In the second chapter of John's
Gospel, this wonderful setting forth of the person of the Son
of God, Jesus Christ. We read firstly of Jesus at the
marriage in Cana of Galilee and how he turned the water into
wine and how the governor of the feast
spake unto the bridegroom and was impressed that he brought
forth the good wine. And in this miracle which Christ
performed, he showed forth his glory and his disciples believed
on him. And then they went down, Christ,
his mother, his brethren and his disciples into Capernaum.
And then in verse 13 we read the following, and the Jews Passover
was at hand and Jesus went up to Jerusalem and found in the
temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves and the changers
of money sitting. And when he had made a scourge
of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the
sheep, and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money, and
overthrew the tables, and said unto them that sold doves, Take
these things hence. Make not my father's house an
house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered
that it was written, The zeal of thine house have eaten me
up. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign showest
thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered
and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will
raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and
six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear
it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of
his body. When therefore he was risen from
the dead his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them
and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had
said. The disciples remembered and
believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said. Well
if these in the temple had heard the word of God had heard the
voice of Jesus Christ had heard the voice of the Spirit of God
and read the scriptures and believed then they would have never been
found selling in the temple oxen and sheep and doves and changing
people's money to make a merchandise out of the things of God to make
money out of the people's worship of the living God and the people's
desire to follow the instruction in the law and the instruction
of God. They would never have sought
to take these precious things and mix them with carnal things,
the making of money and sought to make money out of God's worship,
yet that's what they did. because in the hardness and unbelief
of their heart they took the letter of scripture, and that
which God had commanded under his people, and sought to make
money out of it, sought to make a career out of it, and thought
that as long as the people were doing and following the letter,
as long as they had the means to offer the sacrifices, what
wrong was there? in selling them in the temple,
in selling these sacrifices to the people in the temple. What
wrong could be in this? They were enabling the people
to do that which was commanded. Yet Christ's zeal for His house,
zeal for the church, zeal for the temple, zeal for the things
of God, zeal for the things of His Father, was such that His
fury led him to chase these enemies of Christ, these enemies of God,
out of the temple and to show them for what they were. But why were these people selling
oxen and sheep and doves? Oxen and sheep and doves. Well because that was what the
people of God in Leviticus were instructed to bring as offerings. We read from the beginning of
chapter 1 in Leviticus last week and if you go on further in that
chapter you will read that there are three categories of offerings
there. Those of the herd, oxen. Those
of the flock, sheep, lambs and goats. and also fowls, turtle doves
or young pigeons, oxen and sheep and doves. But why these three? And what
is taught us by these three types of offerings? In Leviticus 1 we read that Moses
was instructed to speak unto the children of Israel. And say
unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord,
he shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd,
and of the flock. 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. 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. 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. and he shall
flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. And the
sons of Aaron, the priests, shall put fire upon the altar, and
lay the wood in order upon the fire. And the priests, Aaron's
son, shall lay the parts, the head and the fat, in order upon
the wood that is on the fire, which is upon the altar. But
his innards 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. And 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. and
he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before
the Lord. And the priest, Aaron's son, shall sprinkle his blood
round about upon the altar, and 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. But he shall wash the innards 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 savour unto the Lord. And if the burnt
sacrifice for his offering to the Lord be of fowls, then he
shall bring his offering of turtle doves, or of young pigeons. And 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, and 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. 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 savour unto the Lord. So we read of these three different
offerings. Those from the herd, the oxen,
those from the flocks, the sheep, and those of the fowls, the doves,
which these people in the temple sold that people might offer. But why are there these three
different types of offerings? And what can we learn from these
three different types of offerings? And why the various instructions
relating to each offering? And why the difference between
each? Well, first of all, note that in verse two, when Moses
is called to speak unto the people, he refers only to offerings from
the herd and of the flock. He does not refer in his introduction
to the offerings of the fowls. 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. It is only in verse 14 after
having described the offering from the herd and described the
offering from the flock that Moses goes on to speak of that
offering of the fowls. And secondly, note that when
Moses describes the offerings from the herd, the oxen, and
from the flock, the sheep and goats, that he states that they
must be a male without blemish. But when he comes to speak of
the fowls, there's no such mention. Simply of their type, turtle
doves and young pigeons. And thirdly, note that when he
speaks about the offering of the oxen and the offering of
the sheep, that there is instruction regarding how they should be
cut into pieces and the pieces divided and the parts of each
creature laid upon the altar. But when he speaks of the birds, neither do we read of their sex
and neither do we read of their being divided. 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. And 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. 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. So why all these differences?
