Turn back to that chapter we read for our
reading this morning. Leviticus chapter 1. If you ask most people today, If they are satisfied with their
religion, if they are satisfied with their hope, their confidence,
if they are satisfied with their relationship with God, or with
their prospects for eternity, most of them will say, Yes. If you don't believe it, just
ask them. They will say yes. And that is one of the great
evidences of spiritual death and spiritual
blindness and spiritual ignorance if we can be satisfied with anything
less than what God is satisfied with. So, in reality, the question
that ought to be on our minds, the most important question,
is, is God satisfied? Satisfied. Abel went and offered a sacrifice
to God. His brother Cain, he went also
and offered a sacrifice to God. God was satisfied with Abel's
sacrifice. He was not satisfied with Cain's
sacrifice. When we come to a chapter like
this one here in the book of Leviticus, we need to remember
that Christ is always the subject of any Bible book. And so he tells us in Luke 24
and other places, that even in these books of the
Law, Moses was talking about Him. These things have to do
with Christ. And these various offerings that
are described here, that are mentioned in this first chapter,
and go on really throughout the book. These offerings have many
things to do and picture Christ and His people. His sacrifice
and His people. When you read these verses in
this first chapter, you might notice that it does not matter,
and it did not matter, what station or level in life or wealth one
had in Israel. If they were able to offer of
the herd, they offered of the herd. But if they were not able
to offer of the herd and had of the flock, they would then
offer of the flock. And if they were not able to
offer of the flock, if they were of such a low standing in life,
poor people, they still offered of the turtledoves or the pigeons
which could be gained for very little. But no matter who they
were in this camp, they offered these sacrifices to the Lord. And they all came offering these
sacrifices individually and personally. They all offered this sacrifice
willingly, the Bible says. And they all came and they identified
with this offering and sacrifice. In one place it says, they laid
their hand on the victim. And the priests offered up on
their behalf these offerings, these sacrifices, and they were
all burned. Did you notice that? They were,
every one of them, whether of the herd or of the flock, or
of the birds, they were every one taken, and they were on the
altar burned." But as we know, if we know anything about this
book, anything about the gospel, We know that there is no Christ
without His cross. We know that there is no gospel
without the God-appointed and God-satisfying sacrifice. And we have that in the burnt
offering." So when God gave this Levitical law through Moses to
these people, here in this first chapter, we are confronted with
the burnt offering. But this is not the first place
in the Scriptures that we read about and come into contact with
burnt offerings. As a matter of fact, when Noah
stepped off the ark, he began to gather up of the clean things
that had lived on that ark, he began to gather up the sacrifices
that were to be offered, and he offered up to God burnt We read about it again in the
book of Exodus. We read about these burnt offerings
that were offered up to God. And the burnt offering pictured
this sacrifice. And it showed us something of
the character and the nature of this sacrifice when it says
that these offerings and sacrifices were to be burned on the altar. When you look in the Bible again
and again, you find that fire is symbolic of the judgment of
God. Whenever the prophet offered
up the sacrifices there on Mount Carmel, the Bible says that fire
fell down out of heaven and consumed the sacrifices to such a degree
that it even lapped up all the extra water that had been poured
on it. All those false prophets, they
for hours and maybe even days, they offered up their kind of
offering and sacrifice. But God did not honor that. God
did not speak from heaven. God did not visibly show that
He was satisfied with their offering. But when Elijah, at the bidding
of the Lord, offered up that God-appointed sacrifice, God
answered from heaven with fire and consumed it all." Just burned
it all up. And fire is not only symbolic
of the justice of God, fire is also representative of the wrath
of God. Oftentimes, God demonstrated
His wrath with fire. Whenever He, with fire and brimstone,
destroyed the cities of the plains and all the inhabitants thereof,
He rained down fire on them. Hell, eternal judgment, is symbolized
with fire. The wrath, the eternal wrath
of God. the wrath of an offended God,
