6; 16:3, 13). Observe the way He directed (Luke 3:22) the Saviour's life, starting before His birth (Luke 1:35), empowering Him moment by moment throughout His life, aiding Him in His dying and His rising from the grave (Heb 9:14; 1 Pet 3:18), and enabling Him to become man's perfect Meal-offering.
The dutiful Israelite was to present God with the harvest of his life's activities, softened and flavored with the oil of the Spirit (cf. Luke 4:18; Eph 5:23; Gal 5:22-26). Since He is holy, His presence hallows, making the worshipers "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Pet 1:4). Because He is powerful, He imparts all power to help the disciple fulfill the divine ideal (Acts 1:5-8).
Salt and Frankincense Needed for All Meal-Offerings
Salt was to be mingled with the meal-offering during its preparation (Lev 2:13; Mark 9:49), and its antiseptic properties preserved it from corruption. This symbol represented the flavoring and preserving influence of the grace of the Spirit.
Frankincense was burned on the golden altar as an integral part of every meal-offering (Lev 2:1, 2, 15, 16; 24:7; Num 5:15), and contributed its fragrance to the total ritual as it perished in the flame. The Hebrew word for this aromatic gum suggests whiteness, and from its root sprang the name of the snow-crowned Lebanon Mountains. As the smoke of the frankincense rose up to God, its spicery enhanced the cereal-offering and covered up the stench of the victim's flesh burning on the altar of burnt-offering. At the same time its color reminded the worshipers of the purity of the Messiah. Considered a precious perfume, frankincense also formed the basic ingredient of incense, and symbolized "the merits and intercession" (PP 353) of our immaculate Saviour, the loveliness of Whose fragrant priestly mediation renders man's offerings acceptable to God (Cant 1:3). But salt is valueless until it mingles with the dough and is lost to sight within it; and frankincense remains inert until it is consumed by the flame. Oil and frankincense together tell of the gladness and sweetness of Jesus which render man's gifts pleasing to the Father (Ps 45:7, 8), while the salt imparts the constancy of the Spirit's keeping presence.
Leaven Prohibited in Meal-offerings
"No grain-offering . . . shall be made of anything that ferments" (Lev 2:11, NEB), the Lord warned, and so leaven of all kinds was excluded from the altar. And since the nesek, or drink-offering, was presented on the altar with it, it, too, must be unfermented. Yeast is the force behind fermentation, and is used as a symbol of any principle which works from within to transform. When honey is added to the mixture, the process is facilitated (see the chapter on the Passover for a detailed study of leaven). And for this reason honey was also prohibited (Lev 2:11; cf. "date honey," Terumoth 10:2, 3). Bible students have considered its cloying and sickening sweetness (Prov 24:27) a symbol of the lusts of the flesh, at first pleasing, but containing forces eventually destructive to the spiritual life (1BC 721). Through these symbols God showed His desire for "the harvests" of man's endeavors to be presented on His altar free from selfish plans and purposes.
But should the grateful farmer bring "first-fruits" to show his appreciation to Heaven, he might present both leaven and honey with the fresh ears (Lev 23:17). Did this suggest the Lord's readiness to accept any spontaneous acts of loving gratitude?
Meal-offerings might be prepared in one of three ways, but in all cases the dough must be "kneaded in lukewarm water, and care was needed lest [it] become leavened" (Lev 2:11; Menahoth 5:2). "Living water" points to the refreshing, softening ministry of the Saviour's love (John 4:10). With oil and salt added, this dough was pressed into flat cakes similar to Indian chapatis or Mexican tortillas.
Ways for Preparing the Meal-offering
In the first method of presentation, the "cake" was perforated to prevent its puffing up while being cooked. Its Hebrew name, challah, "pierced bread" (Lev 4:2), sobs with pain. Long before His ordeal on old Skullface Jesus prophetically cried, "My heart is wounded [pierced] within Me" (the same word is used in Leviticus and Ps 109:22). Gazing at their meal- offerings by prophetic faith perceptive Israelites for centuries "looked upon [Him] Whom they have pierced" (Zech 12:10; cf. John 19:33-37; Ps 22:16).
The "oven" used for baking the bread, is also translated "furnace" (Gen 15:17; Isa 31:9), and pictures the fierce afflictions which Christ endured. David wrote of the fate of the wicked, "Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of Thy anger" (Ps 21:9). Because He also survived the flaming darts flung by diabalos, literally the "one who throws through" (cf. Eph 6:16; 1 Pet 4:12), Jesus became the perfect "Pierced Bread."
In the second method, thin wafers were cut into pieces, suffused with oil, and cooked on a griddle (Lev 2:5, margin). The Hebrew word translated "wafer" means to flail or pound, and movingly suggests other kinds of sufferings borne by our Bread of life.
In the third method the cake was prepared in a frying-pan (Lev 2:7, 8). "Frying" means bubbling up in heat (only found elsewhere in Ps 45:1, margin). Rabbi Gamaliel remembered that "a frying-pan is deep and what is cooked therein is spongy, while the baking-pan is flat and what is cooked thereon is solid" (Menahoth 5:8).
Fire's Role in Bread Making
The differences in these ways of cooking apparently lies in the manner in which the fire reached the dough. In the oven the wafer was surrounded by heat. This passed through the griddle to penetrate the heart of the cake. In the frying-pan the hot oil pervaded the mincah. Did these techniques picture the myriad "fiery trials" which Heaven's Meal-offering endured in His preparation for His Father's altar-table, on which He was finally subjected to the flames of the wrath of God?
The fresh ears of the first-fruits were simply parched by the fire, and the grain "beaten out" (Lev 2:14-16). Were these acts designed to alert the worshipers to the One by Whose stripes every sinner is healed (Isa 53:5, margin)?
The cakes, made with the admixture of oil and salt, were brought to the altar with a dish of frankincense (Lev 2:13-16), and presented to the priest. His first act was to tear off a portion of a cake and elevate it towards heaven as a "memorial" to call God's attention to the offerer (Ps 20:1-3; Acts 10:4). He then burned this token upon the burnt-offering already smoldering on the altar. The remainder of the mincah he took home for his family's use (Lev 2:3, 10; 7:9-11; 10:12, 13).
When the offering consisted simply of "fine flour" the ministrant took a handful, not too full, and not too empty, the rabbis warn (Menahoth 1:2). With the salt and frankincense, he burned it as a "memorial," keeping what was left of the flour as his perquisite. Should the offering be a wafer, it was treated as was the cake (Lev 2:9). The smoke arising from the mincah reached Jehovah as a "sweet smelling savor," bringing "rest," or satisfaction and fulfillment to His heart because of His faithful children.
Meal-offerings Were "Most Holy"
Since meal-offerings belonged to the four "most holy things" (the others were incense, shewbread and sin-offerings), they were eaten by the officiating priest and his family "in a holy place." Originally this meant "the court of the Tabernacle," but it was interpreted by later Judaism as any location within the walls of Jerusalem (1BC 739). This "eating" pictured the priest's identification with the offering, and alerted the worshiper to the day when the Messiah would come as both Priest and Meal-offering. Mincahs were always to be presented in quantities determined by the type of animal sacrifice which they accompanied (Num 15:1-16).
The Lord required these grain offerings with every burnt-and peace- offering, to teach the lesson that the products of man's efforts were acceptable solely on the basis of the spilled blood. In every age the Crucified alone is able to add worth to the works of man. Today even the "religious service, the prayers, the praise, and penitent confession of sin ascend from true believers as incense to the heavenly sanctuary; but passing through the corrupt channels of humanity, they are so defiled that unless purified by blood, they can never be of value with God. They ascend not in spotless purity, and unless the Intercessor Who is at God's right hand presents and purifies all by His righteousness, they are not acceptable to God. All incense from earthly Tabernacles must be moist with the cleansing drops of the blood of Christ. He holds before the Father the censer of His own merits, in which there is no taint of earthly corruption. He gathers into this censer the prayers, the praise, and the confessions of His people, and with these He puts His own spotless righteousness. Then, perfumed with the merits of Christ's propitiation, the incense comes up before God wholly and entirely acceptable. Then gracious answers are returned. O, that all may see that everything in obedience, in penitence, in praise and thanksgiving must be placed upon the glowing fire of the righteousness of Christ. The fragrance of this righteousness ascends like a cloud around the mercy seat" (6BC 1078).
Meal-offerings were to be presented as (1) a wave sheaf on the 2nd day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread; (2) two loaves baked with leaven on Pentecost; (3) the daily morning and evening meal-offerings; (4) the offering for jealousy, (5) the cleansing of the leper; (6) the meal-sin-offering of a handful of flour; (7) the shewbread; and (8) the Passover cakes.
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Blood-Sacrifice Forms the Basis of All Meal-offerings
The importance of the rule that the mincah should be presented to God only on the basis of the bloody offering is illustrated by the story of Cain and Abel. Ignoring this divine requirement, Cain presented only the products of his husbandry, while Abel obediently brought his burnt-offering as well as (gam, also, Gen 4:4) his "meal-offering," (Abel's mincah is specifically mentioned twice). The Lord used the same word when describing Abel's meal-offering as He did when speaking of Cain's.
There is no reason to apply mincah here, as some wish to do, to Abel's animal sacrifice, which is specifically mentioned separately. The rabbis warning that "if the bread- offering is brought without the lamb, there is naught that renders it permissible" (Menahoth 4:3), is a significant comment on this ancient story, and is in perfect keeping with the Levitical rubric.
"When Abel offered the firstling of the flock, he acknowledged God, not only as the Giver of his temporal blessings, [recognized by his mincah], but also as the Giver of the Saviour [typified by the blood of his slain animal]. Abel's gift was the very choicest he could bring; for it was the Lord's specified claim. But Cain brought only of the fruit of the ground, and his offering was not accepted by the Lord. It did not express faith in Christ. All our offerings must be sprinkled with the blood of the Atonement. As the purchased possession of the Son of God, we are to give the Lord our own
individual lives" (1BC 1086).
Meal-offerings Signal the Dedication of Means
The sacrificial victim represented the dedicated celebrant placing himself totally upon the altar, and looked ahead to his Substitute, while the mincah pictured the harvest of human endeavor, as well as "the fruits of the Spirit" developed within the human personality. Through His condemnation of Cain God showed that He would not accept man's material offerings until he had first acknowledged the death of his Substitute and placed himself on the altar.
Reminding his Corinthian friends of the sacrificial liberality displayed by the Macedonian Christians, the apostle continued, "Nor was their gift, I must confess I had expected, a mere cash payment. Instead they made a complete dedication of themselves first to the Lord" (2 Cor 8:5, Phillips). Jesus still desires that the consecration of His followers should precede their material gifts to His cause. By his burnt-offering the worshiper affirmed, "All I am is Christ's," and then on the basis of this dedication, further declared through his meal-offering, "All I have is Christ's." Only after we have placed our bodies as living sacrifices upon the altar, are our material offerings acceptable. Eternal Spirit, grant us Thy grace to do this.
The Drink-offering
There had been no tilling of the soil or gathering of harvests during the years of wilderness wandering. In consequence there had been no possibility of presenting meal-and drink-offerings at the Sanctuary. In anticipation of the agricultural products of Canaan, the Lord declared: "When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then," and only then, will the grain-and drink-offerings be possible (Lev 23:10, 18, 37). There had been no Passovers during these years, and so no unleavened bread or unfermented wine had been needed.
The Lord required a libation as the accessory of every meal-offering (Num 15:4-11; 28:7-15; Lev 23:18), explaining, "the drink-offering thereof shall be of wine" (Lev 23:13; Num 28:7). The rabbis add, "no fruit juice is offered on the Altar excepting the produce of olives and grapes" (Terumoth 11:3). Some Bible students have thought that meal-and drink- offerings might be presented independently of each other. But the truth is that whenever a meal-offering was prescribed, a drink-offering was understood to be necessary as well, and vice versa. For example, the Mishnah reminds us that "all the offerings of an individual or the congregation require drink-offerings," and the editor, Herbert Danby, adds, "meal-offerings are here also intended" (Menahoth 9:6; cf. Num 15:3).
Grape Juice was the Drink-offering
And because of this the chalice was filled with "the pure blood of the grape" (Deut 32:14). The Hebrew name for drink-offering is nesek, from a root meaning to pour out (Isa 19:10; Ex 30:9; Hos 9:4). But in no place in the Old Testament are specific directions given as to where the libation was to be poured. The Wisdom of Sirach (I:15), however, gives a clear statement: the blood of the grape must be poured at the base of the altar.
Rabbinic tradition records that below the altar of the second Temple two pits were drilled through the rock at its south-west and south-east corners. From these, two pipes led to the Kidron (Middoth 3:2), and thence to the Dead Sea. Wine and blood left over from the various sprinkling rituals were poured into one of them, while the water used during the feast of Tabernacles was poured into the other (Sukkah 4:9; cf. DA 449). Josephus (Antiquities II:9:4) declares that the drink-offering was poured out over the altar, adding (Wars V:13:6) that it was "poured on the burnt-offering" and peace-offering, as well as the "memorials" of cereal-offerings being consumed. The Mishnah corroborates that it was indeed poured on the altar (Tamid 7:3). The Hebrew verb from which the word nesek, "drink- offering" was derived, meant to pour a liquid upon (Ex 30:9; Hos 9:4), or over (Num 28:7) something, and so came to mean to cover, and thus to protect (Isa 25:7; 28:20; Num 4:7, margin; Ex 25:29, margin).
