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The third book of Moses received the name which we now apply to it because its precepts are concerned chiefly with the duties of the Levites and priests. It contains detailed ordinances describing the Levitic worship as it was to be observed in the Tabernacle and afterward in the Temple. The laws in Leviticus, mainly of a ceremonial character, constitute a handbook for the use of the priests in the performance of the various duties entrusted to them. A few supplementary rules to this Levitic law were added in the Book of Numbers.

Although this book contains no direct Messianic promise whatever, it is, by the intention of God, in reality one continuous sermon on the salvation of Jesus Christ; for, as the New Testament shows conclusively, the entire magnificent system of sacrifices was nothing less than a typical representation of the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which was foreshadowed by every bloody offering on the sacred altars. And as far as the children of Israel were concerned, the laws of sacrifices taught them that God is holy, and that man is sinful; that all are guilty before His Law; that the man who transgresses His Law is worthy of His wrath and displeasure, temporal death, and eternal damnation; that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin; that the holy God desires to enter into fellowship with sinful man, and approaches him, and appoints this way of sacrifice as an atonement for sin, and through His mercy accepts the sacrifice of the victim instead of the death of the sinner. Incidentally, it must be kept in mind throughout the book that the whole system of sacrifices was merely temporary and typical. "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins," Heb. 10, 4. No animal, no mere man, no angel, could atone for sin. God alone could do that, and therefore He became man that He might be able to suffer and die for sin as man's substitute. "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself," 2 Cor. 5, 19. All sacrifices looked forward, therefore, to Christ, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, and on which God laid the iniquity of us all.

The usages

of the Jewish cult were a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ, Col. 2, 17.

"The Book of Genesis shows man's ruin and fall. Exodus pictures the great redemption and salvation which God has provided. Leviticus follows naturally, and is mainly occupied with the way of access to God in worship and communion. It is a book for a redeemed people. Its teaching in the light of the New Testament is for those who have realized their lost condition, and have accepted the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, and are seeking to draw near into the presence of God. It shows the holiness of God and the utter impossibility of access except on the ground of atonement. Such is the main lesson of Leviticus, and it is impressed upon us over and over again in a variety of ways. We come face to face with the great question of sacrifice for sin. The stress laid upon sacrifice is, no doubt, intended to give man a shock with regard to sin. The book stands out for all time as God's estimate of sin. To understand the seriousness of sin we must fathom three oceans the ocean of human suffering, the ocean of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ, the ocean of future suffering which awaits the impenitent sinners. What we have in type in Leviticus we have in reality in the cross of Christ. The cross was indeed an exhibition of God's love, the love of God the Father, and of God the Son, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself. But it was more than this it was God's estimate of sin. The cross of Christ stands as God's estimate of what sin really is, something so deep and dreadful that it cost that. It was more even than this, it was the atoning sacrifice by which sin could forever be put away." ." 1)

The Book of Leviticus may be divided into three parts: the precepts concerning the sacrifices and the priesthood; the consecration of Israel for the service of Jehovah by the cleansing of the bodily life; the holiness of Israel as the people of God in life and worship.2)

1) Concordia Bible Class, Feb., 1919, 21-23. 2) Fuerbringer, Einleitung in das Alte Testament, 25.

The Burnt Offerings.

OF THE HERD. V. 1. And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, out of the midst of the cloud which enveloped His glory, Ex. 40, 35, saying, v. 2. Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, 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. The sacrifices brought by individuals are described first, voluntary offerings, through which the worshiper intended to draw near to the Lord. The Hebrew word indicates the fact that sinful man, as such, does not dare to draw near to Jehovah. The sacrifice, therefore, is a sym

bol of his desire to enter into fellowship with Jehovah, and its value consisted in its foreshadowing the greater Sacrifice, through whom we have peace and access to the Father. The voluntary offering was regarded as a gift of the worshiper, no matter whether it was an actual sacrifice or a dedicatory offering. When the individual Israelite had determined to bring such a gift, the Lord's instructions as to the selection of the animal and as to the manner of offering were inclusive and exact. V. 3. If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish, a strong, healthy animal, with all its limbs and members intact; he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation before the Lord. The formal dedication of the sacrifice to the Lord took place at the great entrance of the court, or perhaps inside the court itself, where the altar of burnt offering stood. At a later period such a perfect system of offering sacrifices was put into operation that both the slaughtering of the animals and their dissecting was performed with the greatest possible speed, a row of pillars holding heavy beams with hooks being used to suspend the animals after their blood had been caught by the officiating priests. V. 4. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering, in token of the transfer of his sin to the animal as his substitute, as the victim destined to die in the worshiper's stead; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him, that his sins might be covered over before the face of the Lord. Note that here, as always, the acceptance of a substitute is in itself an act of grace and mercy on the part of the Lord. V. 5. And he shall kill the bullock before the Lord, each worshiper, in a case of this kind, performing the function of a priest of the Lord, as a member of the kingdom of priests, Ex. 19, 6. And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, as it was caught up in basins after the slaughter of the animal, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar, against its four sides, that is by the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation. The last was an exclusive priestly function, and even the catching of the blood was performed by the Levites only in cases of emergency. V. 6. And he shall flay the burnt offering, this part of the work being done either by the offerer or by a Levite, and cut it into his pieces, dissect it according to the rule concerning the disposition of the various parts. V. 7. And the sons of Aaron, the priest, shall put fire upon the altar of burnt offering, and lay the wood in order upon the fire, which was always kept burning; v. 8. and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head and the fat, chiefly the loose fat of the abdominal and thoracic cavities, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar;

