Sweet Savor Offerings: September 2020

The perfection of Christ in all His path was that He never did anything to be seen of men; it all went entirely up to God. Thus the savor of the meat offering was sweet to the priests, but it all was addressed to God. In Christ’s service to man, the Holy Spirit was in all His ways, but all the effect of the grace in Him was always toward God, even if it were for man. And so it should be with us; nothing should come in, as a motive, except what is to God. In Ephesians 4:32 and 5:1-2, we see grace of our Lord Jesus Christ toward man and the perfection of man toward God as the object. “Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children.” In all our service as following Christ here, we get these two principles: our affections toward God and our Father and the operation of His love in our hearts toward those in need. We may love up and love down — love up to God and down to man. In the meal offering, the priests could smell the sweet savor, but it was not offered to them; it was all burned to God. As regards His own path, there was not a feeling that was not entirely up to God — for us, but to God. It was that which was perfectly acceptable to God.

J. N. Darby (adapted)

The Burnt Offering

The Book of Leviticus, while somewhat difficult, is very interesting and instructive if we read it carefully and prayerfully. God is not telling us about “Jewish customs” simply to satisfy our curiosity, but all this ritual and these sacrifices were given of God and have a meaning which is most precious for us. They all point on to Christ, the blessed Antitype (fulfillment) of all these “shadows of good things to come.”

If you or I had been writing the Book of Leviticus, we would have put the sin offering and the trespass offering first, because we would first think of our own need, but those whom God used to write the Bible did not write according to their own thoughts, for “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). They wrote what God told them, for “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16). It is God’s Word, not man’s.

Why the Burnt Offering Comes First

The burnt offering comes first because it typifies what the work of Christ on Calvary is to God. The book begins, then, by giving God’s side first, for if God has been fully satisfied and glorified about the question of sin, surely we can be satisfied too. This is what we see, in type, presented to us in the burnt offering, and how precious it is to our hearts to meditate upon Christ in this way. God not only puts the burnt offering first, but also He begins with the very highest aspect of it — the bullock. It was a voluntary sacrifice too; that is, the one who brought it did not have to do so. We love to think of the Lord Jesus willingly doing the Father’s will even unto death — “even the death of the cross.” We hear Him saying, “I come to do Thy will, O God” (Heb. 10:9), and nothing turned Him back from this.

The offerer then placed his hands on the head of the bullock, which was without blemish, and in this way the value of the sacrifice was, as it were, transferred to him. When we think of the perfect delight the Father found in the work of His Son, that blessed One who became a man in order to glorify God, how marvelous it is that we should be brought to God in all the perfect acceptance of His Person and work! We are “accepted in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:6). We then read that “he shall kill the bullock before the Lord,” and how beautifully this typifies the Lord Jesus offering Himself “without spot to God” (Heb. 9:14). No one took His life from Him; He laid it down of Himself (John 10:18). The blood of the bullock, the sign that it had died, was then taken and sprinkled upon the altar, “for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Lev. 17:11).

Fire and Judgment

The body of the bullock was then cut in pieces to be offered upon the brazen altar. Fire in Scripture is a figure of judgment, and so we see the Lord Jesus exposed to the judgment of God in those three dark hours on the cross. Just as all this offering went up as a sweet savor to God, so we know that the work of the Lord Jesus was most pleasing to the heart of God His Father. Sinful men and women from Adam onward had dishonored God in every way possible, but as God looked down upon His blessed Son, He saw nothing but that which gave fullest joy to His heart. It was never more so than when He glorified Him in His atoning sufferings and death.

G. H. Hayhoe

The Sweet Fragrance of Christ to God

The ashes of the burnt offering had to be carefully gathered up and carried to a clean place. So precious was the burnt offering to God that the fire was never allowed to go out; it was to burn all night (Lev. 6:9).

It is night in this world. Christ, its true light, has been rejected, and the world remains in darkness. During His absence, it is the privilege of each believer to enter into the preciousness of Christ to God, to contemplate Him as giving Himself “an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor,” and to share the Father’s delight in the sweet fragrance of that blessed One who said, “Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again” (John 10:17). No wonder that this fire was never to go out, but that each day fresh wood was placed on the altar, telling of the ceaseless, changeless delight of heaven in Jesus.

J. T. Mawson

Our Appreciation of Christ

During the history of Christianity from the days of the apostles until now, there has been a strong tendency for believers to focus on themselves and on what God has done and will do for them. This is not surprising, for since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, man’s heart has been not only selfish, but what is far worse, self-centered. His thoughts have revolved around himself — his ambitions, his pleasure, his will. Indeed, sin itself is not merely the doing of wrong things, but is, in its root, the exercise of an independent will. Sad to say, this attitude is not only common in the world, but has tended to pervade Christianity.

As a result, believers have often looked upon the work of Christ on the cross merely as a fire escape from hell, and they have looked upon God as a philanthropist who is there to provide for all their needs, to solve all their problems, and to give them an easy pathway through this world. It is true that the Lord has promised to care for us and supply our needs. He wants us to depend on Him and to come to Him with our difficulties. However, if our relationship with Him does not go any farther than this, we miss a great deal and dishonor the One who has so much more than this for us.