The importance of the rule that the mincah should be presented to God only on the basis of the bloody offering is illustrated by the story of Cain and Abel. Ignoring this divine requirement, Cain presented only the products of his husbandry, while Abel obediently brought his burnt-offering as well as (gam, also, Gen 4:4) his "meal-offering," (Abel's mincah is specifically mentioned twice). The Lord used the same word when describing Abel's meal-offering as He did when speaking of Cain's.
There is no reason to apply mincah here, as some wish to do, to Abel's animal sacrifice, which is specifically mentioned separately. The rabbis warning that "if the bread- offering is brought without the lamb, there is naught that renders it permissible" (Menahoth 4:3), is a significant comment on this ancient story, and is in perfect keeping with the Levitical rubric.
"When Abel offered the firstling of the flock, he acknowledged God, not only as the Giver of his temporal blessings, [recognized by his mincah], but also as the Giver of the Saviour [typified by the blood of his slain animal]. Abel's gift was the very choicest he could bring; for it was the Lord's specified claim. But Cain brought only of the fruit of the ground, and his offering was not accepted by the Lord. It did not express faith in Christ. All our offerings must be sprinkled with the blood of the Atonement. As the purchased possession of the Son of God, we are to give the Lord our own
individual lives" (1BC 1086).
Meal-offerings Signal the Dedication of Means
The sacrificial victim represented the dedicated celebrant placing himself totally upon the altar, and looked ahead to his Substitute, while the mincah pictured the harvest of human endeavor, as well as "the fruits of the Spirit" developed within the human personality. Through His condemnation of Cain God showed that He would not accept man's material offerings until he had first acknowledged the death of his Substitute and placed himself on the altar.
Reminding his Corinthian friends of the sacrificial liberality displayed by the Macedonian Christians, the apostle continued, "Nor was their gift, I must confess I had expected, a mere cash payment. Instead they made a complete dedication of themselves first to the Lord" (2 Cor 8:5, Phillips). Jesus still desires that the consecration of His followers should precede their material gifts to His cause. By his burnt-offering the worshiper affirmed, "All I am is Christ's," and then on the basis of this dedication, further declared through his meal-offering, "All I have is Christ's." Only after we have placed our bodies as living sacrifices upon the altar, are our material offerings acceptable. Eternal Spirit, grant us Thy grace to do this.
The Drink-offering
There had been no tilling of the soil or gathering of harvests during the years of wilderness wandering. In consequence there had been no possibility of presenting meal-and drink-offerings at the Sanctuary. In anticipation of the agricultural products of Canaan, the Lord declared: "When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then," and only then, will the grain-and drink-offerings be possible (Lev 23:10, 18, 37). There had been no Passovers during these years, and so no unleavened bread or unfermented wine had been needed.
The Lord required a libation as the accessory of every meal-offering (Num 15:4-11; 28:7-15; Lev 23:18), explaining, "the drink-offering thereof shall be of wine" (Lev 23:13; Num 28:7). The rabbis add, "no fruit juice is offered on the Altar excepting the produce of olives and grapes" (Terumoth 11:3). Some Bible students have thought that meal-and drink- offerings might be presented independently of each other. But the truth is that whenever a meal-offering was prescribed, a drink-offering was understood to be necessary as well, and vice versa. For example, the Mishnah reminds us that "all the offerings of an individual or the congregation require drink-offerings," and the editor, Herbert Danby, adds, "meal-offerings are here also intended" (Menahoth 9:6; cf. Num 15:3).
Grape Juice was the Drink-offering
And because of this the chalice was filled with "the pure blood of the grape" (Deut 32:14). The Hebrew name for drink-offering is nesek, from a root meaning to pour out (Isa 19:10; Ex 30:9; Hos 9:4). But in no place in the Old Testament are specific directions given as to where the libation was to be poured. The Wisdom of Sirach (I:15), however, gives a clear statement: the blood of the grape must be poured at the base of the altar.
Rabbinic tradition records that below the altar of the second Temple two pits were drilled through the rock at its south-west and south-east corners. From these, two pipes led to the Kidron (Middoth 3:2), and thence to the Dead Sea. Wine and blood left over from the various sprinkling rituals were poured into one of them, while the water used during the feast of Tabernacles was poured into the other (Sukkah 4:9; cf. DA 449). Josephus (Antiquities II:9:4) declares that the drink-offering was poured out over the altar, adding (Wars V:13:6) that it was "poured on the burnt-offering" and peace-offering, as well as the "memorials" of cereal-offerings being consumed. The Mishnah corroborates that it was indeed poured on the altar (Tamid 7:3). The Hebrew verb from which the word nesek, "drink- offering" was derived, meant to pour a liquid upon (Ex 30:9; Hos 9:4), or over (Num 28:7) something, and so came to mean to cover, and thus to protect (Isa 25:7; 28:20; Num 4:7, margin; Ex 25:29, margin).
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Drink-offerings Were Never Drunk
A drink-offering was never drunk! In fact, the Lord pronounced an anathema against any who drank it (Deut 32:36, 38), or who ate blood. Ritual wine, in fact, was the symbol for blood, and pointed to the Messiah's perfect sacrificial life, poured out by the wine-press of God's wrath. The ban against drinking ritual wine was in keeping with this typical usage, and paralleled His prohibition against eating blood (Lev 3:17; 7:23-27).
Like the making of bread, the production of wine is full of "cruel" imagery. In the fall the vines were so drastically pruned that they appeared dead! Then when the clusters of grapes ripened, man ruthlessly cut them off with his knife, and flung them into his wine-press, and there trampled them with his feet till the juice flowed freely. How vividly the words "the blood of the grapes" (Gen 49:11) anticipate the carmine essence of the fruit of the True Vine crushed by unfeeling humanity!
Drink-offerings Were Unfermented
Since nothing fermented was allowed on the altar (Lev 3:11, NEB), only non-alcoholic wine was used for drink-offerings. This prohibition is in keeping with every reference to alcoholic beverages found in Scripture, all of which are condemnatory. The Hebrews might have used several methods, well known in the ancient world, to provide unfermented ritual grape juice throughout the year. One way was to steep raisins in water until they were soft, and then squeeze out the elixir. Another was to heat the freshly harvested juice gently for several hours until it had evaporated to half or one third of its volume (SDA Source Book, pp. 122-124). Occasionally called "strong" or concentrated drink, this unfermented syrup easily remained alcohol-free for long periods of time. When needed for various rites, water was added to bring it to a proper consistency (Berakoth 8;2; Pesahim 10:2, 4, 7). Did this mingled water and "wine" anticipate the twin streams which flowed from the pierced heart of Jesus? (John 19:34-37; DA 772).
In her consideration of the Paschal wine used by the Saviour in the Upper Room, Ellen White has left us this perceptive insight: "The Bible nowhere teaches the use of intoxicating wine, either as a beverage or a symbol of the blood of Christ. We appeal to the natural reason whether the blood of Christ is better represented by the pure juice of the grape in its natural state, or after it has been converted into fermented and intoxicating wine. We maintain that the former is the only symbol properly representing the sacred blood of Christ, and a symbol established by Himself; and we urge that the latter should never be placed upon the Lord's table" (Signs 29 August, l878). Since Jesus is the same in all ages, He certainly would not permit the use of alcoholic wine on the altar in His ancient Tabernacle.
Significance of Libations
Scripture stories in which libations are used show them to be illustrations of the dedication of the distillation of life's energy. Let us look at some of them.
While he was trying to escape from Laban's thralldom, the Lord "appeared unto Jacob again, . . . and blessed him. And God said. . . . Thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel" (Gen 35:9, 10). Jehovah then repeated the terms of the covenant (Gen 35:11, 12), which He had made with Abraham (Gen 17:1-21), and reiterated to Isaac (Gen 26:2-5), and invited him to accept them. To signal his compliance, "Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and poured out [nasak] a drink-offering thereon, and he poured out [yatsaq] oil thereon" (Gen 35:14). This libation, the very first one mentioned in Scripture, represents Jacob's will poured out in surrender to the covenant, while the oil typified the endorsing Spirit.
Harried by Saul from place to place, David sighed for a drink from the spring of Bethlehem, at which, as a boy, he had often slaked his thirst. Risking their lives to indulge their king, three of his companions passed undetected through enemy lines and filled a pitcher for their beloved leader. On being presented with it, David exclaimed in awe, "My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing: shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it," "but poured [nasak] it out to the Lord" (1 Chron 11:19, 18). David's libation of water from the spring of Bethlehem commemorated the lives which had been risked to bless him, and whispered of the water of life which would one day pour from the pierced heart of the Man of Bethlehem.
Drink-offerings Mean Dedication of the Life
The apostle referred to this wine ceremony in his letter to Timothy. Paul had been condemned to death at his second trial before Nero. Now, sensing the westering sun glinting down the executioner's sword and pointing out his path, he wrote to his dear son in the gospel: "I am already willingly being poured out as a drink-offering" (pseudomai, 2 Tim 4:6, Berkley). The use of his word in the middle voice pictures the apostle's voluntary share in his act. The Old Testament verb (often hophal or causative in form) also calls attention to the participation of the worshiper in his libation. For three decades Paul had daily laid his body upon the altar of service (Phil 1:20-22; 1 Cor 15:31; Rom 12:1), and its flames had seared and scared him. Ship-wrecked and beaten with rods, he had been scourged and stoned, scorched by the sun and soaked by the sea. And because his only cloak had inadvertently been left at Troas at the time of his sudden arrest, he was now shivering in his dark Roman dungeon.
And besides, the time had now come for him to pour out his blood as a libation over his body as the consummation of his dedication. His affirmation fits the martyr's death by a sword, which he anticipated as a Roman citizen. Remembering Israel's ancient rite, Paul knew that the devotee must provide his own libation. In his mind's eye he could see the priest in far away Jerusalem decanting the wine upon the sacrifice being consumed on the great altar, and in his dank cell sensed that he must be ready at any moment to give his blood.
For some time he had anticipated this terminal act, and had expressed his readiness for it to his Philippian friends. Paul had reminded them that he was eager to pour his blood as a libation upon (hoti) the sacrificial testimony of their lives (Phil 2:17). Writing his last epistle to Timothy he added that the time for this desire to be realized was close at hand. The word he used to describe his "departure" (analousis, 2 Tim 4:6) pictures the loosing of a ship from her moorings. The apostle could hear the slap of the tide on her hull, and feel her tugging impatiently at anchor, eager to sail out to her final haven. In this context he showed his understanding of the meaning of the drink-offering to be the filing up, or bringing to their consummation, "the afflictions of Christ" (Col 1:24).
God's Drink-offering
God Himself used the metaphor of the drink-offering twice to point the universe to ways in which His Son met the needs of the Divine government. He declared that "Wisdom," the personification of Him Who had planned and carried out the creation of the universe, had been "poured out" (nasak) as a Libation over the eternal throne of Deity (Prov 3:19; 8:1, 23, "set" is used for nasak) from the beginning. God represented this distillation of the character and work of His Son, His infinite power and creative love, as saturating the governance of heaven. Observing this, all His creatures extol Him constantly as the Creator by singing "the old song" (Rev 4:11).
Almost one thousand years before His birth Inspiration exposed the hostility which God's Son would suffer at the hands of "His own" people, their ruler Herod, and Pilate the Roman governor with his soldiers (Ps 2:1-5; cf. Acts 4:25-28). This would culminate in His crucifixion. But this seeming tragedy would lead on to His resurrection and ascension in triumph. Then the prophet depicted the rejoicing Father "pouring out" (Bullinger's suggestion) the essence of His Son's redemptive victory as a Libation over His throne on "the mount of His [heavenly] Sanctuary" (Ps 2:6, "set" is used for nasak). At His inauguration as High Priest, the Father granted Him the heathen as His inheritance (Ps 2:8). Henceforth the ransomed hosts adore Him as the Redeemer by singing "the new song" (Rev 5:9, 12).
By "saturating" the seat of His government with the Libation of His Son's redemptive qualities, the Father immeasurably enriched this symbol of creative power. He thus called upon the universe to realize that the wisdom and skill of the Creator were rendered infinitely precious by the addition of the love and sacrifice of the Victim-Priest. On the Isle of Patmos John was granted a view of the bleeding Lamb in the midst of the throne as if in the very act of pouring out His blood (Rev 5:6, the perfect tense indicates that the results continue). As the consummation of His death (Heb 10:5-10) the Libation of Christ's blood bathed the throne with the added radiance of redeeming grace.
A drink-offering was never drunk! In fact, the Lord pronounced an anathema against any who drank it (Deut 32:36, 38), or who ate blood. Ritual wine, in fact, was the symbol for blood, and pointed to the Messiah's perfect sacrificial life, poured out by the wine-press of God's wrath. The ban against drinking ritual wine was in keeping with this typical usage, and paralleled His prohibition against eating blood (Lev 3:17; 7:23-27).
Like the making of bread, the production of wine is full of "cruel" imagery. In the fall the vines were so drastically pruned that they appeared dead! Then when the clusters of grapes ripened, man ruthlessly cut them off with his knife, and flung them into his wine-press, and there trampled them with his feet till the juice flowed freely. How vividly the words "the blood of the grapes" (Gen 49:11) anticipate the carmine essence of the fruit of the True Vine crushed by unfeeling humanity!
