The Burnt Offering
At the Door of the Tabernacle
At the conference in 2024 at Anthem Arizona, we have been considering the times of the gentiles and what marks them in the ways they govern. It is encouraging to see that in the midst of all that was going on that Daniel and his friends were yet prepared to serve the Lord in such times.
We can see that their parents must have had some appreciation of the God of Israel by the names they gave their boys. Their early training had a good influence on them that they did not forget their God while in captivity.
We read that Daniel went into his house; and, his windows being open in his upper chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled on his knees three times a day, and did two things he prayed and he gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
It is encouraging to note that he was not only praying about the circumstances that he and the others were in, he also did not neglect to give the Lord something.
The blessings and influence that Daniel had from others in his youth and no doubt as well from the word of God, prepared him to remain faithful in difficult times.
When we read of the history of Israel we do not have mention of what seems to be a little band of devoted followers of Jehovah. Yet God had His eye on them.
The corruption of what was happening in Israel around them was one thing but what was happening in the homes of these young men was another.
And it is important to take note that they never forgot the one who was the source of such blessing and influence. So Daniel not only prays but he also gives thanks. I can not help but think that part of his thankfulness came from what he was given in his youth.
They refer to their God over 20 times. And Their God is mentioned over 70 times in these 12 chapters.
It goes without saying that we first take things in so we can eventually give something out.
We will remember when the Lord was at the marriage feast. Water had to be put into the vessels before wine could be drawn out.
John 2:7 Jesus says to them, Fill the water-vessels with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
v8 And he says to them, Draw out now, and carry it to the feast-master. And they carried it .
v9 But when the feast-master had tasted the water which had been made wine (and knew not whence it was, but the servants knew who drew the water), the feast-master calls the bridegroom,
v10 and says to him, Every man sets on first the good wine, and when men have well drunk, then the inferior; thou hast kept the good wine till now.
Water, we know, speaks of the word of God. And in Judges 9 verse 13 we find wine speaks of that which cheers God and man.
So we find the more of the word of God we take in, the more of what cheers the heart of God and man can be given out. And what is it the cheers the heart of God most? God Himself tells us in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. There we find that it is the person of His beloved Son.
Matthew_3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Mark_1:11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Luke_3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
If we, like Daniel, seek to give something to God, let us give what cheers His heart most.
I think an Old Testament illustration of this is found in Leviticus chapter 1.
Just a little background to begin with.
At the end of the book of Exodus we read, the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. This was the visible mark of divine approval and of the fact that God was pleased to dwell with His people.
It is from that standpoint that the book of Leviticus opens.
There we read of the burnt offering that was to be completely consumed by fire, a sweet odor to Jehovah.
it may be of interest to point out in answer to these types that the first thing God would interest His people in, is to draw near to Him to offer to Him that which He finds delight in.
It speaks of what the offerer could bring for the pleasure of God.
Today, as we speak of the things we have made concerning the king, it is presenting to God our appreciation of the Son.
The burnt offering sets forth in some way the greatness and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, and the work He has accomplished for the glory and delight of God.
Lev 1:1 And Jehovah called to Moses and spoke to him out of the tent of meeting, saying,
With the many conflicting things that are being said today it gives a real peace to hear from the Lord Himself just what it is that He finds pleasure in.
God was dwelling in the tabernacle among the people of Israel. Here He speaks to a man out of His dwelling place. He gives instructions that are to be passed on to the people. Instructions as to how the people of Israel can give to God something for His pleasure, something that He places great value on.
Today God speaks to man from heaven, His dwelling place, by way of the written word.
Leviticus 1:2 Speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them, When any man of you presenteth an offering to Jehovah, ye shall present your offering of the cattle, of the herd and of the flock.
The offering could be from the herd. That is the animals that are marked by power and strength. It speaks of the Lord’s ability. It also could have been from the flock. That is the animals that are marked by submission and willingness to follow.
So we can say that the Lord was not only able but He also was willing to accomplish all that was needed for our blessing and His Father’s pleasure.
