Morning Nourishment Lev. 1:9 ...The priest shall burn the whole on the altar, as a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a satisfying fragrance to Jehovah. 8:18 And he presented the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. The burnt offering typifies Christ not mainly in His redeeming man from sin but in His living a life that is perfect and absolutely for God and for God’s satisfaction (Lev. 1:9; John 5:19, 30; 6:38; 7:18; 8:29; 14:24) and in His being the life that enables God’s people to have such a living (2 Cor. 5:15; Gal. 2:19-20). It is God’s food that God may enjoy it and be satisfied (Num. 28:2). This offering was to be offered daily, in the morning and in the evening (Exo. 29:38-42; Lev. 6:8-13; Num. 28:3-4). (Lev. 1:3, footnote 1) The ram of the burnt offering signifies the strong Christ as our burnt offering for the assuming of our New Testament priesthood. This offering reminds us that as serving ones we must be absolute for God, yet we are not. Thus, we need to take Christ daily as our burnt offering for our priestly service (Lev. 6:12). (Lev. 8:18, footnote 1) Today’s Reading The burnt offering signifies Christ not mainly for redeeming man’s sin but for living for God and for God’s satisfaction. As the sin offering Christ is for redeeming man’s sin, but as the burnt offering He is absolutely for living a life which can satisfy God in full. Throughout His life on earth, the Lord Jesus always lived a life that satisfied God to the uttermost. In the four Gospels He is presented as the One who is absolutely one with God. His divine attributes were expressed in His human virtues, and sometimes His human virtues were expressed in and with His divine attributes. When He was confronted, examined, and questioned by the evil, subtle opposers—the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and theHerodians—during His last days on earth, at certain times His human virtues were expressed through His divine attributes, and at other times His divine attributes were expressed in His human virtues. In the life of the Lord Jesus there was no blemish, defect, or imperfection. He was perfect, and He lived a life which was perfect and absolutely for God. He was fully qualified to be the burnt offering. Having, through His incarnation, a body prepared for Him by God to be the real burnt offering (Heb. 10:5-6), He did God’s will (vv. 7-9) and was obedient unto death (Phil. 2:8). On the cross, He offered His body to God once for all (Heb. 10:10). After the burnt offering was slaughtered, skinned, cut into pieces, and washed, it was burned on the altar. “The priest shall cause to rise in smoke the whole on the altar, as a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a satisfying fragrance to Jehovah” (Lev. 1:9, lit.). The Hebrew words translated “satisfying fragrance” literally mean savor of rest or satisfaction, that is, a savor giving satisfaction to the Deity, to whom it is offered, and, therefore, received with favor by Him. The phrase is a technical term for the fragrant steam arising from a burning sacrifice (S. R. Driver). The word “smoke” in this verse indicates that the offering was not burned quickly but slowly. As a result of this slow burning there was a satisfying fragrance, a savor that brought satisfaction, peace, and rest. Such a satisfying fragrance is an enjoyment to God. When we offer a burnt offering in smoke to God, a fragrance well-pleasing to God will ascend to Him for His satisfaction and rest. Since God is satisfied, He will render His sweet acceptance to us. This is the significance of the burnt offering. The way to satisfy God with sweetness, peace, and rest is to live a life that is absolutely for God. Since we cannot live such a life, we must take Christ as our burnt offering. We need to lay our hands on Him to indicate that we desire to be identified with Him, one with Him, and to live the kind of life He lived on earth. Such a life includes being slaughtered, skinned, cut into pieces, and washed. By passing through all these processes, we shall have something to offer to God as our burnt offering—the very Christ whom we have experienced. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 24-25, 39-40
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 21:59:23 +0000
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