Why in the introduction does Moses speak of the offerings
being brought from the herd and of the flock and does not refer
to the fowls? And yet he then speaks of this
third category of offering at the end. And why are the offerings
of those from the herd, the oxen, and from the flocks, the sheep,
required to be male without blemish? and required to be cut up and
divided into parts. Whereas there's no such mention
for this regarding those of the fowls. And in fact, the fowls
are specified not to be divided and cut up. Are these just random instructions? No. As with all the word of God,
they're full of riches. riches in type and figure, and
pointers to the sacrifice of Christ, and pointers to the true
worship of God. But what does it all mean? Well
firstly, in the natural regard, all free offerings are meek,
submissive creatures. The oxen who are herded and used
by the farmers to plough the fields, to sow. The sheep, which again are kept
in flocks and farmed for their wool and for their meat. And the meek, harmless doves
and pigeons. All submissive creatures, not
wild animals, The people were not called to go and to slay
a bear or to slay a lion or some wild beast, but these are meek,
submissive creatures, figurative of the meekness and submissive
nature of Christ, the Lamb of God, who came into this world
as the one sacrifice for sin. the One of whom all these things
are a figure. For none of these things could
truly take away the sin of the people. But when Christ laid
down His life, bowing to the will of His Father, bowing to
that covenant in which He'd entered, willingly to lay down His life
for sinners, He came meekly and put His head upon the block,
as it were, and put his head under the sword of God's justice,
and did not fight against it, did not resist, but willingly
out of love for his own, laid down his life for his people.
But also in these three categories of animals, of sacrifices, we
see their differing values. There were those in the congregation
of Israel, those who were richer, who had herds, who had oxen,
who had flocks of sheep. And they could offer their best. Some could offer their oxen of
the herd. Others who perhaps did not have
oxen but did have sheep could offer of their sheep, of the
flocks. But there were those poor amongst the people who had
neither oxen nor sheep, neither herd nor flock, but they could
bring a turtle dove or a pigeon. And in this the Lord graciously
accommodates both the greatest and the least among his people.
They're called to offer what they can, whether it be oxen,
whether it be sheep, or whether it be dove. Elsewhere in Leviticus we read
reference to this. In Leviticus 5, Verse 6 we read, he shall bring
his trespass offering unto the Lord for his sin which he have
sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats
for a sin offering, and the priest shall make an atonement for him
concerning his sin. And if he be not able to bring
a lamb, then he shall bring for his trespass which he have committed
two turtle doves or two young pigeons unto the Lord, one for
a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. So the
Lord graciously accommodates those who have most and those
who have least. But is that all that we can learn
from these three different offerings? Or is there more to the specific example of the
oxen and the sheep and the dove? Yes, there's far more. The first
thing we note is that there are three categories of offering
here. Three. And whenever we read of
three things in the scriptures, be it three sacrifices here,
or three days, or three hours, our thoughts are taken in various
respects to the fact that God is one God in three persons. And to the fact that when God
offered up His Son as a sacrifice upon the cross, that He was slain
on one day and rose again on the third day. And to the fact
that when Christ suffered upon that cross, and the light of
the sun was taken away, that there was darkness upon the face
of the earth for three hours. We read from John chapter 2,
we read where Christ came into the temple and saw these men
selling the oxen, the sheep and the doves, the three types of
sacrifice. And then we read how Christ spoke
of the destruction of the temple and the raising again of that
temple. destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise
it up, he says. And the Jews said, forty and
six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear
it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of
his body. When therefore he was risen from
the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them,
and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had
said. Yes, Christ was raised in three days. But Christ, God's
Son, is the second person of that triune God in three persons. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
and in the worship of God and the bringing of a sacrifice to
God's altar at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,
is it not right, is it not suitable, is it not in a sense to be expected