Lev 1:3 If his offering be a burnt-offering of the herd, he shall present it a male without blemish: at the entrance of the tent of meeting shall he present it, for his acceptance before Jehovah.
his offering be a burnt-offering
The word for burnt means to ascend.
of the herd,
The largest of the animals that can be used as a burnt offering. It typifies the greatest appreciation that man may have of the Lord Jesus.
he shall present it a male
The unblemished male, of the first year, was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ offering Himself for the perfect accomplishment of the will of God.
If any desired to offer a burnt sacrifice from the herd, this must be a male. It was a free will offering but it had to be according to God’s standards.
without blemish:
No defect, nothing lacking or missing. It speaks of Christ in His perfection.
at the entrance of the tent of meeting shall he present it,
Presenting to God our appreciation of Christ is to be (for want of a better term) at the door of heaven.
Our hearts must rise above the things of earth and get into the presence of God for it is there that we are to present Christ as our burnt offering.
for his acceptance before Jehovah.
God’s desire was not only to forgive us our sins, but also to bring us into favour, as we read of in Eph. 1, "accepted in (taken into favour in) the Beloved." and as the hymn says "Nearer we could not be,". This is the bearing of the burnt offering — "for his acceptance." It is a big step forward when we realize that we are in the Christian company not only because God has forgiven us, but also because He desired to bless us, and to form us so He can find delight in us also.
Lev 1:4 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
Paul tells us in Eph. 1:6, we read, "He hath made us accepted in the Beloved."
And John tells us in 1 John 4:17) that "as He is, so are we in this world".
Lev 1:5 And he shall slaughter the bullock before Jehovah; and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood round about on the altar that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
The words "before the LORD" indicates that the offerer was aware that what he was doing was for the pleasure of God; He was finding His delight in what speaks of His well-beloved Son.
Before Jehovah at the door of the tabernacle.
That was the instructions for Israel. Today we need to also to take our sacrifice to the presence of God where He is.
Lev 1:6 And he shall flay the burnt-offering, and cut it up into its pieces.
cut into his pieces so that each distinctive part might be exposed.
As the Christian grows, he will be more able to clearly detect the various characteristics of the person of Christ.
Lev 1:7 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay wood in order on the fire;
in order on the wood
One at a time the parts were laid on the wood which was on the fire of the altar, and were thus offered up to God.
The wood suggests the Manhood of our Lord, it was necessary for Him to come as a man in order that He might die.
Christian worship is intended to be orderly and that order is according to the mind of the Lord.
For we all know that if it is not God’s order it is not order at all.
I am convinced that the spiritual mind is an orderly mind, it thinks in patterns.
Lev 1:8 and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall lay the pieces, the head, and the fat, in order on the wood that is on the fire which is on the altar;
The head
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
In relation to the church, headship can be summarized under 3 headings.
sustenance – direction – control.
The one who died that awful death that He might bring us to Himself is now the head that sustains us.
And knowing that it was out of love that He gave Himself that we might have eternal life and a place secured in the Fathers house, the Christian would have no hesitation to take our direction from Him, and allow Him to control our lives knowing it will always be for our good.
As the burnt offering He was intelligent to all that was before Him.
The fat
Lev_3:16 And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD'S.
It is referred to in the concordance as "suet." speaking of the excellence of the offering, and the energy of our Lord in doing the will of God.
Being intelligence of what that will was yet He put his energy in accomplishing it.
So the head and the fat are placed together; the Lord Jesus knew what that will was, and knowing it, He did it. (John 8:29) "I do always those things that please Him,".
Washed with water.
Lev 1:9 but its inwards and its legs shall he wash in water; and the priest shall burn all on the altar, a burnt-offering, an offering by fire to Jehovah of a sweet odour.
The inwards would speak of His internal desires and the legs of external movement.
The Lord Jesus not only had right desires towards God, but He gave expression to those desires in all His walk here.
Just as the head and the fat were presented together, so also are the inwards and the legs presented together.
His only desire was to walk here pleasing to God, and this brought delight to the heart of God.
This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.
An interesting feature concerning these pieces has been pointed out in the fact that Paul records. "Who knew no sin" (2 Cor. 5:21) — the answer to the head.
John records, "in Him is no sin" (1 John 3:5) — the answer to the inwards.
Peter records, "Who did no sin" (1 Pet 2:22) — the answer to the legs.
its inwards shall he wash in water
When we come together and in our worship have precious thoughts of the most inward feelings of Christ, His love that brought Him down, His love that took Him to the cross, His love for the father seen in His perfect obedience even unto death, we must be careful not to mix anything of man with it. It is to be washed with the water of the word.
The legs washed in water
Lev 1:9 but its inwards and its legs shall he wash in water; and the priest shall burn all on the altar, a burnt-offering, an offering by fire to Jehovah of a sweet odour.
The word for burn here indicates to burn as incense.
4 legs each with unique features of their own. As we consider Christ and His walk while He was here we can see Him in a number of ways. These ways are beautifully seen in the 4 gospels.
Matthew – the king and His lordship. As with headship, lordship can also be summarized under 3 headings
Supremacy, authority and rule.
Mark – we have the perfect servant.
So it is Humility, meekness and obedience.
Luke – the perfect man.
Dependence
righteousness
responsibility
Holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners
John – the Son of God.
Most high – Luke 8:28
Only begotten – John 3:18
Sanctified - John 10:36
Glory – John 11:4
Life – Acts 8:37 – 1 John 5:12
Power – Romans 1:4
Love – Galatians 2:20
High priest - Hebrews 4:14
Eternal life - 1 John 5:20
The burnt offering is "a sweet savour unto the LORD." In all that He is and is all that He did brought delight to the heart of God.
When the Lord initiated the supper, the spirit of God had the writers of each of the gospels present it in a different way.
Mar 14:22 And as they were eating, Jesus, having taken bread, when he had blessed, broke, and gave to them, and said, Take: this is my body.
Notice just one word in Mark - TAKE
Mat 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus, having taken bread and blessed, broke and gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
In Matthew it is – TAKE EAT
Luk 22:19 And having taken a loaf, when he had given thanks, he broke, and gave to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
And in Luke it is – REMEMBER
Joh 13:33 Children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me; and, as I said to the Jews, Where I go ye cannot come, I say to you also now.
Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Joh 13:35 By this shall all know that ye are disciples of mine, if ye have love amongst yourselves.
In John, at the point that the other gospels record His instructions in reference to the emblems, John records that Jesus reveals that He is going to leave them and instructs them as to how to act while He is away so all will know that they are His disciples.
I did appreciate what one has said about these portions of the word of God.
In Mark – TAKE – That is take in the precious meaning of what the supper speaks about apprehend it, go after it.
In Matthew – TAKE EAT – assimilate it and make it our own make it part of us.
Luke – REMEMBER – as we apprehend it and assimilate it our remembering of Christ will be fuller and of greater meaning.
John – here we focus on where the the Lord had gone and where the Father is and offer our worship and appreciation of Christ, our burnt offering of a sweet odor, at the door of heaven as Moses offered at the door of the tent of meeting.
It is important to keep in mind that the burnt offering it is, "a sweet savour unto the LORD." Here we have in type the work of our Lord Jesus Christ satisfying every claim of God and, in so doing, giving delight to the heart of God.
AND YET THERE IS SOMETHING MORE
John goes on to tell us that while the Lord is away we are to display the same love one to another that He was marked by when here. That love that He has shown to us by dying that awful death at Calvary. That love that causes us to want to respond in praise and worship for He is worthy. So that all will realize that we are truly His disciples.
How out of place it would be if when presenting to God the Father our worship and appreciation of the person of His Son and at the same time be treating members of His body in any other way than love.
In summary in closing
He, as the burnt offering is a sweet saviour to God.
He is the head, intelligent, knowing all that was before Him
His inwards - His love never fails,
His 4 legs in His walk here
He is the King – Matthew,
He is the perfect servant – Mark,
He is the perfect man – Luke,
He is the Son of God – John.
As Daniel prayed and gave thanks back to God.
We also have much to pray about - The needs and concerns of many are very real.
And we also have much to be thankful for. We have been accepted in the beloved, the One who brought much pleasure to the heart of God.
As the hymn says - Worthy of homage and of praise, worthy by all to be adored.
DNL