just as applied to the sinner. So there can be no sacrifice,
as we see in the very first of these sacrifices and offerings,
there can be none that do not in some way deal with the judgment
and the wrath of God. These are all burnt, offerings. And that is so contrary to natural
thinking. That is so naturally opposite
to what we think really we need to do to satisfy God. And that is why we can be satisfied
and contented with and rest in and even hope in that which God
is not satisfied. But what I want us to particularly
notice this morning, and it is said concerning each
one of these various types of this burnt offering, but I'll
read to you in the last verse what it says. 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 savor
unto the Lord." It is a sweet savor unto the Lord. And when you begin to examine
exactly what that means, that last phrase, a sweet savor unto
the Lord, those words are defined with words like pleasant, soothing,
appeasing, quieting, tranquilizing, an aroma or a fragrance or an
odor or a scent that is pleasing or satisfying to Jehovah. In other words, if you can walk
in this camp of Israel and go near to the door of the tabernacle
when these offerings were being offered up to the Lord on the
behalf of these sinners who in so offering acknowledged their
sinnerhood. Why? Because, he says, it shall
be for an atonement. It will bring these offerers
to be at one with God. God will be satisfied toward
them in this one way alone. And so, if you had walked to
the door of the tabernacle, And you had smelled the odor that
was coming out of that tabernacle of all of this flesh and bone
and all these various things being burned on the altar. It may well have been a stench
in your nostrils. But the Bible says, That that
fragrance, that odor, that scent symbolized in that odor and fragrance
that was rising up off that burning altar. It was a sweet fragrance. It was a pleasant odor. It was a pleasing thing. It was a satisfying thing to
Jehovah. And we find in these things,
as well as everywhere in the Scripture, that this is essential
because only that which pleases God, Only that which satisfies
Him will work and suffice to truly please and satisfy us. Only that which satisfies and
which pleases Him in all His attributes, and most especially
in His justice, will ever satisfy our souls. Only that which satisfies and
pleases in the courts of God's divine presence will ever satisfy
you and me or any other sinner in our conscience. So does it. Does whatever I'm
trusting in, does whatever my hope is in, does whatever it
is that I can lay down at night and sleep and not fear of waking
up in eternal torment, does what satisfy me satisfy the living
God? And the sacrifice that we read
about here, this sacrifice that is a type and a picture and shadow
of another sacrifice, this sacrifice that is foreshadowed in this,
pleases God. Pleases God. And in every part, And on every
point and in every aspect that pertains to God in that matter
most important to us and to Him, the salvation of the soul, He is pleased. He is satisfied. He is the offended one. So this means that all that is
necessary to satisfy God in the matter of His salvation is not
just simply in Christ in some weird sense, but in Christ crucified. Now have these offers, taken
even the exact thing that was required, such as a bull, or
a lamb, or a turtle dove, or whatever it was, have they taken
that which was to be offered and brought it simply to the
priest, and the priest said, okay, here it is, Would the Lord have been satisfied? No. In every point, in every
one, it says that they were taken and laid on this altar and on
this wood, and they were every one burned. And that was because
of what it represented. Because it represented how that
salvation, how that forgiveness of sins, how that what God does
in mercy for sinners, and especially that which satisfies God in all
that He is and all He requires, is in the substitutionary, sacrificial
death of the Lord Jesus Christ for each and every elect sinner."
Now, in our natural thinking, we are so prone to question God
as to His wisdom, and so naturally, have a tendency to offer up something
in the place of what He's already told us alone satisfies Him,
we have a tendency to ask the question, why? Or most especially,
why Christ? Why this one man? I would say simply, first of
all, just exactly what this book says, and that is because he
is the only one who can or has done anything that pleases God. He's the only one that could. And he's the only one that has? And so when you read through
these verses, and you find the descriptions given through Moses,
you always find it saying something like this, "'It shall be a male
without blemish.'" "'It shall be a male without blemish.'"