Drink-offerings Were Unfermented
Since nothing fermented was allowed on the altar (Lev 3:11, NEB), only non-alcoholic wine was used for drink-offerings. This prohibition is in keeping with every reference to alcoholic beverages found in Scripture, all of which are condemnatory. The Hebrews might have used several methods, well known in the ancient world, to provide unfermented ritual grape juice throughout the year. One way was to steep raisins in water until they were soft, and then squeeze out the elixir. Another was to heat the freshly harvested juice gently for several hours until it had evaporated to half or one third of its volume (SDA Source Book, pp. 122-124). Occasionally called "strong" or concentrated drink, this unfermented syrup easily remained alcohol-free for long periods of time. When needed for various rites, water was added to bring it to a proper consistency (Berakoth 8;2; Pesahim 10:2, 4, 7). Did this mingled water and "wine" anticipate the twin streams which flowed from the pierced heart of Jesus? (John 19:34-37; DA 772).
In her consideration of the Paschal wine used by the Saviour in the Upper Room, Ellen White has left us this perceptive insight: "The Bible nowhere teaches the use of intoxicating wine, either as a beverage or a symbol of the blood of Christ. We appeal to the natural reason whether the blood of Christ is better represented by the pure juice of the grape in its natural state, or after it has been converted into fermented and intoxicating wine. We maintain that the former is the only symbol properly representing the sacred blood of Christ, and a symbol established by Himself; and we urge that the latter should never be placed upon the Lord's table" (Signs 29 August, l878). Since Jesus is the same in all ages, He certainly would not permit the use of alcoholic wine on the altar in His ancient Tabernacle.
Significance of Libations
Scripture stories in which libations are used show them to be illustrations of the dedication of the distillation of life's energy. Let us look at some of them.
While he was trying to escape from Laban's thralldom, the Lord "appeared unto Jacob again, . . . and blessed him. And God said. . . . Thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel" (Gen 35:9, 10). Jehovah then repeated the terms of the covenant (Gen 35:11, 12), which He had made with Abraham (Gen 17:1-21), and reiterated to Isaac (Gen 26:2-5), and invited him to accept them. To signal his compliance, "Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and poured out [nasak] a drink-offering thereon, and he poured out [yatsaq] oil thereon" (Gen 35:14). This libation, the very first one mentioned in Scripture, represents Jacob's will poured out in surrender to the covenant, while the oil typified the endorsing Spirit.
Harried by Saul from place to place, David sighed for a drink from the spring of Bethlehem, at which, as a boy, he had often slaked his thirst. Risking their lives to indulge their king, three of his companions passed undetected through enemy lines and filled a pitcher for their beloved leader. On being presented with it, David exclaimed in awe, "My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing: shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it," "but poured [nasak] it out to the Lord" (1 Chron 11:19, 18). David's libation of water from the spring of Bethlehem commemorated the lives which had been risked to bless him, and whispered of the water of life which would one day pour from the pierced heart of the Man of Bethlehem.
Drink-offerings Mean Dedication of the Life
The apostle referred to this wine ceremony in his letter to Timothy. Paul had been condemned to death at his second trial before Nero. Now, sensing the westering sun glinting down the executioner's sword and pointing out his path, he wrote to his dear son in the gospel: "I am already willingly being poured out as a drink-offering" (pseudomai, 2 Tim 4:6, Berkley). The use of his word in the middle voice pictures the apostle's voluntary share in his act. The Old Testament verb (often hophal or causative in form) also calls attention to the participation of the worshiper in his libation. For three decades Paul had daily laid his body upon the altar of service (Phil 1:20-22; 1 Cor 15:31; Rom 12:1), and its flames had seared and scared him. Ship-wrecked and beaten with rods, he had been scourged and stoned, scorched by the sun and soaked by the sea. And because his only cloak had inadvertently been left at Troas at the time of his sudden arrest, he was now shivering in his dark Roman dungeon.
And besides, the time had now come for him to pour out his blood as a libation over his body as the consummation of his dedication. His affirmation fits the martyr's death by a sword, which he anticipated as a Roman citizen. Remembering Israel's ancient rite, Paul knew that the devotee must provide his own libation. In his mind's eye he could see the priest in far away Jerusalem decanting the wine upon the sacrifice being consumed on the great altar, and in his dank cell sensed that he must be ready at any moment to give his blood.
For some time he had anticipated this terminal act, and had expressed his readiness for it to his Philippian friends. Paul had reminded them that he was eager to pour his blood as a libation upon (hoti) the sacrificial testimony of their lives (Phil 2:17). Writing his last epistle to Timothy he added that the time for this desire to be realized was close at hand. The word he used to describe his "departure" (analousis, 2 Tim 4:6) pictures the loosing of a ship from her moorings. The apostle could hear the slap of the tide on her hull, and feel her tugging impatiently at anchor, eager to sail out to her final haven. In this context he showed his understanding of the meaning of the drink-offering to be the filing up, or bringing to their consummation, "the afflictions of Christ" (Col 1:24).
God's Drink-offering
God Himself used the metaphor of the drink-offering twice to point the universe to ways in which His Son met the needs of the Divine government. He declared that "Wisdom," the personification of Him Who had planned and carried out the creation of the universe, had been "poured out" (nasak) as a Libation over the eternal throne of Deity (Prov 3:19; 8:1, 23, "set" is used for nasak) from the beginning. God represented this distillation of the character and work of His Son, His infinite power and creative love, as saturating the governance of heaven. Observing this, all His creatures extol Him constantly as the Creator by singing "the old song" (Rev 4:11).
Almost one thousand years before His birth Inspiration exposed the hostility which God's Son would suffer at the hands of "His own" people, their ruler Herod, and Pilate the Roman governor with his soldiers (Ps 2:1-5; cf. Acts 4:25-28). This would culminate in His crucifixion. But this seeming tragedy would lead on to His resurrection and ascension in triumph. Then the prophet depicted the rejoicing Father "pouring out" (Bullinger's suggestion) the essence of His Son's redemptive victory as a Libation over His throne on "the mount of His [heavenly] Sanctuary" (Ps 2:6, "set" is used for nasak). At His inauguration as High Priest, the Father granted Him the heathen as His inheritance (Ps 2:8). Henceforth the ransomed hosts adore Him as the Redeemer by singing "the new song" (Rev 5:9, 12).
By "saturating" the seat of His government with the Libation of His Son's redemptive qualities, the Father immeasurably enriched this symbol of creative power. He thus called upon the universe to realize that the wisdom and skill of the Creator were rendered infinitely precious by the addition of the love and sacrifice of the Victim-Priest. On the Isle of Patmos John was granted a view of the bleeding Lamb in the midst of the throne as if in the very act of pouring out His blood (Rev 5:6, the perfect tense indicates that the results continue). As the consummation of His death (Heb 10:5-10) the Libation of Christ's blood bathed the throne with the added radiance of redeeming grace.
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PEACE-OFFERING
The peace-offering was one of Israel's most joyous celebrations. Individuals, families or the community might present them at any time. The sacred meal, with which the ritual concluded, high-lighted fellowship with God, Who was the worshiper's Host, as well as his Guest. And since peace-offerings followed sin-and burnt-offerings to complete the sacrificial cycle, its Hebrew name shelem, from the spacious shalom, suggests fulfillment. Signifying wholeness and restitution, shalom describes peace with an enemy (Josh 11:19), harmony between allies (Hos 9:15; 10:1, 4), and the cementing of the covenant with God (Num 25:12; Isa 54:10). Derived from this Semitic root, Islam means submission to Heaven; a Moslem being a believer in Allah, ready to declare at any time or in all circumstances, "If God wills . . ." The verb is used of the payment of vows and praise to the Lord (Ps 50:14; 56:12; 76; 11; 116:14; Isa 19:21; Jonah 2:9; Nahum 1:15). With these basic ideas in mind, let us consider the intent of the peace-offering.
The peace-offerings were presented to God to express joy, and are called by the psalmist simply "sacrifices of joy" (Ps 27:6). They were offered to celebrate difficulties resolved, pledges paid, business transactions completed, as well as harmony with Heaven through faith and submission (Deut 20:12, 13; 1 Kings 22:44).
The Hebrew word for peace-offering, shelem, is never used in the singular, and, as a plural of intensity, calls attention to the fervor of the jubilation which should pervade the feast. The plural also suggests peace of many kinds, mental, physical, familial, social, and, above all, spiritual.
The Lord reminded His people four times that His legislation for this sacrifice of joy was to be considered as a "perpetual statute" (Lev 3:17; 23:14, 21, 31). There never will be a time when it is inappropriate to praise God and thank Him for His goodness. The ideas of soundness, completeness, health, prosperity, tranquility and peace cluster around the Hebrew shalom, and the ritual of the peace-offering, like a halo.
The Peace-offering is a Covenant Meal
The peace-offering was the only sacrifice (zabach) climaxed by a fellowship banquet which God, the priest and the worshiper shared. It has been appropriately described as "the shared offering" (Num 15:8, NEB). Man actually owns nothing, for God is the Possessor of "the cattle upon a thousand hills" (Ps 50:10). After providing His ancient people with everything they owned, the Lord asked them to return a gift to His Sanctuary, and then immediately handed back to His faithful ones the makings of a feast of joy! In relishing these sacrificial portions the diners were to acknowledge the goodness of their invisible Benefactor, and show their appreciation by their eagerness in responding to His invitation, "Open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me" (Rev 3:20). This ritual was the opportunity to display love and gratitude, and its eucharistic meal cemented attachment to God's family. As a votive sacrifice it looked forward to blessings hoped for in the kingdom of the Messiah (Ps 51:17; 54:6; 116:17-19).
The Lord prescribed the location for the meal to enhance its meaning and emphasize the sacredness of the fellowship banquet. It was to be eaten in a "holy" or "clean" place. The court of the Tabernacle was such a holy place (Lev 10:12). But it is obvious that when the number of celebrants grew too large, some other locations must be made to suffice. In the wilderness the camp of Israel was designated a holy place, as was the city of Jerusalem in later times. By eating part of the sacrifice the penitent and his friends identified with it. Jesus invited all His followers to eat His flesh and drink His blood so as to become one with Him in character and purpose.
Slaughter of the Victim Lay at the Foundation of All Joy
The liturgical formula "sacrifice of peace-offerings" (zabach shelem) called attention to the slaughter which was the basis of this rite. "Peace- sacrifice" might be a more vivid translation. In fact, Inspiration uses "sacrifice" (zabach) alone almost one hundred times to designate the ritual meal which accompanied the rite ("kill," Deut 12:15, 21; &c.). This word focuses on the victim's violent death which alone made the fellowship meal possible, and looked forward to Christ's crucifixion, without which there could be no real peace or fellowship.
During the wilderness wanderings, so necessary to further the education of Israel, the Lord recommended that every animal used for food should be butchered at the Sanctuary, and its blood splashed on the altar (Lev 11:1-47; 17:1-16). This rule was modified in the Promised Land for those who lived too far from the Tabernacle (Deut 12:1-21). The rabbis understood that God required a specific technique for this killing (this "command" was deduced from Deut 12:21; Hullim 1:1, n. 7), and even today the entire Semitic world invokes the name of Deity when butchering any animal or bird for the table. These regulations were to keep before the Israelites the notion that the death of food animals resulted from sin, and reminded them that the victim laid down its life to sustain them in the name, and therefore, the purpose of the Lord. Had there been no sin there would have been no death. This ritual, of course, anticipated the Saviour's dying in response to the Father's mandate to provide "meat" and "drink" for all who choose to "feed" on Him. As Christians, we should never forget that the "cross of Calvary is stamped upon every loaf of bread" (DA 660).
The term "sacrifice" (zabach) also evokes ideas of a blood covenant. During Biblical times participants were understood to have been fused into an organic whole by a common meal of the victim's flesh, to which "the salt of the covenant" had been added (Gen 15:9-18; cf. Jer 34:18, 19; Ps 50:5). Christ embodied these concepts in the Communion Service which He designed to unite believers with Himself and each other. This new covenant feast has kept before His disciples in all ages the thought that they are linked together as members of His "body." The "flesh" and "blood" of the Incarnate Word represent His life of perfect obedience, and His will of absolute submission to His Father's mandates displayed while He was here (Heb 10:5-10). These qualities of the Saviour's character are revealed in the inspired word (John 6:63). We accept its teachings through reading, believing and practicing them, and thus grow in grace to become like our Master.
Any Clean Animal Might be Offered
An Israelite might choose any sacrificial victim from among the various creatures permitted (Lev 3:1, 6, 12), and slaughter it whenever he wished. When presented at the court of the Sanctuary, the priest examined the victim carefully. He then accompanied the worshiper to the place of slaughter, where he bound and threw the beast. At this point in burnt-and sin-offerings the penitent confessed his sins while laying his hands on his substitute's head, but Maimonedes remembered that in peace-offerings the celebrant enumerated the blessings he had received, before he slashed its throat (Lev 3:2, 8, 13).
Catching its blood in a silver bowl (see A. Edersheim, The Temple 115), the priest carried it to the court of the Tabernacle, and splashed the four sides of the altar with it (Lev 3:2, 8, 13). To do this he used two motions, directing the stream of blood at its opposite north-east and south-west corners. This "sprinkled blood" was what accomplished the atonement. The Talmud perceptively declared, "whenever the blood touches the altar the offerer is atoned for" (quoted by A. Edersheim, op. cit., 117). These twin "gifts" of blood represented the "life" of the substitute given to God, and accepted by the divine flame burning on the altar. The priest then poured the remainder of the blood at the base of the altar. Here again this ritual declared, "Calvary lies at the foundation of all atonement."
