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Volume. XXXVII, No. 36 Christ, Our Burnt Offering (Part 2) Christ, Our Great High Priest Fifthly, the offering of burnt sacrifice also signifies that Christ is our great high priest. Leviticus 1:5b says, ‘…And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar…’.
Notice that the sprinkling of the blood of the animal sacrifice on the altar was to be done by the priests ‘and every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins’ (Hebrews 10:11). The offerings could only cover the sin, but they could never take away sins. The offerings were just a reminder that men were sinners and that the sin question had not yet been settled. In contrast, when Christ came, He had physically sprinkled His blood on Calvary’s cross whereby He made atonement for sin and ‘our great high priest is passed into the heavens’ (Hebrews 4:14) where he sat down on the right hand of God.
Why did Christ sit down? Was He tired? No. Did He sit down because He did not want to do anything? No. Jesus sat down because His work was finished once for all (Hebrews 10:10) having made one sacrifice for sins forever (Hebrews 10:12) and making reconciliation for the sins of the people (Hebrews 2:17).
Christ, the Suffering Servant Sixthly, the flaying of the burnt offering means to take off its skin, which was the only part of it that was not burnt. Leviticus 1:6 says, ‘And he [the offerer] shall flay the burnt offering and cut it into his pieces.’
The offerer flays the sacrifice until he comes to the breast, and then he cuts off the head, then the legs, and finishes the flaying. Then the offerer rends the heart and brings out its blood; then he cuts off the hands, and goes to the right foot, and cuts off that, and after that, he cuts down the beast until its bowels are discovered. The flaying of the skin represents Christ’s suffering when He was stripped of his clothing and was smitten and scourged, for He is the suffering servant of God as described in Isaiah 53.
Christ, the God of Order not Confusion Seventhly, the detailed instruction given about the sacrificing of the burnt offering signifies that God or Christ is the God of order and not confusion. Leviticus 1:7,8 says, ‘7 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: 8 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.’
The book of Leviticus presents a picture to us about God’s holy standard in coming to Him and offering our service to Him, and it entails that everything about holy worship must be done by His divine order.
Unfortunately, there is a great amount of confusion in evangelical circles as to how God’s people should worship God. Some believe that they can worship the Lord whatever way they want as long as it is ‘spiritually lead’.
However, the Holy Spirit does not make us do strange, bizarre things. He will never make someone shout in ecstatic utterances, laugh uncontrollably, roar like a lion or hop like a Kangaroo during worship service as claimed by some as a manifestation of the Spirit.
Some assume that God did not give His people any form of guideline to follow about worship as to what is acceptable and what is not, but this is one of the biggest misconceptions many people have.
The Reformed churches follow The Regulative Principle of Worship though most churches today operate on an altogether different principle called The Normative Principle which teaches that the worship of God can include those elements that are not prohibited by Scripture.
The Regulative Principle of Worship as found in God's Word (Genesis 4:1-8; Exodus 25:8-9; 40:16-32; Deuteronomy 5:8-10; 1 Chronicles 13:5-10; Mark 7:6-9; John 4:19-24; 1 Corinthians 7:23; 2 Corinthians 1:24; Romans 14:23; Colossians 2:8,20-23 etc.) is accurately summarized for us in the Westminster Confession of Faith 21:1.
But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture.
A summary of the Regulative Principle of Worship is simply this: What Scripture does not authorize it forbids. For God abhors all human invention in worship (Genesis 4:1-15; Leviticus 10:1-3; Exodus 40:16-32; Deuteronomy 5:8-10; 1 Chronicles 13:5-10; Mark 7:1-13; John 4:19-24; 1 Corinthians 7:23; 2 Corinthians 1:24; Colossians 2:8,20-23; Hebrews 8:5-6; 10:1-10 etc.). If God is the God of order, which He is, everything should be done decently and in order (1 Cor 14:33) for He is not the author of confusion (1 Cor 14:40).
Christ, the Author and Finisher of our Faith Eighthly, the washing in water is the picture of the work of the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us after our regeneration, for Christ is the author and finisher of our faith who sent us the Comforter.
Leviticus 1:9 says, ‘But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water…’. The water here signifies the Spirit’s washing and cleansing in the work of our salvation. Why do the redeemed need to be washed and cleaned? It is because although we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, and our sins are atoned for, we must be renewed by His Spirit (Titus 3:5) until the day of Christ’s return so that we may be presented holy and without blame before God (Ephesians 1:4).
God chose us to sanctify us. He saves us and He sanctifies us that we might be holy. Sanctification has to do with the inner life of the believer. A holy life is demanded for God's elect. No Christian should say, ‘Well, I'm one of the elects. I have been saved by grace, and now I can do as I please.’
Paul answered that kind of reasoning with, ‘What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?’ (Romans 6:1-2). Henceforth, we can't use grace as a license to sin, my friend. If you go on living in sin, it is because you are a sinner who hasn't been saved. A sinner who has been saved will show a change in his way of living.
Christ, the Sweet Savour of Sacrifice Ninth, the burnt offering also shows that Christ is the ultimate Sweet Savour of Sacrifice. Leviticus 1:9b says,’…a Sweet Savour unto the Lord.’
The fact that it is a sweet savour of sacrifice entails that the sacrifice is pleasing unto the LORD. In the Old Testament, the whole burnt sacrifice was placed on the altar and offered to God. Christ came and gave himself as a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling sacrifice for us because he loved us (Eph 5:1,2). The whole sacrifice was consumed with the fire of God’s wrath.
God is pleased or appeased because Christ offered Himself on the altar and was consumed with God’s wrath. Given what the Lord has done for us, we ought to present our bodies as ‘a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service.’ (Romans 12:1)
To present our bodies means to present our total personalities. The body is the instrument through which we express ourselves. The mind, the affections, the will, and the Holy Spirit can use the body. By an act of the will, we place our total personalities at the disposal of God. This is our ‘reasonable service,’ our rational service, and it is well-pleasing to God.
Conclusion Burnt offerings were the propitiatory sacrifices in Old Testament times. For God to maintain His justice, He must punish sin. To forgive at the expense of His just wrath would be inconsistent with His character; according to His holiness, those who have sinned must die (Genesis 2:15–17; Romans 6:23). Once God satisfies His wrath, it passes away, allowing fellowship between the Creator and His people. The burnt offering temporarily accomplished propitiation under the Old Covenant (2 Chronicles. 29:7–8), allowing God to stay His hand of wrath against Israel. Dearly beloved, knowing that God is so holy that He must execute His wrath, encourages us to see that no wrong will escape His judgment and allows a substitute to bear His wrath in our place! May we be thankful for the great salvation prefigured in the burnt offerings and accomplished in Christ Jesus! Yours in Christ, Pastor David Weng |
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