In other words, it has to be, it had to be, it always was purposed
to be, that it would be in and through and by the man Christ
Jesus. We are so shut up to this reality. simply through and by just one
verse of Scripture that God gives us through the Apostle Paul that
deals a death blow to so much of the man-made error we find
in this world. And that verse is when the apostle
says to us, for there is one Mediator between men and God. He doesn't say man and God, but
he says men and God, in that this one Mediator is that one
Mediator between these particular men and God, and who is it? Is it Mary? Is it a priest? Is it a preacher? No. He says, it is the man Christ
Jesus. And it is because He is that
one sacrifice able to be such, not only because He is appointed
by God, but He is the only one without blemish. I know how we are by nature. We are very quick to make sure
that we set this thing in a proper perspective, but even that reveals
our own self-righteousness. When we say things like this,
I know I'm not perfect. Would you like me to interpret
that phrase for you? I know that I'm not exactly 100%
perfect, but I'm pretty close to it. No, he's the only one
without blemish. He's the only one that the Bible
says knew no sin. But most especially, he is the
only one that God Himself has looked upon in His perfect humanity,
walking on this earth, and said, I'm pleased with him, when he was baptized. In Matthew
3 it says, "...and lo, a voice from heaven came saying, This
is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." I'm satisfied
with Him. I'm pleased with Him. Look over
in Matthew chapter 12. In Matthew chapter 12, in verse
14, it says, "...then the Pharisees went out and held a council against
him, how they might destroy him." But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew
Himself from thence, and great multitudes followed Him, and
He healed them all, and charged them that they should not make
Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the
prophet, saying, Behold my servant." whom I have chosen, my Beloved,
in whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon Him,
and He shall show judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive
nor cry, neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break,
and a smoking flack shall he not quench, till he shall send
forth judgment unto victory, and in his name shall the Gentiles
trust." In other words, he is the fulfillment. Though He was not to have some
kind of earthly fame or earthly general public popularity, He
is still that One that fulfilled that prophecy concerning what
God would say of the Messiah. This is the One in whom my soul
is well pleased. Well pleased. He is that One
that the Scripture says, "...that it pleased the Father, that in
Him should all fullness dwell." But not only that, it says, "...in
Him it pleased the Father, that in Him should all fullness dwell,
and having made peace through the blood of His cross." In other
words, this is the one and this is the way that peace is made
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And when Peter goes to write
in his epistle and describe one of the most momentous occasions
and experiences in his life, that is when he and James and
John were taken with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration. And they saw Moses and they saw
Elijah talking to each other. And you know what they were talking
about. They were talking about His decease which He should accomplish
at Jerusalem. But instead of building three
tabernacles like Peter wanted to do, the Scripture says there
was a voice that spoke from heaven. saying, this is my beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased." And so when Peter talks about
redemption, he said, we're not redeemed with
corruptible things, such as silver and gold, received from the vain
tradition of our fathers, Even these things that typified the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, it wasn't these things
that redeemed any more than it was this animal blood that made
atonement. But he said, we're redeemed by
the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot. But you see, God's pleasure,
that which satisfies God, not only has to do with His character,
but it also has to do with a purpose that He has joined to Christ. In other words, God is not only
satisfied and pleased with Christ in His person, but He is also
satisfied and pleased in what He has accomplished in this person,
because He has a purpose joined to Christ. You see, he has a purpose and
a pleasure that is described as a purpose of grace given to
his people in Christ. Now, I'm here to tell you today
that the thing that gives God the greatest glory The thing that praises the glory
of God, ascribes to Him glory more than any other by His own
testimony, is His purpose of grace. Of that purpose that He
purposed, and the Scripture says, gave to His people in Christ
before the foundation of the world. And he would never be
satisfied or pleased with anything less than the accomplishment,
the carrying out of that purpose of grace. Now we just stop and think about
this. Here is this picture where this
male without blemish and without spot is taken and burned? I just imagine were that to go
on in our day, the people from PETA would have the lines lined
up, the signs up, the newscasts here, and they would all say,
what a waste of life that is. But all of God's salvation and
all of God's glory and all of God's purpose is bound up in
the fact of this burnt offering. That is so contrary to natural
thinking. Turn over to Isaiah 53. Isaiah chapter 53, and look what
it says in verse 10, because this whole chapter is talking
about not only the Messiah, not only what would happen to Him,
not only what would be accomplished by Him, but the fact that this
is the sum and substance of God's gospel, which Isaiah calls our
report. I report." What does it say in Isaiah 53.10? It says, "...Yet it pleased the
Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief, when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin." In other words, when
that takes place, The pleasure, that is the purpose or that which
satisfies God, is all bound up in the Lord's sacrificing His
Son as our Savior. Now, I said this isn't the first
place that the burnt offering is spoken of. It was mentioned there in Genesis
8. It is mentioned in The book of
Exodus, but a real picture of it is to be found when Isaac
is taken up by Abraham on Mount Moriah. When that takes place,
and they are about to go up on that mount, and Abraham speaks
of now leaving those servants, in a place behind them when he
and Isaac go up on that mount together. Think about this. Isaac looks
at Abraham. He knew. He wasn't a tiny, unknowing
child. He was of such an age that he
knew what he had been taught was required to worship and to
make a sacrifice and offering to God. And you know what they're taking
up on Mount Moriah? Isaac said, I see the fire. He knew fire was necessary. And I see the knife. He knew
the shedding of blood was necessary. And he saw the wood. Why would you want wood? Well,
because going up on that mountain, The higher the elevation, the
less wood was undoubtedly to be found, and there had to be
enough wood to build such a fire to totally consume the sacrifice. And then Isaac asked that question. He said, where is the sacrifice? There's got to be wood for the
fire, there's got to be fire, there's got to be a knife, and
there's got to be a sacrifice. And Abraham looks at his young
son and he says, the Lord will provide. But he doesn't just
say that, does he? He said, the Lord will provide
Himself a sacrifice. What does that mean? It means
that God would provide for Himself that which satisfies Himself. And that is the truth and heart
of the gospel, which is this, only God can satisfy God. Only God, who is the one sinned
against, can bring forth the sacrifice, offer the offering
by which He Himself is satisfied. No sinner can do that. You say, well, I'm doing the best
I can. That will never satisfy God. So when they go up on the Mount, If ever there was a picture of
substitutionary atonement, whenever Abraham lays Isaac, his son,
on that pile of wood about to shed his blood and offer him
up as a sacrifice to God at God's command, God stops him and puts
one in his place. Isaac is taken off that altar.