The offerer proceeded to skin and "rightly divide" the carcass, allowing the priest to take its hide and "breast" as his perquisites (Lev 7:7, 11, 30-34; cf. 1 Sam 2:12-17 for an abuse of this provision). The breast, initially considered as belonging to God (Lev 7:2-5), was presented to Him by the priest in his act of "heaving" it "up" before the altar (Num 18:8,11, 19; Lev 7:32). The Lord then showed that He donated it to His representative by his minister's gesture of bringing it "down" (Lev 7:30,34). After "waving" it from side to side before Him in recognition of His sovereignty, and to show that it was to be shared horizontally, the priest removed it for his own use (Lev 2:2, 9; 7:32, 33; 10:15; Menahoth 5:6).
The Lord's Portion was Burned on the Altar
The "inwards" and "fat" or suet, and, in the case of sheep, the fat tail also, were washed with water from the laver, and salted. The "caul," a part of the liver, and the "two kidneys" were presented to the Lord, in the person of the priest, as His special "food" or "bread" (Lev 3:11; 7:31; 21:6, 8, 21, 22; 22:25; Mal 1:7, 12). When placed on the altar, in this connection called "the table of the Lord" (Mal 1:21), they were consumed "upon the burnt-offering" already smoldering there (Lev 3:5). The sacred fire was, of course, the symbol of God's accepting presence (1 Kings 18:24, 38; Lev 9:24; Heb 12:29).
These "inwards" represented the intimate and precious parts of the victim, and pointed forward to the inner dynamics and inscrutable drives of the Substitute so much appreciated by the Father, Who found His "reins and the heart" a treasure of great value. Until these secret parts had been consumed on the altar to satisfy the requirements of Heaven, the ritual meal which ended the ceremony, could not be eaten. All the blessings and values which establish the Christian's relationship with God and flow from it rest on the foundation of the completed sacrifice of Calvary. Eternal Spirit, grant us the gift of appreciation.
The Priest Received his Portions From the Offerer
The special portions given to the priest were the "breast" and the "right shoulder" (Lev 7:30-34). "Breast" reminds us of the comfort and nourishment provided by a mother, while "shoulder" suggests the strength and support given by a father. The rejoicing Shepherd lifts His rescued sheep above danger, saying in effect, "He shall dwell between I shoulders" (Deut 33:12), and thus He answers the prayer, "Set me as a seal upon thine heart [breast], and a seal upon thy arm" (Cant 8:6), symbols of love and power.
Jehovah showed His satisfaction with the worshiper by completely vaporizing His share of the peace-offering upon the altar. In fact, He regarded the ascending smoke as a "sweet savor" (Lev 3:5, 16), and, as the Host, "ate" His portion of the banquet in this way.
Peace-offerings Require Meal-and Drink-offerings
Peace-offerings were always to be accompanied with appropriate meal-and drink-offerings (Lev 7:11-14). These unleavened cakes, wafers or fried pieces of dough were "eaten" by all three parties, God on His altar, the priest with his family, and the jubilant people. This bread formed the concluding course of the banquet, and, with the wine, was to be presented in strict proportion to the kind of victim sacrificed (Num 15:3-12). Should the worshiper choose, he might bring even "leavened bread" for certain kinds of peace-offerings (Lev 7:11), but no part of this was ever to be placed on the altar. The wine, we repeat, was never drunk. It was always poured upon the altar.
Part of these cereal-offerings was presented to the Lord as a "heave offering," and from this a "token" portion was placed on the altar to be consumed in the fire. After doing this the priest took the rest of the "heave offering" as his share. Although the larger part of the sacrifice would be the worshiper's, the whole was initially presented to God, Who was thus served first. The Lord then returned their shares to His ministering priest and adoring people. Jesus followed this principle in the Upper Room. He first offered Himself to God as our Sacrifice, and the Father then gave His Son to His followers. Jesus next extended His invitation to His disciples to eat His flesh and drink His blood (John 6:48-58).
The offerer cooked his portion of the feast in any manner he chose, but this must be done "in a holy place." As mentioned, this requirement was originally understood to mean within the court of the Tabernacle, but the phrase was later interpreted by the rabbis to include any location within the walls of the Holy City. While the celebrant generally invited his family and friends to join him, Jesus recommended that the poor, blind and crippled should not be overlooked (Deut 12:18; 16:11; Luke 14:12-14), and Moses long before had warned against excluding the Levites. Meanwhile the priest and his family prepared their portions (Lev 10:14, 15), and feasted in the joy of service (Lev 7:31, 34; cf. Num 18:9-19).
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The Participants Must be "Clean" in God's Sight
The participants must be ceremonially "clean," or risk being "cut off" (Lev 22:3-7; 7:19, 21). This state of ceremonial purity anticipated the righteousness of the "bride" at the "marriage supper of the Lamb," when clothed in the "wedding garment" of her Bridegroom's character. Picture this banquet, at which the clean God, the clean priest and his children, together with the clean offerer, his family and friends, all sat down together, rejoicing because peace had been established between heaven and earth, and they were parts of the family of God, and the meaning of the peace-offering glows with warmth and love. And all the while the participants were to bear in mind that the death of the substitute Sacrifice was what made it all possible. Eternal Spirit, grant us thy grace to remember at all times that all blessings flow from Calvary.
The law recommended peace-offerings for three situations in the lives of the worshipers (Lev 7:11-21). They were: (1) to praise God's holy name, extolling His loving character, and glorifying His goodness and mercy; (2) to express thankfulness for some specific blessing which the Lord had bestowed upon them and their families; and (3) to celebrate the completion of a vow not to do something in His honor, or the fulfillment of a promise to carry out some project which would call attention to His name. Let us review illustrations of each of these cases.
Peace-offerings Expressed Praise
Peace-offerings expressing praise and adoration must be eaten the same day on which they were presented (Lev 7:12, 13, 15; 22:29; Ps 119:108), to display the eagerness of the participants. Praise must always be fresh. These eucharistic banquets provided social occasions for the worshipers to share their feelings about God (Ps 50:7-15) with their friends, and, as they drank "the cup of salvation," they "offered the sacrifice of thanksgiving" (Ps 116:12-19) to their adored Creator (Ps 51:17; 54:6; 56:12).
Paul called upon Christians "to offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually" (Heb 13:12-15) in appreciation for Christ's death, and then to "communicate" their joy to others. But even these services might degenerate into occasions for gluttony and ostentation (Amos 4:4, 5; 5:22, margin). Remembering the ingratitude of Israel during their desert wanderings, the Psalmist exclaimed, "Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men. And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing," or "singing" (Ps 107:21, 22).
Peace-offerings Expressed Thanks
Closely related to these praise offerings was the peace-offering to express gratitude for specific benefits received, particularly forgiveness of sins (Lev 7:11-19; 9:4; Ps 116:17-19; 2 Chron 29:31). To encourage Moses and the people of Israel to leave Egypt, Jehovah promised that they should assuredly offer peace-offerings in the Promised Land (Ex 3:16-22; 5:3). Freedom from oppression and joy, with "every man under his vine and under his fig tree," would then be celebrated by the entire nation.
In the New Testament the influence of shalom is seen in the use of the corresponding Greek word eirene. The Messianic blessing of peace, resulting from the death of the Lamb of God (Isa 53:5), lies at the foundation of Christian joy. The fulfillment of the paradoxical prediction, "the chastisement of our peace is upon Him" should be understood in this context. Because He suffered and died, His disciples enjoy all the blessings of life. The "gospel of peace" (Isa 52:7; Eph 6:15, 19, 20) is the message which brings about "rest" in the Christian's heart as he learns that he is the purchase of His death, and that, therefore, "all things work together for good to them that love God." Since a new relationship now exists between God and mankind because of the atonement (Rom 5:9, 10), untroubled well-being results, which is unaffected by externals. Paul's grasp of this fact caused him to invoke Heaven's peace upon all the communities of believers to whom he wrote his epistles (Eph 6:23; &c.)
The Lord designed the peace-offering to aid His ancient people to experience the "peace of God" (Phil 4:7; Col 3:15) which passes understanding. Conscious reconciliation with Heaven results in this enjoyment. At such celebrations the Lord accepted any offering, even one with defects (Lev 22:21-23), and even with leaven (Lev 7:12, 13), just so long as the worshipers were sincere and enthusiastic.
Historic Occasions for the Celebration of Peace-offerings
The long separation between Jacob and his kidnapped son ended in ecstasy. When he saw the baggage-trains of pack animals and realized that Joseph was the prime minister of Egypt who had actually sent transportation to bring his aged father to live out his evening years in the land of Goshen, the venerable patriarch marked the occasion by slaying a peace-offering to express his thankful acceptance of God's over-ruling providences which had resulted in reuniting his family (Gen 46:1).
The pious couple, Hanna and Elkanah, annually brought a peace- offering to express their joy at the privilege of having Samuel living with the high priest Eli, and serving the Lord in His Sanctuary (1 Sam 1:21, 24, 25; 2:18, 19). Their offering testified to their acceptance of His will for their lives, and their trust that all would be well with their prayed-for son. On these occasions they also ratified their vow by rededicating Samuel to the service of Heaven.
Following Nathan's censure of his affair with Bathsheba, and his murder of her husband, David thoroughly repented of his heinous sins, and offered his sin-offering in penitence. Then, with heart overflowing with gratitude for God's mercy, the contrite monarch expressed his joy in Heaven's forgiveness through a peace-offering, thus signaling his trust in God's grace (Ps 51:17), and making his vow henceforth to live a life of true repentance.
Peace-offerings Were Connected With Vows
The third reason for presenting peace-offerings was to mark the fulfillment of a vow (Lev 7:16; Ps 56:12; 76:11; 116:14; Isa 19:21). The Lord required the completion of the project to be celebrated, not at home, but at the Sanctuary, where the whole family might join in their peace- offering, and rejoice before Jehovah (Deut 12:17-19).
The rabbis have tried to differentiate between a vow and an oath. A vow, they suggest, was a decision not to do something (Lev 7:16-18), while an oath was a resolution to carry out some objective to glorify God (see Lev 27:1-34). But whatever the cause might be, the Lord warned His over- enthusiastic people that it was better not to vow than to fail in carrying one out (Num 30:2). In fact, Inspiration praises any one who "swears to his own hurt and changes not" (Ps 15:4).
Ananias and Sapphira were moved to do something for the cause of God, and in their fervor promised to donate the sale price of their property. On more mature thought, they decided to renege (Acts 5:1-11; cf. Nedarim 1:1, n. 1), with terrible consequences. The Nazarite vowed not to drink wine or cut his hair for a specified period. At the end of this he was to present a peace-offering to mark its successful completion by the help of the Lord, and so to celebrate (Num 6:13-18). Paul was persuaded to join some brethren in offering such a sacrifice at the conclusion of a temporary Nazarite vow (Acts 21:23-27). Closely allied to this was an offering to cement an agreement or contract between two parties for any business deal. The ratifications of the first Horeb covenant was made by such a ceremony (Ex 24:5). The Christian must keep His Saviour at the center of all his business deals.
Because of the Lord's many mercies in his life Jacob pledged his allegiance, and promised to return a faithful tithe (Gen 28:20-22). From the belly of the whale the fugitive Jonah promised to present a peace-offering to mark his acceptance of God's missionary plan for his life (Jonah 2:7-9).
At the completion of the dedication of the Temple, Solomon sacrificed many peace-offerings to enable the multitudes of worshipers to celebrate the fulfillment of a national dream. The jubilant populace pledged to consecrate themselves to Heaven (1 Kings 8:63; 2 Chron 7:4, 5, 7), and ratified this by the covenant feast provided.
Peace-offerings Ratified Covenants
In Scripture the first covenant involving the death of several sacrifices was made between God and Abraham (Gen 15:9-18). The earliest occurrence of a peace-offering, with its sacramental feast (Gen 31:54) used to bind a covenant, is found in the story of Jacob and Laban. To mark the occasion at which they had resolved to maintain cordial relations, a cairn of rocks was erected as a territory-marker between the two families, on the very spot where the fugitive Jacob had vowed to serve God twenty years earlier (Gen 31:49-55). Now the parties promised to refrain from molesting each other, and Jacob slew a peace-offering, calling upon the Lord to witness what they were doing, and to certify their agreement. The banquet which followed ratified the transaction with the "covenant of salt," and the next morning the two groups of relatives amicably returned to their homes. Family accord was confirmed by a peace-offering.
Samuel arranged a peace-offering for the people to pledge allegiance to Saul (1 Sam 9:12). The guest of honor sat "in the choicest place" (1 Sam 9:22), and was given the best portion (1 Sam 9:23, 24). A similar banquet followed the accession of David to the throne (1 Sam 16:2-5). In these instances God's name was being invoked as the Arbiter in the lives of the king and his people, who expressed their gratitude to Him for the peace stemming from His arrangements.
Asaph predicted that the Messiah would gather His saints into a happy band of celebrants at His second coming. He could do this because he knew that they had long before entered into the covenant to serve God through peace-offerings which had anticipated the death of the Messiah (Ps 50:5). For Christians his meaning is clear. The sacrifice of Calvary alone can ratify the new covenant with heaven. This truth is reiterated for Christians in every Communion Service.
Christ, Our Peace-Offering
When Christ was about to die as the Peace-offering (Eph 2:14), He bequeathed His peace to His church (John 14:27). While standing in the shadow of Gethsemane He fulfilled the Psalmist's prophecy to the obedient, "great peace have they which love Thy law and nothing shall offend them" (Ps 119:165). The apostle affirmed that because the Christian has been "justified by faith" he will enjoy "peace with God through Jesus Christ" (Rom 5:1). This may be the happy lot of any who, although "sometime alienated and enemies," have been "reconciled in one body of His flesh through [the] death" of Jesus (Col 1:21, 22; 2 Cor 5:18).