God’s Perspective

God wants to lift us out of ourselves to have such a relationship with Him that we see everything, not from our side, but from His perspective. God lives and moves in eternity, and man too, being made in the image and likeness of God, was made for eternity. We live in a time scene, and for the moment our minds are bounded by time, but we read in Ecclesiastes 3:11 that “He hath set the world [or, the infinite, eternity] in their heart.” When God lifts our hearts above this world, we see things in a broader way: We appreciate God’s thoughts about everything, and not merely our limited thoughts. This is a blessed privilege for us as believers, and particularly in view of the truth given to the church in the New Testament. However, we have types of this precious truth in the Old Testament, and one of the best of these is the burnt offering.

The term “burnt offering” goes as far back as Abraham’s time, but the truth of it comes in right at the beginning of man’s history, for we read in Genesis 4:4 that Abel “brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.” The fat was the Lord’s portion, which Abel offered by faith, and it speaks of the inner energy and force in the sacrifice. This was ultimately seen in perfection in Christ, the true burnt offering. This was for God Himself, although offered by man, and is brought out fully in the voluntary offerings detailed in the Mosaic law.

The Burnt Offering

The burnt offering, then, is the first one mentioned in the offerings given to us in the early chapters of Leviticus, as that which brings before us Christ’s offering Himself up to God in full obedience and for God’s glory. The offering was voluntary, showing us that the obedience of Christ was voluntary; it was not forced. Rather, it was, “I delight to do Thy will, O My God” (Psa. 40:8). Also, atonement is not so much in question as the fact that all was to be “a sweet savor unto the Lord” (Lev. 1:9). Atonement is, of course, brought in, for the blood must be sprinkled “round about upon the altar,” but in the voluntary offerings the thought is more about the excellency of the sacrifice rather than the guilt of the offerer. Thus, when the offerer laid his hand on the head of the offering, he was identified with all the excellency and worth of the sacrifice.

All of the burnt offering was for the Lord; “the priest shall burn all on the altar” (Lev. 1:9). None was to be eaten or used in any other way. This brings before us God the Father’s delight in His beloved Son, who in willing obedience submitted Himself perfectly to His Father’s will, whatever the cost might be. He became “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8). Sin could not be a sweet savor, but the sacrifice of Christ, in all that He was and in all His willing obedience, was of special sweetness to God the Father. “Christ ... hath given Himself ... an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor” (Eph. 5:2).

Degrees of Appreciation

On our part, there may be degrees of appreciation of what Christ was to God, as evidenced by the various animals mentioned for the burnt offering. The bullock was a comparatively large animal, and it speaks of a large appreciation of what Christ was to God and of the excellency of His Person. The sheep or goat was smaller, and the turtle-dove or pigeon quite small. But how beautiful it is; in each case the comment on the sacrifice was the same: “It is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord” (Lev. 1:9,13,17). In whatever measure we understand and appreciate what Christ was to God, our sacrifice of praise and worship is a sweet savor to the Lord.

In the case of the turtle-dove or pigeon, part of the bird was to be removed before it was offered. More than this, it was the priest who killed the bird, not the offerer; this was not the case with the bullock and the sheep or goat. The priest typifies the Lord Jesus, who Himself, by His Spirit, is there to help us in our weakness, when we present Him to God in worship. A hymn expresses it well: “To all our prayers and praises, Christ adds His sweet perfume.”

Things to Remove

The feathers were removed, again by the priest, because they typify outward show. In some birds the feathers are very thick, as, for example, in the great grey owl. When he attacks his prey, the object of his attack often tries to defend itself, but usually gets only a mouthful of feathers, because they are so thick. But the feathers must be removed, speaking of that in our worship which is merely of nature and not of the Spirit.

Finally, the crop must be removed, for the crop of a bird holds food which has not yet been digested. It is held there until transferred to the bird’s stomach for digestion. As believers, we may use expressions in our praise and worship which we may have read or heard, but have not yet meditated upon and made our own. As such, it is merely expressing the thoughts of others which are not yet really ours. This is not true worship, for it is another’s appreciation of Christ and not from our own hearts. The Lord Jesus, typified by the priest, must remove all this, so that what is presented to God is only the reality — that which is of the Spirit.

In conclusion, then, we see that God’s estimate of His beloved Son far exceeds ours, for our appreciation of Him tends to be based on our need. If we allow God to take our thoughts beyond ourselves, to see everything from God’s side, not only are our own thoughts greatly expanded, but also God is far more honored and our Lord Jesus Christ far more glorified.

W. J. Prost

The Meat (Meal) Offering

How precious is this portion of the Word of God to our souls! In the offerings brought before us in Leviticus, we have first of all the burnt offering, the meat (meal) offering, and the peace offering. They form one group which we may call the voluntary offerings; they speak of worship. The sin offering and the trespass offering form another group; they speak of meeting the claims of God’s holy nature and man’s guilt.

In the meat offering we do not have the putting away of sins, but rather Christ as the One who came down into this world to glorify God as man. His life was not to do His own will, but the will of Him that sent Him.