And a ram that God has caused to be caught by his horns in
a thicket is brought to Abraham's attention, and he takes that
ram, a male, he lays him on that pile of wood,
he takes his life, he sheds his blood, he lights that fire, that
wood, and that wood consumes that whole sacrifice. And God was satisfied. Every
claim of divine justice, every necessity of God's attributes,
everything concerning all of God's purpose in the salvation
of His people, everything is met through and by and in the
doing and the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those old preachers
used to make this expression. They said, he drank damnation
dry. In other words, he offered up
himself, his perfect self. But he didn't just offer himself
up as an example or a martyr or anything like that. He offered
himself up as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of his
people. And the fire of God's judgment The fire of God's wrath against
all the sins of all His people. Because they had all been imputed
to Christ. The Lord, as Isaiah said, hath
laid on Him the iniquity of us all. And when He dies, that fire
of God's wrath and judgment falls on Him. And God's satisfied. He's a just God as well as a
Savior. There is no wrath left to be
poured out on those that Christ dies for. Only the infinite Son
could consume the infinite wrath and judgment of God in our place. And that's why He said it's finished. Somebody said the sword of divine
justice, which we hear Zechariah talking about, a Waco sword and
smite the shepherd. The sword of divine justice is
plunged into the heart of the Son of God in His humanity all
the way to the hilt. The blow of God's justice falls
on Him and is fully expended. We use that expression, I gave
Him all I had. I hid Him with all my might. That's what God did His Son.
Because that's what our sin was due. And that's what His purpose
was from old eternity. It was to bruise the Son. He would be pleased in the bruising
of His Son. He'd be pleased in this sacrifice. And that's why Christ is called
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The soul that sins shall surely
die. That's why it says that God loved
us and sent His Son, the propitiation for our sins. What does propitiation
mean? It means to turn away wrath. The only way you can turn away
the wrath of God is to endure it, to satisfy God in that way. And so Christ is the propitiation. That's why modern translations
don't want to use that word and properly define that word propitiation. They don't want any idea of God
being a God of wrath in any way. But God in the matter of sin
is a consuming fire outside and apart from this sacrifice. The fire consumed this sacrifice,
and it was burned to nothing. How do you pay a debt? How do
you satisfy a debt? You pay it in full. How do you
satisfy justice? You endure the full extent of
the law, we say. The full penalty of it. So this picture is that God,
satisfied himself with himself. Because only he could do that.
I always think about this. When David went out and slew
Goliath. Probably the first Bible stories
we call them that I ever remember hearing. David and Goliath. David
the giant killer. Here's the picture. David is
a type of Christ. Goliath is a type of every enemy
against God and His people. He's a type of sin. He's a type
of this world. He's a type of Satan. How did
David slay Goliath? Well, you know the story. He
went out and he picked up the pebbles, he pebbled a stone into
a sling, he slung it, hit Goliath and it killed him. David is a
type of Christ in that he by himself saved us from our sins. But he's also this type. He's
a type in that very stone that went in that sling, so that Christ
did by Himself and with Himself save us from our sins. So Isaiah says in Isaiah 10,
going a bit farther in chapter 10, it says, "...when thou shalt
make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed."
