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The Spiritual Significance of The Burnt Offering

How important is it that we know all we possibly can about who Christ is and what He has accomplished?

2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

Eph 1:17  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

How long has Christ been the subject of God’s Word?

Psa 40:6  Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

Heb 10:4  For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Heb 10:5  Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
Heb 10:6  In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure

What is that “body you have prepared me?”

Joh 2:21  But he spake of the temple of his body.

What is the “temple” of His body?

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

“Ye are the temple of God”, and all of the offerings we will be studying are and must be offered only by a priest and only “where I have placed my name”, which was only at the tabernacle first and then later at the temple in Jerusalem.

Lev 2:2  And he shall bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests: and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD:
Lev 4:5  And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock’s blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation:

None of this was true before coming out of Egypt. Everyone killed his own Passover and ate it in his own home.

Only now, after coming out of Egypt are we made to know that there is a prescribed way in which we must approach our God. Only now are we made to know that it must be through a priest and at a certain place. Only now are we made aware that we are to present all of our sacrifices at God’s altar which is God’s table:

Mal 1:10  Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
Mal 1:11  For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 1:12  But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.

The altar is God’s table. Now notice this about who can eat at God’s table.

Lev 21:21  No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God.
Lev 21:22  He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
Lev 21:23 Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.

None of this is known in Egypt. In Egypt we have the attitude expressed to me by one of our conference attendees a couple of years ago: “Why do you guys make such a big deal out of the first resurrection. Isn’t everyone going to be saved anyway?” That man was still in Egypt. None of these things happened unto them nor were they written for that man.  Only those who come out of Egypt are made aware of the fact that there are five different types of offerings: 1) the burnt offering, 2) the meal [meat] offering, 3) the peace offering, 4) the sin offering, and 5) the trespass offering. Sadly, most never get even that far, thanks to the doctrine of the ten-second sinner’s prayer. The first three were ‘sweet savor’ offerings as sin was not even in view. The sin and trespass offerings were not sweet savor offering as now sin was a component of them.

And it is only now, while yet in the wilderness, that we are made to know that within these five types of offerings are three grades of offerings 1) the burnt offering of the herd, 2) the burnt offering of the flock, and 3) the burnt offering of the fowl.

The same applies to the other types, the peace offering, but with only two grades as it has no fowl offering, (Please check out this link for more information on the peace offering) the meal offering – pan, oven and stew pot, while the sin and the trespass offerings have the burnt offering of herd, flock and fowl. All five offerings have three grades in each of the five, except the peace offering, all because Christ’s offices and our needs and His services to both God and to man are so varied and multifaceted.

The burnt offering is its own type of offering and is the offering used before and after the flood.  Up until the time of Moses, it was the only offering mentioned. The next offering is the meat offering.

That is why we read:

2Co 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

“The glory” is “doing the things I say.”

Joh 17:6  I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

Rev 3:8  I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Now ask yourself how all of this which “happened to them and it was written for our admonition,” fits into the damning doctrine of a ten-second ‘sinner’s prayer’? Those who teach and those who believe in that unscriptural doctrine have no interest in knowing Christ.

Only those who have been given a grateful spirit, only those who come back to look once again upon the man who has just healed them of their incurable leprosy, only those who want to say “thank you, Lord for all you have and are giving to me”, even care to get to know this man Jesus Christ. And for these few, they simply cannot get enough of getting to know Him.

Israel (that is you and me) demonstrated with their behavior of rebellion “these ten times” in the wilderness, that they (and we) never really knew who it was who had shed His blood to be placed on the door posts to save us from the death angel while yet in Egypt. The ten-second sinner’s prayer sees no need for dwelling on all of this mess called sacrifices. Christ did everything for us on the cross. He died to sin as our substitute. Now we can sin and just “plead the blood.”

The doctrine of Christ’s substitutionary death is the doctrine of which Jude spoke:

Jdg 1:3  Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
Jdg 1:4  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Were these men denying that Jesus had died for our sins? Absolutely not! They were teaching the ten-second sinner’s prayer and telling everyone that there was no need at all to concern themselves with all of those dry and dead chapters of God’s Word called the book of Leviticus. And this is just what we all wanted to hear. “Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and you shall be saved.” Period. Forget about “the sum of Thy Word.”

How The Burnt Offering Is Distinct From The Other Offerings

1) It is a sweet savor offering, and 2) it was offered for acceptance. In both of these ways it differed from the sin offerings. 3) The burnt offering was the offering of a life, and in this way it differs from the meat (or meal) offering. 4) It was entirely burnt, and in this way it differs from all the other offerings.

Leviticus One – The Law of The Burnt Offering

Lev 1:1  And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,
Lev 1:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.

Of The Herd…

Lev 1:3  If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.
Lev 1:4  And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
Lev 1:5  And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Lev 1:6  And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces.
Lev 1:7  And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire:
Lev 1:8  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:
Lev 1:9  But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

1) He shall put his hand upon the head. 2) He shall kill the bullock. 3) He shall flay the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces. 4) His inward parts and his legs shall he wash in water.

Of The Flocks…

Lev 1:10  And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish.
Lev 1:11  And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar.
Lev 1:12  And he shall cut it into his pieces, with his head and his fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:
Lev 1:13  But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

1) He shall kill it on the north side of the altar. 2) He shall cut it in pieces. 3) He shall wash the inwards and the legs.

Of The Fowl…

Lev 1:14  And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons.
Lev 1:15  And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his head, and burn it on the altar; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar:
Lev 1:16  And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes:
Lev 1:17  And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

1) He shall pluck away his crop and his feathers. 2) he shall cleave it with the wings. He does not even do the killing. The priest does that for him. He does not place his hands on the head. He does not separate the head and the fat. He does not wash the legs and the inwards with water.

Yet in every grade of this type, the burnt offering, it is all “a sweet savor unto the Lord.” Sin is not even in view. Man is “in Christ” found pleasing to God. God is nourished and satisfied. Neither the priest nor the offerer eat of the burnt offering. In the other sweet smelling oblations, Christ nourishes and feeds the priests, but in this offering it all belongs to God. It is all burned upon the brazen altar.

The Old

Lev 1:9  But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

Lev 1:13  But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

Lev 1:17  And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

The New

2Co 2:15  For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

Phi 4:18  But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.

That is the spiritual significance of the burnt offering. It is an approach present. It is a sweet savor with which man pleases God. The spiritual significance of the burnt offering is Christ in you overcoming and dying daily to sin in you, pleasing God and smelling sweet to God through Christ.

Sin is not in view in this offering. We don’t see Christ as “sin for us.”

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Instead we see him offered as “a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor.”

Eph 5:2  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

It is the only offering which is wholly burnt unto God.

2Co 2:15  For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ,

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