Understanding The Bible
STUDY REFERENCE
Clarence E. Mason's "TYPOLOGY"
PART 3
"
Typology in the Tabernacle, the Priesthood, and the Offerings"

 

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BY THE AUTHOR
Dr. Clarence E. Mason, Jr.
Philadelphia College of Bible
(c. early)

  1. THE TABERNACLE, THE PRIESTHOOD, AND THE OFFERINGS Exodus 25 - Leviticus 7

    1.  THE TABERNACLE Exodus 25-40
      Two accounts are given, the first (Ex. 25-27); the second (Ex. 36-38).
      The first (25-27) takes us from the Ark and Holy of Holies outward to the court, while the second takes us from the gate of the court inward to the Holy of Holies. The first account typifies God coming out to man; the second, man coming in to God's presence via the blood of sacrifice, and represented in his High Priest. We shall study it the second way, toward the Holy of Holies.

      1. The WARRANT for considering the whole as typical is given in Hebrews 9. It is important to observe that it is a pattern (miniature, Ex. 25:9) of the "true tabernacle" in heaven itself (Heb. 8:2), cp. description of throne, laver (sea), incense altar, lamb offered in sacrifice, "seven spirits" (lampstand), etc., as pictured in Rev. 4-5, where a scene in heaven is described.

      2. The OCCASION of its institution:

        1. The tabernacle was given TO:
          A people chosen of God, Dt. 7:6-8; Eph. l:4.
          A people sheltered by blood. Ex. 12:13, 22, 23; Mt. 26:28; 1 Cor. 5:7.
          A people redeemed and who could sing the song of redemption, Dt. 7:8; Rev. 15:3, cp. Ex. 15:2.
          A people brought to God, Ex. 19:4; Eph. 2:13.

        2. The tabernacle was given to Israel WHEN:
          they had utterly rejected the covenant of grace as given in Ex, 6:6-8; 19:4.
          "I will bring you out from the Egyptians," Gal. 6:l4.
          "I will rid you of their bondage," Gal. 5:1.
          "I will redeem you," Gal. 3:13.
          "I will take you to me for a people," Gal. 4:5.
          "I will be to you a God," Gal. 4:6.
          "I will bring you unto the land," Eph. 2:6.
          "I will give it to you for a heritage," Col. 1:27.

        3. The purpose of its institution, was:
          Because God's desire was to dwell with men, EX. 25:8.
          To teach His holiness (the walls shut GOD in), Ex. 25:22; Rom. 10:3-4
          To teach men their sinfulness (the walls shut THEM out), Ex. 17:9-19; Num. 3:10; Rom. 3:10-12.
          To teach the ONLY way of approach (i.e., through BLOOD), Heb. 9:22

      3. The workman whom God used.

        1. They were wise-hearted, Ex. 31:6; Eph. 1:17-19; 5:15-17; Col. 2:3-8; Jas. 1:4-5; Prov. 11:30.

        2. They were Spirit-filled, Ex. 31:3; Eph. 5:8

        3. They were skilful workmen with a heavenly technique, Ex. 31:4-5; 35:31-33; 1 Cor. 3:5, 10; 2 Tim. 2:15.

        4. They were called individually, Ex. 31:25;  Jn. l5:l5-l6.

        5. They were effectual workmen, Ex. 35:34-35; 39:32; Eph. 2:21; 4:12, 16; 2 Tim. 2:2.

        6. They worked for love's sake, Ex. 36:2; 2 Cor. 5:14-15.

        7. They brought all work for inspection to Moses, Ex. 39:32-33; 2 Cor. 5:10.

        8. Moses praised them, Ex. 39:43; 1 Cor. 4:5.

        9. Only Moses knew the pattern, Ex. 25:9, 40; Christ alone builds church, Mt. 16:18; Acts 2:47.

      4. The symbolic significance of the materials used.

        1. Metals:
          Gold = Deity and the Glory of Divine Righteousness
          (prominent in Holy of Holies. Ex. 25:3, 11 ff.
          Silver = Redemption by substitution, Ex. 25:3, 30:11-16; 38:27.
          Brass = (really copper) = speaks of judgment (i.e., brazen altar; and serpent of brass, Ex. 25:3; 27:l-8; Num. 21:6-9; Jn. 3:14.