v. 9. but his inwards and his legs, the intestines, as the lower viscera, and the lower parts of the legs, especially beneath the knees, shall he wash in water, to remove any outward impurities that might be clinging to them; and the priests shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord. The animal, with its flesh and bones, was burned entire, for the offering signified that the worshiper dedicated himself to the Lord with all his heart and mind, with all the powers of his body and soul, and the rising of the smoke, as the animal was consumed, caused its essence to ascend as a pleasant, acceptable odor to the Lord. In other words, the Lord graciously accepted the worshiper and his service as a member of His Church on earth. God was well pleased with such sacrifices, if they were offered in faith.

OF THE FLOCK. — V. 10. And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep or of the goats, for a burnt sacrifice, the worshiper being too poor to afford a bullock, he shall bring it a male without blemish, a perfect animal in every respect. V. 11. And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward, the usual place for slaughtering sacrifices, before the Lord. The various parts of the court were soon used for special purposes, its eastern end being used for the ashes of the altar, and the place south and southwest of the great altar being devoted to the priests. On the south side of the altar was also the incline for the officiating priests. And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar, in the act symbolizing the atonement of sins. V. 12. And he shall cut it into his pieces, as the disposition of the parts required, with his head and his fat, these parts being severed from the carcass; and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar. V. 13. But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water, as in the case of the bullock. And the priest shall bring it all and burn it upon the altar; it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord.

OF FOWLS.-V. 14. And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the Lord be of fowls, in the case of very poor people, then he shall bring his offering of turtle-doves or of young pigeons, either the wild or the tame species being acceptable for a gift-offering. V. 15. And the priest shall bring it unto the altar, and wring off his head, separate his head from his body by pinching, and burn it on the altar, toss the head into the fire; and the blood thereof shall be wrung out at the side of the altar, since there was hardly enough to be sprinkled or poured. V. 16. And he shall pluck away his crop with his feathers, either the crop with the entire in

testinal tract and its filth, or the entire intestinal tract while the dove was unplucked, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes, where all the refuse was heaped up. V. 17. And he shall cleave it with the wings thereof, split it open lengthwise, or make an incision at its wings, 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. The sacrifice of the poor was just as acceptable to the Lord as the more costly sacrifice of the rich.

The sacrificial worship was a shadow of things to come, in the person of the Messiah. In anticipation of the perfect sacrifice of Christ God accepted these figurative offerings as atonements for sin. But Christ is the only true Sacrifice, who bore the sins of all men in His body on the tree, burning under the wrath of the just God and dying as the Substitute for all men. In view of this sacrifice, whose blessings are ours through faith, we Christians are bound to offer ourselves to the Lord in daily obedience and service. Such sacrifice is a sweet savor to the Lord, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, Rom. 12, 1. 2.

The Meat-Offerings.

THE VARIOUS KINDS OF MEAT-OFFERINGS. V. 1. And when any will offer a meat-offering unto the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. This also was an oblation, or gift, brought near to the Lord with the purpose of establishing true fellowship, and could be made by any member of the congregation, no matter whether man or woman. Only the finest wheatflour was to be used in these oblations. And he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon. The incense was not mixed with the flour and the olive-oil, but added in such a manner as to permit its entire removal from the vessel in which it was offered. V. 2. And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons, the priests; and he (the officiating priest) shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof and of the oil thereof with all the frankincense thereof, as much as the hand would hold of flour and oil; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to cause Jehovah to remember the worshiper in His mercy, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord, well-pleasing and acceptable to the Lord, as the burnt offering had been, chap. 1, 9. 13. 17. V. 3. And the remnant of the meat-offering shall be Aaron's and his sons; all of it was offered to the Lord, who, in turn, bestowed the bulk of it upon the priests as a part of the emoluments due them; it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire. This is said of all sacrificial gifts which were wholly devoted to God, but of which portions were hallowed to Him by being given to the priests. These gifts the priests used for food in a place in the court of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, near the altar of burnt offering, chap. 6, 26; 10, 12. V. 4. And if thou bring an oblation of a meat-offering baken in the oven, a small portable earthen oven in the form of a pot or jar, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour, mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers, anointed with oil. The unleavened dough used in making