Seated at the Communion table, with Christ as our invisible Host, we partake of the precious gifts of His flesh and blood in symbol in a covenant meal. Because of Calvary we rejoice that we are part of the family of God, feasting before Him here on earth (Deut 12:12, 18), and looking forward to eating and drinking with Him in His eternal kingdom (Luke 14:15; Matt 22:2-10).
Our Lord's post-resurrection greeting, "Peace!" attests to the fact that His death had indeed ratified the everlasting covenant of grace, and that His resurrection provides a life of fulfillment for all who believe. He thus accomplished the promise of the angels at His birth, "Peace on earth!" through the peace-offering of His body on Calvary. And when He returns in triumph for His blood-bought covenant people, it will be as "the "Prince of peace."
Through Christ's sacrifice there flowed into humanity the river of peace and fulfillment bubbling up from His heart of absolute surrender to His Father's will. Only in perfect obedience to the principles of the new covenant is there perfect peace, and the realization of the promise, "great peace have they that love Thy law, and nothing shall offend them" (Isa 48:18). As we contemplate Christ our Sin-offering hanging on the cross, the assurance of His atonement sustains and thrills our hearts in abiding gratitude. And then as we feed on Jesus as our Peace-offering in the eucharistic banquet He has provided, we enter into the joy and satisfaction which flow from His life.
The participants must be ceremonially "clean," or risk being "cut off" (Lev 22:3-7; 7:19, 21). This state of ceremonial purity anticipated the righteousness of the "bride" at the "marriage supper of the Lamb," when clothed in the "wedding garment" of her Bridegroom's character. Picture this banquet, at which the clean God, the clean priest and his children, together with the clean offerer, his family and friends, all sat down together, rejoicing because peace had been established between heaven and earth, and they were parts of the family of God, and the meaning of the peace-offering glows with warmth and love. And all the while the participants were to bear in mind that the death of the substitute Sacrifice was what made it all possible. Eternal Spirit, grant us thy grace to remember at all times that all blessings flow from Calvary.
The law recommended peace-offerings for three situations in the lives of the worshipers (Lev 7:11-21). They were: (1) to praise God's holy name, extolling His loving character, and glorifying His goodness and mercy; (2) to express thankfulness for some specific blessing which the Lord had bestowed upon them and their families; and (3) to celebrate the completion of a vow not to do something in His honor, or the fulfillment of a promise to carry out some project which would call attention to His name. Let us review illustrations of each of these cases.
Peace-offerings Expressed Praise
Peace-offerings expressing praise and adoration must be eaten the same day on which they were presented (Lev 7:12, 13, 15; 22:29; Ps 119:108), to display the eagerness of the participants. Praise must always be fresh. These eucharistic banquets provided social occasions for the worshipers to share their feelings about God (Ps 50:7-15) with their friends, and, as they drank "the cup of salvation," they "offered the sacrifice of thanksgiving" (Ps 116:12-19) to their adored Creator (Ps 51:17; 54:6; 56:12).
Paul called upon Christians "to offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually" (Heb 13:12-15) in appreciation for Christ's death, and then to "communicate" their joy to others. But even these services might degenerate into occasions for gluttony and ostentation (Amos 4:4, 5; 5:22, margin). Remembering the ingratitude of Israel during their desert wanderings, the Psalmist exclaimed, "Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men. And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing," or "singing" (Ps 107:21, 22).
Peace-offerings Expressed Thanks
Closely related to these praise offerings was the peace-offering to express gratitude for specific benefits received, particularly forgiveness of sins (Lev 7:11-19; 9:4; Ps 116:17-19; 2 Chron 29:31). To encourage Moses and the people of Israel to leave Egypt, Jehovah promised that they should assuredly offer peace-offerings in the Promised Land (Ex 3:16-22; 5:3). Freedom from oppression and joy, with "every man under his vine and under his fig tree," would then be celebrated by the entire nation.
In the New Testament the influence of shalom is seen in the use of the corresponding Greek word eirene. The Messianic blessing of peace, resulting from the death of the Lamb of God (Isa 53:5), lies at the foundation of Christian joy. The fulfillment of the paradoxical prediction, "the chastisement of our peace is upon Him" should be understood in this context. Because He suffered and died, His disciples enjoy all the blessings of life. The "gospel of peace" (Isa 52:7; Eph 6:15, 19, 20) is the message which brings about "rest" in the Christian's heart as he learns that he is the purchase of His death, and that, therefore, "all things work together for good to them that love God." Since a new relationship now exists between God and mankind because of the atonement (Rom 5:9, 10), untroubled well-being results, which is unaffected by externals. Paul's grasp of this fact caused him to invoke Heaven's peace upon all the communities of believers to whom he wrote his epistles (Eph 6:23; &c.)
The Lord designed the peace-offering to aid His ancient people to experience the "peace of God" (Phil 4:7; Col 3:15) which passes understanding. Conscious reconciliation with Heaven results in this enjoyment. At such celebrations the Lord accepted any offering, even one with defects (Lev 22:21-23), and even with leaven (Lev 7:12, 13), just so long as the worshipers were sincere and enthusiastic.
Historic Occasions for the Celebration of Peace-offerings
The long separation between Jacob and his kidnapped son ended in ecstasy. When he saw the baggage-trains of pack animals and realized that Joseph was the prime minister of Egypt who had actually sent transportation to bring his aged father to live out his evening years in the land of Goshen, the venerable patriarch marked the occasion by slaying a peace-offering to express his thankful acceptance of God's over-ruling providences which had resulted in reuniting his family (Gen 46:1).
The pious couple, Hanna and Elkanah, annually brought a peace- offering to express their joy at the privilege of having Samuel living with the high priest Eli, and serving the Lord in His Sanctuary (1 Sam 1:21, 24, 25; 2:18, 19). Their offering testified to their acceptance of His will for their lives, and their trust that all would be well with their prayed-for son. On these occasions they also ratified their vow by rededicating Samuel to the service of Heaven.
Following Nathan's censure of his affair with Bathsheba, and his murder of her husband, David thoroughly repented of his heinous sins, and offered his sin-offering in penitence. Then, with heart overflowing with gratitude for God's mercy, the contrite monarch expressed his joy in Heaven's forgiveness through a peace-offering, thus signaling his trust in God's grace (Ps 51:17), and making his vow henceforth to live a life of true repentance.
Peace-offerings Were Connected With Vows
The third reason for presenting peace-offerings was to mark the fulfillment of a vow (Lev 7:16; Ps 56:12; 76:11; 116:14; Isa 19:21). The Lord required the completion of the project to be celebrated, not at home, but at the Sanctuary, where the whole family might join in their peace- offering, and rejoice before Jehovah (Deut 12:17-19).
The rabbis have tried to differentiate between a vow and an oath. A vow, they suggest, was a decision not to do something (Lev 7:16-18), while an oath was a resolution to carry out some objective to glorify God (see Lev 27:1-34). But whatever the cause might be, the Lord warned His over- enthusiastic people that it was better not to vow than to fail in carrying one out (Num 30:2). In fact, Inspiration praises any one who "swears to his own hurt and changes not" (Ps 15:4).
Ananias and Sapphira were moved to do something for the cause of God, and in their fervor promised to donate the sale price of their property. On more mature thought, they decided to renege (Acts 5:1-11; cf. Nedarim 1:1, n. 1), with terrible consequences. The Nazarite vowed not to drink wine or cut his hair for a specified period. At the end of this he was to present a peace-offering to mark its successful completion by the help of the Lord, and so to celebrate (Num 6:13-18). Paul was persuaded to join some brethren in offering such a sacrifice at the conclusion of a temporary Nazarite vow (Acts 21:23-27). Closely allied to this was an offering to cement an agreement or contract between two parties for any business deal. The ratifications of the first Horeb covenant was made by such a ceremony (Ex 24:5). The Christian must keep His Saviour at the center of all his business deals.
Because of the Lord's many mercies in his life Jacob pledged his allegiance, and promised to return a faithful tithe (Gen 28:20-22). From the belly of the whale the fugitive Jonah promised to present a peace-offering to mark his acceptance of God's missionary plan for his life (Jonah 2:7-9).
At the completion of the dedication of the Temple, Solomon sacrificed many peace-offerings to enable the multitudes of worshipers to celebrate the fulfillment of a national dream. The jubilant populace pledged to consecrate themselves to Heaven (1 Kings 8:63; 2 Chron 7:4, 5, 7), and ratified this by the covenant feast provided.
Peace-offerings Ratified Covenants
In Scripture the first covenant involving the death of several sacrifices was made between God and Abraham (Gen 15:9-18). The earliest occurrence of a peace-offering, with its sacramental feast (Gen 31:54) used to bind a covenant, is found in the story of Jacob and Laban. To mark the occasion at which they had resolved to maintain cordial relations, a cairn of rocks was erected as a territory-marker between the two families, on the very spot where the fugitive Jacob had vowed to serve God twenty years earlier (Gen 31:49-55). Now the parties promised to refrain from molesting each other, and Jacob slew a peace-offering, calling upon the Lord to witness what they were doing, and to certify their agreement. The banquet which followed ratified the transaction with the "covenant of salt," and the next morning the two groups of relatives amicably returned to their homes. Family accord was confirmed by a peace-offering.
Samuel arranged a peace-offering for the people to pledge allegiance to Saul (1 Sam 9:12). The guest of honor sat "in the choicest place" (1 Sam 9:22), and was given the best portion (1 Sam 9:23, 24). A similar banquet followed the accession of David to the throne (1 Sam 16:2-5). In these instances God's name was being invoked as the Arbiter in the lives of the king and his people, who expressed their gratitude to Him for the peace stemming from His arrangements.
Asaph predicted that the Messiah would gather His saints into a happy band of celebrants at His second coming. He could do this because he knew that they had long before entered into the covenant to serve God through peace-offerings which had anticipated the death of the Messiah (Ps 50:5). For Christians his meaning is clear. The sacrifice of Calvary alone can ratify the new covenant with heaven. This truth is reiterated for Christians in every Communion Service.
Christ, Our Peace-Offering
When Christ was about to die as the Peace-offering (Eph 2:14), He bequeathed His peace to His church (John 14:27). While standing in the shadow of Gethsemane He fulfilled the Psalmist's prophecy to the obedient, "great peace have they which love Thy law and nothing shall offend them" (Ps 119:165). The apostle affirmed that because the Christian has been "justified by faith" he will enjoy "peace with God through Jesus Christ" (Rom 5:1). This may be the happy lot of any who, although "sometime alienated and enemies," have been "reconciled in one body of His flesh through [the] death" of Jesus (Col 1:21, 22; 2 Cor 5:18).
Seated at the Communion table, with Christ as our invisible Host, we partake of the precious gifts of His flesh and blood in symbol in a covenant meal. Because of Calvary we rejoice that we are part of the family of God, feasting before Him here on earth (Deut 12:12, 18), and looking forward to eating and drinking with Him in His eternal kingdom (Luke 14:15; Matt 22:2-10).
Our Lord's post-resurrection greeting, "Peace!" attests to the fact that His death had indeed ratified the everlasting covenant of grace, and that His resurrection provides a life of fulfillment for all who believe. He thus accomplished the promise of the angels at His birth, "Peace on earth!" through the peace-offering of His body on Calvary. And when He returns in triumph for His blood-bought covenant people, it will be as "the "Prince of peace."
Through Christ's sacrifice there flowed into humanity the river of peace and fulfillment bubbling up from His heart of absolute surrender to His Father's will. Only in perfect obedience to the principles of the new covenant is there perfect peace, and the realization of the promise, "great peace have they that love Thy law, and nothing shall offend them" (Isa 48:18). As we contemplate Christ our Sin-offering hanging on the cross, the assurance of His atonement sustains and thrills our hearts in abiding gratitude. And then as we feed on Jesus as our Peace-offering in the eucharistic banquet He has provided, we enter into the joy and satisfaction which flow from His life.
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SIN-OFFERING
Inspiration defines sin as aggression against God's law (1 John 3:4), or the falling short of its standards (Rom 3:23), through lack of faith (Rom 14:23), stemming from a refusal to do the right we know (James 4:17). There is no accounting for sin, because it has no reason for being. Prior to creation sin strutted before the Eternal's throne and defied His authority. Sin then led to war, and caused the expulsion of unnumbered angels from the bliss of heaven. Following creation sin slithered unnoticed into Eden's scented bowers, and, with silken words and specious promises, stripped the robe of light from mankind, and plunged this world into darkness, decay and death (Rom 6:23).
To cure the deadly malady produced by the cursed fruit of rebellion's tree, and the defilement which it brought about, God introduced a Physician with a precious antidote, and promised that all who chose His treatment would be healed. But to accomplish this the Physician Himself would need to die in the sinner's place, and provide his cleansing and life-giving medicine with His blood. To symbolize His substitutionary death the sacrificial system was revealed to Adam and Eve at Eden's gate, and these truths were passed on to their descendants by them (PP 68, 71; Gen 3:15, 21; 4:3, 4).
God Educated Israel at Sinai
At Sinai God retaught Israel the details of the plan of salvation by means of hundreds of illustrations compacted within the Sanctuary and its furnishings, and displayed through its comprehensive systems of priesthood, sacrifices and ceremonial feasts. To picture the Saviour's agony, and the complexities of His vicarious death, the Lord designed the sin-offering to deal with sins committed in ignorance or inadvertence, as well as knowingly. This rite was introduced to the readers of Scripture as part of the consecration service of "Aaron and his sons" (Ex 29:10-14). Let us now look at its scope and salient points.
