Are we not forcibly reminded, by the teaching of this part of our book, of that profound section of dispensational truth presented in Romans ix.-xi, particularly of its magnificent close? “The gifts and calling of God are without repentance. For as ye [strangers] in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: even so have these also now not believed in your mercy [_i. e._, mercy shown to the Gentiles—_see Greek_], that they also may obtain mercy [_i. e._, come in on the ground of mercy like the stranger]. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all [Jews and Gentiles—Israel and the stranger]. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counselor? Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things; to whom be glory forever. Amen.” (Rom. xi. 29-36.)
From verse 22-31 of our chapter, we have instructions as to sins of ignorance and presumptuous sins—a very grave and important distinction. For the former, ample provision is made, in the goodness and mercy of God. The _death_ of Christ is presented, in this portion of the chapter, in its two grand aspects, namely, the burnt-offering and the sin-offering; that is, its aspect to Godward and its aspect to usward; and we have also all the preciousness, fragrance, and joy of His perfect _life_ and service as a man in this world, as typified by the meat-offering and drink-offering. In the burnt-offering, we see atonement wrought according to the measure of Christ’s devotedness to God, and of God’s delight in Him: in the sin-offering, we see atonement wrought according to the measure of the sinner’s necessities and the hatefulness of sin in God’s sight. The two offerings, taken together, present the atoning death of Christ in all its fullness. Then, in the meat-offering, we have Christ’s perfect life and the reality of His human nature, as manifested in all the details of His path and service in this world; while the drink-offering, typifies His complete surrender of Himself to God.
Into the rich and marvelous instruction conveyed in the different classes of sacrifices presented in this passage, we do not attempt to enter now. The reader who desires to study the subject more fully is referred to a little volume entitled “Notes on the book of Leviticus.” (Pages 1-140.) We merely state here, in the very briefest manner, what we judge to be the main import of each offering; to go into details would only be to repeat what we have already written.
We would merely add that the claims of God demand that sins of ignorance should be taken cognizance of. We might feel disposed to say, or at least to think, that such sins ought to be passed over; but God does not think so. His holiness must not be reduced to the standard of our intelligence. _Grace_ has made provision for sins of ignorance, but _holiness_ demands that such sins should be judged and confessed. Every true heart will bless God for this. For what would become of us if the provisions of divine grace were not adequate to meet the claims of divine holiness? and adequate they most surely could not be if they traveled not beyond the range of our intelligence.
And yet, while all this will, generally speaking, be fully admitted, it is often very sorrowful to hear professing Christians making excuses for ignorance, and justifying unfaithfulness and error on the ground of ignorance. But very often, in such cases, the question may very cogently be urged, why are we ignorant, in reference to any point of conduct, or the claims of Christ upon us? Suppose a question comes before us demanding a positive judgment, and calling for a certain line of action; we plead ignorance. Is this right? will it avail? will it dispose of our responsibility? will God allow us to shirk the question after such a fashion? Nay, reader; we may rest assured it will not do. Why are we ignorant? Have we put forth all our energies, have we adopted every available means, have we made every possible effort, to get at the root of the matter and reach a just conclusion? Let us bear in mind that the claims of truth and holiness demand all this of us; nor should we be satisfied with any thing less. We cannot but admit that were it a question involving, in any measure, _our own_ interests—_our_ name, _our_ reputation, _our_ property, we should leave no stone unturned in order to make ourselves fully acquainted with all the facts of the case. We should not long plead ignorance in such matters. If information were to be had, we should have it. We should do our very utmost to know all the ins and outs, the _pros_ and _cons_, of the question, so that we might form a sound judgment in the matter.