        2. Wood: Humanity of our Lord (also illustrative of believer, as in walls of tabernacle), Ex. 25:10 ff.

        3. Colors: Blue = heavenly color, 1 Cor. l5:47, LORD.
          Purple = royal color, Mt. 2:2; Lk. l:32-33, KING (Ex, 26:l)
          Scarlet = blood color, Heb. 9:22; 1 Jn. 1:7), SAVIOR.
          Fine linen, i.e., white as purity color, SINLESS MAN, 1 Pet. 1:19b; 2:22.
          These colors were used for the curtains, veils, robes, etc; and speak of God in human flesh, giving Himself for our salvation. Immanuel! Jn., 1:14; 2 Cor. 5:19; Heb. 10:19-20.

      5. The symbolic significance of the numbers of the numbers:

        1. 1, I = Unity, origin (God the Father)

        2. 2, II = Help, fellowship, witness (God the Son)

        3. 3, III = Resurrection (God the Spirit) (Tri-Unity)

        4. 4, IV = Universality (4 corners of earth), weakness

        5. 5, V = 4 (number of earth) plus 1 (God's number) = Grace, God coining down to earth

        6. 6, VI = Number of Man (evil, impotence)

        7. 7, VII = Completeness, perfection

        8. 8, VIII = The New Creation (New beginning)

        9. 9, IX = Full display (?)

        10. 10, X = Fullness of man's responsibility

        11. 12, XII = Government, administration

        12. 40, XL = Full testing and responsibility (man always fails) 4 x 10

      6. Details of the court and building.
        The court enclosure surrounding the tabernacle was 100 cubits by 50 (rectangular). (The cubit has been variously figured from. l5 to 24 inches in length, with 18 inches favored, I am inclined to 21 inches, and use this for comparative measurements in this syllabus.) Hence the court was about 175 ft. long; about 90 ft. wide. This enclosure was composed of a linen fence (for meaning of linen, see Rev. 19:78), about 9ft. (5 cubits) high; just too high to let sinful man look in; yet he could not crawl under the fence, for judgment met him (i.e., brass sockets, cp. Num. 21:6-9; Jn. 3:l4). He had to come in by the door.

        A door in front, on the east. Only one door (Jn. 10:9; 14:6) or entrance to God, but this was wide (20 cubits) to illustrate "whosoever will may come"! The curtain of the gate was made of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine-twined linen (see (4)c), preaching Christ as the necessary and only Saviour. Also Christ suffered east of Jerusalem. The Tabernacle taught how to get to get to God. There are a thousand ways to get to Christ, But only one way to get to God, namely, through Christ and His shed blood!

        The linen and curtain were hung on posts of acacia wood (60 of them) based in brass sockets. So our Lord's incorruptible and perfect humanity (wood) and walk (linen) judged (brass) sinful men and excluded them. But His grace (curtain and gate) admits them, if they come to the Brazen Altar (Cross), the first article of furniture within enclosure.

        Between the Brazen Altar and the Tabernacle proper was a Brazen Laver, used for washing hands and feet (priests) before going into the building to minister.

        The actual structure was a rectangular building composed of 48 boards: 20 each lengthwise side, and 6 in the rear, and 2 corner boards. All boards, except possibly 2 corner ones, were l 1/2 cubits broad and 10 cubits high (i.e., about 21 ft.). They were made of wood, overlaid with gold, speaking of our Lord's humanity and deity. They also picture what believers, with new natures, are made in Christ. These boards rested, each on two silver sockets, into which two tenons (speaking of the two "hands of faith") reached down. So we are "hid with Christ in God" when the hands of faith lay hold upon redemption truth (silver). The sockets separated the boards from earth, so Christ's redemption separates us from the world (Gal. 6:l4). The boards were held together and upright by 5 bars on each side, i.e., the grace of God, the number of the earth (4) plus the number of God (1).