We like to think that ignorance excuses guilt, or at least renders the sinner deserving of mercy and pardon. We sometimes equate ignorance with innocence. Because "the natural man" loves "darkness rather than light" (1 Cor 2:14; John 3:19), some prefer to remain ignorant, hoping to escape responsibility for their conduct. But the slaughter of the sin-offering for sins of ignorance displays God's answer to this rationalization. The Lord, however, called such unintentional infractions of His expressed will "sins" (see Ezek 33:6 where the unwarned die), and imposed death on the substitute to underline His attitude toward the culpability of their perpetrators.
On the cross, Jesus the Victim, dying for the sins of the whole world, prayed as their Priest for pardon for those who were unaware of the horrible crime they were in the very act of committing (Luke 23:34). The martyr Stephen understood that the injustices against him were done in blind ignorance, yet needed Divine pardon (Acts 7:60). Saul of Tarsus, who helped to lynch Stephen, acknowledged himself to be "the chief of sinners" when convicted by the Spirit of the heinous nature of the sin of which he had been unaware (1 Tim 1:15). Sins of ignorance lead to death. Jesus died for them, and is ready to forgive when the sinner responds to the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8-11).
Same word for Sin as well as Sin-offering
Inspiration uses one Hebrew word, chatta'th, and one Greek word, harmatia, for both "sin" and "sin-offering." On the whole, English translators have ignored this important fact, but the careful reader should be on the look out for this revealing idiom. When the penitent brought his sin-offering to the Sanctuary, he brought his sin. The Lord assured Cain that should be commit the sin with which he was even then being tempted, his "sin-offering" (a male animal, cf. Lev 4:2, 3, and not female as for the am ha'aretz in Lev 4:28) was crouching near by to spring into action on his behalf (Gen 4:7). Paul wrote to his Corinthian friends that God had "made" Jesus "to be the Sin-offering" for all mankind, although He "knew no sin" personally (2 Cor 5:21, cf. 13, 15; Eph 5:2). To the Romans the apostle declared that God sent His Son so that through the sin-offering of Himself He might condemn sin in the flesh (Rom 8:3, cf. margin).
While chatta'th means to miss the goal (Prov 8:36) or target (Jud 20:16), or to slip on, or fall from, a path (Prov 19:2), in its intensive (or Piel) form it emphasizes the results achieved by the sin-offering, i.e. its covering up guilt, making reconciliation or atonement (2 Chron 29:24), cleansing (Num 19:19; Ex 29:36), purging or purifying (Lev 8:15). On his repentance for his adultery with Bathsheba and his subsequent murder of her husband Uriah, David used this idiom with great perspicacity in his prayer-poem: "Purge me [sin-offering me] with hyssop, and I shall be clean" (Ps 51:7), showing his clear grasp of the scope of this sacrifice when carried out by the sinner and applied by God on behalf of the fallen.
The Penitent Brings His Own Offering
Several details of the sin-offering were similar to those of burnt-and peace-offerings. The penitent Israelite found a suitable bull calf without blemish (Lev 4:2-4), which he realized God had provided in the first place (Ps 50:10), and presented this innocent creature as his substitute. Under priestly guidance he bound and threw his victim in the designated place, "north of the altar," and before the veil into the holy place. Turning its face toward the west, he laid both his hands on its head between its horns, leaning his full weight upon it, and silently confessed his specific sins to God (Lev 5:5; Num 5:6, 7). This "laying on of hands" is very important, for it indicates that the penitent was transmitting his sins to his victim, to which he delegated his responsibility to deal with them. In this way he symbolically transferred his guilt to the blameless victim, which, because it was his representative, was ready to die in his place (cf. Lev 16:21; Isa 53:4, 5). Taking a knife, he slit its throat.
The priest caught its blood in a golden bowl (see A. Edersheim, The Temple 162) pointed at its bottom so that it could not be set down. All the while he continually stirred it lest it coagulate. This killing ended the offerer's part in his sin-offering, and left him free to ponder what was transpiring, and by faith enter into the meaning of the priest's service on his behalf.
The Sin-offering for God's People
The ministrant was required to manage the blood of the sin-offering in one of two ways, depending upon the category of the worshiper. In the first ceremony, the four steps took place in both the holy place and the court. He carried the blood into the Sanctuary, and standing between the golden altar and the innermost veil, he dipped his finger into it. He then flicked the blood off his finger with his thumb seven times, dipping for each act, so that blood fell on the floor before the veil, as well as on this drapery (Lev 4:5-7; Zebahim 5:1; Yoma 5:4; Menahoth 3:6). His seven-fold application underlines the completeness and thoroughness of this ceremony (AA 585).
Moving to the front of the golden altar of incense, he dipped his finger into the blood four times, and four times smeared its four horns, (Lev 4:7). This double ministration of the blood, on the veil as well as on the altar, made atonement for the sinner. Although he could not actually watch the priest ministering within the shrine, the penitent accepted his mediation on his behalf by faith (Lev 4:4-7, 16-18).
The Priest Represented Christ
These priestly actions anticipated Christ's work on His entry into the celestial holy place, to minister His own blood on behalf of His people (Heb 8:1-3; 4:14-16; 7:24-26; 9:12). It cannot be stressed too much that there must first be a "spilling" of the blood in the court of the Tabernacle, before the efficacy of this symbol of the life of the substitute could be "sprinkled" or applied in the holy place to complete the transaction and make atonement. By itself the "spilled" blood was not sufficient. It needed to become the "sprinkled blood." This fact has an important bearing upon our Saviour's ministry. Christ's death was vital, but without His resurrection from the dead, ascension to heaven and mediation in the celestial Sanctuary, we would of all men be most miserable (1 Cor 15:14-19).
Returning to the court, the priest poured the residue of the blood at the foot of the altar of the burnt-offering to provide the foundation of its ministry (Lev 4:7, 18, 25, 30, 34). In Solomon's Temple, as well as in the time of Jesus, the blood flowed through "holes like two narrow nostrils" in the rock below the altar (Middoth 3:2; Yoma 5:6; cf. DA 449. Thence it was conducted into the Kedron, and on into the Dead Sea (Lev 4:30). This parable is an illustration of Christ's efficacious blood flowing into the sea of lost mankind (Rev 17:15; cf. Ezek 47:1-12, particularly v. 8), "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph 2:1).
Blood Records of Forgiven Sins
What made this rite unique, and most important, was the fact that the holy place now contained the record of the confessed and forever forgiven sins of the individual penitent. This was made in crimson script by the priest upon the veil as well as on the four horns of the altar of incense.
Note this summary of the rite carried on for the Israelites every day. "The sins of the people were transferred in figure to the officiating priest, who was a mediator for the people. The priest could not himself become an offering for sin, and make an atonement with his life, for he was also a sinner. Therefore, instead of suffering death himself, he killed a lamb without blemish; the penalty of sin was transferred to the innocent beast, which thus became his immediate substitute, and typified the perfect offering of Jesus Christ. Through the blood of this victim, man looked forward by faith to the blood of Christ, which would atone for the sins of the world" (Signs 14 March 1878).
In the second ceremony, the blood of the sin-offering was managed in two stages, within the court alone. Mounting the ramp leading up to the platform around the brazen altar, the priest used his finger to smear blood on its four horns, beginning at the south-east and going around in an anti-clockwise direction (Zebahim 5:3). He then poured the residue at its base, as he had done in the first rite (Lev 4:25, 34).
In both these rituals of sprinkling the priest's bloody finger-prints left mute records of confessed sins on the horns of both altars and upon the veil. These bloody signatures told the eloquent story of persons convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit, who had then accepted the innocent substitutes provided by God, upon which they had laid their guilt in deepest repentance and confession, and finally slaughtered the victims in their places. They proclaimed their belief in the promise of God that their forgiven sins were registered as such unchangeably, and that they rested secure and happy because these records were irrefutable evidence that their forever-pardoned sins could not again be laid upon them by "the accuser of the brethren." They knew that at the end of the annual calendar of salvation the Sanctuary would be "cleansed" and these records removed by the ceremonies of the Day of Atonement.
The Sanctuary was Polluted by Records of Sinful Conduct
The Scriptures often declare that certain kinds of actions defile the Sanctuary. Any Israelite or aborigine of the land who gave his child to Moloch committed a sin, and defiled the Sanctuary (Lev 20:1-5). A high priest who broke God's requirements for his life profaned the Sanctuary (Lev 21:9-23). The failure of God's priestly and prophetic teachers to instruct the ignorant out of His law defiled the Sanctuary (Zeph 3:1-4: cf. Mal 2:1-10). A member of God's covenant society who allowed himself to be polluted through his association with companions who were dead in their sins defiled the Sanctuary (Num 19:11-20). Presumptuous king Uzziah who pushed himself into the holy place to offer incense transgressed, and was expelled from the Sanctuary (2 Chron 26:16-21).
God's enemies who set up their ensigns within the Sanctuary defiled it. Was this prediction fulfilled by the Romans army in A.D. 70, and other Romans in A.D. 538? (Ps 74:3-10; cf. Dan 8:11; 11:31; Matt 24:15). Was it of this pollution that Isaiah and Jeremiah prophesied? (Isa 63:17-19; Jer 51:51; Lam 1:10; 2:7). Israel defiled the Sanctuary through all their detestable things and abominations (Ezek 5:11). The prophet often dwelt upon these abominations or apostasy (Ezek 16:15-52; 23:36-38). The classic illustration of defiling the Sanctuary is the conduct of Lucifer. His rebellion against God's government, with its subsequent results, "the multitude of [his] iniquities by the iniquity of [his] traffic," defiled the Sanctuary (Ezek 28:18). All this accumulated "defilement" needed cleansing.
The Bodies of Those Beasts
The carcasses of sin-offerings were also treated in two ways. The body of the victim, whose blood had been brought into the holy place by the priest, together with its skin, viscera and dung (Lev 4:11, 12, 21; 6:30; Ex 29:14), was burned "without the camp" (Heb 13:11-13). At the same time its suet, or the fat from its insides, was vaporized on the altar of burnt-offering (Lev 4:8-10, 19). Paul perceived that this ritual illustrated the purpose and place of the crucifixion: "Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people [nations] with His own blood, suffered without the gate" (Heb 13:12).
Some Sin-offerings to be Eaten
The carcass of the sin-offering whose blood was sprinkled on the horns of the copper altar, on the other hand, was treated in many ways like a peace-offering. Skinned and dissected by the penitent, washed and salted, and its suet burned on the altar by the priest, its body was given to the ministrant to be eaten (Lev 6:25, 26, 29; 10:18: 14:13) in a place designated "holy." Unlike peace-offerings, the members of the priest's family were not permitted to partake of it.
Should the number of sin-offerings presented at one time grow so numerous that eating them became impossible, a sacramental morsel as large as an olive sufficed to fulfill the requirements of the ritual (Hallah 1:8). This was in keeping with the Biblical principle which permitted a part to represent the whole (cf. Lev 2:12).
"Eating" typified the priest's identification with the victim, and also his oneness with the sinner whose place it had taken. Philo long ago suggested that this covenant meal taught the encouraging truth that Heaven was at peace with the sinner and had accepted him in his sacrifice. In this way the priest represented Jesus, Who one day was to become both the Victim and the Priest, and through His sacrifice reconcile the sinner to God. The uneaten portions were burned outside the encampment on the spot where the first kind of sin-offerings was immolated.
Blood Sprinkled on the Veil
Some Biblical students question whether blood was ever actually splattered on the veil into the most holy place. Six pieces of evidence have convinced this investigator that it indeed was.
(1) The Hebrew preposition rendered "before" (Lev 4:6) takes the accusative case as its direct object when it follows a verb of motion, and then literally means "to," "in" or "on" the face or the front of the veil. The same term is translated "upon" in the phrase, "he burnt incense upon the altar" (1 Kings 9:25).
This prepositional expression is different from that rendered "before [the face of] the Lord" (Lev 4:6) in the same verse, which is in the locative case.
(2) The Septuagint uses the word kata, which means "down on" when used with the accusative, as it is in this case.
(3) The Mishnah remembers that in sin-offerings burned outside the camp, "their blood required to be sprinkled upon the veil and upon the golden altar" (Zebahim 5:1, 2, emphasis added). Another tractate confirms this thought: "the seven sprinklings between the [carrying] bars [where the priest stood before the ark on the Day of Atonement] and those on the veil [to the holy of holies] and those on the golden altar" (Menahoth 3:6, emphasis and explanations added).
(4) The Talmud contains an eye-witness description, by Rabbi Eliezer ben Jose, of the veil which Titus took as a trophy of his destruction of Jerusalem and the pillage of its Temple in A. D. 70: "I saw it in Rome, and there were upon it many drops of blood both of the bullock and the he-goat of the Day of Atonement" (The Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 57a, 266, emphasis added).
(5) Speaking of the blood of the bulls and the goats used on the Day of Atonement, F. C. Gilbert quotes The Jewish Prayer Book as saying: "Their blood required sprinkling" over and between the staves, "on the veil, and on the golden altar." Should one of these "gifts" of blood be omitted in the service, the atonement was negated. "The rest of the blood was poured on the west side of the bottom of the other altar" (Practical Lessons 467, emphasis added).
(6) This veil was renewed annually, following the completion of the services of the Day of Atonement, probably because it was splattered with blood. Ellen White observed in corroboration of this fact: "At the moment in which Christ died . . . the veil of the temple, a strong rich drapery that had been renewed yearly, was rent in twain. . . ." (3SP 166, emphasis added; cf. Shekalim 8:5).
