The Laws of the Offerings. The laws of the offerings give added details that bring out more of the contrast between the offerings. The laws of the offerings were directed more at the priesthood. The priest on one hand, brings before us Christ himself, but there is an application to the believer as we holy priests, offering up spiritual sacrifices. When Aaron appears alone, he is a picture of Christ himself. When Aaron and his sons are mentioned, they are a picture of Christ and the saints as a company of priests.

 

 

vv.8-9 Burning of the Burnt Offering. In ch.1 we had relatively few details about the burning of the sacrifice, but this is heavily emphasized in the law of the burnt offering. We find that the priest was to keep the fire burning all night until the morning. While the world’s slumbers and sleeps, the acceptability, the fragrance of the sacrifice, ever rises up to God as a sweet savor.

 

vv.10-11 Priestly Clothing and Ashes. The priest was to change his garments, putting on the linen breeches (pants) that we read of in Exodus 28, which is the very same clothing that the priest would put on when he went into the holy of holies on the day of atonement. This was not the normal garb of the priest with the ephod, miter, girdle, etc. The linen breeches speak of spotless purity. This was done for taking up the ashes from the burnt offering. The ashes signified that the sacrifice had been consumed. When it came to Calvary’s cross, the sacrifice consumed the fire! The work was done. Event the memory of Christ’s sacrifice is to be handled with the utmost holiness and reverence. But after the ashes were placed beside the altar, the priest would change his garments again and put on other garments and carry forth the ashes outside of the camp of Israel into a clean place. Some have compared the “clean place” mentioned here with Joseph’s “new tomb” where the body of the Lord Jesus was interred. But perhaps this change of clothes speaks of Christ coming forth in resurrection, a changed body, a body of glory!

 

vv.12-13 The Continual Burnt Offering. In addition to the voluntary aspect of the burnt offering, now we find a different angle to it: there was to be continual burnt offering. We find more details on the continual burnt offering in Exodus 29:38-43, where a lamb in the morning and a lamb in the evening were to be offered. This was to be the foundation, typically speaking, for God to meet with the children of Israel. The fire was to be kept burning all night until the morning, “it shall never go out”. The beauty of the sacrifice of Christ ever rises up to God as a sweet-savor. God’s eye was ever on that sacrifice. It is instructive to trace the evening sacrifice through scripture; e.g. Elijah on Mount Carmel offered at the time of the evening sacrifice, and Daniel’s prayer was answered at the time of the evening oblation (Dan. 9:21), and the man healed in Acts 4 was healed at the “hour of prayer”, which was the third hour, the time of the evening sacrifice. It was the very time, after three hours of darkness, that Christ uttered the cry of abandonment on Calvary. God measures time according to the continual burnt offering, as His own satisfaction is the only basis of our blessing. David may have, in a sense, grasped the importance of the burnt offering for Israel, and recognized Moriah as the site where the temple must be built (1 Chron. 22:1). All through the long night of Israel’s being set aside, the hope of blessing is secured by the continual sweet savor of the evening sacrifice. When the morning dawns, and the work of grace with Israel resumes, the sweet odor of Christ offered up will again ascend as worship to Jehovah!

 

vv.14-15 A Memorial: Burned as a Sweet Savor to Jehovah. All of the various baking methods in Lev. 2 are passed over, and we have the meal offering in its essence. The “fine flour” speaks of the perfect, sinless humanity of the Lord Jesus. The “oil” mingled with the flour or as poured on it speaks of the Spirit of God, involved in the conception of Jesus and as the power of His walk. The “frankincense” speaks of the fragrance of grace that characterized His walk. While a part of the flour and oil was offered (a “handful” or memorial), “all the frankincense” was to be burned, indicating that all that none was kept for the priest, although the priest could certainly appreciate the sweet order. Just so, everything our Lord Jesus did was for the glory of God, but others could value it as well.

 

 

vv.16-18 The Remainder: For the Priests, Holiness Guarded. The meal offering is in contrast to the burnt offering in this respect: the burnt offering was wholly for God, while part of the meal offering was for God, and the remainder for the priests. It is our privilege, as a company of priests, to feed on Christ as the meal offering. Aaron and his sons were to eat it in “the court of the tent of meeting”. It was a place of nearness to the tabernacle. So with us, the more we understand our portion in association with Christ, the more we will enjoy Him as our spiritual food! But though the remainder was for the priests’ enjoyment, it was not to contain any leaven, and the holiness of it is guarded: “it is most holy; as the sin-offering, and as the trespass-offering”. The truth of the meal offering and the sin offering are areas where man might be careless in regard to the holiness of the Person of Christ. All the males of the priests were to eat of the meal offering, even those who were not directly involved in the offering. So we see that Christ in His perfect life is the food of every believer! The final statement adds to the privilege of partaking of the meal offering the solemn responsibility, that whatever or whoever touched that offering was holy; separated from all that was common to Jehovah.

 

vv.19-23 The Meal Offering of Consecration. The next law is a new communication, separated from the preceding law of the meal offering by the normal expression (v.19). This is the law of the meal offering that was required of a priest who came into his office. It applied to Aaron and his sons initially (v.20), and also to any of his descendants who filled in the stead of his father (v.22). The offerings was the tenth part of the ephah, which was the same measure as the portion of manna for one Israelite (Ex. 16:36) The offering was “a continual oblation” divided into a morning and evening offering. Unlike the normal meal offering, all of it was to be burned on the altar. Because it was for the priest, he could not partake of it himself. All was for Jehovah. Perhaps it speaks of that in the perfect life and Person of Christ here on this earth that was only for God. The hymn writer expressed it this way:

 

v.7 The Law of the Sin and Trespass Offerings. 

 

v.8 The Skin of the Burnt Offering. The burnt-offering is that which Christ did for the satisfaction and glory of God. All was to be burned on the altar, except for one part. The priest was to keep the skin of the burnt offering, which perhaps is a picture of Christ’s satisfaction in His own work!² Another application of this is to the believer, and this in a twofold way. Every believer today is a priest, and we too can have the skin of the burnt offering. The skin of the sin offering was to be burned along with the body, outside the camp. What we as sinners present outwardly is condemned: the exhibition of the flesh. The skin of the burnt offering is what we are now to wear: the skin of Him who offered Himself up without spot to God! This is different from the coats of skin given to Adam and Eve, which was the evidence that sin had come in, the provision of God for covering for their nakedness. The skin of the burnt offering goes beyond that: that which is a sweet savor to God becomes our covering. That is the positional aspect, but there is also a practical display in our lives, to live as His lived (Ephesians 5:1-2). God looks in the believer for that which rises up to Him as a sweet-smelling savor, to the extent that Christ is exhibited in our lives.

 

 

vv.9-10 The Portion of the Priests. 

vv.11-15 Details for the Peace-offering of Thanksgiving. 

 

vv.16-17 Details for the Peace-offering of Vows or Voluntary. 

 

vv.18-21 Defilement of the Peace-offering. 

 

vv.22-25 The Significance of Fat. 

 

vv.26-27 The Significance of Blood. 

 

vv.28-36 The Portion of the Priests. 

 

 

vv.37-38 Conclusion.