In the meat-offering so-called, we have the perfectness of that which was offered-both perfection in nature, sinlessness, and the Holy Ghost, so, as led divinely, all had perfect savor; in the burnt-offering, the perfectness of the act of offering, though the victim was perfect too, as the min'kha (meatoffering) was a koeban (oblation) too.
It is admitted, I suppose, that lir'tso-no (verse 3, chap. i) is "for his acceptance.” The others were not Adam kiyak'riv (when a man shall have caused to draw nigh) but m... yekh'te... v'hik-riv (if... he has erred... he shall cause to draw near) not " if he bring," but " if he sin, he shall bring."
NoTE.-In the meat-offering, it is never said: " to make an atonement for him "; the offering here is food rather than atonement. At the same time it was the food of the priest eaten in that character, not the ordinary communion of the peace-offering. A memorial only was burnt; the mass was eaten by Aaron and his sons. At the same time the memorial and all the incense was devoted to the Lord.
The great first elementary statement as to the meat-offering is fine flour, and oil (and frankincense) put upon it that is, the fact of a pure human nature, and the anointing of Holy Ghost. Then there is brought out, as an additional teaching, the unleavened cakes mingled with oil. When the substance of the cake was formed with oil, which was, as it were, penetrated with oil, and it was unleavened, i.e., in the formed actual subsistence, not merely the nature absolutely as such in idea, but the dough made had no leaven in it-Christ as a living Person had no sin, and was in human nature born of, and lived by the Holy Spirit in fact in the world: " according to the Spirit of holiness." To this was added unleavened wafers anointed with oil, i.e., the actual sinless Man, who knew no sin, was anointed; for the anointing after John's baptism was distinct from what He was in His Person as Man. In the last case it is mingled with oil, unleavened, and the pieces anointed, i.e., we have the knowing no sin, the spiritual nature and power of His life, combined with purity of nature; and every distinct act of His life, every part of it in the power of the Holy Ghost—"If I, by the Spirit of God, cast out devils." I was led to this by the expression of "mingled with oil " and " dry " in Lev. 7:1010And every meat offering, mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as much as another. (Leviticus 7:10), where " dry " is opposite to " mingled," for " dry " was anointed whether flour or unleavened cake.
I have spoken elsewhere of this chapter in reference to Christ in His life; this is true, but it is more in His nature, how He was constituted as a living Man. Of course death cannot come into this idea as such, but it does as the fire of the altar which perfectly tries what was in Christ, and only brings forth the sweet savor.
The first thought presented is simply the positive constituent parts, fine flour-perfect humanity as such-anointing with the Holy Ghost, and the graces of a soul wholly offered to God, without the smallest distracted or aberrant motive- mark this.
Then when Christ is looked at as a whole, as a living concrete Man on the earth, we have details of His being constituted a Man in His place of service and trial on earth, fine flour mingled with oil, i.e., perfect human nature, and formed by the Holy Ghost in the womb, or actually sinless human nature anointed with the Holy Ghost.
In the meat-offering baken in a pan, we have all brought together. It is fine flour-simple perfect humanity in itself- unleavened, knows no sin, sinless, mingled with oil, formed in its constituted being by the Holy Ghost, and then in every part penetrated by the anointing of the Holy Ghost.
4. b'lu-loth (mingled). It cannot, I think, be doubted that this is more than, and meant to be other than m'shu-khim (anointed), mixed, mingled is the sense of the word; see Psa. 92:1010But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil. (Psalm 92:10). It is not merely anointed as consecration, but His whole system invigorated and strengthened by it-it formed His strength; hence it is fresh oil there-the thick perforated cakes were so prepared; the r'ki-key (wafers) or these ones were simply anointed, but this doubtless penetrated all; still the difference is evidently intentional here.
