Leviticus 7:1-10 Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering: it is most holy.… The great particularity and the occasional repetition shown in these ordinances point to the truth that God desired his people to attach very great weight to them. His servants were to understand that he laid great stress upon - I. THE WAY IN WHICH HE WAS APPROACHED IN WORSHIP. Distinctions were drawn between different offerings, the import of which we now find it hard to trace. Though, indeed, it is stated that "as the sin offering so the trespass offering; there is one law for them" (verse 7), yet there were differences in the way in which the blood was disposed of by the priests, etc. (cf. verse 2 and Leviticus 4:6, 7). Minute details were entered into respecting the disposal of the various parts of the animal (verses 3, 4, 8). Precise directions were given regarding the eating of the offerings by the priests (verses 5, 9, 10). It appears to us that there must have been but very faint moral significance in these arrangements to the mind of the Hebrew worshipper. But if this were so, the very particularity of the precepts indicated God's determination that his people should show the utmost vigilance and attention in their approaches to himself. We may wisely learn therefrom that, though our Divine Master has left all details in worship to our spiritual discernment, he is far from indifferent to the way in which we approach him. We should show the utmost care: 1. To draw nigh to his throne of grace in a right spirit - a spirit of reverence, trust, expectation, holy joy. 2. To use those methods of approach which are most likely to foster the true spirit of worship - having enough of simplicity to favour spirituality of mind; having, at the same time, enough of art and effort to meet the cultivated tastes of all who take part in devotion. II. THE FACT THAT SIN MEANS DEATH IN HIS SIGHT. The first "law of the trespass offering" (verse 1) relates to the killing of the animal and the sprinkling of its blood "round about the altar" (verse 2). The thing in these sacrifices is the application of the blood for atonement: no offering on the altar, no eating of the flesh, until life had been taken, until blood had been shed and sprinkled. The sinner must own his worthiness of death for his trespass, and, if he is to find acceptance, must bring a victim, whose life shall be forfeited instead of his own, whose atoning blood shall make peace with God. This is the foundation truth of Old Testament sacrifices; it is the ground truth of the sacrifice on Calvary. III. THE TRUTH THAT OUR VERY BEST, OUR OWN SELF, IS TO BE CONSECRATED TO GOD. The best of the slain animals, the vital parts, had to be presented in holy sacrifice on the altar (verses 3-5). When the atoning blood has brought reconciliation, we are to present our best, our very selves, in acceptable sacrifice to our Saviour. IV. THE TRUTH THAT ALL WHICH IS PRESENTED TO GOD IS TO BE REGARDED AS HOLY IN HIS SIGHT. Only the priests might eat of the flesh of the offered animal, and they only "in the holy place," for "it is most holy" (verse 6). Everything became holy when brought to "the door of the tabernacle" and presented to Jehovah. When we dedicate ourselves to his service in the act of self-surrender, we yield everything to him. And then: 1. Our bodies become a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 6:13, 20). 2. Our whole lives are to be lived and spent before him as holy (1 Corinthians 10:31). - C. Parallel Verses KJV: Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering: it is most holy.WEB: "'This is the law of the trespass offering. It is most holy. |
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