these cakes was mixed with olive-oil, and the thick, biscuitlike cakes were pierced with holes. V. 5. And if thy oblation be a meat-offering baken in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil, the only difference between this sacrifice and the preceding one being this, that it was fried in an open pan. V. 6. Thou shalt part it in pieces and pour oil thereon; it is a meat-offering. The finished cakes were to be broken into small fragments and then saturated with olive-oil. V. 7. And if thy oblation be a meat-offering baken in the frying-pan, boiled in a pot, it shall be made of fine flour with oil, apparently cooked in the oil. The olive-oil, which figures so prominently in these sacrifices, is a symbol of the Holy Ghost. The good works of the believers are done in the power of the Holy Ghost. If these sacrifices are accompanied with the incense of prayer, they will be wellpleasing in the sight of the Lord. V. 8. And thou shalt bring the meat-offering that is made of these things unto the Lord; and when it is presented unto the priest, as the representative of God, he shall bring it unto the altar. V. 9. And the priest shall take from the meat-offering a memorial thereof, to bring the worshiper in remembrance before God, and shall burn it upon the altar; it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord. V. 10. And that which is left of the meat-offering shall be Aaron's and his sons'; it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire. The men that served in the Sanctuary were to receive their sustenance from these gifts, just as to-day they that preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel. V. 11. No meat-offering which ye shall bring unto the Lord shall be made with leaven, leaven being considered an impure addition in this case on account of its fermenting property; for ye shall burn no leaven nor any honey, against which the same objection was made as against the leaven, in any offering of the Lord made by fire.

There were certain offerings in which leavened bread was included, chap. 7, 13. 14; 23, 17. 20, and also honey, 2 Chron. 31, 5; but in the meatoffering they were strictly forbidden. Thus the believers will avoid all impurity and hypocrisy in word and deed.

THE MEAT-OFfering of the FIRST-FRUITS. V. 12. As for the oblation of the first-fruits, ye shall offer them unto the Lord, bring them as gifts in order to establish or to confirm the fellowship with the Lord; but they shall not be burned on the altar for a sweet savor. In such offerings, therefore, even leaven and honey might be included. V. 13. And every oblation of thy meat-offering shalt thou season with salt, this being both a purifier and a preservative; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat-offering; with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. Cp. Mark 9, 49; Col. 4, 6. This rule applied not only to meat-offerings, but to all offerings commanded by God. V. 14. And if thou offer a

meat-offering of thy first-fruits unto the Lord, of the first grain that was ready to be harvested in the early summer, thou shalt offer for the meat-offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears. The stalks of the grain were cut with the maturing ears, and the grain roasted at the fire while in the ear, such dried or roasted kernels, in the form of groats, being a favorite dish in the Orient to this day. V. 15. And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay fankincense thereon, as in the case of the fine flour; it is a meatoffering. V. 16. And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; it is an offering made by fire unto the Lord. It is undoubtedly well-pleasing to the Lord if we, in addition to the regular sacrifices in good works, are found willing to offer to Him in extraordinary quantities, if He has blessed us in unusual

measure.

The Peace-Offerings.

OF THE HERD. V. 1. And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace-offering, if he offer it of the herd, whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. The designation "peace-offering" seems to have been the more general term, for these sacrifices included also the thankofferings and the salvation-offerings. Another division is that into thanksgiving, vow-, and free-will offerings, chap. 7, 11—18. Some peaceofferings were made in times of distress, the idea associated with them being that of supplication for divine help, Judg. 20, 26; 21, 4; 1 Sam. 13, 9; 2 Sam. 14, 25. V. 2. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, in the act which declared the animal to be the substitute for the worshiper in the sacrifice, and kill it at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation; and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about, for the purpose of atonement. V. 3. And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace-offering an offering made by fire unto the Lord, certain parts of the animal offered for the purpose of establishing a closer fellowship with God were to be burned on the altar of burnt offering; the fat that covereth the inwards, the large net of adipose membrane in the abdominal cavity, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, that which is only loosely attached to the intestines and may be peeled off without difficulty, v. 4. and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, attached to the muscles in the upper pelvic

cavity, and the caul above the liver, the small net of adipose membrane extending from the liver to the kidneys, with the kidneys, that is, together with, or upon, the kidneys, as they lay in position, it shall he take away from the rest of the animal. V. 5. And Aaron's sons shall burn it, these fatty parts with the kidneys, on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is on the fire; it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Lord, well-pleasing to Him if made in the right manner, if brought in true faith. These offerings were brought upon, that is, after the burnt offerings of the day.