        The building was in two sections, the front section being the Holy Place in which any priest (whose course it was) would minister. The second section was the Holy of Holies into which only the High Priest could go, and He but once a year on Tom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (Lev. 17). A veil or curtain with the thickness of a hand's breadth (made of the materials described in (4)c and inwrought with figures of cherubim) separated the two sections. This veil hung on four pillars. A similar veil, but without the cherubim, hung on five pillars at the opening of the structures. It has been suggested that the five pillars represent the Grace of God as revealed through the five writers of the five writers of the Epistles (Paul, Peter, James, Jude, John) whereas the four pillars, both at the gate of the outside court and into the Holiest, in view of the fact that the inner veil has been rent (Heb. 10:19-20), represent the Gospels, which tell us of the universality of the availability of the salvation which Christ accomplished.

        The structure was covered with four coverings, from outside in:

        1. Badger skins = What Christ was to MAN -- uninteresting, no beauty.

        2. Rams' skins dyed red = What Christ was to GOD.
          Ram, a consecrated animal; dyed red; "obedient unto death."

        3. Goats' hair = What Christ was MADE for us.
          Goat was for sin-offering; so 2 Cor. 5:21.

        4. Inner set = What God has DONE for Christ -- His glorification.

        The whole structure within was pure gold - wherever one looked; so He is "altogether lovely," "no spot in Him," "crowned with glory and honor." How different the believer's view of Christ (here) from that of an outsider's view of Him (unattractive badger or porpoise skins)!

There are three "openings" whose comparison is instructive:

  1. The Gate of the Court -- "I am the WAY" (only way to forgiveness).

  2. The Door to the Building -- "I am the TRUTH" (only entrance to blessings of the Church).

  3. The Veil before Holiest Place -- "I am the LIFE" (only way into God's presence).

  1. The Furniture of the court and building.
    Strikingly enough the arrangement of these pieces forms a cross, signifying their connection with the death of Christ; and they are seven in number, showing how complete that work is (see Scofield notes on each piece). They are:

The Furniture Of The Court and Building

I. The Brazen Altar V. The incense Altar
II. The Laver VI. The Ark
III. The Candlestick VII. The Mercy Seat
IV. The Table of Shewbread

 

 

IN THE COURTYARD

  1. THE BRAZEN ALTAR = Christ our JUSTIFICATION (Initial Salvation)
    (forgiveness from sin's GUILT-- judicial cleansing, Ex, 38:1-7; 27:l; Rom. 5:9)

    The altar was made of acacia wood (Christ's humanity), overlaid with brass (the absolute justice of Christ's deity which demands judgment). We are reminded of the "brazen serpent" (Num. 21:9; Jn. 3:l4; 12:31-33, "now is the judgment of this world ...). There was no poison in the brazen serpent, there was no sin in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). One look of faith at Him, "hanging there for me," saves (Jn. 3:14-15). Christ had to be WHO He was or could never have endured what He did!

    An altar speaks of sacrifice. Hence Heb. 9:22b, blood must be shed, life laid down in sacrifice. But there is something deeper here than physical suffering. In the heart of the altar was a grate upon which the sacrifice was roasted (Ex. 38:4, network; later Num. l6:38, made in plates attached to altar). Christ's inward and unseen sufferings far exceeded His outward and seen sufferings attendant on crucifixion. In His very innermost being the fire of God's holy wrath burned with all the fury of an eternity in hell. So what God did to Christ pained Him far more than what man did to Him, as "the Lord laid upon Him the iniquity of us all," "He was made sin for us," "His soul was made an offering for sin," "He poured out His soul unto death. (Isa. 53:6, 10, 12; 2 Cor. 5:21).

    There is a sense in which Christ's death was of infinite value to God, in dealing with the stain of sin in man and in the universe, even if not one soul had ever believed and been saved.

    The size of the altar was 5 cubits square (c. 9 ft.) by 3 cubits high (c. 5ft.).
    Five is the number of grace, emphasizing its four corners, representing "four corners of the earth" (i.e., Christ died for all men), and three is the number of the Trinity. All the Godhead is associated with the gracious work of redemption, reaching out to all the world.

