The People at Worship

Exodus 29:36-43

THE forms of worship enjoined upon Israel by the Lord, and administered by the priesthood, involved many details, but through them all ran one central thought of sacrifice. Bullocks, rams, goats, sheep, birds, etc., were used under varying circumstances. There were sin-offerings, burnt offerings, trespass offerings, peace offerings and others. Some were made by and for the priests, others were brought to the priests by the people and offered on their behalf. In Hebrews 9:11-14, the apostle refers to many of these typical offerings and what they were designed to accomplish, and then adds, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

From this it is evident that all the various sacrifices offered by Israel’s priests pointed forward, directly or indirectly, to the sacrificial work centered in Christ Jesus. It was because those ancient services were intended by the Lord thus to be types of better things to come that he enjoined upon Moses the duty to make sure that everything was done according to the pattern shown to him on the mount.

By the Lord’s instructions, the tenth day of the seventh month of each year was to be an “atonement day.” A very special work of sacrifice was to be carried out each year on that day. The account of this is recorded in Leviticus 16. In this service, two animals were offered for a sin-offering—a bullock and a goat. Their blood was taken into the most holy of the tabernacle and sprinkled upon the mercy seat, the fat was burned on the brazen, or copper, altar in the court which surrounded the tabernacle, while the carcasses were taken outside the camp and burned.

This service is alluded to in Hebrews 13:10-13, and in this passage the apostle reveals that the followers of Jesus participate with him in the antitypical atonement day sacrifices, that, symoblically speaking, we have the privilege of being burned outside the camp even as Jesus was thus burned. Evidently this is why there were two sin-offering animals used on Israel’s typical day of atonement—the bullock representing Jesus, and the goat representing the church.

Israel’s day of atonement sacrifices were basic to all the others, so that sacrifices offered between atonement days were acceptable only through recognition that atonement had been made on the tenth day of the seventh month by the sprinkling of the blood on the mercy seat. A trespass offering, for example, would not have been acceptable to the Lord if the sin-offering had not previously been made on the day of atonement. The same would be true of peace offerings.

Burnt offerings seem to represent the acceptance of sacrifice. This is suggested by the fact that in some cases fire came down from God to consume these offerings. This would certainly represent the Lord’s acceptance of the sacrifice. This occurred in connection with the burnt offering presented on the day of atonement, which would signify that the sacrifice of the bullock and goat on that day had been well pleasing to God.

The offering of the bullock on seven consecutive days, as mentioned in this lesson, was for the cleansing of the brazen altar in the court, so that sacrifices offered thereon later would be acceptable to God. Antitypically, this reminds us of the words of Paul in Romans 12:1, where we are admonished to present our bodies “a living sacrifice,” with the assurance that in so doing they will be “holy, acceptable to God.” In other words, our altar of sacrifice has been made holy by the sacrifice of Christ, the antitypical bullock.

The two lambs, which were to be offered daily—one in the morning and one in the evening—are designated as burnt offerings. It was in connection with these daily burnt offerings that the Lord met with Israel, through the priesthood, and communed with them. The thought seems again to be that of acceptableness. God had accepted the sin-offering made on the day of atonement, and the people recognized it as the basis of their acceptableness to God, so daily the priesthood on behalf of Israel could have fellowship with God and enjoy his blessings.

Exodus 35:21-29

THIS account of the willing sacrifices of the Israelites in order to furnish material and labor for the construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings never loses its charm and appeal. It was the first and perhaps only time in the history of the Lord’s people when it was necessary to refuse further offerings because too much was donated. But it happened in this instance. Moses was informed of the oversupply, and the account reads: “Moses gave commandment and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.”—Exod. 36:6,7

In this, we certainly have a wonderful manifestation of zeal for the Lord’s work. However, it is quite understandable under the circumstances. For hundreds of years the Israelites had been without any visible symbol of their relationship to God. In fact, they had never had a place of worship. The Scriptures indicate that they were not a people of great faith except on occasions where there was some outward manifestation of God’s presence with them, and then, of course, faith was replaced by sight.

So the idea of a tabernacle, something they could see as a representation of God in their midst, captivated their minds, and they willingly and freely gave in order that it might be built.

In this age of faith, the true service of God does not involve the building of a literal and visible tabernacle. Now we see God and commune with him through his Word of truth. There is nothing tangible on which to lay hold. Our sacrifices in his service are not rewarded by seeing a tabernacle appear, but in the knowledge that human minds have been enlightened, and hearts blessed by our sharing with them the knowledge of the Lord which has enriched us.

QUESTIONS

What was the central thought in all the tabernacle services, and what did this illustrate?

What were the basic atonement sacrifices, and how often were they offered?

What was typified by the burnt offerings?

What may have been one reason for Israel’s zeal in providing material and labor to construct the tabernacle?

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