THE MEAT-OFFERING
THE MEAT-OFFERING
JT The meat-offering typifies what Christ was as Man in all His ways.
FL So that it is the perfection of His walk.
ARS The fine flour represents the perfect evenness of His life.
JT There were no incongruities, but absolute perfection in the Lord’s humanity. The burnt-offering is more what He was inwardly, His motives, what came under God’s eye. “Lo, I come ... to do O God, thy will”, Hebrews 10:7. All was for God. The meat-offering speaks rather of what He was externally.
ARS To what does the oil refer?
JT There is mingling with oil, and anointing with oil. The former refers to the Lord’s humanity as conceived of the Holy Spirit; the latter has reference to the Spirit coming on Him as the power by which He walked and carried on His service. The general view of the meat-offering is presented in verses 1 - 3. It is fine flour, oil upon it, and frankincense. It is the perfection of the Man who could have been seen every day in the period of His life here on earth. What follows in the chapter affords additional details of His humanity.
BTF The burnt-offering speaks of the perfection of His work; the meat-offering speaks of the perfection of His humanity.
JT Of course, there, is perfection in both, but the meat-offering is what might be seen at any time during the Lord’s life on earth: His ways, manners, words. He was always a perfect Man. There was nothing incongruous in the Lord in any relation in which He was seen; whereas, the burnt-offering takes account of His motives more, what He became man for: “Lo, I come ... to do, O God, thy will”, Hebrews 10:7.
[p. 117] The meat-offering is everything that is perfect and morally beautiful seen in him as Man. If it were His relation with His parents, or with men as such, meeting them in whatever capacity, He was always right and perfect in what He did and in what He said.
FL I suppose you would see that coming out, for instance, in His parents’ house. He was subject to His parents; it went on throughout His path here as Man right up to the cross itself: when He prayed, “Father, forgive them”, Luke 23:34; when He confides His mother to John; when He speaks to the thief; all was in the perfection of that life. What is seen in the meat-offering is parallel to and blends with what is seen in the burnt-offering.
JT It comes under the action of the fire: “The priest shall burn the memorial thereof on the altar, an offering by fire to Jehovah of a sweet odour”. The greatest test brought out the greatest fragrance.
BTF Will you say what the fire sets forth?
JT As seen here it is the means of testing. No doubt it refers to the cross, but as that which brought out fully the perfection of His humanity. The burning of the memorial brought out the fragrance that was there. Fire is referred to by Peter as that by which things are tested: “gold ... proved by fire”, 1 Peter 1:7.
BTF Would you not connect it also with the testing that the Lord passed through all along His pathway from beginning to end?
JT Yes. But I think that leads up to the final issue. For nowhere does the perfect humanity shine more than on the cross. Of course, the burnt-offering mingled with it there, but every grace suitable to man in those circumstances was present. His affection for His mother found its place there. He was a Man there; He was there with all the sensibilities [p. 118] and affections that were suited to a man. All in Him is perfect, too, as regards the thief, and as regards those who put Him to death. He says, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”, Luke 23:34.
ANW Would you agree that Luke rather gives us the side of the meat-offering? The centurion says, “In very deed this man was just”, Luke 23:47. In Matthew and Mark it is “Truly this [man] was Son of God”, (Matthew 27:54 and Mark 15:39).
JT In John He speaks to His mother when on the cross, and speaks to John in regard to her, so that the thought of the meat-offering is there also. But no doubt in Luke it would be found more frequently, because his gospel gives us “[the] man Christ Jesus”, 1 Timothy 2:5. In Luke His humanity is prominent from beginning to end. The perfection of His humanity shines, whereas John gives us more the burnt-offering, but they are so blended in the Lord’s life, that both aspects are found in all the gospels.
ANW Luke is the only one that gives us the instance of the Lord commending His spirit to the Father; He is not seen as forsaken in Luke.
WB What does frankincense refer to?
JT There was a moral fragrance in Christ that was delightful to God.
The priests are brought in very prominently in the law of the offering; it speaks of what they have in it, chapter 6:14 - 23.
ARS I was very much struck with the fact that it says, “All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it”, Leviticus 6:18.
JT The males refer to the saints as formed in intelligence.. In Luke Zacharias represents the male side. In some instances Aaron’s daughters had a part in the offering; his whole household had part; but here it was only the sons. It belongs to mature Christians, it is what we might call “strong meat”.
F .L. It would express both intelligence and moral fitness.
AAT At our first reading it was mentioned that Leviticus is approach to God. Exodus being God’s approach to man. How does approach to God apply in this chapter?
JT As approaching to offer a meat-offering, one has advanced from one’s own side and has come to an appreciation of the order of man seen in Christ. “To you therefore who believe [is] the preciousness”, 1 Peter 2:7. Those that believe come under the eye of God in the preciousness of Christ. No doubt He is precious to us. The offering denotes it, but you come under that as you approach. God will take account of you as identified with the offering. Therefore the saints are taken up under God’s eye as in all the value of it. “To you therefore who believe [is] the preciousness”, 1 Peter 2:7.