that there would be free sacrifices? with regard to a God who is one
in three persons. And that the sacrifices would
be distinct and distinguish one from another in the way in which
the persons in the Godhead are distinct and distinguished. The first offering is of the
herd, oxen. The second offering is of the
flock, a sheep. and the third offering is a bird,
a dove. Well do we not read in the scriptures of the Lamb of God, Christ. And do we not read in the scriptures
of the descent of the Spirit of God upon Christ when Christ
rose up from the waters of baptism as a descending dove. And is not the greatest of these
three beasts the oxen? That beast full of strength,
force and authority who plows the ground. ready for the sowing
of the seed. These three sacrifices each in
their own regard point to each person in the Godhead. That one
God in three persons who inhabits the holy of holies, that one
God whom the people must approach unto and bring a sacrifice that
his wrath against their sins might be propitiated. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is made plain as I said
in the baptism of Christ where we read in Luke, And the Holy
Ghost descended in the bodily shape like a dove upon him, and
a voice came from heaven which said, Thou art my beloved Son,
in thee I am well pleased. And in the parallel passage regarding
the baptism in John chapter 3, just prior to the baptism, John
cries out when he sees Christ approaching him, Behold the Lamb
of God. And following the baptism in
which the dove descends upon Christ and the Father speaks
concerning him, John cries out again the next day, Behold the
Lamb of God. In one passage there, in those
two gospels, we see these things brought together. the Lamb of
God, slain, the dove descending the Holy Spirit upon Him, and
the voice from heaven of the Father, the one in authority,
the one with strength and might, as it were the oxen. all three
together concerning the baptism the sacrifice of Christ and bringing
the attention of those here as those disciples who heard and
believed right back to the beginning of the scriptures right back
to the law of Moses and all the figures in them regarding the
sacrifice which is acceptable unto God If any man of you bring
an offering unto the Lord, bring it of the cattle, the herd, of
the flock, or if you cannot, then of the fowls, the turtle
dove, the pigeon. And if they saw, and if they
understood, they'd see the oxen, the sheep, and the dove, the
father, the son, and the spirit. Paul speaks in Corinthians regarding
the preaching of the gospel as one sows another man waters and
another reaps and the oxen were used to plough the fields that
the seed might be sown and that the fruit of that seed when it
grows up might later be reaped, the first fruits And again this is a picture of
God the Father ploughing the fields and through the preaching
of the gospel sowing the seed. Sowing the seed of Christ who
when he was slain was sown as it were and died as a seed dies
in the soil. And then he was brought forth
as the water was poured down upon him. He was brought forth
and rose again as the first fruits from the dead with all his people
rising in him from the dead. The Father is the oxen here whose
plows and causes the seed to be sown. Christ is the one sown. And the Spirit of God through
the preaching of the gospel is the one who waters. Which is why, when Christ was
slain, and the spear was thrust in his side, that forthwith came
thereout blood and water. The blood of the sacrifice was
shed, but there was water to wash it, as it were, and to bring
it and apply it unto the people of God. We read in this chapter
in Leviticus of how the sacrifices should be cut up and washed and
laid upon the wood and burnt up. Now we asked at the beginning
why in verse 2 does Moses refer to bringing the offering of the
cattle of the herd and of the flock but he does not mention
there bringing an offering of the fowls. This is only mentioned
towards the end. And why when he speaks of the
oxen that is offered and of the sheep that is offered, the herd,
the flock, does he say that the offering should be male and without
blemish? And he makes no such reference
to that of the fowls, the turtle doves, the pigeons. Well, is
this not to be expected? When these three offerings point
us to the three persons of the Godhead, first to the Father,
the oxen to the Father, second to the Son, the sheep to the
Son, and lastly the dove to the Spirit. Firstly, the Spirit says
of Himself in the New Testament that He's come to testify of
Christ and not to testify of Himself. The Spirit always leads
His people to look unto Christ and leads them through Christ
unto the Father. He always speaks of the others
in the Godhead and never speaks and glorifies Himself. He always
comes to glorify Christ. Then it is right that Moses here
should speak of bringing your offering from the herder of the
flock and should draw attention to the Father and the Son. and
that the offering of the fowl should follow on at the end without