    The "horns" of the altar speak of strength -- the power of the Gospel (Rom. 1:16).
    They were used to tie the animal to, while the priest slew it. But Chris needed nothing to hold Him on the cross (Jn. 10:l8; Mk. 15:31-32). Shall we not, however, ask God to bind our hearts to the horns of the altar, lest we wander?

    "Jesus keep me near the cross"

    The efficacy of Christ's sacrifice is evidenced by such verses as? 1 Jn. 1:7, 9; Heb. 9:23, 26, 28, 10:10, 12, 14-18.
     

  2. THE BRAZEN LAVER = Christ our SANCTIFICATION (Fellowship)
    Cleansing from sin's defilement by the Water of the Word (Ex. 38:8; 30:18; Eph. 5:26-27; Jn. l5:3; 13:7-8, 10a).

    God gets to sinners and sinners to God without the laver. The blood on the altar makes me fit for the presence of God. The laver has to do with another line of truth altogether.

    From the spear wound in Christ's side came blood and water (Jn. 19:34; 1 Jn. 5:6).
    The blood speaks of judicial cleansing once? for all from sin's guilt; the water of constant cleansing from sin's defilement through the Word of God (see Scriptures at heading). This is practical sanctification. This is what Christ meant when talking with Peter in John 13. Fellowship is impaired by "unwashed feet" -- the defilement of the daily walk, and we must be cleansed if we are to have fellowship with Him (Jn. 13:8; 1 Jn. 1:9; 2:l-2).

    "Let the water and the blood, from thy wounded side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure, save me from its guilt and power."

    Then, there is the double use of the laver, illustrated by the words of our in John 13: (1) He speaks of the "bath of regeneration" (Jn. 13:10; Tit. 3:5), i.e., all-over cleansing of initial salvation, illustrated by couplet bathing of body of priests to begin their ministry (Lev. 8:6); (2) there is the cleansing of feet from daily defilement memorial mentioned above.

    The laver was made completely of brass, picturing the absolute justice of the Eternal Word (Jn. 1:1, 14) which necessitates our being constantly "washed by the water of the (written) Word," lest we be chastened of Christ, the Eternal Word, is the receptacle which holds in His very the cleansing Written Word; He is the full and final message of God to men, the Revealer of God (Jn. 1:18).

    The brass for the laver was obtained by having the women donate their looking glasses (Ex. 38:8)! As Christians, we "pour contempt on all our pride," and judge it all by the Word. Here we have illustrated the law of association. They formerly used these to "look at themselves" before going out to be with people. We are to "look at ourselves," i.e., examine or scrutinize ourselves before going in to fellowship with God!

    The priests washed their feet and their hands. I need cleansing for "my walk" and "my work."

    There were no measurements or weights given for the laver. Who can measure the value of the Word of God, either the Eternal Word or the Living (written) Word?

IN THE HOLY PLACE

  1. THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK (LAMPSTAND, Ex. 37:17-24; 25:31) = Christ our LIGHT (Jn. 1:4, 9; 8:12).
    Christ was the Faithful and True Witness (Rev. l:5), the Revelator of True Godhead, who shed His light clearly. It was all of gold, emphasizing the perfect witness of Christ.

    Christ witnesses to every heart through the Holy Spirit (oil), Jn. 16:12-13, etc.  Remember that until the veil was rent this was the only light the Holy Place.

    Do not think of a small candlestick but a large one, a number of feet probably the height of a man. It was all of gold, speaking of the glory of our Lord's deity. No wood. Christ was the .Light from all eternity and will be to all eternity (Rev. 21:23, "light" = "Lamp").

    The candlestick (lampstand) was shaped like an almond tree, not like the one on Titus' arch with its branches all on one level. This speaks of fruitfulness.

    Finally it was of seven branches. Christ is the perfect revealer of truth (Heb. 1:2; Mt. 17:5).
     

