The words sacrifice, oblation, and offering have each their distinctive signification. Sacrifice involved the shedding of blood, hence bullocks, lambs, goats, etc., and living animals full of life and free from blemish were killed, as a rule by the offerer, at the north side of the brazen altar (Lev. 1:1111And 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. (Leviticus 1:11)); then the officiating priest dealt with the blood in the prescribed manner. Oblation referred to the presentation of flour, corn, and the first-fruits of the harvest—that in which there was no blood. Offering is a more general word and is applied to both of the foregoing. A bullock for sacrifice and an oblation of fine flour are each termed an offering.
There are four classes of offering: burnt, meat, peace, and sin-offering; these latter include trespass-sacrifices as being alike in character to the sin-sacrifices. These four are referred to in the Epistle to the Hebrews (10:5-8).
The first official sacrifice offered after the institution of the priesthood is the subject of chapter 9. of Leviticus. On that interesting occasion the glory of Jehovah appeared to the people and fire from before Jehovah consumed the sacrifice. This sacred fire was ever to be kept burning. “The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.” The fire of judgment ever demanded fresh sacrifice, now we have a sacrifice which has consumed the fire, and now we stand a saved and justified people in the place where fire has been—the place of the ashes.
Another point of importance is that the order in which these sacrifices is revealed from God’s glory to man’s need, or from the burnt-offering to the sin-offering, is not the order of personal application. In the history of souls the journey is from self and its need to God, or from the sin-offering up to the burnt-
offering. Thus in Leviticus 8., 16., 2 Chron. 29., and elsewhere the sin-offerings take precedence of the burnt-offering.
The revelation of these offerings in the early chapters of Leviticus is prefaced by the words “the LORD spoke unto Moses;” that is, these introductory words intimate a fresh revelation. Thus the sweet savour offerings (Lev. 1.-3.) having one character in common are embraced under the prefatory command in the first verse of the book. The sweet savor offerings are the burnt-offering, the meat or flour offering, and the peace or communion offering. The next group of sacrifices are for the judgment of sin, for positive transgressions committed. In the first class, we have typified—more or less—the communion of the believer with God, but here there is no communion; it is the solemn judgment of sin. Thus again, “the LORD spake unto Moses” introduces this new character of sacrifice chapters 4:1; 5:14; 6:1, 8, 19, 24, under this formula distinct revelations from Jehovah are given.
The fullness of detail and wonderful precision in the communications stamp the Divine record as inspired and imperishable. Who but God could have foreshown those shadows of Christ in His Person, life and death. In Christ those varied gleams and glints center. All have their answer now in the New Testament Revelation of one Christ, one life, one sacrifice, one mediator, one High Priest.