CB When does the offerer give expression to his appreciation of Christ?
JT It appears in us in the part we take in the assembly, when we are in the apprehension of Christ according to the perfection which the fine flour here suggests. To have Christ in one’s heart in this light would also produce similarity to Him in other relations. There would be a certain evenness of character. In drawing near to God all this is present, and hence one is pleasing to God.
CB The offering in that way is tangible; you give expression to Christ as He is seen in it.
JT You give expression to Him in your measure, and this is what pleases God. The character of Christ is also to be seen in one’s everyday life. Paul says, “That the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body”, 2 Corinthians 4:10. Here it is not only that the believer is righteous, but that he is a man of a new order altogether. The life of Jesus, as reproduced in us, is what is delightful to the eye of God. In this sense the believer is always an offerer, at least he is so in [p. 120] an abstract sense. No doubt the idea of offering appears more definitely when we are gathered together. All the frankincense goes up to God with the meat-offering; the remainder was for the priests.
BTF Hence the great advantage of apprehending Christ in this light. The effect is seen both individually and collectively.
JT It is a great thing to have in your mind a standard as to what is pleasing to God; Christ is that standard and you delight in it. God takes account of you according to what is in your heart. Christ is your ideal, and God regards you accordingly. In Philippians 3, Paul speaks of his ideal. The believer is regarded by God according to the desire and aim of his heart. God looks at the heart.
AAT The offerer here would refer to the individual saint as expressing his apprehension and appreciation of Christ; the sons of Aaron would be those forming the assembly as such, would they not?
JT It comes to that. The offerer is one coming, so to speak, out of the camp; what he brings is the product of his exercise. It is not secured for nothing, he has had to pay for it. We pay for it by self-judgment, by exercise.
FL The line along which it is presented is individual exercise. We get the burnt-offering, then the meat-offering in which the priests were to share, and as assimilating it they would take character from it. The priests have a special provision in the “law” which is not provided in the primary instructions. They themselves make an offering of like character, which would be wholly for Jehovah, a like character to that which they have eaten; the “law” goes on to the sin-offering, then the peace-offering. The reversal of order is very interesting and significant; the peace-offering, which presents fellowship, comes last.
JT Before we arrive at it we have to judge sins.
[p. 121] FL Then we get the assembly. The burnt-offering and peace-offering are mingled there.
JT It is well to see all that. The one who offers come up out of the camp. In the camp he would have to do with a different order of man from that required in the sanctuary, so that the exercise occasioned by this produces what is offered. One going up out of the camp with the offering, shows in type that he is of the order of Christ. It is the tabernacle of the congregation here; the tabernacle of witness is more in Numbers. Going up from the camp, as it were, the Israelite had, in type, worked out in his soul what was suitable to God; he drew near with something that typified Christ. In Christianity, the offerer of course, merges into the priest. The meat-offering for the priest was wholly burnt. The meat-offering of the ordinary offerer ministered to the priest as well as to Jehovah; whereas the offering of the priest was wholly for Jehovah. There is that in the ordinary exercises of the saints which is for God, but his spiritual power has also to be sustained and increased. In connection with this latter, he is a priest, and so offers what is wholly for God.
BTF John looked upon Jesus as he walked. Is that the meat-offering?
JT The effect of our appreciation of Christ as seen in the meat-offering is seen in our every-day experience. It is apparent also when in priestly vigour all take part in the assembly.
ARS Coming out of the camp, we realise what the hymn says, ‘Closed the door we leave behind us’ .
JT It is all what Christ is, and you are equal to that in spiritual power through your exercise. The daily experience, when gone through with God, increases our spiritual power.
FL The trespass-offering comes into view when [p. 122] there is the sense of trespass; the peace-offering is in connection with fellowship; the burnt-offering leads to a life devoted to God in the believer — his body is presented a living sacrifice; the meat-offering leads to similarity to Christ in one’s manner of life.
JT A point of great importance as to the burnt-offering is that through it everything that is of God is permanently maintained before Him. The fire was ever burning upon the altar. Our appreciation of it may vary, but the infinite value of the offering of Christ is always before God.
ANW There is not the variety of degrees of appreciation in the meat-offering as in the burnt-offering?
JT No. The facts presented suggest general equality in the offerers of the meat-offering. Of course, there are different vessels in which the material is subjected to the fire, each having its own meaning.
FL These suggest the different aspects of the testings and sufferings of Christ and our response to them.
ANW It needs more energy to discern the result of the fire through the oven.
JT The oven would be covered, whereas the frying pan would be open. Many saw what went on at the cross in an outward way. The centurion saw and recognised that the Sufferer was the Son of God. In the pan the heat would be underneath only; in the oven it would be all round. In every place of testing the Lord was perfect. The pan may refer to the effect of testing as seen by others, the oven may suggest what was seen inwardly, and known to the Father and Himself only. In each case the fire was there and the perfection of Christ was there. Firstfruits are introduced here, leading up to the assembly. The assembly is typified by the meat-offering [p. 123] in Leviticus 23:16, 17, showing that as the order of man seen in Christ. In it, however, leaven is seen. At Pentecost there was leaven recognised, but it was not active.
