By the late REV. ALEXANDER STEWART, Minister of Cromarty.
THAT sacrifice was of Divine appointment—the mode of worship prescribed by God Himself—has been the subject of a previous Lecture, together with the calling of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood.
The nature of the priest’s office implies sin—a priest is radically and essentially a mediator or intercessor. The necessity for a mediator does not arise from the infinite physical distance of the creature from the Creator, but from his infinite moral distance as a guilty, polluted creature. Did no sin exist, there need be no intercessor.
The service of a priest as mediator is twofold, including sacrifice or oblation, and intercession.
Oblation was typified in the Mosaic dispensation by the sacrifices offered on the brazen altar, at the door of the tabernacle, intercession by the burning of incense on the golden altar, within the sanctuary.
The office of the priest differs from all other ecclesiastical offices, in the priest having to deal with God in behalf of men. All others, from inspired prophet or apostle, to evangelist, bishop, elder or deacon, are commissioned by God to deal with man; the priest, too, holds his commission from God, but his office is Godward, while that of others is manward.
That the wrath of God is enduring as His love is manifested in the necessity for the appointment of the Divine Mediator. And in the circumstance of the Holy Son of God being called to the office, not taking it on Himself, is displayed the infinite dignity and majesty of the God who is offended. How mad is the presumption of a finite creature daring to interpose and offer himself to mediate between an angry God and guilty man! Aaron and his sons were called by God Himself to the priesthood—but they are but the shadow or picture of the one Divine High Priest who was to come—to whom the Lord sware, and will not repent, “Thou art a Priest for ever.” From the appointment of this Divine High Priest as Mediator between God and men, we are led to contemplate the boundless love of God to His creatures—that well-spring from whence salvation flows to a lost world.
We shall, then, notice some general regulations regarding sacrifice. They are stated now, rather than when they come in course, as they can then be referred to more conveniently, thus saving time when the sacrifices themselves come to be considered.
The first of these regulations to be noticed is the animals to be used in sacrifice. They were the clean animals, and a selection from these—the ox, the sheep, and the goat among cattle; and of fowls, the turtle-dove and young pigeon: these last appear to have been brought in pairs.
Again, a second general regulation was that the eating of blood was prohibited. Noah, the father of the old world after the flood, was the first to whom this prohibition was made known. When permission was given to eat animal food, it was with the restriction that the blood, which was the symbol of life, should not be eaten. This would teach a lesson which was forgotten in the old world, for we read that “violence covered the earth,” and doubtless the shedding of blood was then no unusual circumstance. It would also teach a lesson of reverence to the Lord of life; man may take away life, but cannot bestow it on the meanest creature. It would also be a protection to human life. But though from the narrative it does not appear that Noah was instructed in the still more important reason for this prohibition—which is first fully and openly declared by Moses, that “it is the blood which maketh an atonement for the soul”—yet we cannot but think he also understood it in this sense; and it was well calculated to teach those who lived under the patriarchal and mosaic dispensations, but still more clearly to teach us who see it in the light of the New Testament, sentiments of the most profound reverence for the blood of atonement—the blood of the Son of God, which was poured out on the altar to make an atonement for our souls.
The next thing we notice is the intimation to the children of Israel that they were not to eat of the fat of the sacrifice—teaching them, as it teaches us, that God is entitled to our best affections—the best of all we have must be given to God. “The fat is the Lord’s.”
The blood and the fat were forbidden to be eaten; but there were also some things prohibited from being offered on the altar. When the children of Israel brought their meat offerings—for meat offerings were enjoined as well as sacrifice—they must make none of those offerings with leaven, nor burn leaven on the altar. When we bring our offerings to God, we must not come with the leaven of malice, pride, impurity, or wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Honey was likewise forbidden to be offered. It was too luscious. We cannot serve God acceptably by indulging our own sensual appetites—by gratifying the lust of the eye in decorating our places of worship with fine paintings, statues, etc.; or the lust of the ear, as it might be called, by fine music, as if we were at a concert; or the pride of life, by coming before God in the vanity of our minds.