How can he have a seed if he's died? That's the God-ordained
way. He has a seed. He has a people. He lays down His life for them,
and therefore He has them. He shall see His seed, He shall
prolong His days, He will raise from the dead." And look at this,
"...and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand." That
purpose of grace. God will be pleased. with what
Christ accomplishes. He'll be pleased with the fact
that the children that the Father gave Him will everyone be saved,
everyone set free from their sins. And so when the Apostle Paul
begins to give that encouragement and instruction that we read
about in the New Testament, He writes to the Ephesians and
he says this, he said, "'Be ye therefore followers of God as
dear children, 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 sweet-smelling savour.'" God was pleased with His sacrificial
love on the behalf of His people that Christ demonstrated. And he says, Isaiah does, that
this purpose prospers. It prospers in the hands of Christ. This burnt offering for sins,
this bruising of the Lord that's accomplished, this work of Christ,
it prospers. And if He was charged for their
sins, they can't be charged for them. If He died in my place
for my sins, I don't have to die for my sins. If he suffered once for my sins,
then I don't have to suffer." And so in verse 11 of Isaiah
53, he says, "...and he shall see of the travail of his soul,
and shall be satisfied. And by his knowledge shall my
righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities."
You know, there's one thing about this that just dawned on me.
In this business of salvation, in the one who appoints salvation,
in the one who accomplishes salvation, in the one who applies salvation,
in those who are saved by God's salvation, everybody is satisfied. Truly, eternally satisfied. And so when Paul comes to the
Corinthians and writes that letter in 1 Corinthians, he says this,
he says, it pleases God through the foolishness of preaching
to save them that believe. What is that? He calls it the
preaching of the cross. God is satisfied with the preaching
of the true gospel. And Paul says in the second epistle
to the Corinthians, he says, and that preaching, that making
known of the knowledge of Christ, what does it do? It goes up as
a sweet savor unto God. And he says, it pleases God,
it satisfies God in them that are being saved. It's the savor
of life unto them, but also in those that perish, it's the savor
of death unto death unto them. Does it smell good to you? Oh, the natural instinct. When that offerer stands there
and smells that burning flesh on the altar, it's naturally
offensive. But if God opens his heart, gives
him understanding as to what's being represented by, don't you
think it's sweetened up? If it satisfies God, oh, how
it ought to satisfy me. And not only that, the believing
of Christ crucified is satisfying. Sweet savor to
God. Paul writes, "...by faith Enoch
was translated that he should not see death, and was not found,
because God translated him. For before his translation he
had this testimony, that he pleased God." Now Enoch, I've often thought
Enoch says he pleased God. You say, well, he didn't have
to go through what I have to go through. Oh, maybe so. It tells us that he had children.
He pleased God. How did he please God? By trusting
in. by believing on that One that
God pictured in this offering and sacrifice, this One who was
to come and die the death of the cross, the Messiah, the Lord
Jesus Christ. He looked to Him. He pleased
God. And then on the basis of this
sacrifice, accepted by God, Believed on
by the believing sinner. It makes their sacrifices pleasing
to God. What do they offer? The sacrifice
of praise and thanksgiving. When we look to God in Christ
and trust only Him, plead only His sacrifice for our sins, for
our righteousness. God's pleased with us. He's pleased
to receive our praise through Christ and Him crucified. And
He's pleased with what is done for His people, by His people,
because of Christ crucified. Paul writes to the Philippians,
he says, and abound, and in full having received of Epaphroditus
the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell,
a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God." Well, do you suppose
those folks at Philippi, Paul being hungry and probably half
naked there in a prison dungeon somewhere, do you think they
sent him a bottle of cologne? No. They sent him food. They sent him something to relieve
his situation, his pain. And he said it was to God, because
of Christ, a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to
God. Because? As it says in Hebrews,
but to do good, and to communicate, forget not, for with such sacrifices
God is well pleased. You see, it's not the question of am I satisfied. First of all, is God satisfied? And the Lord Jesus Christ, the
perfect man suffering on that cross and dying the death of
the cross, is what I've entitled this message. The satisfying sacrifice. That one which the burnt offering
foreshadowed. That one sacrifice for sins forever. And it's only when we look to
Him and that accomplished redemption, that down in our heart of hearts,
in spite of what we are in ourselves, that we can have peace and know
God is satisfied with me. How? Through this satisfying
sacrifice. Father, this day we pray that
You would give us faith, that we would look to that One
that the burnt offering represented, that we would be enabled to trust
only Christ, His blood, His righteousness imputed to us, accounted to us,
and be able to see that you're pleased, that you're satisfied,
that you find all He is and did a sweet smell, pleasing and satisfying
unto you. Make Him to be such to us. May
the Word of His truth be a saver of life unto us. Give us that
Spirit-anointed enablement to smell the sweetness, the fragrance,
the God-satisfying glory of Christ crucified. Help us to look to
Him, and only Him, for we pray in His name, Amen.