Leviticus 1:6-176And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. 7And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: 8And 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: 9But 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 savor unto the Lord. 10And 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. 11And 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. 12And 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: 13But 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 savor unto the Lord. 14And 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. 15And 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: 16And 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: 17And 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 savor unto the Lord. (Leviticus 1:6‑17)
“AFTER the bullock was slain before the Lord, the skin was removed, and then the animal was parted into pieces. The pieces along with the head and the fat were set in order upon the wood on the fire of the altar.
But first the inwards and legs must be washed with water, for it was necessary that both the inward and outward parts be made clean to be a fit type of the Holy One of God. This speaks to us of how all the inward thoughts and motives of the Lord Jesus were pure and holy before God. The “legs” tell of His blessed walk which was ever to the glory of God.
The fat always speaks of the excellence of the animal, and so as the animal was laid open, the more it was parted, it only displayed more of the excellence of the sacrifice. How precious to think of all the excellencies of the Lord Jesus Christ laid open and offered up to God as a sacrifice, “without blemish and without spot.”
Then the priest caused all to be burned upon the altar, “an offering made by fire, a sweet savor unto the Lord.” The word to burn, when used in reference to the offerings burned on this altar, means “to go up,” “to ascend"; so that the burnt offering was wholly taken up in fire, fed upon, as it were, by God, and delighted in as something exceedingly precious to Himself, so precious that the fire could only bring out that which was a “sweet savor.”
This is most precious, for it magnifies the Lord Jesus, and also gives the believer blessed confidence bore God, for the believer is accepted according to all the value and preciousness which God sees in Christ. Our faith may be very weak, our understanding of the value and preciousness of Jesus may be so very little, yet God accepts us according to all the infinite perfections that He sees in Him. The more we learn of this the deeper will be our peace in His presence. His “perfect love” casteth out all fear.
The burnt offering, however, might not always be a bullock; it might be a sheep or a goat, or even turtledoves or young pigeons. This would speak of the different measures of our appreciation of the work of Christ. One who has walked with the Lord over many years may have a greater appreciation of Christ than one who has just been saved. Nevertheless God delights to accept the praise of both as long as it comes from the heart. He values every little bit of Christ in His own.
In the case of the turtledoves or young pigeons, the priest was first to remove “the crop” and the “feathers” and they were to be cast away. The crop contains the undigested food of the bird, and this speaks to us of truth we have taken into our minds but which we have never really made our own; we merely have it in our heads. This is not acceptable to God in worship.
Then the feathers speak of outward display, which may look fair to others, but is not real; this is not acceptable to God, for He looks upon our hearts (1 Sam. 2:33Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. (1 Samuel 2:3)). How much we often say and do for others to see and hear! God wants only reality. May we have grace to judge what is of self in our hearts, and seek to offer only that which is of Christ in our worship and service to God.
ML-05/09/1971