Sacrificial Blood Symbolizes Christ's Blood
The blood drops upon the innermost veil also represented the effects of sin in the flesh of Christ (Heb 10:20), produced by the nails in His hands and feet, the spear in His side, and the thorns on His brow. In fact, the only evidences of sin in "the new heavens and the new earth" will be in the flesh of our Saviour (Zech 13:6). "By pledging His own life, Christ has made Himself responsible for every man and woman on the earth. He stands in the presence of God, saying, `Father, I take upon Myself the guilt of that soul. It means death to him if he is left to bear it. If he repents, he shall be forgiven. My blood shall cleanse him from all sin. I gave My life for the sins of the world"' (RH 27 Feb l900).
Two Kinds of Sin-offering
These two rituals for ministering the blood and dealing with the carcasses of the two kinds of sin-offering, corresponded with the two divisions of the penitents mentioned in the law. The first covered individual Israelites, both lay and cleric, under the designations, "If a soul shall sin. . . ." and "If the priest that is anointed do sin. . . ." (Lev 4:2, 3). This inspired juxta positioning of these two segments of the covenant society suggests that they formed a single unit. A validation of this is the rubric which prescribes the same sacrifice for each, and reiterates the Divine plan for constituting every Hebrew into a "kingdom of priests" (Ex 19:6). This ideal, repeated by Isaiah (Isa 61:6), is applied to the church no fewer than four times in the New Testament (1 Pet 2:5, 9; Rev 1:6; 5:10; cf. 20:6).
But during Israel's apostasy centering on the golden calf, only the tribe of Levi had remained faithful, and was rewarded with Sanctuary service (Ex 32:26-29; Num 3:5-13; 8:5-22; 18:1-8). At that time God had singled out Aaron and his sons for the priesthood (Ex 28:1; 1 Chron 6:49), a privilege which had been enjoyed by the first-born during patriarchal times (Num 3:12).
This temporary Aaronic priesthood, which lasted some 1450 years, was displaced on the Day of Pentecost by the priesthood of Jesus. He was then installed as Priest and High Priest of the celestial Sanctuary (AA 39; Heb 7:11-28; 8:1-3), "after the order of Melchizedek" (Ps 110:4; Heb 5:6; 7:11, 15, 21). The inclusion of Israelite laymen and priests in one group of sinners was thus a typical pointer to the unity which the Lord proposed should exist between all categories of His people, who should constitute the priesthood of all believers. In the view of heaven every Israelite, lay and cleric, individually and collectively, who ignorantly transgressed God's ordinance, required the same male sin-offering, administered in the same way (Lev 4:1-27).
Foreign "Rulers"
The second form of ritual prescribed for the sin-offering, and requiring a female victim, covered a contrasting category of penitents, divided, not on covenantal lines, but by privilege and wealth. To this investigator these votaries seem to have been non-Hebrews, who had become worshipers of the true God. The rubric opens with a reference to a "ruler" (Lev 4:22-26), a term first applied to the twelve sons of Ishmael, and translated "prince" (Gen 17:20; 25:16), and then to Hivite princes (Gen 34:2). By the rule of "first mention" this term nasi would seem to point to non-Jewish leaders.
This "ruler" mentioned in the regulations covering the sin-offering has been assumed by some commentators to have been an Israelite. But, if so, why should he be described as sinning against "the Lord his God" (Lev 4:22), an expression not found elsewhere among the laws applied to Israelites? This language suggests that the "ruler," who had been placed in his position by the Lord, and had chosen to accept His sovereignty, was responsible to Him in a peculiarly personal way. Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 2:29, 37, 45, 47; 3:25, 28, 29; 4:17, 25-37) and Cyrus (Isa 44:24-45:4; Ezra 1:1-4, 6) are illustrations of this kind of potentate, both of whom were established by, and held accountable to Heaven, although initially ignorant of this privilege.
Light is thrown on the identity of this class of "ruler" when he is contrasted with Israel's high priest, described by Paul as "the ruler of Thy people" (Acts 23:5). Another piece of evidence lies in the kind of sacrifice required of him. This was the same as for the "common people." These, as we shall see in the next paragraph, were certainly non-Israelites. We conclude then, that while "ruler" or "prince" might apply to an Israelite, in the context of the ritual law, he would seem to be a non-Jew who had decided to worship the true God, and participate in the Sanctuary worship.
"Common People" were Not Hebrews
The other person in this second category is termed "one of the common people" (Lev 4:27-35), an idiomatic Hebrew expression, am ha'aretz (cf. Ezra 3:3, "people of those countries"). It literally means "people of the land" (Lev 20:4), and is translated "stranger" in contrast to the "children of Israel." Long ago Gesenius explained that these words "denote other nations besides the Jews, Gentiles" (Hebrew Lexicon 453, 454, emphasis his). Am ha'aretz thus describes the aborigines of Canaan viewed from the perspective of Sinai (cf. Gen 23:12, 13; 42:6; Ex 21:8; Lev 20:2, 4; Num 14:9; 15:13; Josh 4:24; 1 Chron 5:25; 2 Chron 32:19; the term occurs a total of 44 times), to whom there are several references in the ritual laws (cf. asimilar expression, meam ha'aretz, Lev 4:27; 17:8, 10, 12, 15; 19:34; 20:23; 22:10, 18, 25).
After the return from Babylonish captivity the Jews sometimes used this phrase to describe the mixed population which had been located in Palestine by Nebuchadnezzar (Ezra 10:2, 11; Neh 10:30, 31) during the seventy years, and occasionally Jews who had lapsed. Should one of these non-Israelites accept the worship of Jehovah, as did the Gibionites, and choose to present a sin-offering at the Sanctuary, the law provided a welcome, and required the priest to take a much more profound and personal responsibility for him than for his fellow Hebrews who had a more complete knowledge of God. He was to do this by eating a portion of his sacrifice, and through this act identifying with him in a unique way. The act of eating suggests oneness, sympathy, empathy and understanding.
To recapitulate: Since the sin-offerings for the "common people" and "rulers" were treated similarly by the priest, it appears to this investigator that both classes of person were non-Hebrew. The rubric thus called attention to the truth that a foreign ruler as well as a foreign commoner should be treated alike, for God is no respecter of persons. In the case of burnt-and peace-offerings, however, the Lord declared concerning foreigners: "If a stranger sojourn with you, or whosoever be among you in your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord; as ye do, so he shall do. One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance forever in your generations; as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you" (Num 15:14-16; cf. Ex 12:48, 49; Num 9:14). While these regulations apply to "sweet savor," the burnt-and peace-offerings, and not to sin-offerings, the fact that there is a clear understanding of the "congregation" and "the stranger" in the laws, adds credence to the notion that "one of the common people" applies to non-Jews. These two offerings, the burnt-and the peace-, were offered after the sin-offering had been presented, rendering even the non-Jewish penitent accepted by God.
This requirement of eating the sin-offering anticipated our great High Priest's identifying with every class of sinner by assuming human nature to become the composite Sin-offering for lost humanity. Jesus did this not only for the descendants of Abraham, "but for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2; cf. Rom 5:8). All who choose to come to Him, He will in no wise cast off. There were, however, probably few of this kind of non-Jewish worshiper. By New Testament times antipathy against Gentiles had grown intense. In discussing the sin-offering Ellen White remarked significantly that this second rite was necessary only "in some cases" (GC 418; PP 354). One such instance would have been the Ethiopian official who had worshiped Jehovah at the temple in Jerusalem, and whom Philip helped to establish as a Christian. (Acts 8:26-39). These ancient ceremonies preached the gospel of Christ's identification with sinful humanity in order to bring about the redemption of the entire lost race.
These two divisions of the rituals of the sin-offering alike symbolized the transfer of the guilt of the sins of ignorance from the penitent to the Sanctuary. In the first rite the blood recorded the confessed sins of all Israelites, "a soul" (Lev 4:2), the priests (Lev 4:3) and the congregation (Lev 4:13), in the holy place, while in the second the priest identified with the non-covenant foreign sinner, ruler (Lev 4:22) and commoner (Lev 4:27), by eating of his victim, after he had sprinkled the blood of his sacrifice on the horns of the copper altar, and then bore his guilt into the shrine when he ministered therein (Num 15:13-15, 22-29 allows for these categories; Menahoth 5:5 mentions the meal-offering ceremony for "a gentile").
Deliberate Sins
The law seems also to have provided an offering to cover at least some kinds of deliberate sins. This is called in the King James version, the "trespass-offering," and, in the Revised Standard Version, "the guilt offering." Some Biblical students place this in a category by itself, while others regard it as an extension of the sin-offering. The latter view appears to this investigator as more Biblically correct. First, because trespasses are specifically called "sins" (Lev 6:2-6), and further, because Gesenius long ago observed that "no generic distinction has yet been discovered between the two classes of sins" (Hebrew Lexicon 58). And thirdly, when the world's Redeemer entered the arena of salvation as a man, He summarized the various offerings of the Sanctuary, which illustrated the scope and completeness of His own sacrifice, under precisely four heads, peace-, meal-, burnt-and sin-offerings (Ps 40:6-8; Heb 10:5-8). As we study the sin-and trespass-offerings, we shall, therefore, consider them as two parts of a unit.
In the sin-offering we observe the substitute dying for a person, a sinner by nature, while in the sin/trespass-offering the victim perishes for individual sinful acts. This vicarious death is the essence of both forms of this sacrifice. Sin-offerings dealt with sins committed in ignorance, and condemnation came when the perpetrator became aware of what he had done, "then he shall be guilty" (Lev 5:4). The sin/trespass-offering covered deliberate sinful acts carried out against God's law almost inadvertently or through a momentary lapse of concentration, generally the result of a powerful temptation or some kind of negligence. While this statement seems to be a contradiction, the illustrations which follow will clarify the issue. The law clearly read, "though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity" (Lev 5:17). When he realized the wrong he had done, the penitent was to bring his trespass-offering to the Tabernacle, and also pay compensation to the injured party (Lev 5:15, 16; 6:5). This making of restitution is the main difference between the trespass-offering and the sin-offering.
In the case of the sin-offering the blood was splashed on the horns of the altar (Lev 4:7, 18, 25, 30, 34), while in the trespass-offering it was poured at its foot (Lev 5:9: 8:15; 9:9
Trespasses Might be Deliberate Sins
The law divided these sin/trespass-offerings into two categories. The first covered a trespass against the Lord Himself "in the holy things," an act clearly described as a "sin" (Lev 5:15). Here are two Scriptural examples of this kind of deliberate sin which was an offense against God. The inhabitants of Bethshemesh knew that the opening of the ark of the covenant had been forbidden at Sinai, and further, that only the high priest was permitted even to look at it, and then only on the Day of Atonement. But centuries had passed, and the people had gradually lost their sense of awe. Now curiosity overcame their better judgment. When they deliberately trespassed against the Lord "in holy things" they "sinned" in culpable and careless ignorance (Lev 5:17-19), and suffered death as the consequence (1 Sam 6:13-20; cf. Rom 6:21).
Another case in point is David's sin in allowing the ark to be moved on a cart drawn by oxen (1 Chron 13:7-14). The king was well aware of the rule that only priests were to transport the sacred chest by carrying it on their shoulders by means of its golden staves. But he allowed his concentration to falter. He later readily acknowledged that the "Philistine" method of transporting it had not been according to "the due order" (1 Chron 15:13). But David's thoughtless lapse into this sin of deliberate ignorance cost the life of Uzza. In these cases God demonstrated that He holds man responsible for not acting on the knowledge he has or might readily gain. But aware of his weakness in falling into such careless lapses, the Lord provided sin/trespass-offerings to cover all such infractions.
The second application of this ritual dealt with acts deliberately done against other human beings, and these sins were considered to be against heaven also. "If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord, and lie unto his neighbor . . . or in fellowship [literally, something placed in his hands, such as property, goods or partnerships], or hast deceived in that delivered unto him [bank deposits, tools, books, loans, trusts, animals]. . . ; or have found that which was lost . . . and sweareth falsely [in business, social or marriage contracts], in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein, . . . he shall even restore [the things] in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth" (Lev 5:2-5). This was to be done without delay, in fact, "in the day of his sin" (Lev 6:5; Num 5:6-10). Note the frequency with which these acts were called "sins." The Lord stressed that He considered these wrongs committed against fellow human beings as sins against Heaven.
Adequate Reparations Necessary
The conspicuous feature of these sin/trespass-offerings was that forgiveness by God was contingent upon reconciliation with the injured party, and payment of adequate compensation to him. The law added: "If the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the Lord, even to the priest; beside the ram of the atonement whereby an atonement shall be made for him" (Num 5:8). These two phases of this ritual should be carefully noted. The rabbis pointed out that "for transgressions that are between a man and his fellow, the Day of Atonement effects atonement only if he has appeased his fellow" (Yoma 8:9).
The trespasser was required to present the best animal he was "able" to obtain, because God expected only what man is capable of rendering, financially, voluntarily and cheerfully. The principle which insisted that he present a sin-offering of the highest quality applied even if he were so poor that all he could bring was a handful of flour! This non-bloody offering was effective in procuring atonement on the basis of the victim "continually" burning on the altar of perpetual sacrifice. Upon this the flour was placed by the priest (Lev 5:11-13). The residual blood, so frequently poured at the foundation of the altar, kept before the worshiper the truth that the coming Saviour's precious blood formed the basis for every offering.
