The Red Thread: Part 6
Estimated reading time: 17 minutes
The Tabernacle: Part 2
Jesus Christ in the offerings: A study of all the types of offerings and how Jesus Christ fulfills all of them.
This session will not be an in-depth look but merely a highlighting of the important information.
Offerings began long before they were prescribed in the law. Think of Abraham and Noah, long before the law. Those offerings were the beginning of the burnt offering.
The whole idea behind the red thread is a life for a life; there is substitution. The principle is that the substitution can pay the price.
In Leviticus, God prescribed five different offerings. Each offering pointed to Jesus Christ as well as showed what our approach to God should be.
The priests were Levites from the family of Levi. The word Levi means to be joined, to attach, or to attend. The Levites were attendants in the Tabernacle. They helped people get joined to God. Essentially, the book of Leviticus is about how we approach God.
“These five offerings, while distinct in themselves, performed two basic functions and can be divided into two general groupings. The burnt offering, the meal offering, and the peace offering were referred to as a “sweet savor unto the Lord” (Leviticus 1:9; 2:2; 3:5). In the Hebrew language, the word for “savor” means fragrance as from incense. These three offerings were burned as incense unto God. As we shall examine in chapter 9, these offerings were, in essence, incense offerings representing prayer and intercession unto God.
“In contrast, the sin and trespass offerings were to obtain forgiveness for and purification from sins. With the burnt, meal, and peace offerings, the Old Covenant believer approached God to fellowship with Him. With the sin and trespass offerings, the Old Covenant believer came to God as sinful and impure. The purpose of the sin and trespass offerings was to reestablish fellowship with God, obtaining purification, cleansing, and forgiveness.”
Bergey, David D. Jesus Christ Our Complete Offering: How the Levitical Offerings Foreshadowed Christ (2017) p. 99–100.
The Burnt, Meal, and Peace Offerings were to approach God in fellowship. The Sin and Trespass Offerings were to obtain forgiveness and purification.
Ephesians 5:2 KJV:
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.
We tend to use “offering” and “sacrifice” interchangeably, but that is incorrect.
The first three (burnt, meal, and peace) were an offering. They were free-will offerings from the heart and had to do with approaching God. So, when you read “offering” think of approaching God.
The sin and trespass offerings were a sacrifice. Sacrifice is a heavier word in both Hebrew and Aramaic. So, when you read “sacrifice” think of sin and substation.
The Burnt Offering
Leviticus presents the offerings in order. Chapter One covers the burnt offering; Chapter two is about the meal offering; three is about the peace offering, and so on.
Leviticus 1:1–9 KJV:
1 And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, 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.
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. 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. 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. 6 And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. 7 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: 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: 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.
It was a free will offering based upon one’s prosperity level. If you were very poor, you could bring a turtledove. It wasn’t about what you offered so much as that it was a free will offering.
There is an “identification” by laying hands on the animal (to make atonement for him), but there’s also a transfer back to the person of receiving what the offering means. There’s actually a double transfer. We’ll see it clearly later. Just remember that the person is identified with what he’s bringing.
The words “burnt” mean “ascending.” They call it burnt because the smoke went up.
The key elements here are:
- A male without blemish.
- Blood was sprinkled on the alter.
- The offering had to be completely burned up (the only think the priest could keep was the skin). In most of the other offerings, there was a portion for the priest.
The burnt offering had to be completely burned up because it was all about complete dedication to God. You’re not only acknowledging that God is your sufficiency in everything and sort of dedicating your life to Him, but in the identification back from that it’s as though you are also dedicating your whole life. It’s as if, instead of the animal giving its life, you are giving up yours. What does that remind you of? Your body is a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1).
Jesus Christ was the ultimate burnt offering; He dedicated His life completely to God in total obedience.
So, the burnt offering foreshadowed both Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and our approach to God.
The Meal Offering
Chapter two is about the meal offering. The King James Version says “meat” offering, even though this is the only offering that has no meat at all. Meat was King James English for grain or bread. Modern translations render this as a “grain” offering.
Leviticus 2:1–3 KJV:
1 And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon: 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:
The meal offering had four elements: fine flour, oil, frankincense, and salt. You can look up the meanings of those elements later.
The meal offering was often done at the same time as the burnt offering. While the burnt offering is about dedication to God, the meal offering is about thanksgiving (giving thanks) to God.
Again, what you brought depended upon your wealth. Wealthy people could bring very fine, expensive flour; poor people could bring whatever flour they could afford. The priest would take a handful of the flower and sprinkle it on the altar so that it would be burned up. The rest of it would belong to the priest.
It was giving thanks for specific things.
A drink offering was later added to the meal offering, foreshadowing communion.