OF THE FLOCK. — V. 6. And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace-offering unto the Lord be of the flock, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. The sex was immaterial, but the animal had to be perfect, as before. V. 7. If he offer a lamb for his offering, then shall he offer it before the Lord, for the purpose of securing the good pleasure of the Lord. V. 8. And he (the worshiper) shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it before the Tabernacle of the Congregation, out in the open court; and Aaron's sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof round about upon the altar, the act having the same significance as before. V. 9. And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace-offering an offering made by fire unto the Lord, that portion of the sacrificial victim burned upon the altar being known as the food of Jehovah and signifying the communion between Him and the worshiper brought about by the sacrifice; the fat thereof and

the whole rump, the heavy fat-tail which is characteristic of a certain variety of sheep in Arabia and Palestine, it shall he take off hard by the backbone; and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, as in the case of the larger animal, v. 3, v. 10. and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, that is, upon the kidneys, it shall he take away. Cp. v. 4. V. 11. And the priest shall burn it upon the altar; it is the food of the offering made by fire unto the Lord, a food offered by the believing Israelite by fire and rising up to the Lord in an odor well-pleasing to Him. In this manner the Lord partook of the sacrifice and entered into fellowship with His people.

OF GOATS. V. 12. And if his offering be a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord. V. 13. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of it, and kill it before the Tabernacle of the Congregation; and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof, as it was caught when the animal was slaughtered, upon the altar round about. V. 14. And he shall offer thereof his offering, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, v. 15. and the two kidneys, and the fat that

is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away. V. 16. And the priest shall burn them upon the altar; it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savor; all the fat is the Lord's, that is, all the loose fatty parts that were enumerated in these three cases were to be the Lord's portion. V. 17. It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings that ye eat neither fat nor blood. As long as the children of Israel were in the wilderness, all the animals slaughtered for food had to be brought to the Sanctuary, chap. 17, 3-7; in the land of Canaan, they were permitted to slaughter such animals in their own cities, Deut. 12, 15, but all the sacrifices had to be made at the place of the Sanctuary. The prohibition, however, concerning the loose fat mentioned in this chapter and that regarding blood remained in force for the Jewish people. In the case of all peace-offerings the wave-breast and the heave-shoulder belonged to the priests, chap. 7, 30 ff., and the rest of the meat was to be eaten by the worshiper and his family in the court of the Tabernacle. This joyous sacrificial meal was to express the happiness which the believers felt because of their covenant with the God of their salvation, just as we Christians enjoy the blessings of God's covenant in the Sacrament of the Altar.

The Sin-Offerings.

FOR A PRIEST. — V. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, v. 2. Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance, in an unintentional offense, against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them; (the sacrifices enumerated till now were free-will offerings and could be brought even when there was no specific occasion, whenever the heart of the individual prompted him to seek the Lord's fellowship in sacrifice, prayer, and sacrificial meal; but there were times and occasions when certain sacrifices had to be made, as when an unintentional trespass had occurred. This included all sins of weakness, not only such as had been committed in ignorance, haste, and negligence, but also such in which the weakness of the flesh had overcome the good intention of the believer); v.3. if the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people, the reference here very probably being to the high priest, who was in a special sense the anointed of the Lord among the priests; if this high priest in his official capacity, as the representative of the people, should become guilty of such an unintentional sin, then let him bring for his sin

which he hath sinned a young bullock without blemish unto the Lord for a sinoffering, the most conspicuous sacrificial animal because of the priest's high position. V. 4. And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, where all the sacrificial animals were officially delivered, before the Lord, and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head, in the gesture signifying the transmission of his own guilt upon the substitute victim, and kill the bullock before the Lord, the animal taking the place of the guilty man. V. 5. And the priest that is anointed, the high priest, shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it to the Tabernacle of the Congregation, into the Holy Place; v. 6. and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the Lord, before the veil of the Sanctuary, the heavy curtain that screened the ark in the Most Holy Place. V. 7. And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the Lord, which is in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, the horns of the golden altar being used only in this case and when the entire nation was concerned, since the offense was considered especially grave; and shall pour all the blood of the