Prepared at Home

One thing very striking in connection with the meat offering is that it seems to have been prepared at home. O brethren, that speaks to my heart; it is in communion with God at home that we learn the preciousness of Himself to our souls. It is blessed to be gathered together, but how much of Christ do we meditate upon and enjoy in our home life?

“Fine flour” speaks of evenness, for every part of His blessed walk was acceptable to God. How precious to meditate upon His walk and ways here — the One of whom John speaks: “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him” (John 1:18).

Companionship

Why did God send His Son? God sent His Son in order that we might have the fullest unfolding of all that was in the heart of God. He could say, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.” What will heaven be, brethren? It will be the companionship of the Lord Jesus and the knowledge of all that God is as revealed in Him.

In the first verse we have, “He shall pour oil upon it.” That is the blessed Lord down here as the anointed One. Every act of His was in the energy of the Spirit of God, and together with that act was the frankincense that met the heart of God from that blessed One.

The “handful of the flour” tells us that we can never take in all that Christ is — never fully apprehend all that He is to the heart of God, but we can each take our handful. Each may lay hold in his measure of that preciousness of the Person of the Lord Jesus and enjoy Him in his soul.

In Ephesians 3:17 we read, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.” He does dwell there, but faith lives in the good of it. “That ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height.” If there is going to be fruit, there must be roots. The word “comprehend” should be “apprehend,” because you could not take it all in. That is the “handful of the flour.”

Circumstances to Glorify God

How precious it is to know that the One up there in the glory is the One that has glorified God as man down here! But how feeble our apprehension is! But in the measure in which Christ is enjoyed, our hearts long for His glorious coming. Why do not our hearts respond more readily to that blessed word in Revelation 22, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come”? Because there is a tendency with every one of us to settle down here. How we would like to have everything go smoothly in our home life, our business, and in the assembly, but God will never order it so. Why? Because the difficulties of the way are just the opportunities that God uses to teach us more of the preciousness of Christ — His patient grace. If He teaches us our failures as we walk with Him, He teaches us too His own resources in grace — His patience, His love. How often He has taught us amid failure the blessed satisfaction of His love that abides!

How often, in a time of difficulty, we try to escape it, instead of going through it with God! I do not speak of being mixed up with what is contrary to God, for then we are to get out of those circumstances. But if we are in the path of His ordering, let us never leave it, however trying the circumstances. If the Lord does not come, the difficulties will increase, but I find in myself a tendency to escape them. Let us never do that. Let us go through them with God and learn the lesson He would have us learn. How we find that blessed One treading that path here, never turning aside, going on in that ministry of love and grace, meeting on every hand the rejection of man! But oh, those waters of divine love and grace that found their source in Him flowed forth in all their blessed fullness!

The Perfection of Christ

Returning now to Leviticus 2, “The priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar.” Fire speaks of trial or testing. It is not here the fire wherewith God judges sin; rather, the One that trod that pathway here to the glory of God was tried in every step of that pathway, and the trial only brought out the blessed perfection that was in Him. There was no sin in Him. He was the “holy one of God,” and the trial in the wilderness was just to bring out that fact. God would have it made manifest that He was the Lamb of God foreordained before the foundation of the world. How our hearts delight to honor Him! Every trial brought out the fragrance and perfection of who He was, the glory of His Person.

In verse 3 we read, “The remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire.” You and I can indeed joy and worship before God as we think of Him down here as the blessed, perfect Man. Notice that it says, “It is a thing most holy.” The Spirit of God thus guards the Person of the Lord Jesus as a man and brings before our souls the delight that was in the heart of God toward that One who ever glorified Him on the earth.

Hidden Sufferings

In verses 4-6, we have the offering baked in the oven. I believe it is rather those hidden sufferings of Christ. It was the compassion of His heart that made the Lord a sufferer, and not the difficulties of the way. At the very moment that He was rejected, He could rejoice in Spirit and turn to the Father and say, “I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes” (Luke 10:21). We find the Lord Jesus weeping only three times. At the grave of Lazarus, His heart was told out in sympathy. Think of who He was — the Son of God — God manifest in flesh, with tears coursing down His blessed cheeks! The compassion of His heart brought forth these tears, not the difficulties of His pathway.

How often you and I can hear the blessed name of the Lord Jesus taken in vain, and perhaps in five minutes we have forgotten about it. But if it is you or I that is spoken against, sometimes our feelings are so badly hurt that we do not get over it for weeks! What a heart the blessed Lord had! What an unfolding of the heart of God! You and I are going to live with that blessed One for eternity. His heart was told out so blessedly in order to have our hearts won from this poor world — a world that will deceive us, if we go after it.

Walking in Communion

The heart that seeks the company of Jesus will find that which brings joy and gladness, however dark and difficult the day. We find that brought out blessedly in the epistle of John. John had seen the church as set up at Pentecost; he had seen those wonderful days of power and blessing, but he had seen decay too. He had seen “all in Asia” turn away, but in the First Epistle of John we get the secret of happy Christian life amid ruin — walking in communion with the Father and the Son.