When the sinner arrived at the Sanctuary with his sin/trespass-offering, he explained what he had done to help the priest assess the wrong, and make an "estimation" (Lev 6:6) of the damages to be paid. This restitution was to include "the principal" plus a fifth of its value. The priest's decision was binding on all parties. His judicial function pointed forward to our eternal Priest who is the Judge appointed by the Father (John 5:22; Rom 14:10). The penitent's dual responsibility, first toward his wronged fellow, and then to his offended God, lay at the foundation of all sin/trespass-offerings. This rule also applied to trespasses against God in withholding tithes and offerings, and other "holy things."
Trespasses Committed Today
Half a century ago M. L. Andreasen wrote these penetrating words: "A vital part of the plan of redemption, as far as man is concerned, is that of restitution. Conviction of sin is not enough. Sorrow for sin is not enough. Confession of sin is not enough. Though all these are good, and are steps toward the kingdom, they are not enough. They must be accompanied by repentance so deep and thorough that the soul will not rest until every step has been taken and every effort made to rectify past mistakes. This will in most cases include restitution, paying back that which we have stolen, and making every effort to right wrongs. Trespasses include questionable business transactions, fraudulent representation of values, giving wrong impressions for selfish motives, downright crookedness . . . taking advantage of the misfortunes of others, and demanding more than is just for services rendered merely because the other person is in a position where he cannot help himself. . . . Where it is impossible to make restitution to the person concerned, . . . the present day application of this instruction (Num 5:8) would demand that the money involved should be given to, or used in, the Lord's work" (The Sanctuary Service 167-168).
Ellen White has left us this recommendation: "You cannot make every wrong right, for some whom you have injured have gone into their graves, and the account stands registered against you. In these cases the best you can do is to bring a trespass-offering to the altar of the Lord, and He will accept and pardon you. But where you can, you should make reparation to the wronged ones" (5T 339).
Zaccheus the tax gatherer is an excellent example of one who grasped the implications of true conversion, and the law of trespass. On accepting Jesus as his Saviour, and repenting for the wrongs he had committed, he made "four-fold" amends to those whom he had injured (Luke 19:8). Genuine conversion always leads to sorrow for sins against our fellows, and is validated by adequate restitution.
Christians Should Bring Trespass-Offerings
"Let the members of every family begin to work over against their own houses. Let them humble themselves before God. It would be well to have a trespass-offering box in sight, and have all the household agree that whosoever speaks unkindly of another, or utters angry words, shall drop into the trespass-offering box a certain sum of money. This would put them on their guard against the wicked words which work injury, not only to their brethren, but to themselves. No man of himself can tame the unruly member, the tongue; but God will do the work for him who comes unto Him with contrite heart in faith and with humble supplication. By the help of God, bridle your tongues; talk less and pray more" (1BC 1110).
When the penitent laid his hands on the head of his sin-offering he confessed, "Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned. . . ." (Ps 51:4), while on his sin/trespass-offering he added the promise, "If I have taken anything from any man. . . .I restore. . . ." (Luke 19:8). In both cases "atonement" followed on the basis of the "spilled" and "sprinkled" blood of the vicarious sacrifice. Christ taught the same lesson in His Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:23-26), and in His parable of the two debtors (Matt 18:23-35). Forgiveness is contingent on restitution.
Only Forgiven Sins are Recorded in the Sanctuary
After the priest had completed his task, all that remained of the repentant believer's sin was its record in the Sanctuary inscribed there by the priest with the blood of his substitute. These mute scarlet drops testified to the transaction which had taken place, and awaited its annual disposal on the Day of Atonement. John's thrilling double promise, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9) is fulfilled in these two stages. The sinner's confessed sins were forgiven immediately on the basis of the spilled and sprinkled blood. Following this God provided a further ceremony for the eventual "cleansing" of the Sanctuary by the removal of the records of these forever forgiven sins. Type and prophecy indicated to Israel that one day the judgment would be convened, and the record books opened so that their evidence might be considered. The result for all those whose sins had gone before unto judgment through repentance and confession would be a decision of acquittal (Dan 7:9, 10, 13, 22; 1 John 1:9, second part). This ritual cleansing and the disposition of all the blood records deposited in the Sanctuary we shall consider in the chapter on the Day of Atonement.
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As we examine the inner workings of the sanctuary and its services, the observant eyes are affixed to the central theme: Jesus Christ.
Let our imagination approach the encampment in the wilderness from afar, enter into the sanctuary with the penitents and then by faith through the veil into the holy places.
What do you see along the way, animate and inanimate portraits the 'Christ and Christ only' theme?
Let our imagination approach the encampment in the wilderness from afar, enter into the sanctuary with the penitents and then by faith through the veil into the holy places.
What do you see along the way, animate and inanimate portraits the 'Christ and Christ only' theme?
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The annual Calendar: with Jesus in Life's Cycles
The weekly Sabbath
The Lord has always been concerned how His people spend their time. His first requirement was that Adam and Eve and their descendants should "dress and keep the garden" (Gen 2:15-17), and then cease their ordinary labors on the seventh day of each week. At Sinai, twenty-five hundred years later, He embedded His sabbath legislation in the heart of the decalogue (Ex 20:8-11), and again declared that it was binding upon every one. Through the six thousand years of human history the weekly cycle has never been altered (cf. Matt 5:17-19). For four thousand years and in unbroken succession, the Jews and their ancestors have observed the sabbath on Saturday, the seventh day of the week, in conformity with the requirement of the decalogue. Christians who claim to observe the first day of the week in honor of the resurrection of Christ tacitly confirm that the day before is the seventh day! And if Sunday is the first day of the week, we can rest assured that Saturday the seventh is the sabbath, and "remains" the day which its Lord requires all mankind to observe (Mark 2:27, 28; cf. Heb 4:9-12).
Sabbath is a transliterated Hebrew word. This investigator is convinced that the Spirit has prevented translators from attempting to ascribe meanings to several Biblical terms, such as cherubim, amen, selah, Urim and Thummim and many others including the sabbath. His purpose seems to have been to drive the student to delve into the significance of the original, which often requires quite a long phrase to express its full meaning.
Grammarians and lexicographers have given up on the translation of sabbath, and say simply that it means rest. This is true of the result of sabbath keeping, of course, but does not give the etymology of the term.
Robert Cox, an Edinburgh attorney of the mid-nineteenth century, spent his lifetime collecting books and pamphlets on the sabbath, although he was not an observer of the seventh day. In l865 he published a two-volume work, The Literature of the Sabbath Question. In it he covered every important statement made in the Bible and by the Jews on this topic, and then gave all the statements made by the church fathers and early historians. He worked his way painstakingly through the writings of every author he could find, who had dealt with this subject, until the time of the book's publication. His compendium has never been equaled. He also published a book which included every statement on the sabbath made by the reformers, Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Melancthon, Cranmer and Knox.
In his monograph, Septenary Institutions, Cox included several of the suggestions which have been made to provide an etymology for the Hebrew word sabbath. One of these may appear a figment of the imagination to some, but appeals to this student because of the felicitous way in which it fits into the teachings of Scripture,--"the law and the testimony."
In the Hebrew triliteral, s, b and th which forms sabbath, the b is doubled by the dagesh. Cox suggested that the word consists of two syllables, sab and bath, and then proceeded to analyze them. Sab, he said, has ab, the Hebrew for father (cf. abbot and abbey) at its heart. The prefix s, an abbreviation of the Hebrew ish, meaning man or manly in the qualitative and not the gender sense, a word with a meaning similar to that of the Latin vir (from which comes virility, virgin, &c) converts ab to sab (cf. Hindi sahib, "respectful sir"). This syllable, sab, he concluded, has the meaning "respected father," "revered father" or some such equivalent.
The second syllable of sabbath, bath, Cox maintained, consists of the Hebrew prefix b, which means in or at, and the Hebrew word oth (in some combinations ath or eth) meaning a sign. Together they designate a house or resting-place, as in Bath-sheba, "At-the-house-of-an-oath." or Elisa-beth, "God-is-the-oath-of-her-house," or Beth-lehem, "At-the-sign-of-the house-of-bread." Cox's suggestion is that sabbath may mean something like "At the sign [or resting-place] of the Revered Father." If he is correct, the definition certainly fits in well with Jehovah's own statement that His sabbath "is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you" (Ex 31:13, 17; cf. Ezek 20, 12, 20). I accept this etymology tentatively until some one suggests a better one.
The Monthly Holiday
At Sinai the Lord added that, in the Promised Land, Israel should also consider the first day of each month, New Moon Day, as a time for relaxing the intensity of their work. This festival did not require the cessation of all labor that earns a living, but did provide regular opportunities for communion with heaven.
The Lord ordered that two of these new moons, those of Nisan the first month, and Tishri the seventh, should be unique "New Year's Days." He decreed that Nisan, the month of the Exodus from Egyptian bondage, should commence the Hebrew calendar (Ex 12:1, 2). The Jews understood that "Moses appointed that Nisan . . . should be the first month for their festivals, because he brought them out of Egypt in that month: so that this month began the year, as to all the Solemnities they observed to the honor of God, . . . although he preserved the original order of the months, as to selling and buying, and other ordinary affairs" (Josephus, Antiquities I:3:3). The new moon of Tishri continued to mark the beginning of the "civil year," while the new moon of Nisan indicated the commencement of the "religious year." These special new moon days provided His people with opportunities to review their past and plan for the future.
The Cycles of the Annual Festivals
During the first month Nisan, besides the New Moon Feast on the 1st, the Passover occurred on the 14th. In fact, the redemptive cycle began with the Passover. It was followed by the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread which extended to the 22nd. This included the presentation of the Wave- sheaf of the first-fruits of barley on the 16th. Fifty days following this offering of grain came Pentecost. These three celebrations, the Feasts of the Passover, the Wave-sheaf and Pentecost constituted the spring or early festive cycle.
After Pentecost there followed four months of summer during which God's people observed only sabbaths and new moons.
On the first of the seventh month, Tishri, the civil calendar commenced. This important new moon, called the Feast of Trumpets or Rosh Hashanah, announced the soon coming Day of Atonement on the 10th, at the end of the "ten days of penitence." Five days following this, from the 15th to the 22nd, the Feast of Tabernacles formed the climax of the annual festive cycle. These three seventh-month gatherings, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles constituted the autumnal or "end festivals" (cf. mo'ed qets, Hab 2:3: Dan 7:19).
In connection with these feasts the Lord legislated seven "ceremonial sabbaths." These were observed as were the weekly sabbaths, whatever day of the week they occurred. We shall consider these with the festivals of which they were parts.
The Nature of Israel's Pilgrim Feasts
The catalog of Israel's annual "feasts" found in Leviticus 23 merits careful scrutiny. In the KJV the word "feast" is used to render two Hebrew words with differing meanings.
Wherever the singular "feast" occurs it represents the Hebrew chag, meaning pilgrim feast, known to Moslems as a haj. It necessitated a trip to the Sanctuary, wherever it might be located. These pilgrimages numbered three, the Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles.
"Feasts" in the plural, from the Hebrew mo'adim, means appointed times. Every celebration mentioned in Leviticus 23 was a mo'ed or appointed time, but only three of these were chagim, pilgrimages, requiring all males to journey to the Sanctuary (Ex 23:14-17; 34:23; Deut 16:16).
Sabbatical Years
Every seventh year was to be regarded as semi-sabbatic. During it the land was to be left fallow, and certain servitors freed. And to climax the entire religious epoch, the Lord decreed that every fiftieth year should be a Jubilee. Within this time-frame God worked out His plan for the salvation of His people.
Ellen White long ago observed that "in the ministration of the Tabernacle, and of the Temple that afterward took its place, the people were taught each day, by means of types and shadows, the great truth relative to the advent of Christ as Redeemer, Priest, and King; and once each year their minds were carried forward to the closing events of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, the final purification of the universe from sin and sinners" (PK 684-685; cf. PP 358). The Passover revealed Jesus as the Redeemer, Pentecost marked His inauguration as Priest, and Tabernacles celebrated Him as King.
The three spring festivals were perfectly implemented by Christ's life, death, resurrection and ascension to His priestly ministry. Ellen White noted: "These types were fulfilled, not only as to the event, but as to the time" (GC 399), adding, "In like manner, the types which relate to the second advent [the end festivals] must be fulfilled at the time pointed out in the symbolic service" (GC 399-400, [ ] added). This sentence stresses the eschatological thrust of the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles.
But these feasts, designed by God Himself as a means to bring His people nearer to Him in joyous fellowship, degenerated into merely formal gatherings, and even worse. Through His prophet the Lord inveighed against Israel: "Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them . . . the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting" (Isa 1:11-15). Through Amos God declared: "I hate, I despise your feast days," (Amos 5:21), and through Hosea added, "I will cause her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts" to cease (Hos 2:11). Jeremiah lamented that "the ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts" (Lam 1:4). These prophecies, endorsed by Daniel (9:27) were fulfilled by the first coming of Christ.
But while Israel despised and mutilated God's calendar of redemption, the Christian will learn a great deal about Jesus and His ministry by studying its God-given details. This we shall now attempt.
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DL,
Thanks again for the monumental amount of work you are putting into this. I've just copied it off, and its totalling 145 pages!
It's been a real blessing for us all
Happy Sabbath!
Jon
Thanks again for the monumental amount of work you are putting into this. I've just copied it off, and its totalling 145 pages!
It's been a real blessing for us all
Happy Sabbath!
Jon
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DL,
Thanks again for the monumental amount of work you are putting into this. I've just copied it off, and its totalling 145 pages!
It's been a real blessing for us all
Happy Sabbath!
Jon
I wish I can pass it off as my own.
As Newton said we stand on the shoulders of giants, most of it was done by others. I just put them together.
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