  2. THE GOLD-OVERLAID TABLE AND THE SHEWBREAD (Ex. 37:10-16; 25:23) = Christ the food of His People (Christ the BREAD OF LIFE, our SUSTENANCE and SATISFACTION, Jn. 6:48, 57-58).
    It measured 2 cubits long, 1 wide, and l 1/2 high. Thus, it was c. 3 1/2 ft. long by 2 ft. wide and just about 3 ft. high (same height as ark of covenant). This speaks of Christ maintaining and sustaining His people in the presence of God. "This is my song, all the day, long; Jesus satisfies me."

    The table was made of wood covered with gold; thus, Christ's true humanity surrounded by His deity is the basis on which the bread (truth concerning His person) is placed. The table speaks of communion (fellowship). But there was no chair in the tabernacle. The holy place was a place of service. We are not to sit and do nothing. If we commune, it is to fit us for service.

    So we feed the hungry multitude. Jesus said, "Give ye them to eat" (Jn. 6:35).

    The border around the table -- a handsbreadth -- (seemingly something to protect loaves from falling as carried through wilderness) reminds us of the words "they shall not be able to pluck them out of my hand."

    The bread was covered with frankincense, picturing the pleasantness of the perfections of Christ.
     

  3.  THE GOLD-OVERLAID ALTAR OF INCENSE (Ex. 37:25-28; 30:1) = Christ our INTERCESSOR, Heb 7:25b.
    Also "the prayers of the saints" (Rev. 5:8b).
    It measured 1 cubit by 1 cubit square (c. 2 ft. square) by 2 cubits high (3 1/2 plus ft.). The altar was foursquare, suggesting the universality Christ's prayer (i.e., for Christians everywhere). Likewise our prayers through Him should be for "all saints," The rings, for carrying the altar, suggest that we should take our "altar of prayer" with us wherever we go, and that we have the privilege of praying anywhere (Jn. 4:21-24).

    It was also of shittim wood overlaid with gold, showing how the human and divine natures of our Lord combine in making Him the Great High Priest who, as Man, knows the need of man but can meet that need with the wisdom and power of God.

    THE INNER VEIL = CHRIST'S RENT BODY, Ex. 36:35-36; 26:31; Heb. 10:19-20).
    The altar of incense was next to the veil, but since the Cross that veil has been rent. So the sweet fragrance of Christ's prayer for us, and our prayers through Him, rise in the very presence of God -- all hindrances (veil) removed. The way into God's presence is now open, and we are invited to come (Heb. 4:16).

THE MOST HOLY PLACE (HOLY OF HOLIES)

  1. THE ARK ITSELF = CHRIST HIMSELF (His own Heart), Ex. 37:1-5; 25:10; Heb. 10:5-7; Jn. 10:18 6:57a).
    It measured 2 1/2 cubits long, by 1 1/2 cubits wide, and 1 1/2 cubits high (that is about 4 ft. long, by 3 ft. wide, and 3 ft. high). It was of shittim wood (human) overlaid with gold (divine), picturing the hypostatic union of our Lord's human and divine natures.

    Inside the Ark was:
    1. The Law = Christ hid the Law in His heart and ever kept it
    2. The Manna = He is the Bread of Life, and yet as man, He hid the Word in His heart and fellowshipped with the Father, whose words satisfied His heart. (Also pictures Christ in His humiliation.)
    3. Aaron's Rod that budded = Christ, a priest of endless (resurrection) life, "Root out of dry ground" pictures also His virgin birth. His resurrection is a sign of His supernatural person and work.

    Observe that the Ark was not made for the Tabernacle, but the Tabernacle for the Ark. Christ is the reason and basis upon which there can be tabernacle of God with men, i.e., because of which God can fellowship with men.
     

  2. THE GOLDEN MERCY SEAT = Christ our MERCYSEAT ACCEPTANCE, Ex. 37:6-9; 25:17; 1 Jn. 2:1-2 (and THE ABIDING (Shekinah) GLORY LIGHT OF GOD'S PRESENCE).
    The Mercy Seat was completely of gold, beaten out of one piece, with cherubim at each end hovering over the Mercy Seat, and the light (indicating the presence of God) dwelling between the cherubim.

    This (gold) would indicate acceptance before God is completely the work of the divine Son of God for us. We are accepted because of what He is Himself. The material aspect is that to be a Mercy Seat, His blood must be sprinkled on it. He sprinkled seven(7) drops of blood on the ground; any amount on Mercy Seat (Lev, l6:19). So to be a Saviour, Christ must come into the world (l Tim. 1:15) in a body and shed His blood (Heb. 10) He could not save us from heaven. But the blood He shed would have been of no more value to save from sin than that of the two thieves dying beside Him, if it were not that He is who He is, -- God manifest in the flesh (l Tim. 3:l6). Thus, it was "the blood of God (Acts 20:28) which He shed.

    The Mercy Seat was simply a lid for the Ark. Should that lid have been removed, sinful men must needs have been consumed by the fire of God, if they looked upon a holy law. Thank God, Christ our Mercy Seat, covers the law and protects us from its blasting judgment.

  1. THE PRIESTHOOD Exodus 28-30; Leviticus 8-9; 21-22
    The details of things pertaining to the Priesthood are largely given in these passages.

    Aaron is a type of Christ, in that he is a priest of divine appointment (Lev. 16:13; Heb 9:7-12).

    The rest of the priesthood, serving under Aaron and his successors, picture the believers of this age, who as priests serve under their Great High Priest, Christ (Rev. 1:6; Heb. 13:10-16; Phil. 4:17-18; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9).

    The typical significance of their garments, and functions, are quite fully summarized in Dr. Scofield's notes on Ex. 28-30, which see.

THE FIVE OFFERINGS Leviticus 1-7
All of these five sacrifices are epitomized in Ps. 40:6 and Heb. 10:5-10, especially v. 8:
"sacrifice" is literally "peace-offering"
"offering" is literally "meal-offering"
"burnt offering" is as is
"sacrifices (v. 6) for sin" = two:
the "sin and trespass offerings"

The offerings have been variously divided, chiefly in two ways:
(1) Bloody and non-bloody offerings:
The Meat (properly the Meal) offering is the only offering without blood. The other four are with blood.

(2) Sweet and non-sweet savor offerings:
Sweet savor - picturing the acceptableness of Jesus Christ to God in His perfections: (l) The Burnt offering; (2) The Meal offering; (3) The Peace offering.

Non-sweet savor offerings - offerings dealing with the sin of man which Christ bore in their stead: (l) Sin and (2) Trespass offerings.

The offerings sacrificed on the Brazen Altar were offered INSIDE the gate, showing that the sacrifice of Christ AVAILS only for those who enter, -- those who believe. The Altar was placed immediately inside, showing that having believed in Christ, it is our privilege at once to understand how perfectly God has put away sin and apply the victory of the cross to our own lives in harmony with Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:10; Rom. 6:11-12.

The order given in Leviticus 1-7 in the Law of the offering is the Godward aspect, -- God coming out to men: Burnt offering. Meal, Peace, Sin, and Trespass offerings. The opposite of this order is descriptive of the way a sinner, believing in Christ, comes to God and grows in grace. We shall trace both ways.


Considered from the DIVINE viewpoint (God coming OUT to man):

  1. The BURNT offering = Our Lord offering Himself unto God without spot, delighting in His Father's will even unto death, Heb. 10:5, 7 and Jn. 18:11; 12:27, 24.
    It is atoning because the believer has NOT had this delight in the will of God, and it is substitutionary because Christ did it in  The sinner's stead. But the thought of penalty is not prominent.

  2. The MEAL offering = Our Lord in life delighting in the Father's will, always doing the things that pleased Him.
    This offering was the food of the priests, and pictures Christ as the food of His people.

    The fine flour pictures the evenness, the balance of the various aspects of Christ's character. No obvious protruding part.

    The oil, as always, pictures the Holy Spirit; "mingled" -- speaking of the Incarnation of Christ by the Holy Spirit, and His being "anointed" at His baptism, Mt. 3:l6; Jn. 3:34.

    Salt speaks of the preservative power of righteousness, and frankincense of the fragrance of His character.

    Observe there was no leaven (He was the Faithful Witness - 1 Cor. 5:8; Jn. 14:6); no honey -- mere human kindliness (which ferments when heat -- testing -- is applied).

    The Meal offering portrays the sinless, holy character of Christ which demonstrates His eligibility to bear our sins as a Savior.
     

  3. The PEACE offering = Christ making peace through the blood of His cross, Col. 1:20.
    It is not so much the work of Christ making peace, but Himself as our Peace, our Peace-maker! No man can "make his peace with God," for he is over 1900 years too late. That peace was made FOR him, and God asks him only to believe it and accept it as a gift of His grace, Eph. 2:14; Rom. 5:1.

    Thus the thought of COMMUNION with God, not only THROUGH Christ, but ABOUT Christ is prominent, Lev. 7:31-34. It is not Christ enjoyed exclusively by God (burnt offering), but as enjoyed by the worshiper in a sharing with God. This is the point of the (emphasized) words of the Lord's Supper wording; "As oft as ye eat ... ye DO SHEW the Lord's death," i.e., show to the Father that we have found OUR delight in Christ, as He has, Mt. 3:17; 17:5.

    And finally this is what makes the peace offering especially a THANK offering, Lev. 7:11-12.
     

  4. The SIN offering = deals with the root cause of our sins, i.e., Sin (singular): The OLD Nature (what we ARE as Adam's seed), which causes us to DO sins.
    Thus this offering emphasizes that Christ died for MYSELF as well as MY SINS (trespass offering), and did not deal with simply the superficial fruit, but with the root, the heart of the problem. God does not put a corn plaster on a cancer. He deals first with the root, Man is more likely to try to cure sin by chopping off a few branches of the bad fruit, or at least going from acts to the nature. Our Lord's work was expiatory, substitutional, and efficacious, Lev. 4:12, 29, 35; Rom. 3:23-26; 1 Pet. 3:18; 2 Cor. 5:21.
     

  5. The TRESPASS offering = Christ bearing the PENALTY of our MISDEEDS, sinful acts, transgressions, as distinguished from (4). Note, not only is that which is stolen or withheld (even unintentionally) restored, but a fifth-part is ADDED. This speaks the fact that by the work of Christ, God is "better off" (i.e., more glorified), than if Adam (and we) had never sinned! Rom. 5:20.

The offerings considered from the HUMAN viewpoint (man coming IN to God, our experience).

  1. The TRESPASS offering = I am a SINNER (needing pardon).
    When conviction enters the soul and our consciences are searched in reference to sins actually committed, and we see numberless sins against God and man, the soul cries out for forgiveness (Acts l6:30). And we find that God has provided His trespass offering, 1 Cor. 15:5; 1 Pet. 2:24; Col. :14; 2:13.
     

  2. The SIN offering = I am SINFUL (have sin IN me; needing Purging).
    As one advances in the Christian life, he becomes conscious that all sins come from a root-source or fountain of "sin in the flesh," Rom. 8:3. A recognition that Christ died for mySELF well as my SINS, and an application of the cross to ourSELVES brings deliverance, Lk9:23; Rom. 6:11-12; Gal. 2:20; 6:14, etc.
     

  3. The PEACE offering = I yearn for peace (needing patience).
    Because heart and conscience have been set at rest through faith in His cross (Rom. 5:1; Col. 1:20), there is the experiential appropriation of that fact in the peace OF God (Phil. 4:6-7), and life's Marahs are made sweet (Ex. 15:25; Rom. 5:3-4).
     

  4. The MEAL offering = I yearn to LIVE holily for God (needing power).
    But we cannot do this of ourselves. He must live in us (Phil. 1:21; 2:13), and work in us the will of God, the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22), so that our lives may be an offering of sweet savor unto Him (1 Pet. 2:5; Heb. 1:15; Eph. 5:2). No rough edges! Too many of us are like steel-cut oatmeal.
     

  5. (5) The BURNT offering = I am willing to DIE sacrificially for God (needing passion).
    John 3:l6 becomes 1 John 3:l6 in our lives, as in Paul's and Epaphroditus' (Phil2:17, 29-30); but even if God does not call upon us for that, we enter into the DEATH aspect of Christ's life (2 Cor. 4:8-12; Rom. 12:1).



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