“The frying pan” gives us the manifested sufferings of Christ. Perhaps as you and I read through the Scriptures, we are able to discern only the manifested sufferings. We read of those occasions upon which the Lord wept. His sufferings were manifest, but what about the hidden sufferings? All His pathway was one of sorrow because His heart went out in sympathy with those for whom He died, because of the sorrows of the way. What a blessed Savior!

H. E. Hayhoe (adapted)

Two Aspects of the Meat Offering

In the meat (meal) offering of Leviticus 2, perfect manhood is offered to God in the Person of our blessed Lord. There is no leaven here. Another aspect of the meat offering (that of the Pentecostal loaves, in Leviticus 23) shows us redeemed man presented to God in the power of the Holy Spirit, with leaven being baked in the loaves. Let us briefly consider the two aspects of this offering.

In Leviticus 2 our Lord is seen as the perfect Man, for the Word became flesh. When He walked upon earth, all His life was full of fragrance to God. All the incense was burned with the memorial in verse 2 and went up in a sweet savor. The offering was most holy among sacrifices offered by fire to Jehovah.

In verses 4-10, it is well to notice the anointing with oil of each portion of the cake, for our Lord’s every action, every word, bore the character of the oil — the blessed, dependent Man, who ever walked in the power of the Spirit. The more we read of His life, the more do we see its divine beauty. The memorial was burnt on the altar, and the rest of the offering was eaten by the priest. We too need, in this character, to feed upon the meat offering.

The Firstfruits

The last few verses of Leviticus 2 are very blessed and show us another way in which the meat offering was presented to God. The full-grained ears of corn (wheat) are crushed, and the memorial burnt. Notice that in every meat offering the fire has to be gone through, and the accomplishment of this we find in the Gospels, where the perfect offering was made. Especially in Luke’s Gospel do we find the perfect manhood of our blessed Lord exposed to the fire.

But let us now briefly look at the second aspect of the meat offering, in Leviticus 23:16-21. In verse 15 seven weeks were counted from that day when the sheaf of firstfruits had been presented, and this sheaf no doubt represents our Lord’s resurrection. There could be no change as to His person morally, for He is Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever. But what a change as to condition, on that morning of the resurrection, when Jesus, no longer the man of sorrows, but triumphant over the grave, gave life in abundance to the disciples! The last Adam is a quickening spirit, and so we find, in the sheaf of firstfruits, the figure of the risen Christ.

The Feast of Pentecost

Then, seven weeks afterward came the day of Pentecost, the day on which the Holy Spirit was sent to form the church of God upon earth. The assembly is here represented by the two loaves baked with leaven; there is an adequate testimony to the grace of God by which the redeemed company is presented to Him on the ground of perfect redemption in Christ.

No such thing had been known before this, and it has been well said that before the Holy Spirit could come to dwell in men, the dwelling-place must be prepared. His very presence in the assembly testifies to the perfect work on the cross of Him who rose seven weeks before the day of Pentecost. Blessed are they who understand the true connection between the risen Lord and the favored company united to Him by the Holy Spirit! It is very important to know that the Spirit is now present upon earth, as sent from the glorified Head of the church.

Loaves Baked With Leaven

But we notice that there was leaven in these two loaves, although it was baked in them. This is a very different offering to that which we considered as the figure of our Lord’s perfect humanity. In this one, representing the church, the leaven is found, for there is evil in us. The passage in Galatians 5:17, where the flesh is said to lust against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh, would help us here. The meaning is that we should not do that which naturally, according to the flesh, we may wish. Although the flesh is there, the Spirit is superior to it, and we see this in the loaves presented at Pentecost with the leaven baked in them. Redeemed man is presented to God in the power of the Spirit.

Notice, too, that in the passage before us (Lev. 23:18-19), burnt offerings and a sin offering accompanied the presentation of the two loaves; that is, nothing can counteract sin but the work of Christ. This is brought to memory by the goat offered for a sin offering (vs. 19), for Christ as our sin offering must always be before us. Thus we see in these two passages, on the one hand (Lev. 2), the beauty of Christ as the perfect meat offering; on the other hand (Lev. 23), a new meat offering — man presented to God in redemption, in the power of the Spirit, but with leaven, showing that the flesh is still in us. But this new meat offering was presented with a burnt offering, a sin offering and a peace offering, showing us that, as to sin, all has been answered in Christ.

E. L. Bevir (adapted)

Frankincense

Concerning the meat (or meal) offering, we read the following in Scripture — “And he shall bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord” (Lev. 2:2).

In Ephesians 4:32 and 5:1-2, we see grace of our Lord Jesus Christ toward man, and the perfection of man toward God as the object. “Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children” (Eph. 5:1 JND). In all our service as following Christ here, we get these two principles: our affections toward God and our Father, and the operation of His love in our hearts toward those in need. The more wretched the object of service in the latter case, the truer the love, and the more simply the motive is to God. We may love up and love down — love up to God, and down to man. The more vile and unworthy the persons are for whom I lay myself out for blessing, the more grace there is in it. “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). But while that is true, yet as to the state of my heart, the higher the object, the more elevated the affection. With Christ it was perfect. How can a poor creature like me, be an imitator of God? Was not Christ an example — God seen in a man? And we are to “walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:2). He gave Himself for us, but to God; it was God’s grace toward poor lost sinners.