Hebrews 13:15–16 KJV:
15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. 16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Again, this offering is both about Christ and about us. It’s about Christ because He completely gave His life with perfection (fine flour). His words were salted. There was no leaven and no honey in it. His approach, and our approach, to God is with thanksgiving.
The Peace Offering
The word “peace” in Hebrew is shalom. It means much more than the English idea of the absence of war or strife. It has to do with sweetness inside. This is the only offering where the person making the offering gets a portion of it back.
For the peace offering, the fat is removed and burned on the altar. The breast and the right thigh then belong to the priest. The rest of it is returned to the person who brought the offering, who then takes it home to eat with his family.
The peace offering foreshadows the peace that we (believers) have with God in Christ.
Colossians 1:20–22 KJV:
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. 21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
Ephesians 2:14–15 KJV:
14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Because of Jesus Christ we are made whole, we are without blame in His sight, so we can walk straight into the holy of holies, into God’s very presence (unlike the children of Israel before Christ).
Ephesians 3:12 KJV:
In whom [Christ Jesus our Lord] we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.
We have speaking access with God.
The first three offerings were the sweet savor offerings.
The Sin Offering
With the background that we’ve explored so far, you can now read the first ten chapters of Leviticus with greater understanding.
Leviticus 8: KJV:
15 And he slew it [the bullock for the sin offering]; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it.
Remember the old song about power in the blood? There are three things that the blood did: purified (cleansed) the altar, sanctified (made holy or set apart) the altar, and then made reconciliation for us on it. The King James translation does not make this clear, but the reconciliation was to make atonement. It was a covering for sin. It paid the price.
The blood cleanses, sanctifies, and covers.
“The three chief uses of the blood are emphatically declared in the fifteenth verse of Leviticus eight: purification, sanctification, and reconciliation.”
The word that we translate to cleanse or to purify is the same as is elsewhere translated as “to sin.”
“How remarkably that the Spirit of God would call our attention even by the use of words to the fact that we can only be cleansed from our sin by the blood of Him who was made sin for us.”
The book of Hebrews helps us to understand how we are now supposed to understand the offerings.
Hebrews 13:11 KJV:
For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin [talking about a sin offering], are burned without the camp.
Whatever was left of the offering would be taken outside the camp and there burned up. This prefigures how Jesus Christ was on the cross outside Jerusalem.
Hebrews 13:12 KJV:
12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
Jesus Christ fulfilled the sin offerings.
When the offeror placed their hand on the head of the offering, their sins were transferred to the animal, and forgiveness was transferred back to the offeror.
2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV:
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.
Our sins were transferred to him by identification and his sinlessness was transferred back to us.
The Trespass Offering
The trespass offering is similar to the sin offering, but the animal or amount was smaller. The offering was for conscious sins that you knew about. The point was restitution.
When you brought tithes and offerings, you would also bring a trespass offering that showed your guilt and made restitution.
Leviticus 6:5–7 KJV:
5 Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering. 6 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: 7 And the priest shall make an atonement [substitution] for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.
The sin and trespass offerings were not sweet-smelling offerings. They were for things people did wrong.
In Colossians chapter two it goes into detail about our identification with Christ.
Colossians 2:13–14 KJV:
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances is reminiscent of a debtor having all their debts listed on a notice posted on the gate of the city. When the price was paid, they would “double it,” fold it in half so that all you could see was the person’s name and none of their debts. That’s blotting out the handwriting of ordinances.
In practice, people were to do the sin offering first (if needed), and then the trespass offering, then the burnt offering, which was about dedication. Then, the meal offering, which was about thanksgiving. And finally, the last offering was the peace offering.
In practice, you had to deal with sins and trespasses first. Then, you have to give your heart to God with thanksgiving before you get to the fellowship part.
We read about the dedication of the Tabernacle in Leviticus 9.
Leviticus 9:23–24 KJV:
23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. 24 And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.
From that point on, God told them to never let the fire go out. That was His fire, showing His acceptance of their offerings. Fire can come either in judgment or acceptance.
Once we are accepted by God and we know that we are accepted, we should never let that fire go out.
Jesus Christ fulfilled all five of those offerings for us, though we did not deserve it.
Hebrews 10:1–18 KJV:
1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. 5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. 8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; 9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. 15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
In every offering in the Old Testament was a remembrance of sins. But no more.
Hebrews 10:19–25 KJV:
19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having an high priest over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled [like the burnt offering, for dedication] from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the profession [confession] of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
We have a new way of life. Since my sins are forgiven, I have to believe that yours are, too. We never have a reason to be prideful; we’re in this together.
Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all five offerings. But also, all five offerings show how we have been cleansed and can go on being living sacrifices and dedicate our lives wholly unto God.
Bookstore Suggestions:
