In Leviticus chapter 6 and verse
24 we consider again the sin offering as instruction is given
to the priests regarding these five offerings of the Lord. Verse 24 reads, And the Lord
spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying,
This is the law of the sin offering. In the place where the burnt
offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before
the Lord. It is most holy. The priest that
offer it for sin shall eat it. In the holy place shall it be
eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation. Whatsoever
shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy. And when there
is sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment, thou shalt
wash that whereon it was sprinkled in the holy place. But the earthen
vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken. And if it be sodden
in a brazen pot, it shall be both scoured and rinsed in water. All the males among the priests
shall eat thereof, it is most holy. And no sin offering, whereof
any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation
to reconcile with all in the holy place, shall be eaten. It shall be burnt in the fire. The sin offering. We've considered
the sin offering before. How it points us to Christ. how
it points us like the burnt offering and the meat offering to Christ
in his offering upon the cross and the various aspects of his
offering. We see in the meat offering the
flesh of Christ offered up in the place of his people, taken
away sin, And we see in the sin offering
here and in the trespass offering that follows the way in which
Christ is offered to bear the sins of his people and to wash
them away through his blood. Here in reference to the sin
offering again we read of the blood and we read of the holiness
that comes through the blood when it is sprinkled And the
great concentration here in this return to the sin offering in
these few verses is very much the application of the offering. The application. We read that
the offering must be offered in the same place as the burnt
offering. Which shows the unity of the
offering which points us to the fact that Christ is both the
burnt offering and the sin offering. But we go on to read how the
priest that offered this sin offering shall eat it. It's applied. It's taken within. Its effects are felt within. It's
applied in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation. As we considered
last week, with the meat offering, this figure of the body of Christ,
this figure of the church, the congregation, the tabernacle,
that tabernacle of the Holy Spirit. This offering, this blood is
applied within, within all God's people. it's taken from off the
altar upon which it's altered and it's taken within the tabernacle
within the holy place and sprinkled within as the Spirit of God takes of
the blood of Christ which was once offered for the sin of many
and comes under his people and sprinkles it upon their hearts
that it should not just be seen externally, that it should not
be known by them simply in the head as an historical fact that
Christ died for sinners, that it should not be something they
merely read of or hear of or pay lip service to or mental
assent to, but that it should become something that is particular
for them, that they should know and experience the reality of
the blood of Christ offered up for them. The Spirit of God by
the Gospel takes of the offering, takes of the blood and brings
it to His people. and sprinkles it in their hearts
upon their soul within their conscience that they know that
there's an offering made for their sins that they know that
Christ has died in their place that they know that his blood
was shed for them and that they know that through that blood
all their sins are forgiven and they are now at peace with God. This offering must be applied. It must be applied. If it's not
applied, if you don't know its application, then you may know
everything there is to know about the doctrine in the Gospel. You
may know every fact regarding the person of the Son of Christ,
who he is, what he came to do. You may know that he was crucified
for sinners. You may know that he is the offerings
depicted here in Leviticus. You may know he's the sin offering,
the trespass offering. You may know he's the burnt offering,
the meat offering, the peace offering. You may know his blood
was shed. You may know why his blood was
shed. You may know what happened in
the hours in the light and the hours in the darkness upon the
cross. You may know who he is. You may
know what he has done. You may know the importance of
the offering of blood to take away sin. you may know that he
died, you may know that he was laid in the grave, you may know
that he rose again victorious, you may know that he ascended
into glory and sits there on the right hand of the father
preaching his gospel today, you may know every fact of the gospel,
you may have your eyes dotted and your t's crossed but if you
don't know by experience the application of His blood on your
soul. If you haven't felt that blood
applied with Him, then it's all just knowledge in your head.
And when you come to stand before Almighty God on that last day
and cry out unto Him, Lord, Lord, I know this and I've done this.
I've done this in thy name and that in thy name. He will say
unto you, Depart from me, I never knew you. Because he sees no
blood applied to the lintel of your door. No blood applied to
the side post of your door. He sees no blood of a Passover
lamb applied to your heart. He sees no blood sprinkled with
him. And he sees no meat of that lamb
eaten wholly. He sees no application. And the reason he sees no application
is because for all your religion, and all your knowledge, and all
your association, and all your claims, you were never chosen
unto salvation. when God delivered his people
out of Egypt and sent those curses unto Pharaoh, those plagues,
he culminated with the offering of the Passover lamb. and his
people, his chosen people, called out of Egypt, were instructed
to sacrifice that lamb and to put its blood upon the door and
to consume the lamb, all of it, to take it within, so that in
that night of vengeance, when the angel of the Lord came past,
when that destroyer came, slaying the firstborn children he would
look and see the blood upon the doors the blood applied and he
would pass over and deliver them and where he found no blood and
no application he would destroy and he'll come to you in such
a fashion there comes a day when he will come unto you and come
unto the door of your soul the door of your heart and he'll
look for blood he'll look for a sin offering applied and if there's no blood he will
destroy and justly because of your sin and your rebellion and
your apathy Has this blood been applied to
you? The chapter goes on to speak,
as we saw of the priest eating the sacrifice. And then in verse
27 we read, whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall
be holy. And when there is sprinkled of
the blood thereof upon any garment, thou shalt wash that whereon
it was sprinkled in the holy place. But the earthen vessel
wherein it is sodden shall be broken, and if it be sodden in
a brazen pot, it shall be both scoured and rinsed in water. All the males among the priests
shall eat thereof, it is most holy. and no sin offering whereof
any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation
to reconcile with all in the holy place shall be eaten, it
shall be burnt in the fire. The holiness of this offering
is stressed here and the effect of touching either the flesh
or the blood of this offering is made very plain. It makes
holy. it makes holy whatsoever shall
touch the flesh thereof shall be holy and when there is sprinkled
of the blood thereof upon any garment thou shalt wash that
whereon it was sprinkled in the holy place because it's holy and if you touch the flesh of
this offering Or if you feel the blood of this
offering applied to you, you will be holy. Holy. And such is the contrast
between the holiness that this offering brings to pass and the
earthliness, the carnality the baseness of man and the natural
world. The various instructions are
given here with respect to when this blood or this flesh touches
earthly things. If a garment touches this blood,
it's considered holy. So if you're going to use that
garment for a natural purpose, You must wash it and wash it
in the holy place. If this blood is applied to your
soul, you will never be the same again. You who are earthly, you
who are carnal, you who are full of sin, you who are base of the
earth, should God take the blood of Christ and wash you in it,
should he apply it in your soul, then you will be holy and never
the same again. You will no longer be of this
earth earthly. You will no longer be suitable for earthly pursuits in the way
in which you once were. There is such a change that in
God's eyes you are now a holy thing. We read here of the urban vessel.
The urban vessel. which these garments that touch
this blood were washed. If they were washed in an urban
vessel such was the holiness of the blood that was upon those
garments that the priests were instructed to break the vessel
afterwards. because that blood would permeate
the earthen vessel and would be forever in it. And the vessel
would then be considered holy and not suitable for any other
earthly use. It should never be used as a
base earthen vessel again. The impact of the blood was so
great. So they're instructed to break
it. This is in contrast with the brazen pot. That pot made
of brass, a different material. Which should it make contact
with the blood because of those garments washed within. Then
it could be scoured and rinsed in water and used again. The
blood could be washed off. And the brazen pot remained as
it was. But the urban vessel never remained as it was. Once
this blood had touched the urban vessel, it was never the same. And must be broken. Must be broken. Now we read of urban vessels
in a number of places in the scriptures. And there yet they are a picture
their relation to the earth of the natural man. In 2nd Corinthians we read that
we are oven vessels, we're just clay, we're made out
of the soil and when God takes of the blood of Christ and applies
it to us he's put in holy things in that which is taken from clay,
in that which is earthly, in that which by nature is carnal.
And here he's taken a holy thing, the blood, and washed the garment
that tucks that blood in an earthen vessel, and the impact is such
that the vessel must be broken. And should God, by grace, take
the blood of Christ in the sin offering and apply it to you,
a mere urban vessel, then you will be broken. You must be broken. You cannot
remain the same. your flesh, your carnal nature,
your old man cannot remain the same. It cannot coexist with the holiness
of God and remain the same. It will be broken. Now as I've said, in the practical
aspect here, there were practical reasons why the oven vessel was
broken and the brazen pot could simply be cleansed. but behind
the practicality of these things because of the difference in
the material and the fact that you would never get the smell
or the permeation of the blood out of the brazen pot, out of
the earthen vessel, out of the clay behind those realities are
spiritual realities and these are set forth for us to see the
contrast between the natural man and the spiritual between
that which is of Adam and that which is of Christ between that
which is of the earth and that which is of heaven and the impact of spiritual things
holy things upon earthly things spiritually speaking If we ever
have any contact with the blood of Christ, we must be broken. We must be broken down. Our pride must be destroyed. Our will must be broken. Our filthy corrupt hearts must
be broken. Our spirits must be made contrite. The urban vessel shall be broken. Here we read of the sacrifice,
of the sin offering. One of these five offerings here,
which was set forth to Israel in the law. But that law would
find its fulfilment, its conclusion, its termination in the coming
of Christ of whom these things were a figure. When Christ came
and was sacrificed for his people, he was their sin offering, he
was their trespass offering, their burnt offering, their meat
offering, their peace offering. And they should no more have
to offer these things physically. because they look to Him by faith
and He's their offerings. He is their one offering for
sin. They no longer sacrifice lambs
and goats and bulls and pigeons. But by faith they offer up Christ. And God speaks in various places
of his weariness with the offerings of man. He speaks of how the
offerings of blood of bulls and goats and natural things can
never please him. But that these things are but
a figure pointing to Christ. And he says of his people that
the sacrifice He demands of them, as they look unto Christ alone,
are simply a broken spirit and a contrite heart. He has one true sacrifice, which
is Christ. And when his blood is applied
to his people, the sacrifice that is brought forth in them
is their being broken. Psalm 34 tells us, the Lord is
nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and save as such as be
of a contrite spirit. In Psalm 51, David, having sinned
that great sin, having been shown the depravity to which he went,
having known the reality of God, being set at a distance from
him and feeling the effects of his sin and knowing that he had
sinned not against man but against his God. When God showed him
the reality of these things, when God brought him back to
his senses and brought him back before him, David, a broken man,
cries out, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart,
O God, thou wilt not despise. David, that great man of God,
but that great sinner, knew what it was to have the
blood applied to his oven vessel. and to feel that vessel break.
He knew what it was to be brought in contrite and broken before
his God and to confess before his God his sin against God and
his depravity. He knew what it was to say to
God, I am nothing and I have nothing. But thou, Lord, has
shown me grace. Thou, Lord, has shown me mercy.
Thou, Lord, has blessed me above all men. Thou, Lord, has washed
away my sins. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord will not impute
sin. Blessed is the man whose iniquity
is taken away. He knew the reality of being
broken when that blood was applied. He knew both what it was to be
broken and what it was to be blessed as a result. When this blood's applied, it
will break your heart, but it will flood it with joy in Christ
alone. It will flood it with joy in
Christ alone. Yes, the sacrifices of God are
a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart,
O God, thou wilt not despise. The urban vessel wherein it is
sodden shall be broken. Broken. We read earlier of this contrast
between that which is natural as depicted by the urban vessel
and that which is spiritual and depicted by the blood of the
sacrifice which makes holy. We read earlier of these contrasts
between the natural and the spiritual in 1 Corinthians in chapter two, where Paul Verse 9 says, I have
not seen nor e'er heard, neither have entered into the heart of
man the things which God have prepared for them that love him.
But God have revealed them unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God. Oh what wonders
there are prepared for God's people! Oh what wonders the sacrifice
of Christ, their sin offering, has prepared for them. What wonders
there are set before us, what we will one day enter into if
we've been washed by this blood. But these wonders, these things
that God has prepared, this glory of heaven to come, neither been seen by the natural
man nor heard neither has it entered into his heart he's blind
to it you're blind to it I'm blind to it men live in this
world like this world is all there is They wake up in the
morning, they go to work, they work all day, they seek for their
gain, for their food, for their drink, for their pleasure. They
lay down their head on the bed at night, and they go on like
this day after day after day, getting older. One day they're
born, they live like this every day, and then one day, they put
their head on their pillow for the last time. and they don't
see out the next day, they enter eternity. And it never entered
into their heart or mind what was coming. They shut their ears,
they shut their eyes, they shut their heart to eternal realities. They could not comprehend. Though
one should come from the grave and tell them, they could not
comprehend. You cannot, I cannot, it doesn't
enter our minds. We can hear people speak of heaven,
we can hear people speak of life after death, we can hear people
speak of the judgment to come, but it just washes over us. And we have no idea what God
has prepared for his people. We've no idea, no comprehension. We're natural. We're base, we're
carnal. We understand and comprehend
that which we see, hear and feel and touch with the natural senses. But when God by his gospel takes
of the blood of his sin offering, and applies it under his people,
he breaks them, he breaks that earthen vessel and he shines
light into the heart. The Spirit of God shines forth
within and they see and understand and believe things which were
hitherto hid from them. But God hath revealed them unto
us by his Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the
deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things
of a man save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the
things of God knoweth no man but the spirit of God. Now we
have received not the spirit of the world but the spirit which
is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given
to us of God. which things also we speak, not
in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy
Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness under him, neither can he know them
because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual
judgeth all things. Yea, he himself is judged of
no man. For who have known the mind of
the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of
Christ. Oh the contrast between that
knowledge which comes down from heaven above that which the spirit
of God teaches and that knowledge which we learn by the natural
mind from others in this world what a contrast between heaven
and earth between the earthen vessel which is broken and the glory of Christ, that
heavenly vessel which went through the fires
of God's wrath, but came out the other side and rose again victorious. As
depicted by that brazen pot. Oh, like the brazen serpent,
he went through the fires. He was our sin offering. He bore
our sins, he was judged, he was slain, he was consumed in the
fires of God's wrath. but having been washed, he rose
again. He was not broken because he's
everlasting. He's everlasting. Now you'll only know the effects
of these things. You'll only know what it is to
have that blood applied. You'll only know what it is to
be broken if the spirit of God takes that blood and applies
it. And He does this when He washes you. For the Spirit is
pictured by the water. He's pictured by the water, that's
why these garments are washed in these vessels. The Spirit
of God will take the blood of Christ and wash you. There is
blood and water. Which is why when Christ died,
as shown in John's Gospel and the centurion, the soldier came
by with a spear and thrusted in Christ's side out flowed blood
and water. Because that blood must be applied
by the water of the Spirit of God. And when he applies it, That
which is urban will break. He that is spiritual judgeth
all things. These things are spiritually
discerned. The Holy Ghost teaches them comparing
spiritual things with spiritual. He shows us the vessel, He shows
us the blood, He shows us the washing by that blood. He shows
us the blood and the water flowing from Christ's side. He shows
us the union between Christ's people and Christ, the one body
of the bride and the groom. He shows us the effects of the
bride being brought in union with her groom, with the husband,
with Christ. He shows how carnal cannot remain
with spiritual. How the flesh will be broken. He shows us the marriage. And
in John's Gospel again in chapter 2 we read of the marriage at
Cana. where we see this pictured, the
union between the bride and the groom. And we see that wonderful
miracle, that wonderful sign that set forth Christ's glory,
where he took those pots, those water pots of purification of
the Jews, and he took that water within and turned it into wine.
He took their carnal purification, their carnal keeping of the law.
and he showed forth his blood of holiness within his wine by
his gospel which maketh the heart glad he took that which was carnal
and made it holy and how the governors of the wedding showed
forth his glory in such a manner and how they wondered that normally
best wine would be saved to last but here the best wine is brought
forth and Christ in his gospel brings forth the best wine. A blood, an offering that doesn't
just improve, that doesn't just make things better, that doesn't
just add to but that makes is people holy, holy within and
holy without, so holy that the earthen vessel of their flesh
must break. Oh, the impact of this gospel.
If you ever come to understand these things, you will know that
faith is not mere mental assent. That being a disciple of Jesus
Christ is not simply a way of life. That being a follower of
Christ is not simply to have a certain persuasion, a certain
belief, a certain conviction. It's not simply to live your
life a certain way, to believe certain things, to do certain
things. but that you are a believer in
Christ because of what God has done by grace for you and the
impact of the application of what he has done, the impact
of having that sacrifice, that blood applied to you, changes
you forever. You are never the same again. Your loves, your desires are
never the same again. When your earthen vessel is broken,
Your once longing desires for this world and its pleasures
and its glories and its riches and its ways is broken. Suddenly you have no longer the
same love for this world and its ways. You begin to hate those
things you love and you now love the one you once hated. The Lord
Jesus Christ who you once despised, the blood of his offering that
you once trampled underfoot, the glories of his electing grace,
his free and sovereign grace that you once railed against
and fought against now become something wonderful. The fact
that He chose you and not you chose Him is something not to
be fought against or contended about but something that you
wonderfully rejoice in because you know that you were racing
away from Him. You know that you were raging
against Him. You know that you'd have never
chosen Him. You know where your heart was
set and yet He pursued you in His Gospel by grace and He applied
the blood. and it broke you and changed
you and was as light shining into the darkness of the pit
of the cave in which you were entrenched. You were there in
chains, chained by your sin, chained by the consequence of
your sin, in darkness with no hope of escape and in through
the windows of that cell shone the light of the gospel. and
the chains fell off, and the door flew open, and your Saviour
led you forth. It was never the same again.
The urban vessel must be broken. In 2 Corinthians in chapter 4,
Paul speaks of this gospel, of the power of this gospel, of
the impact of this gospel. He says, if our gospel be hid,
it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world
have blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them. Why didn't you believe? Why didn't
I once believe? Why perhaps today don't you believe? Because the God of this world
have blinded your mind, as he blinded my mind, as he has blinded
the mind of all men. But there comes a time when the
light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, shines unto those for whom Christ died. For we preach not
ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants
for Jesus' sake. For God who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness have shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. He's shone. He's shone by his
gospel. He's shone by Christ. But Paul
says, but we have this treasure, this light, this salvation, this
glory, we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the
excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. We are troubled on every side
yet not distressed. We are perplexed but not in despair.
Persecuted but not forsaken. Cast down but not destroyed.
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus.
that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus'
sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our
mortal flesh. So then, death worketh in us,
but life in you. We have in the same spirit of
faith, according as it is written, I believed and therefore have
I spoken. We also believe and therefore
speak. Paul knew the effects of this
gospel, that God commanded to shine out of darkness. But he knew that he had this
treasure, in urban vessels. He was but an urban vessel, a
piece of clay, a man made out of dust, whom God had broken
by his grace, that he should make holy. Holy in Christ. Separated from the world unto
Christ alone. Delivered out of darkness. Delivered
out of persecution. Delivered out of the captivity
of the chains of sin. Delivered. You see how Paul connects
here the urban vessel that he is with the light that shone
out of the darkness. The light of Christ. The light
that shone when Christ was crucified as his sin offering. Light out
of darkness. You see, when Christ died, there
was darkness over all the earth for three hours. He bore the
sin of the world, he bore the sins of his people, he was made
sin. There was darkness. But then,
having taken the judgment, having drunk the cup of God's wrath
to the dregs, having taken away every sin, having shed his blood,
the light shone forth. The treasure shone forth. It was laid in the grave. Oh
what a treasure they put in that grave, in that tomb. They knew
not what they were handling. They knew not what they put in
that rock. But never has there been a greater
treasure laid in the earth of this world than that treasure
that was put in that tomb. And when on the morning of that
Sabbath day, in the end of the Sabbath, in the first morn that
followed, when the Sabbath was passed and the next morn rose
up on the third day, and the women came to the tomb and they
found the stone rolled away, what treasure had come forth?
It was no longer there. It was risen. Christ had risen,
he had delivered his people from their sins. The sin offering
had been offered up and now the blood was to be applied. And
he went forth as light shining in the darkness, preaching his
gospel. He arose and arose up into glory
and sent forth his spirit who today shines the light in the
darkness. into the hearts of earthen vessels
like you and I that we might be broken that
we might be made holy that the blood might cleanse within as
this light shone unto you oh see the direct reference between
the earthen vessels and the light which shines out of darkness
through the death of Christ, the sin offering, the one who
shed his blood for sinners. Has that light shone unto you? Has God taken that blood? Has
he applied it upon you, within you, in your soul? And has your
urban vessel been broken? Amen.