In the meal offering the priests could smell the sweet savor, but it was not offered to them; it was all burned to God. As regards His own path, there was not a feeling that was not entirely up to God — for us, but to God. It was that which was perfectly acceptable to God.

J. N. Darby (adapted)

Frankincense

The frankincense was added to the cakes upon the table in order to express another aspect and truth respecting the Lord Jesus as man, namely, the purity and fragrance manifested by Him towards God in all His ways, actions and thoughts. The purity of the ways and words of Jesus was not an affected sanctity, neither was it attained by separation from the haunts of men; it was not the mere result of habit, because observed by others, nor was its object the applause of men, but it was the natural result of the spotlessness of His own nature. And it was ever before God He lived and thought and acted. If evil came from Satan or from man, even in that His comfort was to trace the will of God. In Him there were no mistrusts, no suspicions, as well as no murmurings of heart against God. His own character and ways were white and pure like the frankincense, and He knew the Father whom He so loved was good at all times and in all circumstances. All was open and transparent in Christ; He had nothing to conceal; He had no ambiguities, no double intentions, for He was single-eyed. His actions, therefore, and His words were the transcript of Himself, the spontaneous exhibition of what He was intrinsically — all purity and fragrance. How wonderful, and yet how blessed, that a tree of earth should produce this sweet-smelling, pure frankincense—that a world, from whence sin and uncleanness and abomination had ceaselessly sent up an ill savor, should at length find one in its midst whose inmost thoughts as well as outward ways were pure and unsullied and fragrant like the frankincense before God! What, therefore, the Lord intrinsically was as man typified by the fine flour, such also was He in all the pure and fragrant development of His character as represented by the frankincense, and the eye and heart of God could rest on all this and take delight in the beloved Son, ever well-pleasing to the Father, who truly had the blessing of being “pure in heart,” and was therefore fit to be under the eye of God.

H. W. Soltau

The Peace Offering

In the first chapter of Leviticus is the description of the burnt offering representing the Lord’s self-dedication and obedience, even unto death, coming first to do the Father’s will, and then offering Himself up without spot unto God. In the second we have the meat (meal) offering, which shows the perfection of His nature, even tried by the fire of God in death, and the detailed character of that perfectness, the memorial of it being offered before Jehovah, and the rest eaten by the priests, an unleavened meat offering.

Chapter 3 touches on that part of the peace offering which was offered to God. There is no mention of what was done with the body of the animal; we must refer to chapter 7 for this. The fat and the blood, which represent the life and energy of the offered victim, are said to be the food of the offering made by fire. They may not be eaten, but are presented to Jehovah, and all burnt, by a perpetual statute. The life belongs to God, and in Christ all was offered up to Him and for His glory.

We have, in the peace-offering, the same character as the two former; still a sacrifice made by fire of a sweet-smelling savor. The peculiar feature in this offering is, that it is that upon which Jehovah Himself feeds; it is not merely an offering, but food of the offering. This gives it a peculiar character, and introduces communion. The satisfaction and delight, the food of God, is in the offering of Christ. All God is finds its rest there and is perfectly glorified there; we find our food, our delight, in it too.

The Various Parts

In chapter 7 we see that the remainder of the peace offering was eaten by the worshiper, excepting the wave breast and heave shoulder, which were the priests. These three things, then, we may observe. The blood is sprinkled, and the fat burned for a sweet savor; the wave breast was for Aaron and his sons, the heave shoulder for the offering priest; and the rest for the worshiper to feed on, as an occasion of joy and thanksgiving before Jehovah. This practice of the offerer’s partaking of his sacrifice was followed in the heathen sacrifices to which the apostle alludes (1 Cor. 10:18-21); part was offered to the idol, and with the rest they made a feast, being together partakers of it. Again, when the apostle is giving liberty to the Corinthians to eat what was sold in the shambles, he limits them to that which they ate in ignorance. “If any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice to idols, eat not” (1 Cor. 10:28). They sprinkled the blood on the altar, and then ate the sacrifice; therefore those who knowingly partook of it were held to be partakers of the altar. This was the way of showing communion, whether it were with an idol, or between a believer and God. And this has in it a blessed meaning.

The Subject of Communion

Christ is not only here represented as the perfect burnt offering wholly given up to God in death for His glory, but also as an offering on which we feed. Not only is He God’s delight, but He is that of which we can partake with Him. He is the subject matter of communion. “As ... I live by the Father, so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me” (John 6:57). The communion is between all saints, the worshiper, the priest, and God. Not only is it our privilege to see the sacrifice offered to God, and opening a way of access to Him (as in the burnt-offering and others), but we find the Lord takes delight in communion with us about it.

