"And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire. And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar." This was a high position for the priestly family. The burnt-offering was wholly offered to God,--it was all burnt upon the altar.[2] Man did not partake of it; but the sons of Aaron the priest (themselves being likewise priests) are here seen standing round the altar of God, to behold the flame of an acceptable sacrifice ascending to Him--an odor of sweet smell. This was a high position--high communion--a high order of priestly service--a striking type of the Church having fellowship with God, in reference to the perfect accomplishment of His will in the death of Christ. As convicted sinners, we gaze on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and behold therein that which meets all our need. The cross, in this aspect of it, gives perfect peace to the conscience. But then, as priests, as purged worshipers, as members of the priestly family, we can look at the cross in another light--even as the grand consummation of Christ's holy purpose to carry out, even unto death, the will of the Father. As convicted sinners, we stand at the brazen altar, and find peace through the blood of atonement; but as priests, we stand there to behold and admire the completeness of that burnt-offering--the perfect surrender and presentation of the spotless One to God.
[2] It may be well, at this point, to inform the reader that the Hebrew word which is rendered "burn" in the case of the burnt-offering is wholly different from that which is used in the sin-offering. I shall, because of the peculiar interest of the subject, refer to a few of the passages in which each word occurs. The word used in the burnt-offering signifies "incense," or to "burn incense," and occurs in the following passages, in some one or other of its various inflections: Lev. vi. 15--"And all the _frankincense_, ... and shall _burn_ it upon the altar;" Deut. xxxiii. 10--"They shall put _incense_ before Thee, and whole _burnt_-sacrifice upon Thine altar;" Exod. xxx. 1--"And thou shalt make an altar to _burn incense_ upon;" Ps. lxvi. 15--"With the _incense_ of rams;" Jer. xliv. 21--"The _incense_ that ye _burned_ in the cities of Judah;" Cant. iii. 16--"Perfumed with myrrh and _frankincense_." Passages might be multiplied, but the above will suffice to show the use of the word which occurs in the burnt-offering.
The Hebrew word which is rendered "burn" in connection with the sin-offering, signifies to burn in general, and occurs in the following passages: Gen. xl. 3--"Let us make brick, and _burn_ them thoroughly." Lev. x. 16--"And Moses diligently sought the goat of the _sin_-offering, and, behold, it was _burnt_." 2 Chron. xvi. 14--"And they made a very great _burning_ for him."
Thus, not only was the sin-offering burnt in a different place, but a different word is adopted by the Holy Ghost to express the burning of it. Now, we cannot imagine, for a moment, that this distinction is a mere interchange of words, the use of which is indifferent. I believe the wisdom of the Holy Ghost is as manifest in the use of the two words as it is in any other point of difference in the two offerings. The spiritual reader will attach the proper value to the above most interesting distinction.
We should have a very defective apprehension of the mystery of the cross were we only to see in it that which meets man's need as a sinner. There were depths in that mystery which only the mind of God could fathom. It is therefore important to see that when the Holy Ghost would furnish us with foreshadowings of the cross, He gives us, in the very first place, one which sets it forth in its aspect Godward. This alone would be sufficient to teach us that there are heights and depths in the doctrine of the cross which man never could reach. He may approach to "that one well-spring of delight," and drink forever--he may satisfy the utmost longings of his spirit--he may explore it with all the powers of the renewed nature; but, after all, there is that in the cross which only God could know and appreciate. Hence it is that the burnt-offering gets the first place. It typifies Christ's death as viewed and valued by God alone. And surely, we may say, we could not have done without such a type as this; for not only does it give us the highest possible aspect of the death of Christ, but it also gives us a most precious thought in reference to God's peculiar interest in that death. The very fact of His instituting a type of Christ's death which was to be exclusively for Himself, contains a volume of instruction for the spiritual mind.