FL It is interesting to note that leaven is seen in the meat-offering in Leviticus 23:17 The Lord says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart”, Matthew 11:29. Though leaven remains in us we partake of His character.
JT The different cities referred to in Matthew 11 were “raised up to heaven” (Matthew 11:23) fulness of inflation was there. At that time Jesus “rejoiced in spirit”, Luke 10:21. He was not dismayed by the combination of things against Him. He rejoiced in spirit, thanking the Father, and bowing to His will. Such was the order of man that came under the Father’s eye. There was perfection of manhood in all circumstances. “I praise thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes. Yea, Father, for thus has it been well-pleasing in thy sight”, Matthew 11:25 - 26. He presents Himself to them and to all as a Model. That is the order of His humanity. They were to be brought into that, and the apostle laboured to that end, to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
FL Philippians 2 gives us the meat-offering. “Let this mind be in you, which [was] also in Christ Jesus”, Philippians 2:5.
PHP Will you say a word about the anointing?
JT It refers to the Holy Spirit coming on the Lord. As Man, He was marked by the power of the Spirit. In the meat-offering there is anointing with oil, and mingling with oil. The former refers to the Holy Spirit upon Him.
FL I suppose mingled means that it was impossible to conceive of that One apart from the Holy Spirit in all His holy being as a Man. “[The] Spirit [p. 124] of [the] Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach”, Luke 4:18.
PHP I was thinking that the Spirit was there before and did not depend on the anointing or baptism.
JT As to His humanity, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The anointing is God committing Himself to that Man. After His anointing, it is said that He was driven of the Spirit into the wilderness; this was to emphasise the fact that now the Spirit had come upon Him, He would be wholly governed by Him. Prominence is given to the action of the Spirit. It is not presented as the Lord’s own action. In coming out of the wilderness it is His own action. He returns from the wilderness “in the power of the Spirit”, Luke 4:14. If we learn from Christ we avoid evil. We do not go near it. If a man of God touches evil, it is because he is driven of the Spirit to deal with it for the sake of others. He abhors it, but it is necessary. But coming back from the wilderness the Lord’s heart was free.
Ques What is the difference between mingled and indwelt?
JT Mingled refers to the Spirit being there. The Spirit came in the form of a dove, and abode upon Him, meaning that there was nothing to disturb. That could not be said of any other person.
FL In regard to Adam, the Lord breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. That was characteristic. He could not be without that breath which constituted him a living being. The second Man out of heaven is a life-giving Spirit. He breathed into His disciples the breath of life. As Man, He is seen as inherently connected with the Holy Spirit; in that way we are helped to see the difference between Adam and Christ, the second Man.
JT John the baptist says, “He it is who baptises with [the] Holy Spirit”, John 1:33. Before the Lord [p. 125] was formally anointed, all His actions recorded were largely to prove the reality and perfection of His humanity. He was perfect in every stage. We have a few facts presented as to what He was. In no case does it say that He acted by the Spirit. The point was to bring out the humanity that was there, and when the Spirit comes upon Him, the point is to show that the Spirit is there, and all that He does is by the Spirit.
FL There is a difference between the meat-offering and the manna.
JT They are very intimately connected. The manna is what He was in dependence on God in a scene of contrariety. The soul has to learn how to depend on God and for that he feeds on the manna. It was found everywhere in the wilderness, and it rested on the dew.
BTF Will you say a word about “firstfruits” and “green ears of corn”.
FL Firstfruits are in anticipation of what is brought in in connection with the feasts in chapter 23.
JT Firstfruits necessarily involve death. Christ is the firstfruits from among the dead, but it is a question whether it is not more than that here; whether there is not provision made for the thought of the assembly coming in here in type.
WB They refer to Christ in resurrection.
BAM John’s testimony to the Lord, “Behold the Lamb of God” (John 1:36) would apply to the meat-offering.
FL The Lamb suggests the burnt-offering; looking upon Him as He walked, the meat-offering. They have to be taken together.
JT John the baptist may be regarded as a typical offerer in that sense. His heart was filled with a sense of the perfection of that walk. In John 3 he rejoiced to hear the Bridegroom’s voice. His joy was full in hearing it. It has often been remarked that honey is the sweetness of human [p. 126] nature: right in its place, but it has no place before God as an offering.
FL The frankincense suggests the altar of incense, which was put upon it. There was that which was wholly for God. This links the meat-offering with the burnt-offering.
JT “Every oblation of thy meat-offering shalt thou season with salt”. In Christ there was always the antidote to any corruption. “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another” (Mark 9:50) is the word to ourselves.
FL “[Let] your word [be] always with grace, seasoned with salt”, Colossians 4:6. Salt enhances the flavour.