such a great introduction. The dove, the spirit, as it were,
follows on and takes of the things of the Father and takes of the
things of Christ and brings them to the people and says, look
and behold, behold the Lamb of God. Behold Christ and Him crucified. come through Christ to sacrifice,
slain, and come unto your Father, your Heavenly Father. He leads,
He speaks unto His people, but He does not testify of Himself. He takes, as it were, the back
seat. Hence Moses here introduces the
sacrifices of the herd and of the flock as the most important. These three sacrifices These
three sacrifices, these three types of sacrifices, do not come
onto the scene of scripture for the first time in Leviticus chapter
one. Nor are they first referenced
in Exodus, where Moses is given the law of God and is instructed
to lead the people. But we read about these three
different sacrifices all in one place, way back in Genesis. when God met with Abraham, and
when Melchizedek had met with Abraham, and when God called
Abraham to bring him an offering. God met Abraham in Genesis 15
and told him to look up toward heaven and to tell the stars
and he said, so shall I seed be. And Abraham believed in the
Lord and he counted it to him for righteousness. And as a picture
of this righteousness the Lord goes on to show Abraham the sacrifice. which would bring forth his righteousness. And he said unto him, I am the
Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees to give thee
this land to inherit it. And he said, Lord God, whereby
shall I know that I shall inherit it? And he said unto him, take
me an heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years
old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle dove, and a
young pigeon. And he took unto him all these,
and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against
another. But the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down
upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. And when the sun was
going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and lo and horror
of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, know
of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that
is not theirs and shall serve them and they shall afflict them
four hundred years and also that nation whom they shall serve
will I judge and afterwards shall they come out with great substance
and thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace thou shalt be buried
in a good old age So God makes a promise to Abraham and to his
people, his seed and their inheritance, but that inheritance comes from
that seed, the seed Christ, who we see pictured here in this
sacrifice and in the horror of darkness which came upon Abraham
as Abraham slept. A picture of the darkness which
came upon the earth for three hours when Christ was made to
be seen. and bore the sin of his people
in their place. When Christ, the Lamb of God,
was slain. When Christ, the one sacrifice
for sin, was slain for his people. As pictured, as pictured by the
heifer, the oxen, the goat, the ram, the turtle dove, and the
pigeon. all together in one place because
they all concern the true worship and sacrifice of a triune God
and bring glory and honor under God in each person, father, son,
and spirit. You note here also in the instruction
to Abraham that these animals are three years old. Again, another
reference to the free persons in the Godhead, the free days
of death, burial and resurrection, and the free hours in the darkness. And again we see that the animals
were divided, but we see it pointed out that the birds were not divided.
Why are the two birds offered but not divided? well obviously
with them being small they do not have the bulk to be cut up
like the others but they were offered as we read later in Leviticus
one as a sin offering and one as a burnt offering this is why
they're instructed to bring two birds two turtle doves or two
pigeons or as the cattle and the lamb encompasses both and
is divided into its parts to take away the sin and to be a
burnt offering. To take away both the sins of
the people and to be burnt up for the sin of the people. One for sins and one for sin. One can be shed, one can shed
its blood as an offering for the sins of the people as Christ
shed his blood when he bore our sins and the blood came forth
to cover those sins. And the other speaks of the flesh
which must be burnt because it is made to be sin. And sin cannot
be washed, it must be destroyed and burnt. That's why there's
two. That's why there's this distinction. Because sins are that which flow
out of us. Sins are those things we do,
those actions that flow out of us, that flow out of an evil
heart. But sin is that which is within
us, within the heart. Now blood flows out from the
heart, as sins flow out from a sinful heart. But sin is what we are, and there's
nothing that can flow out to change what the flesh is. The
flesh must be burnt. There must be an offering for