The first thing to be observed in the peace-offering is the complete and absolute acceptance of the sacrifice, so that Jehovah speaks of it as His food, that in which His holiness could find intrinsic satisfaction. The inwards were presented for a sweet savor (as Jesus); they are tried and examined by fire, and found to be food for God Himself. The fat represents the spontaneous actings of the heart. The richness of an animal is its fat; we judge of its healthy vigorous state by this.

It is written, “Our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29). This expression is sometimes wrongly interpreted, as if spoken of God without bringing in Christ. We know nothing of God outside of Christ. We may be out of Christ ourselves; then indeed, as a consuming fire, the very presence of God would be destructive to us. But also, as known to us who are in Christ, He is a God intolerant of all evil, of all that which is inconsistent with Himself.

J. N. Darby (adapted)

The Peace Offering

After the burnt offering and the meat offering, the next offering mentioned is the peace offering. As we have remarked before, each one of these offerings brings before us a different aspect of the work of Christ. The burnt offering is what the work of Christ is to God, fully glorifying Him about sin. The meat offering is Christ’s perfect humanity and shows us, in type, how every testing and trial He passed through as man only brought out a perfect evenness and fragrance which was a delight to the heart of God His Father, as well as being food for us as priests.

Communion and Fellowship

The peace offering could be called the communion offering. As soon as sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden, fellowship between God and man was broken, and it could be restored only in Christ, the One who has fully glorified God about the question of sin. He has brought those who are saved into a place of acceptance and favor where we can have “fellowship ... with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). We have been brought into a nearer place — far nearer than that enjoyed by Adam before sin entered. We were once enemies, but now have been “reconciled to God by the death of His Son” (Rom. 5:10). All our fears are gone, and we can “joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:11). Blessed portion!

The way of approach to God is thus typified in all the sacrifices of the Old Testament, for the only way sinful man could stand before a perfectly holy God was through the blood of a sacrifice. And now in the peace offering we have the ground of communion so beautifully typified, as well as the energy that maintains it.

Degrees of Communion

First of all, we notice that the offering might be taken from among the herd, such as a bullock, or it might be from among the flock, such as a sheep or a goat. The bullock is a large animal, whereas the sheep or goats are smaller, showing us that the measure of communion is not the same with every believer, but communion is only through Christ. The more we are occupied with Him, the more we shall enjoy that blessed intimacy of communion with God in our souls. May our measure be thus increased!

Rejoicing With Him

When the offering was presented, the offerer put his hands upon the head of the animal, thus identifying himself with it. The animal was then killed and its blood sprinkled upon the altar round about. The only way of entrance into the presence of God is through the blood, for it is the blood that puts sin away.

If we connect what we have here with the law of the peace offering in Leviticus 7, we will learn many precious things, helping us to realize in fuller measure what a wonderful privilege it is to have the thoughts of God and to be in the enjoyment of Christ. We notice here that the fat upon the inwards of the animal was burned upon the altar, and it is called “the food” of the offering. God would teach us, first of all, of His portion in Christ, and our communion and enjoyment is because of this. How He delights to bring His people into His thoughts, enjoying that which He enjoys! If we love someone, we want him to enjoy what we enjoy, and it is wonderful to think that God our Father wants us to rejoice with Him and have His thoughts about His Son.

G. H. Hayhoe (adapted)

Worship: Chiefly in Connection with the Peace Offering

The peace offering typifies to us the communion of saints, with God, with the priest who has offered it on our behalf, with one another, and with the whole body of the saints as priests to God. It comes after those which present to us the Lord Jesus Himself in His devoting Himself to death (the burnt offering) and His devotedness and grace in His life, with the testing of fire (the meal offering), that we may understand that all communion is based on the acceptability and sweet odor of this sacrifice.

The Fat

The animal was killed at the door of the tabernacle, and all the fat burned on the altar of burnt offering to the Lord. The use of this symbol, fat, is familiar in the Word of God, as, for example, in Psalm 17:10: “They are enclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.” It is the energy and force of the inward will, the inwards of a man’s heart. Hence, where Christ expresses His entire mortification, He declares they could tell all His bones (Psa. 22), and in Psalm 102, “By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.”

But in Jesus, all that was of energy and force was offered to Him for a sweet savor — God’s food of the offering. In this Jehovah Himself found His delight, for it was very good — good in perfect obedience.

The Excellency of Christ

If the eye of God passed over this earth, not until Jesus was seen in it could His eye rest in complacency and peace. The moment He presented Himself in public service, heaven opened, the Holy Spirit descended to dwell in this His one resting place here, and the Father’s voice declares from heaven, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). Was this Object to lose its excellence in the midst of a world of sin? No, it was there its excellency was proved.

He learned obedience by the things which He suffered, for every spring of His heart was consecrated to God. Jehovah found continued delight in Him, and above all in His death: The food of the offering was there. The fat being burned as a burnt offering, the consecration to God is pursued to its full point of acceptance and grace.

