To verify whether burnt offerings
are current or obsolete let us first of all find out the meaning and relevance of a burnt
offering. According to the scriptures a burnt offering is the food for the
Lord's offerings which one is required to offer to Him at the appointed time.
For this is what the Lord says; “Give this command to the Israelites and say to
them “See that you present to Me at the appointed time the food for My offerings
made by fire, as an aroma pleasing to Me” (Numbers 28:2).
What is needed at this juncture
is to prove whether this command is relevant to believers today, and if it is
proven to be relevant, to hold fast to what is good. The first mistake one is
apt to make is to believe that this command is applicable only to the physical nation
of Israel, and therefore irrelevant for other nations. And secondly, this is a
ceremonial law, and it is no longer applicable. But before jumping into
conclusion, let us analyze this command carefully.
a. To whom the Lord gave this
command?
This command was given to the
Israelites to whom pertains the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving
of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and
from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally
blessed God. Amen” (Romans 9:4-5).
But who are the Israelites to
whom all these promises belong? According to the scriptures; “It is not as
though God's word had failed, for not all who are descended from Israel are
Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children.
On the contrary, it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” In
other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is
the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring” (Romans
9:6-9).
Therefore, this command is
applicable to the Israel of God, those who like the patriarch Abraham,
“Believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore know
that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the scripture,
foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preach the gospel to
Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then
those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham” (Galatians
3:6-9).
Therefore, the command, “My
offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you
shall be careful to offer to Me at their appoint time,” is applicable to all
the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of
the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.
Furthermore, the command to
present to the Lord a burnt offering at the appointed time is applicable also
to the stranger who sojourns with the Israel of God. For thus says the Lord; “All
who are native born shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an
offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.'
“And if a stranger sojourns with
you, or whoever is among you throughout your generations, and would present an
offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord, just as you do, so shall he
do. One ordinance shall be for you of the congregation and for the stranger who
sojourns with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you
are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. One law and one custom shall be
for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you” (Numbers
15: 13-16).
b. Who is the Lord who spoke to
Moses?
The Lord who spoke to Moses
saying, “Commanded the children of Israel and say to them; “My offering, My
food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful
to offer to Me at their appointed time is no other than Jesus Christ Himself.
For according to the apostle
Paul; “For even if there are so called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as
there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is only one God, the
Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through
whom are all things, and through whom we live” (1Corinthians
8:6).
Jesus said, “I have a greater
witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to
finish...the very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent
Me. And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me: You have neither
heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form” (John 5: 36-37).
We can therefore conclusively say
that, the Lord of the Old Testament, Who gave the command to the children of Israel
was Jesus Christ, Who also was the spiritual Rock which followed them, “For
they all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual Rock
that followed them, and that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians
10: 4).
Since it can be proven that Jesus
Christ is the one who said to Moses, “Give this command to the Israelites and
say to them; “See that you present to Me at the appointed time the food for My
offerings made by fire, as an aroma pleasing to Me.” And Jesus Christ Who is
the same yesterday, today, and forever, has given Himself for us, an offering
and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. I think it is imperative
that we pay close attention to this ordinance, which was ordained to be observed
forever, throughout the generations.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S9QXQ4E
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FV4WTWQ
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XYGDD7M
To be continued, stay tuned
With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
No comments:
Post a Comment