sins, a sin offering, and there must be a burnt offering, that
which destroys what we are. Now with the cattle and the sheep,
being beasts of a size, they were divided, divided into parts
to illustrate that one part, as it were, covered one and one
the other. The blood was poured out and
the sacrifice was burnt. But with the birds being smaller,
the instruction is to have two. we can see that one is offered
for the sins and one is offered as a burnt offering for sin. In chapter 5 and verse 7 of Leviticus
we read and if he be not able to bring a lamb then he shall
bring for his trespass which he have committed two turtle
doves or two young pigeons unto the Lord one for a sin offering
and the other for a burnt offering. We're reminded of this when we
read in Luke chapter 2 of Joseph and Mary going up to Jerusalem
to the temple to offer their sacrifice. Now they took with
them as poor people two birds. They did not have the means to
offer oxen or sheep. And they went and to offer a
sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord,
a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons they offered up
for their sins and for their sin. In Psalm 74, 19 we read a reference
to the turtle dove. the offering of the poor when
the psalmist cries out oh deliver not the soul of thy turtle dove
unto the multitude of the wicked forget not the congregation of
thy poor forever. Well are you poor? You may feel
yourself to be wretched and poor, a poor sinner, without any strength,
without any means, without any great riches, without any ability,
unable to offer much. Well, look through the sacrifices
to the graciousness of God, for He accepted the offering of the
poor. He accepts. The offering, the
sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. What can you
offer? You can offer nothing. But if
the Lord, the Spirit, the dove shows you your state, if God's
dove shows you what you are, then you will bring just two
offerings as two doves, a broken heart, and a contrite spirit. Jesus' parents were poor. But
the remarkable thing about them is that when they went up with
their two turtle doves, they also went up to Jerusalem with
their Son, the Lord Jesus, Son Christ, the Son of God, the Lamb
of God. They had with them the richest
sacrifice. And if you give unto God the
poorest sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit,
with that you will be looking unto Christ. With that you will
be pleading only His blood. With that you will be offering
the greatest sacrifice, the Lamb of God. Poor though you are,
if the Spirit, the Dove of God, shows you what you are, you will
know that your sacrifices are nothing, but there is a sacrifice
given unto you of God, which has already been slain, already
slain on your behalf, the Lamb of God. Yes, there are three
sacrifices, the oxen, the sheep and the doves. We read of the
oxen and the sheep that they must be male and without blemish. Why the stipulation? Well if
the oxen refers to the father and the sheep refers to Christ,
then one refers to the father and one refers to the son, both
male. But there's no reference to the
sex of the birds. Because the birds, the doves,
refer to the spirit. Who has no personification in
the earthly sense of being a father or a son. But again, the spirit
of God here emphasizes the preeminence of Christ. and the glory of God
the Father by pointing to the fact that these two sacrifices,
pictures of them must be male and without blemish, without
one spot upon them because Christ was without blemish. He was perfect,
He was made a man, made a little lower than the angels for the
suffering of death, made under the law and the law never found
one fault in Him. Every other man made under the
law of God, every other one that has ever lived has been full
of sin, full of rebellion, fallen every day. But Christ alone was
without blemish. And Christ alone could take away
the sins of his people. Also with reference to these
sacrifices, Moses says in verse three, 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. the father was
willing to offer his own son. Deoxon said, slay the sheep. I will give my son for that people
whom I love. And the Lamb of God, Christ,
in Gethsemane, when he faced the judgment and the outpouring
of God's wrath, saw the horror which awaited him, the horror
of the darkness which Abraham had been seen, had been shown
in figure. He knew what awaited him. And
he said, Lord, if it be possible, Father, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not mine own will,
but thine. And he voluntarily followed his
father's will. because he was one with his father.
And he loved those whom the father loved. And he would lay down
his life, for thus he loved too, of his own voluntary will. No
man took Christ's life from him. He said, no man taketh my life
from me. I have power to lay it down and
I have power to take it again. He gave himself for sinners. As Paul said, the Son of God
who loved me and gave himself for me. Did he love you? Did he give himself for you?
