Leviticus 3:1-17 And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female… I. IN ITS CONTRAST TO THE OTHER OFFERINGS, it may be sufficient to enumerate two chief points — 1. It was a sweet-savour offering; and — 2. The offerer, God, and the priest were fed by it. (1) In the peace-offering the offerer feasts, in other words, finds satisfaction, and feeds upon the same offering of which a part has already satisfied God: for a part of the peace-offering, "the fat, the blood, the inwards," before the offerer can touch his part, must have already been consumed on the altar. I fear that there are but too many saints who never realise this aspect of the offering, and therefore never fully experience that satisfaction which the offering has purchased for them. Thank God, the sufficiency of His work does not depend upon our apprehension of it. But our satisfaction depends much on our apprehension. It is because we apprehend so little that we have so little comfort. And our strength particularly depends on our apprehension of that view of Christ which the peace-offering teaches; for strength is sustained by food, and the peace-offering shows man fed by the sacrifice. Yet how little is this view of Christ apprehended! Am I asked the cause? It is because so few really know acceptance. (2) The offerer feasts with God. Man (in Christ) and God find common food. The offering is shared between them. The thought here is not, as in the burnt-offering, merely that God finds satisfaction in the offering. It includes this, but it goes further. It shows communion; for God and man share together. (3) But further, in the sacrifice of peace-offerings, the offerer feasts with the priest. The sacrificing Priest, as I have already observed, is always Christ, viewed in His official character as Mediator. We learn here how the offering, which He offered as man, feeds, that is, satisfies Him, not only as man, but also as Mediator. To understand this we must recollect and apprehend the varied relations in which Christ stands connected with the offering; for He appears for us in many offices, in more than one relation. In connection with the offering alone we see Him, as I have said, in at least three characters. Now, if this simple distinction be apprehended, it will be manifest that there are things true of Christ in one relation which are by no means true of Him in another. For instance, His intercession for us is as Priest. As the Offering, He does not intercede; as Lamb, He dies for us. So again as Priest and Offerer, He is fed; as the Lamb, as the Offering, He is not fed. Now there are offerings in which the priest finds food, but from participating in which the offerer is excluded: some of the sin-offerings are of this latter character, for in them the priest is fed, while the offerer has nothing. The sin-offerings, as we shall see more fully in the sequel, are man satisfying offended justice. They are not man giving something sweet to God, but man receiving from God in iris offering the penalty of sin. These sin-offerings supply food to the priest, that is, Christ as Mediator finds satisfaction in them, but they afford Him no food as man the offerer: as man in them He only confesses sin. The priest, God's official servant, is satisfied, because offended justice is vindicated: but man, who pays the penalty in his offering, finds no satisfaction in the act. (4) But the type takes us further still, and shows us the priest's children also sharing with the offerer in the peace-offering. They, too, as well as the offerer, the priest, and God, find satisfaction in this blessed offering. Our first question here, of course, must be, Who are represented by the priest's children? We have already seen that the Priest is Christ — Christ viewed in His official character as Mediator. His children, that is, His family, are therefore the Church. Just as of old he that really feasted with God in the peace-offering could not do so without sharing with Clod's priests, so now communion with God, if enjoyed at all, must be shared with all in communion with Him. There is no question of choice: it cannot be otherwise; for he that is in communion with God must be in communion also with all whom He communes with. II. THE DIFFERENT GRADES OR VARIETIES WHICH ARE OBSERVED IN THIS OFFERING. These show us the different measures of intelligence with which this view of Christ's offering may be apprehended. And here, as there are several distinct sharers in the offering — for God, man, and the priest, have each a portion — it may be well to consider each portion separately with its particular differences, since in each portion there are distinct varieties observed. 1. First, then, as to God's part in the peace-offering. In this certain varieties at once present themselves; some of them relating to the value of the offering, others connected with the offerer's purport in the oblation. (1) To speak first of the varieties touching the value of the offering. We have here, just as in the burnt-offering, several different grades. There is the "bullock," "the lamb," "the goat'; and these respectively represent here what they do in the burnt-offering. Each gives us rather a different thought as to the character of Christ's blessed offering. 2. But there are other varieties noticed in the type, as to that part of the peace-offering which was offered to God, which are connected, not with the value of the offering, but with the offerer's purport in bringing the oblation. If we turn to the seventh chapter, where the distinction I refer to is mentioned, it will be seen that the peace-offering might be offered in two ways. It might be offered either as a thanksgiving, that is for praise, or as a vow or voluntary offering, that is for service. If it were seen to be offered "for thanksgiving," many particulars are noticed respecting man's share in it, which are entirely lost sight of and omitted when it is seen to be offered "for a vow." And most of the varieties in the peace-offering (I may say all the varieties touching the priest's and offerer's part in it) depend upon the view which may be taken of the general character of the offering, whether it were offered "for thanksgiving," or whether it were offered "for a vow."(2) The priest's and offerer's part, and the varieties which are observable here. It will be found that the particulars respecting this portion of the peace-offering differ very much according as the offering is apprehended "for praise" or "for service."(a) In the offering "for praise," a meat-offering is offered of which the offerer as well as the priests partake. The purport of the meat-offering is the fulfilment of the second table of the Decalogue; man offering to God as a sweet savour the perfect accomplishment of his duty towards his neighbour. The peculiarity here is that the offerer partakes of this meat-offering — a thing not permitted in the common meat-offering. The common meat-offering shows us the fulfilment of the law, simply with reference to God, to satisfy Him. But that same fulfilment of the law has other aspects, one of which is, that it satisfies the offerer also. This is the truth brought out in the peace-offering, in which the offerer, as well as God, finds satisfaction in the fulfilment of all righteousness. And this satisfaction is not only in the fulfilment of that part of the law which had reference to God, and which was represented by the offering of a life, but in that part also which referred to man, and was represented by the unleavened cakes of the meat-offering. The latter part of this appears to be quite lost sight of, unless the peace-offering is apprehended as offered "for praise."(b) But further, in the offering "for praise" leavened cakes also are seen to be offered with the sacrifice. Those cakes represent the offering of the Church. When Christ's work is seen merely as "the vow," as a matter of service, the Church's offering does not come into sight: but when His offering is seen "for praise," that is for God's glory, the Church is seen united with Him. 3. One cake out of all the oblation is given to the priest who sprinkles the blood, while the remainder, belongs to him who brings the offering. Christ, as Priest, finds food and satisfaction not only in His own blessed and perfect offering: He feeds also on "the leavened cake": the offering of His Church, with all its failings, satisfies Him. 4. The last particular noticed respects the period during which the peace-offering was to be eaten. The time for eating the offering "for praise" was "the same day," or "until the morning": in the "vow-offering" there is a little difference; it might be eaten "the same day and on the morrow," or "until the third day." Now the "morning" and the "third day" are sufficiently common types, and are both constantly used, I believe, to denote the resurrection: but I am not so certain as to the different aspect of the resurrection represented by each of them. I am disposed, however, to think that "the morning" represents the resurrection as the time of Christ's appearing, while the thought connected with "the third day" is simply deliverance from the grave. In either case the main truth remains the same — that the peace-offering is our food until the resurrection: but in the one case we eat as those whose time is short, in the night it may be, but in hope of the morning; in the other the thought of the morning is lost, and instead of it we see days of labour to intervene. I need not say that the first is the higher and happier view. (A. Jukes.) Parallel Verses KJV: And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD. |
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