The Law of the Offerings

Turning to the law of the offerings (Lev. 7:28-34), we find that the rest was eaten. The breast was for Aaron and his sons, type of the whole church; the right shoulder was for the priest that sprinkled the blood, more especially a type of Christ, as the offering priest. The rest of the animal was eaten by him who presented it and those invited by him. Thus there was identity and communion with the delight of Him to whom it was offered, with the priesthood and the altar, which were the instruments and means of the offering. We indeed should eat in the name of the Lord Jesus, offering our sacrifices of thanksgiving, and so consecrate all we partake of, and ourselves in it, in communion with the Giver.

Thus the offering of Christ as a burnt offering is God’s delight: It is of sweet savor with Him. Before the Lord, at His table, so to speak, the worshipers, also coming by this perfect sacrifice, feed on it also and have perfect communion with God in the same delight in the perfect sacrifice of Jesus. As parents have a common joy in their offspring, the worshipers have one mind with the Father in their delight in the excellency of an offered Christ. And the Priest who has ministered all this has His share also. Further, the whole church of God must be embraced in it.

Such then is all true worship of the saints. In heaven He shall gird Himself, make them sit down to meat, and come forth and serve them (Luke 12).

The Joy of Worship

The joy of worship necessarily associates itself also with the whole body of the redeemed, viewed as in the heavenly places. Aaron and his sons, type of the church, have title to enter into the heavenly places and offer incense, having been made priests to God. Hence true worship cannot separate itself from the whole body of true believers. I cannot come with my sacrifice to the tabernacle of God without finding there the priests of the tabernacle. Without the one Priest all is vain, but I cannot find Him without His whole body of manifested people. I cannot approach Him but in association with the whole body of those who are sanctified in Christ. He who walks not in this spirit is in conflict with the ordinance of God and has no true peace offering according to God’s institution.

But there were other circumstances we must notice. First, only those that were clean could partake among the guests. Israelites then partook of the peace offerings, and if an Israelite was unclean, he could not eat while his defilement continued. Only Christians whose hearts are purified by faith can worship before God, and if the heart is defiled, communion is interrupted. No person apparently defiled has title to share in the worship and communion of the church of God. True worshipers must worship the Father in Spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him (John 4:23-24). If worship and communion are by the Spirit, only those who have the Spirit of Christ and also have not grieved the Spirit can participate.

Yet there was another part of this type which seemed to contradict this, but which indeed throws additional light on it. With the offerings which accompanied this sacrifice, it was ordered (Lev. 7:13) that leavened cakes should be offered. Though that which is unclean is to be excluded, there is always a mixture of evil in us and in our worship itself. The leaven is there; it may not come into the mind when the Spirit is not grieved, but it is there where man is. Unleavened bread was there also, for Christ is there.

The Vow and the Thanksgiving

There was another very important direction in this worship. In the case of a vow, it might be eaten the second day after the burning of the fat; in the case of thanksgiving, it was to be eaten the same day. This identified the purity of the service of the worshipers with the offering of the fat to God. It is impossible to separate true spiritual worship and communion from the perfect offering of Christ to God. The moment our worship separates itself from this, it becomes carnal, and either a form or the delight of the flesh. If the peace offering was eaten separately from this offering of the fat, it was a mere carnal festivity and was really iniquity. When the Holy Spirit leads us into real spiritual worship, it leads us into all the infinite acceptability to God of the offering of Christ. Apart from this, then, our worship falls back into the flesh; our prayers become a fluent rehearsal of known truths and principles, instead of the expression of praise and thanksgiving in the joy of communion. Our singing is pleasure of the ear, taste in music, and expressions in which we sympathize — all a form in the flesh and not communion in the Spirit.

It is well to note that we may begin in the Spirit and pass into the flesh in worship. The spiritual mind will discover this at once when it happens. The Lord keep us nigh to Himself to judge all things in His presence, for out of it we can judge nothing!

For the Lord

It is good to bear strongly in mind this expression: “That pertain unto the Lord” (Lev. 7:20). The worship is not ours; it is the Lord’s. The Lord has put it there for our joy, that we may participate in His joy in Christ, but the moment we make it ours, we desecrate it. Hence what remained was burnt in the fire; hence what was unclean must have nothing to do with it. Hence the necessity of associating it with the fat burned to the Lord, that it may be really Christ in us, and so true communion.

Let us remember that all our worship pertains to God—that it is the expression of the excellency of Christ in us, and so it is our joy, as by one Spirit, with God. He in the Father, we in Him, and He in us is the marvelous chain of union which exists in grace as well as in glory: Our worship is the outgoing and joy of heart founded on this, towards God, by Christ. So, as He Himself is ministering in this, the Lord says, “I will declare Thy name unto My brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto Thee” (Heb. 2:12). What perfect experience of what is acceptable before God must He have, who, in redemption, has presented all according to God’s mind! His mind is the expression of all that is agreeable to the Father and leads us, taught by Himself, though imperfect and feeble in it, in the same acceptability. “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16).