These sacrifices were cut up and laid in order upon the wood
that is on the fire which is upon the altar. And Christ when
he was offered voluntarily was laid upon the wood of the cross
and lifted up in the heat of the midday sun to suffer under
the outpouring of the fires of God's wrath for what he was made
to be as an offering for sin and as a burnt offering. As an
offering for the sins of his people and as a burnt offering
for the sin. With these various offerings
we read certain references to location with reference to the
altar. With the offering from the herd
all we read is about the altar and around about the altar. With
the offering from the flock, the sheep, we read about it being
offered northward. and he shall kill it on the side
of the altar northward before the Lord. And the priest Aaron's
son shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar. And
with the offering of the fowls, when their feathers are plucked,
they are cast beside the altar on the east part by the place
of the ashes. Now why is there no mention of
location, of position with regard to the oxen. And there is this
mention of the north side with regard to the sheep and the east
with regard to the doves, the fowls of the air. Well again
we see the three persons. The father, pictured by the oxen,
is all around the altar. His presence there in the Holy
of Holies and around the altar is all around. But Christ, the
sacrifice, the Lamb of God, is offered up on the north side
because he became the scapegoat of the sin of his people. He
was offered as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of his enemies. The north in scripture is that
location from where the enemies of Israel often descended. And
the enemies of Christ came upon him and took him up and offered
him up to the authorities and said, away with this man, crucify
him, crucify him. His enemies, as it were, came
from the north upon him and took him and nailed him to the cross
and had him crucified. And when he was crucified, he
took the sins of God's people upon himself, those who were
once God's enemies, who through his death he would reconcile
unto the Father. Therefore the sheep is offered
on the north side. But what of the fowls and their
feathers being cast beside the altar on the east part by the
place of the ashes? Well the dove, as we've said,
is the Spirit. And the dove is not come to testify
of himself, but to testify of Christ. And when he comes, he
leads his people to the east, to the place whence the sun of
righteousness arises. He points us unto Christ, and
He points us unto a risen Christ, and He shows us in the place
of the ashes, He shows us from the place of the ashes, a Christ,
the Son, rising from the dead. He says, yes, the Lamb was slain,
yes, the Lamb was burnt, but He's conquered all, He's taken
away all your sin, and He's risen again, and you are risen in Him. So he points his people by faith
to the east, where the sun rises up into the heavens to the Son
of God, the Lamb of God in glory, who rose from the dead, rose
from the ashes as a sweet smelling savor unto God. As we read three
times over in this passage regarding each sacrifice, that it is a
burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire of a sweet savour
unto the Lord. Oh how often we read this phrase
throughout the whole of this book of Leviticus. A sweet savour. How pleasing were these sacrifices
under God because of what they pictured. And how pleasing is
the sacrifice of Christ under his God. the once and for all
offering for sin and for sins. How much more pleasing was the
sacrifice of the Lamb of God, the Son of God. Paul writes in
Ephesians to those who would follow the Lamb. Be ye therefore
followers of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also
have loved us and have given himself for us an offering and
a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour. Oh, by the Spirit,
through the dove, have you looked to the yeast and to the ashes
and offered up Christ? Voluntarily, have you said unto
God, there's my sacrifice who was offered up for me? He's my
only plea. And has God looked upon him on
your behalf as an offering, a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling Saviour? The Spirit will take you there,
for the Spirit will preach. He'll preach, he'll preach this
gospel, he'll preach, he'll take you to the cross, he'll take
you to the sacrifice, he'll point out the oxen, he'll point out
the sheep, and the dove will say that God is satisfied, all
is well. He'll preach. And with regard
to the preaching of this Gospel we read in 2 Corinthians 2.14,
Paul cries out, Now thanks be unto God, which always causes
us to triumph in Christ, and make it manifest the savour of
his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a
sweet savour of Christ in them that are saved and in them that
perish. To the one we are the saver of
death unto death, and to the other the saver of life unto
life. And who is sufficient for these
things? Oh, have you heard the gospel?
Do you see the gospel in these things? Do you see the wonderful
preciousness and riches of these sacrifices? Does your heart burn
As Christ's hearts burn with zeal for the house of God and
the things of God and the worship of God, does the making merchandise
out of these precious things by so many today fill you with
anger and fill you with jealousy for the glory of God? But most
of all, do you look on by faith? as the spirit, the dove, leads
you and points you to the east, unto a saviour who was offered
up, a lamb without spot and without blemish, as a sweet-smelling
sacrifice, a sweet-smelling saviour under his guard. Have you a sacrifice? Has that blood washed you? Has
God looked upon the blood and the flesh of Jesus Christ? and
said, I am well pleased in him and I am well pleased with you
in him, my son, who loved you and gave himself for you. Amen.