The Burnt Offering (Lev 1:1-17; 6:8-13; 7:8)
"Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and 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." (Lev 1:2,3)
Note that the word 'offering' in verse 2 is translated from the Hebrew qorban which comes from the Hebrew root qarab, meaning to draw near or to approach. Thus, the burnt offering typifies that of drawing near to God.
In verse 3, the Hebrew word rendered 'burnt sacrifice' is olah, from the root alah, meaning to go up, or ascend. The burnt offering was an ascending offering. If I understand the usage of the different Hebrew words for burning correctly, this particular word indicates the thought of burning incense that ascends upward. When studying the sin offering we will find that a different Hebrew word is used, and indicates actual burning. The difference is significant: in the burnt offering there is no thought of the fires of judgment; in the latter, judgment is precisely the thought.
The offering was to be a male without blemish, speaking of the perfect humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, who knew no sin (2 Cor 5:21), did no sin (1 Pe 2:22), and in whom was no sin (1 Jn 3:5). In Him all was perfection; He was complete; there was nothing lacking in Him and no defect can be found.
Then we see that he shall offer it of his own voluntary will. This affords us the highest view of this offering: that of the Lord Jesus Christ offering Himself without spot to God (Heb 9:14), to accomplish the will of God. So then, in the burnt offering, we have a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ not as a sin-bearer, but as perfectly obedient to the will of God.
"Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Heb 10:5- 10)
The Lord's first words recorded were "wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" (Luke 2:49), and His last words were "It is finished." (John 19:30), speaking of His Father's work. In between, during the Lord's earthly ministry, we see many times where He clearly stated His purpose in coming to this earth: to do the will of the Father. Three times we read in Matthew's gospel that as the Lord considered the agony that was before Him, he prayed that if it were possible, that bitter cup be bypassed; nevertheless, not His will, but His Father's will was foremost in His mind (Matt 26:39-44). Again, we read three times in John's gospel of the Lord specifically declaring that His purpose was to do the will of the Father (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38). Praise God that His will was mercy and not sacrifice!
All this does not detract from the perfect love of the Savior toward us one bit, rather, it confirms it. We see Calvary in a different light here. With Calvary there is the thought of payment for sin, but here there is the thought of Christ's deep love for the Father, accomplishing His will, according to His plan. There are aspects of this that only the Father and Son can know - we cannot enter into it.
"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. And he 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." (Lev 1:4,5)
In verse 4, the word translated 'put' is from the Hebrew root camak, meaning to lean upon or rest upon. What a precious thought here! The worshipper comes before God with an offering. In doing so, he first leans upon that offering, or might I say he rests upon it before killing it before the Lord. The whole basis of his ability to do so rests upon the acceptableness of that offering, for it shall be accepted for him, to make atonement for him.
Note that the offerer - and I speak now as to the believer approaching God - is not accepted in the strictest sense, it is the offering that is accepted for him. The leaning of the hand upon the head of the perfect unblemished offering speaks of identification. There is no transferrence of guilt here, as in the sin offering. Far from it. The offerer identifies himself with the acceptableness of the offering, and the offering is his very ground for acceptance. And that very ground of acceptance lies in the blood that is sprinkled around the altar.
"And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces." (Lev 1:6)
That word flay is from the Hebrew meaning to strip off. The skin was to be stripped off the offering, and then the offering was cut into pieces. Both actions speak of the close examination of that sacrifice that was without blemish: flaying would expose the flesh, affording a closer look for any imperfections, and the cutting into pieces an even closer and scrutinous examination. In both cases, as we consider the Lord Jesus in his humanity, ever peering deeper and deeper into His life and ministry, we will find no blemish, no matter how closely we shall care to look.
But the flaying also has another aspect, for although we read that all was to be burnt on the altar, the skin was not part of that which was burnt:
"And 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." (Lev 7:8)
The believer, as a member of that holy priesthood (1 Pe 2:5), had the skin as his own portion from the offering. What it might have been used for, Scripture is silent on. But perhaps by considering another portion of Scripture, we might understand the significance:
"Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them." (Gen 3:21)
The very first sacrifice recorded in Scripture was in the Garden of Eden, after the transgression. There, God clothed those two that were naked and ashamed. Does this not speak of God's grace and provision for His children?
"Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy." (Ps 132:9)
"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." (Is 61:10)
"For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Gal 3:27)
The skin was that provision for the priest - the worshipper - and speaks of the believer being clothed with the righteousness of Christ. We have nothing to glory of, nothing with which to boast. Because of Christ's acceptance based on His perfect work, we are clothed with His righteousness.
"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 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 unto the LORD." (Lev 1:7-9)
The inwards speak of the internal desires and motivations of the Lord Jesus, the legs speak of His outward work All was perfectly clean in the eyes of the Father. And all was to be burnt on the altar, again speaking of the whole will of the Lord Jesus voluntarily subjected to the will of God, His whole life spent in obedience to the Father, His whole humanity consumed upon that altar of sacrifice.
It was a sweet savour unto the Lord. More accurately, it was a savour of rest to the Lord. Fellow believer, make no mistake about it, we aren't the only ones that rest in Christ's finished work. God the Father rests in it as well!
It will be noted that the first three offerings were sweet savour offerings, that is, they were most pleasing to the Lord. In the sin and trespass offerings, there no such thought, for they were not sweet savour offerings. How could they be, when the question of sin must needs be addressed by them?
Finally, we shall consider the law of the burnt offering:
"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it.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." (Lev 6:8,9,12,13)
What a marvelous revelation of God's provision we have here! The fire shall ever be burning on the altar; it shall never go out. Those who would question the eternal security of the believer must face the matter of the eternal efficacy of Christ's sacrifice. We see here that the fire was to be burning on the altar forever, speaking of the eternally acceptable work of Christ. It shall never go out!
We will find four times in the Old Testament where God indicated his acceptance of the burnt offerings with fire:
In the case of the tabernacle and the temple, that fire which indicated God's acceptance of the offering would never go out. Morning and evening it burned, as a constant testimony to the people that their God dwelled among them. And if these things be only shadows of the heavenly reality, how much more so for us now?
We render everlasting thanksgiving and praise to God our Father for His wonderful mercy and grace; we praise the Savior for His obedience unto death for our sakes; we thank the Holy Spirit for leading us into these truths revealed in God's Holy Word.
Praise the Savior, ye who know Him!
Who can tell how much we owe Him?
Gladly let us render to Him
All we are and have.
Jesus is the Name that charms us,
He for conflict fits and arms us;
Nothing moves and nothing harms us
While we trust in Him.
Trust in Him, ye saints, forever,
He is faithful, changing never;
Neither force nor guile can sever
Those He loves from Him.
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