J. N. Darby (adapted)

The Names of the Offerings

I would just remark, in conclusion, that the names of the offerings in our English version are easily misunderstood, especially those of the meat offerings and the peace offering. The words “meat offering,” convey to modern ears the very opposite of the real meaning, for it is almost the only offering in which flesh was absent. A more appropriate term would be meal offering. Again, peace offering sounds as if it were the same as the sin offering — an offering of atonement, or for making peace. Prosperity offering or thank offering would be nearer the truth. Perhaps the character of the offering would be well expressed by the name communion offering — an offering, in the partaking of which communion was enjoyed, on the ground of the prosperity which the Lord had granted.

Present Testimony, Vol. 2 (adapted)

The Skin of the Burnt Offering

We notice in Leviticus 7:8 that “the priest that offereth any man’s burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered.” Here in 1 Peter 2 we have both the holy and the royal priesthood, given to us. The believer is first so occupied with the burnt offering—with Christ in the presence of God as wholly offered up to Him, that he can come out in a new way to man. I go to a meeting, and my heart delights in what Christ is to God. What have I as the result of this? I have the skin—the outside color, the beauty of the animal. Just as Moses came down from the mountain and his face shone, so I have come near God, delighting in what Christ is to Him; now I come down to man and I have the skin.

It is not because of my devotedness, nor is it by service that I acquire the skin. It is priesthood; it is because of being occupied with Christ before God. It is that blessedness which is known to the soul only when it is entranced with the beauty of Christ. Then I get some of it; I get the skin — the beauty of the precious One in whom God delights. Just as children who love their parents tend to do things as they do, so I have got so near to that blessed One that I have caught something of His likeness. Now I can come out to show forth the virtues of Him who hath called me out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Food for the Flock, Vol. 6 (adapted)

The Fat

The Lord’s part in the peace (or prosperity) offerings being the fat of the inwards, and this being consumed on the burnt offering (Lev. 3:5) and with the meat offering (Lev. 7:12), really brought them (the offering priest, the priests at large, and the worshipers) into communion with God’s own joy and delight. This was not only in the peace offering, but also in the burnt and meat offerings, of which the fat of the peace offering was “the food.”

Bible Herald, Vol. 5

Salt

Salt is necessary to life, both for man and beast, and it is a means of cleansing the body. It is present in the blood that flows throughout our bodies. “Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?” (Luke 14:34). Salt cannot salt itself, and as it does not benefit itself, it is intended to be used for others. Salt is a picture of the power of holy grace in man. A true believer is likened to salt which savors, or seasons, and preserves. He acts as a moral savor, and as long as the believer is in this world he is a preserver. Salt is the separating power of holiness, keeping us from the world and evil, within and without. “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (Col. 4:6). Separation here is concerning what we say, which should be with grace for edification for others.

Both in worship and in a consecrated offering in service there should not lack the salt of holy grace and devotion. The Old Testament speaks of offerings and sacrifices, and they do not all apply to atonement. Many of them typify the believer in his normal role, as to how he is to offer his life and service to God down here. All of this was written for our learning. This is not to imply that man can provide anything for God in or from himself, but there can be devotedness, a response from the heart, noticed by God and often a testimony on earth to His glory.

“When thou hast made an end of cleansing it [the altar], thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish. And thou shalt offer them before the Lord, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the Lord” (Ezekiel 43:23-24). The bullock speaks of the largeness of appreciation of what Christ is, in His offering of Himself to God. The discernment of this is through salt, the inner intelligence as well as holy grace and devotion. How often we need to judge ourselves as to this! It is only right that God should have the utmost in devotion whether in worship or sacrifice, and salt should always accompany these. “And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt” (Lev. 2:13).

“Every sacrifice shall be salted with salt” (Mark 9:49). Everything done for Christ is tested to see if it is done in devotion and by grace. Efforts of the flesh have no place in any sacrifices, either for worship or service. May these meditations refresh our spirits to true devotedness and holy grace.

C. E. Lunden (adapted)

Honey

In the meat (meal) offering there was the prohibition of “any honey.” It means a thing pleasant as to nature, and not wrong, but incapable of being offered to God. There cannot be a finer proof of the absence in Christ of a sweetness merely natural than the way He acted even where His mother was concerned. Scripture has recorded that she did ask our Lord for special favors, but her requests were not granted. He came to do the will of Him that sent Him and to finish His work. As a child He lived subject to Joseph and Mary, but when He entered on the service of God, it would have been mingling honey with the meat offering if He had answered her petitions. What an anticipation, and indeed rebuke, for the vain superstition of men who would make Mary the chief means of access to God by influencing His Son! He was perfect. He did not come to gratify even the amiable side of human nature; He came to do the will of God. This He did, and the oblation or meat offering shows it.

There was the unction of the Spirit, not leaven, and the salt of the covenant, not honey. This did not exclude, as we are told, the offering of honey as firstfruits, or even loaves baked with leaven, but they could not be burned, as not being in themselves a sweet savor (Lev. 2:12).

W. Kelly (adapted)

Sweet Savor Offerings

We sometimes sing this hymn on the Lord’s Day, when we are remembering the Lord. The truth expressed in this hymn is an example of what the sweet savor offerings give us in type.

Thou art the everlasting Word,

The Father’s only Son;

God manifest, God seen and heard,

The heaven’s beloved One;

Worthy, O Lamb of God, art Thou,