Thus Shalt Thou Serve

PART I

A Living Sacrifice

or

The Five Levitical Offerings

Introduction

AGREAT PORTION of the book of Leviticus is devoted to the subject now coming under consideration. While the offerings all belonged to the immediate lives of the people and were observances, they were also commemorative, and had future fulfillment in the history of Israel. Beyond that, they foreshadowed some of the greatest doctrines of the Church.

The offerings, with one exception, were sacrificial and required the shedding of blood. This was because they were figurative of the one sacrifice that was to be made once in the end of the age in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. The feasts, however, were not sacrificial but ceremonial. They revealed the present and future conduct of the Hebrew people because they were, or would be, the people of God. We might define the two, therefore, by stating that the offerings were Godward and the feasts manward; or, as we have stated in another book, the offerings reveal man’s walk to God through sacrifice, and the feasts declare man’s walk with God through separation from wickedness.

In all of these offerings, with their minute detail, we discover that nothing was left to man’s imagination or interpretation; rather, everything hung on his obedience. The illustrations are perfect, requiring no additions or subtractions.

The holiness of God demanded a sacrifice.

The majesty of God required certain regulations.

The honor of God necessitated a code of conduct.

The perfection of God expected the best of its kind.

The purity of God deserved freedom from blemish.

The sovereignty of God called for absolute obedience to detail.

Multiple offerings were necessary because no one offering could give a complete picture of the perfect offering made at the end of the age, or cause us to understand all the significance, meaning, and blessings that were to come to the children of men from the one great and complete offering by our Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross of Calvary. Each was inadequate in itself, so five offerings revealed five different aspects of the one offering:

Leviticus 1 describes the Burnt Offering.

Leviticus 2 describes the Grain Offering.

Leviticus 3 describes the Peace Offering.

Leviticus 4 describes the Sin Offering.

Leviticus 5 describes the Trespass Offering.

In addition to the details given in the first five chapters of Leviticus, chapters 6 and 7 add the law of the offerings. Nothing was left to man’s fancy or to human imagination. Every detail was dictated by God to Moses.

While the offerings are given in the order stated, we note that this was not the order in which they were observed. That was:

(1) Burnt Offering.

(2) Grain Offering.

(3) Sin Offering.

(4) Trespass Offering.

(5) Peace Offering.

This change of order holds no significance with many people. Some may not have noticed that there was a difference. Others consider it to be making much ado about nothing, suggesting that Moses on different occasions wrote the offerings down as they came into his mind, as one might jot down a shopping list from week to week. To this attitude it must be pointed out that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, not according to man’s memory or the failure of that memory. So when things have an exact repetition in the Bible, we should take note of the fact; and when variations reveal themselves, these are just as noteworthy. This is particularly important in these early chapters of Leviticus because there appears to be so much repetition—about which Matthew 6:7 says: But when you pray, do use not vain repetitions as the heathen do: for they think that they will be heard for their many words. As the Bible does not contradict itself, whenever repetition is found one may be sure that it is not vain. Therefore the reason must be found.

In this change of order, the peace offering, which was third in the list, became fifth in the observance. It must be the last of the five because peace comes as a result of obeying all the others. Peace is effect, not cause. The reason that it is third in the catalog is because the five offerings are divided into two categories. The first three are called sweet aroma offerings, which means that they were voluntary. As the peace offering was voluntary, it is moved up with the other two in that class. Noah’s offering was also one producing a soothing aroma (Gen. 8:21). The last two offerings were compulsory. God demanded a sin offering and a trespass offering.

As surely as there was an order in which the offerings were observed, so there was an order for the feasts, for God is a God of order. This is well established in nature as well as in His Word. Paul commanded the church to do all things decently and in order (1 Cor. 14:40).

Leviticus has always been considered a dry and uninteresting book, and not without reason. But so are many of the everyday things of life and of nature—until we see them under the microscope. Have you ever seen common salt, sugar, or any other ordinary crystals, under a microscope? If not, you still have a great experience awaiting you. Have you seen grass, and the many minute forms of plant life which grow around us, under the microscope? If you have, you will know that these are some of those things of beauty which are a joy forever! It is our intention to put these truths of God’s Word under the microscope of His Holy Spirit and to behold a detail and a wonder that some have never dreamed would be in the Bible, much less in the Old Testament.

To simplify the studies, we will consider:

(1) The Nature of the Offering—that is, the animals used and why they were chosen.

(2) The Offerer’s Work.

(3) The Priest’s Work.

Then we will note:

(4) God’s Portion.

(5) The Priest’s Portion.

(6) The Offerer’s Portion.

And finally we will look at:

(7) The Typical Teaching, as each offering points to that one Offering, the Lord Jesus Christ.

(8) The Symbolism, as it applies to the life of the believer.

All Scripture having been given by inspiration of God, the little details are as important as the great principles. Scanning the Bible may show its beauty and bring some satisfaction, but scrutinizing the Bible shows its wonder and creates a tremendous fascination. This is why we are encouraged to search the Scriptures, to compare scripture with scripture, to be diligent to present ourselves approved to God.

1

The Burnt Offering

Now the LORD called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of the livestock—of the herd, and of the flock.

‘If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. He shall kill the bull before the LORD; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay the wood in order on the fire. Then the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar; but he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.

‘And if his offering is of the flocks—of the sheep, or of the goats—as a burnt sacrifice, he shall bring a male without blemish. He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the LORD; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. And he shall cut it into its pieces, with its head and its fat; and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar; but he shall wash the entrails and the legs with water. And the priest shall bring it all, and burn it on the altar; It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.

‘And if the burnt sacrifice of his offering to the LORD is of birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or young pigeons. The priest shall bring it to the altar, wring off its head, and burn it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out at the side of the altar. and he shall remove its crop with its feathers and cast it beside the altar on the east side, into the place for ashes. Then he shall split it at its wings, but shall not divide it completely; and the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.’" (Lev. 1:1–17)

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering shall be on the hearth upon the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it. And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen trousers he shall put on his body, and take up the ashes of the burnt offering which the fire has consumed on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. Then he shall take off his garments, put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. A perpetual fire shall burn on the altar; it shall never go out.’ (Lev. 6:8–13)

THIS FIRST OFFERING is called the burnt offering: The burnt offering shall be on the hearth on the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it. . . . And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. A perpetual fire shall burn on the altar; it shall never go out (Lev. 6:9–13).

This offering is also called a sweet aroma offering (Lev. 1:9 and 13). The sweet aroma offering signified a freewill offering. That statement is confirmed in Leviticus 1:3, . . . he shall offer it of his own free will.

While the offerings display the work that Christ accomplished upon the cross for the sinner as He dealt with his sin and his trespasses, and established his peace, yet we find in the burnt offering that Christ first meets God’s holiness and satisfies His demands. He is offering Himself without spot to God, doing the will of the Father, satisfying all His claims without any reservation on the Lord’s part. In satisfying God’s demands, secondly He meets man’s need. This is why it is called a whole burnt offering. It was given to God in its entirety, man having no share in it. At the same time it teaches that we in turn must surrender our best—yes, our all—seeking only to please Him who has called us. It is only to the extent to which we yield our all to Him that we shall learn to appreciate that we are receiving His all in our lives. To the measure with which we seek to please Him, we shall know those pleasures which are forevermore.

The Nature of the Offering—According to possession. Bulls, sheep, goats, turtledoves, pigeons. "If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish. . . (Lev. 1:3). And if his offering is of the