5, 6. I have been led to fully inquire as to these verses. There are three kinds of meat-offerings-two baked in the oven (tannur) and one baked on a frying-pan; of these, the first was mingled with oil-the second, anointed with oil- the third (that baked on a pan) was mingled with oil, and then, being broken in pieces, oil was poured on it, it had both ways of the oil being applied. The first two have been heretofore noted elsewhere-the human nature of Christ formed by the Holy Ghost, and then He anointed with the Holy Ghost; but the last case has not been so much examined into.
I apprehend that we have first, as in the first kind of all, the divinely conceived human nature of Christ-He was conceived of the Holy Ghost; but then He was, at the close of His life, broken to pieces-every element of His nature was broken up by trial-desertion of friends on which a heart could lean, and worse than desertion-giving up what He loved, the Jerusalem He would have gathered-the compassion He looked for refused by every eye -denial by one He dearly loved—exposure to ignominy and shame before a heartless world- sleep, the refuge of His friends, when He would have one to watch by Him; but where, in every pang, in laying bare every feeling, was the power of the Holy Ghost, spiritual perfectness and power, not shown? He was poured out like water, all His bones out of joint, but never was the power and action of the Holy Ghost so shown-every part was anointed—and this breaking up was only the occasion of showing it.
In the three first Gospels, in general, we have more of the breaking in pieces -in John, of power, though not exclusively, for in Luke we find the power too. In Luke, He states to the thief, he shall be with Him in Paradise-in Luke, He commends His Spirit to the Father; yet in Gethsemane, in John, we have only the manifestation of the anointing. This I cannot here pursue further, but waiting on Scripture for it, it is full of interest-was not the suffering of His obedience, the display, or occasion of the display, of His spiritual power, and in a much more intimate manner? His life, though both were necessarily and always true, gave the whole cake-the outward, and, in this sense, superficial or outwardly manifested power of the Holy Ghost; but the breaking up every element of His nature in death-and it was absolute-showed every inward part, all His moral nature, as the complete exhibition of the power of the Holy Ghost in inward perfectness. Hence, more than miracles-a creature imperfect at other times can work them; but who could have been what Christ was, when the fountains of the great deep were broken up over His soul? I can here only imperfectly suggest it.
7. This is more the character of a mass, and the constituent parts merely are given, not its concrete state as a whole, but its nature as so formed, supposing there was no anointing, nor the frankincense brought into view.
14. This was not the offering of first-fruits of chapter 23. That was national, and a fixed day of the year -this a voluntary offering.
I think this gives another character of Christ as Man, and full of instruction. In the previous part, we have Christ as conceived and anointed of the Holy Ghost -"that holy thing." Here, it seems to me, though sinless, He is viewed as in Luke's Gospel, as born of human race, a descendant of Adam, not according to a natural way, but still as it is seed of another character of his, " born of the seed of David according to the flesh" -so of man in nature, he is ge-ersh kar'mel (grain of the earlier, finer growth), but as such He had to be put fully to the test, and pass through the fire ka-hey ba-esh (roasted or parched with fire), and so offered. Every fiery trial came on Him—all that could try Him by faith—and such should be, if He stood as Man before God, but He could be offered, and as such anointed with oil and incense. This is not the offering of chapter 23; that was a fixed offering at a prescribed yearly epoch—this, voluntary from an individual; that, a waved sheaf—this, grace is rubbed out of the ears of corn.
In the meat-offering, we have the personal human perfection of Christ, fully tried up to the fire of death—proving by God's holy nature, and sweet savor the result; not leaven, not honey or nature in its sweetness, but perfect unleavened humanity, begotten sinless by the power of the Holy Ghost, anointed with it, sinless humanity moved by the Holy Ghost absolutely towards God, and never swerving till the last cup was drunk, which could test its perfectness of nature, motive and objects, and then His soul remitted into His Father's hands. The burnt-offering was devoted humanity, the meat-offering tested humanity; the one with sin in view about it, the other proving there was none in it, perfectly tried and every grace absolute in its perfection as offered to God.