CHAPTER 1

(1490 B.C.)

LAW OF BURNT OFFERINGS

¹And t he LORD called unto Moses, and spoke unto him out of the Tabernacle of the congregation, saying (the Holy Spirit has now taken up abode in the Tabernacle, actually in the Holy of Holies, where He dwelt between the Mercy Seat and the Cherubim [I Cor. 3:16]),

²Speak unto the Children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an Offering unto the LORD, you shall bring your Offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. (There is no mention of any woman bringing an Offering to the Lord, as it regards the Sacrifice of an animal. This was always done by a man. Why?

Even though Eve sinned first, it was Adam, the fountainhead of the human race, who dragged down mankind through the Fall. Whatever happened to him would pass on to the entirety of mankind. This is the reason that the Last Adam was necessary [I Cor. 15:45]. As well, the Sacrificial System had been instituted immediately after the Fall [Gen., Chpt. 4]. However, it didnt come into full bloom until the Law was given, as here noted.)

³If his offering be a Burnt Sacrifice of the herd (a whole Burnt Offering, typifying Christ giving His all), let him offer a male without blemish (symbolic of the perfection of Christ): he shall offer it of his own voluntary will (would probably be better translated, he shall offer it for the Lords acceptance; if the Offering was accepted, so was the offerer; if the Offering was rejected, the offerer was rejected as well!) at the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD. (The man had sinned before the Lord, so the Sacrifice must be presented before the Lord.)

⁴And he shall put his hand upon the head of the Burnt Offering (in effect, transferring his sin and guilt to the innocent victim, all typifying Christ taking our sins upon Himself); and it shall be accepted for him to make Atonement for him (refers to the animal being accepted as a Substitute on behalf of the sinner; at the Cross, Christ became our Substitute, and our identification with Him guarantees us Atonement).

⁵And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD (typifying the death of Christ on the Cross): and the Priests, Aarons 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 (the assisting Priest would catch in a basin the blood that poured from the slain animals throat; he would then take the blood to the Brazen Altar, and throw it around the bottom of the Altar; in some respects, this was the most essential part of the ceremony, the blood representing the life [Lev. 17:11], which was symbolically received at the hands of the offerer, and presented by the Priests to God; in the antitype, our Lord exercised the function of the sacrificing Priest, when He presented His Own Life to the Father, as He hung upon the Altar of the Cross).

⁶And he shall flay the Burnt Offering, and cut it into his pieces (this signified how terrible and how deep a thing that sin actually is; sin is not merely exterior; it is interior; it is a disease of the vitals, affecting every single part of the human being).

⁷And the sons of Aaron the Priest shall put fire upon the Altar (typical of the Judgment of God, which Christ took upon Himself, all on our behalf), and lay the wood in order upon the fire (the wood was typical of the Cross):

⁸And the Priests, Aarons 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 (the parts, as designated here, signify that the Cross dealt with every aspect of the sinner and sin):

⁹But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the Priest shall burn all on the Altar, to be a Burnt Sacrifice (a Whole Burnt Offering), an Offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. (The Burnt Offering, the Meat Offering, and the Peace Offering are sacrifices of a sweet savour. The expression is never used with regard to the Sin Offering and Trespass Offering. The washing signified the purity of Christ.

We should have a very defective apprehension of the mystery of the Cross were we only to see in it that which meets mans need as a sinner. There were depths in that mystery which only the Mind of God could fathom. It is, therefore, important to see that when the Holy Spirit would furnish us with foreshadowings of the Cross, He gives us, in the very first place, one which sets it forth in its aspect Godward. This alone would be sufficient to teach us that there are heights and depths in the Doctrine of the Cross which man never could reach. There is in the Cross that which only God could know and appreciate. Hence, it is that the Burnt Offering gets the first place. It typifies Christs death as viewed and valued by God Alone.)

¹⁰And 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. (The ritual of the Burnt Offering was the same, whether the victim was a bullock, sheep, or goat.)

¹¹And he shall kill it on the side of the Altar northward before the LORD (Heaven is to the north [Ps. 48:2; Isa. 14:13]): and the Priests, Aarons sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the Altar.

¹²And 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:

¹³But 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 unto the LORD. (Even though the instructions are basically the same for the lamb as they had been for the bullock, they are meticulously given again. The significance lies in Who the Offering represented.)

¹⁴And 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. (The fowls were for the poorest of the poor, stating the fact that the shedding of the blood of an innocent victim was absolutely necessary, and that was the case, whether rich or poor.)

¹⁵And the Priest shall bring it unto 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 (the Jews say that the sacrifice of birds was one of the most difficult services the Priests had to do; they would need to take as much care in offering this sacrifice as in any of the others):

¹⁶And 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 (the ashes signified that all sin was atoned):

¹⁷And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: 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 unto the LORD. (These little turtledoves, or young pigeons, were accepted by the Lord as much as that of an ox or bullock, or even a lamb.)