While these things were prohibited, it was expressly enjoined that in no offering should the salt of the covenant be lacking. Salt is a preservative. The righteous are the salt of the earth. When Noah and his sons entered into the ark the salt was withdrawn from the earth, and the world perished in its sin. So the grace of God in the heart of an individual is the salt which preserves amidst a mass of corruption. “Have grace, that ye may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”
The last general regulation connected with sacrifice which we notice is the place appointed for offering sacrifice. It was now restricted to one place. In the partial reformations of the Israelites, when they had sunk into idolatry, we read that the people still sacrificed in high places. This was not right. It was contrary to the law enjoined by Moses, and the one place pointed to the one Saviour—the one mediator between God and men—the man Christ Jesus. Peter expressed the meaning of this appointment when he said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” And our Lord Himself says, “No man cometh unto the Father but by me.”
Some object to this part of Scripture being made the subject of attention by us. What, they say, have we, who live under another dispensation, to do with all this? Has not sacrifice now passed away? Or, they take all the sacrifices as a whole, and say, Oh, yes, we know that the sacrifices all typify Christ, but now that He has appeared and offered the great sacrifice once for all—now that the substance has come, is not the shadow done away? It is true that as Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to all who believe, so He is the end of the law for sacrifice: but should we who are relieved from the burden, the trouble, and expense of the Jewish mode of worship, think it a great matter if we give a portion of our time and attention to the understanding of a portion of Scripture having so important a bearing on our worship of God?
There are two motives, or encouragements, to our careful examination of this part of Scripture: First, It’s so clearly showing the priestly office of the Saviour, though, doubtless, having reference to Him, also as a Prophet and a King; yet it is as a Priest that it more especially refers to Him. His mediatorial office is clearly revealed by the typical sacrifices offered on the brazen altar, and the burning of incense on the golden altar.
The difficulty may be noticed of understanding aright the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, as spoken of in the New Testament—the perversions of the doctrine of atonement which have been made, together with the great danger of misunderstanding it. What commentary can we find so safe and full as God’s own Word? Moses did not write from his own imagination, but by the inspiration of God, and for our learning on whom the ends of the earth are come: and the number and variety of the Mosaic sacrifices affords a means of viewing the sacrifice of the great Antitype in all its shades, and on all its sides.
The second encouragement to the study of this part of the Bible is its bearing on the spiritual worship of God by His spiritual priesthood. Melchisedek, Aaron, and his sons, and our Lord Jesus Christ, were priests in a peculiar sense, in virtue of their office, separate and apart from all others. But all true believers are a spiritual priesthood, and when they come to offer their spiritual sacrifices, where can they better learn the nature of these, or how they should be offered, than in those sacrifices which Moses was inspired by God to record, and which, by their variety and multiplicity, are suited to the various tempers and experience of the children of God in every circumstance, and in all ages? For there is nothing which applies to Christ Himself—with the exception of some peculiar things—but what in a subordinate sense applies to His people.
It is therefore intended, by the blessing of God, to take up and illustrate the regular sacrifices, as they are by law defined. They are enumerated in the verses read as a text, and we have an account of them in the first seven chapters of Leviticus; other passages referring to them will be read and compared. These five sacrifices—consecration, of which we have an account in the eighth chapter—is not considered one of the regular sacrifices—the burnt offering, the meat offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering, are intended to be taken up and explained separately. Meantime, we may say that the careless and self-sufficient hearer will be disappointed of reaping any benefit; while to those who give a patient and attentive hearing a corresponding advantage may be promised.
When such a knowledge of these sacrifices is obtained as to enable us to distinguish the characteristics of each, and when any specialty or anomaly occurs be able to detect it—and such specialty is generally very significant—a speaking out of the type giving a glimpse beyond the ordinary meaning of the figure; when such an understanding of these sacrifices is obtained, then other passages in the writings of Moses will beautifully open up to us, as it were, of their own accord.