Part Four of
The Earthly Sanctuary & its Services
The "burnt" offering
The first offering mentioned in the book of the Law was not a "sin" offering.
It was the "burnt" offering of dedication.
It had been initiated in the Garden of Eden by Adam and Eve on a simple altar of stones, and the skins of the first sacrificed lambs were used by Jesus to replace the fig leaves which our parents had used in their own attempts at covering their physical nakedness. Genesis 3:7. That physical situation was a "type" of their spiritual one. Revelation 3:18.
Genesis 3:21
"Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them".
Later, Adam and Eve passed on the sacrificial knowledge to their children to perform and right through to the time of the patriarchs this symbol remained unchanged.
Genesis 4:3-5
"And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. and Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect [because of the lack of reference to the death of Christ, or his own spiritual one]".
Genesis 12:7-8
"And the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, To your seed will I give this land: and there built he an altar to the LORD, who appeared to him. And he removed from thence to a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he built an altar to the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD".
The entrance of the sanctuary
Not till the time of Moses and the exodus from Egypt was this simple ceremony expanded to teach an ignorant multitude more clearly the truth of the gospel, and then a bullock was required instead of a lamb.
Leviticus 1:1-4.
"And the LORD called to Moses, and spoke to him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, If any man of you bring an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and [or] of the flock. If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD, and he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him".
Atonement is not made by offering a
payment of good works, nor by undergoing punishment.
It is a coming together of two minds (an at-one-ment) and
therefore, right at the beginning Jesus stressed the fact that
the offering was to be voluntary. Any hint of force or reluctance
made the sacrifice null and void, for these conditions do not
exist in God’s kingdom. The offering showed the
believer’s desire to serve and be used in God’s way and
in this spirit it was accepted. In practice, the Israelite was
expected to bring a bullock into the courtyard, place his hand on
its head to show the transfer of his identity to it, then to kill
it to show his "death" with
his Saviour. Romans 6:3-4. The priest would then apply the blood.
In the case of the offerer, the "death"
was not supposed to be literal for God does not really want
martyrs, but was a symbol of the fact that from now on the life
of the offerer was available to be used as God directed.
Romans 12:1-2
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God".
Christ’s Object Lessons 403.002
There are many who have given themselves to Christ, yet who see no opportunity of doing a large work or making great sacrifices in His service. These may find comfort in the thought that it is not necessarily the martyr's self-surrender which is most acceptable to God; it may not be the missionary who has daily faced danger and death that stands highest in heaven's records. The Christian who is such in his [or her] private life, in the daily surrender of self, in sincerity of purpose and purity of thought, in meekness under provocation, in faith and piety, in fidelity in that which is least, the one who in the home life represents the character of Christ - such a one may in the sight of God be more precious than even the world-renowned missionary or martyr.
COL.403.003
Oh, how different are the standards by which God and men measure character. God sees many temptations resisted of which the world and even near friends never know - temptations in the home, in the heart. He sees the soul's humility in view of its own weakness; the sincere repentance over even a thought that is evil. He sees the wholehearted devotion to His service. He has noted the hours of hard battle with self - battle that won the victory. All this God and angels know. A book of remembrance is written before Him for them that fear the Lord and that think upon His name.
In this way was publicly shown the imparting of righteousness, and "rightdoing" became the public aim of the follower of God.
Leviticus 1:5-9
"And he [the offerer] shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And he [the offerer] shall flay the burnt offering [to drain out all the blood], and cut it into his pieces. And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: but his inwards and his legs shall he [the offerer] wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour to the LORD".
The body of a "burnt" offering was totally consumed on the altar, with the exception of the skin, which became the property of the officiating priest.
Leviticus 7:8
"And the priest that offers any man's burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he has offered".
The ‘way’ of the burnt offering
Leviticus 6:8-13
"And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law [or details] of the burnt offering: It is [called] the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night to the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it. And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire has consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp to a clean place".
"And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out".
In this simple manner, Jesus showed that while He could take our lives on earth and use them in His service, He could not take our polluted bodies into heaven. They would have to be changed or pass through the grave.
1 Corinthians 15:51-54
"Behold, I show you a mystery [a formerly undiscovered truth]; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’."
If the faith of the offerer was not large enough to afford a bullock, then he or she could bring a sheep or a goat.
Leviticus 1:10-13
"And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish. And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar [in the courtyard]. And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: but he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour [or pleasant thought] to the LORD".
In extreme cases of (spiritual) poverty even the sacrifice of a lowly pigeon or a dove could be accepted.
Leviticus 1:14-17
"And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons, and the priest shall bring it to the altar, and wring off his head, and burn it on the altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar. And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes: and he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder [That was done in a different sacrifice]. And the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour to the LORD".
Thus Jesus illustrated that He was happy to accept any service at all so long as it showed a willingness to be used up.
Steps to Christ 044.001
In giving ourselves to God, we must necessarily give up all that would separate us from Him. Hence the Saviour says, "Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple." Luke 14:33. Whatever shall draw away the heart from God must be given up. Mammon is the idol of many. The love of money, the desire for wealth, is the golden chain that binds them to Satan. Reputation and worldly honor are worshiped by another class. The life of selfish ease and freedom from responsibility is the idol of others. But these slavish bands must be broken. We cannot be half the Lord's and half the world's. We are not God's children unless we are such entirely.
The general burnt offering
For those who could not get to the earthly sanctuary because of distance or sickness etc., there was a special provision made. Every day at 9am and again at 3pm a general "burnt" offering was made on their behalf as a picture of the at-one-ment. But nothing could replace the need for a spiritual sacrifice as well! Hebrews 13:10, 15.
Exodus 29:38-43
"Now this is that which you shall offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb you shall offer in the morning [at 9am or the 3rd hour]; and the other lamb you shall offer at even [at 3pm or the 9th hour]: and with the one lamb a tenth deal [1/10 ephah = 2.2litres] of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin [just under 1 litre] of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering".
"And the other lamb you shall offer at even [late afternoon], and shall do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire to the LORD".
"This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there to you. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory".
This sacrifice was kept burning from one time through to the other so that it became known as the "continual" or "daily" offering. It was joined by the individual ones as they were offered. It signified both the dedication of the Son of God in His determination to offer salvation to all who have ever lived on this earth, and the acceptance of the dedication of the lives of those who turned their thoughts to it during the day.
There were other occasional sacrifices connected with the sanctuary which are not mentioned in these chapters of Leviticus. They deal with specific details of the problem of sin and are not needed in this study.
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