Notes on the Book of Leviticus

by Charles Henry Mackintosh

Let us now briefly notice the three points already mentioned.

I. In the first place, we would observe that sacrifice is the basis of worship. Acceptable worship to God must be based on a sacrifice acceptable to Him. Man being in himself guilty and unclean, he needs a sacrifice to remove his guilt, cleanse him from his defilements, and fit him for the holy presence of God. "Without shedding of blood is no remission;" and without remission, and the knowledge of remission, there can be no happy worship,—no real, hearty praise, adoration, and thanksgiving. Going to what is called "a place of worship," and worshiping God, are widely different things. God is holy, and man must approach Him in His own way, and according to what He is. As Moses said unto Aaron on the solemn occasion of the sin of Nadab and Abihu, "This is it that the Lord spake, saying, 'I will be sanctified in them that come nigh Me, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" The Lord alone could give directions as to how the people were to draw nigh unto Him: this is the great subject of the book of Leviticus. The "Notes" on the first seven and the sixteenth chapters will give the reader a very full and interesting view of the ordinance of sacrifice, and the character of Jewish worship.

It was on the ground of offered and accepted sacrifice that the children of Israel were constituted the worshiping people of God. It is on the same ground, namely, offered and accepted sacrifice, that believers in Jesus are constituted the worshiping people of God now. (Read carefully Lev. xvi; Heb. ix, x.) They have taken Israel's place, but after a much higher order, whether we look at the sacrifice, the priest, or the place of worship. The contrast between them is great, and strongly marked in Scripture, especially in the epistle to the Hebrews. The Jewish sacrifices never reached the conscience of the offerer, and the Jewish priest never could pronounce him "clean every whit." The gifts and sacrifices which were offered under the law, as the apostle tells us, "could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience." The conscience, observe, always being the reflection of the sacrifice, it could not be perfect, seeing the sacrifice was not perfect; "for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins." Hence, Jewish worship was connected with inefficient sacrifices, a burdensome ritual, and an unpurged conscience, which gendered in the worshiper a spirit of bondage and fear.

But, now, mark the contrast to all this in the once-offered and accepted sacrifice of Christ. He "put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." All is done. Having "by Himself purged our sins, He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." When the worshiper comes before God on the ground of this Sacrifice, he finds that he has nothing to do save, as a priest, to show forth the praises of Him "who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light." Even Christ has nothing more to do as regards our justification and acceptance, "for by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." The Jew, by his sacrifice, was merely ceremonially clean, and that only for a moment, as it were; but the Christian, through the sacrifice of Christ, is really so, and that forever. Oh, that sweet word, "FOREVER"! It is the common privilege of all believers to be perfected as worshipers before God, "through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." On this deeply important point the testimony of Scripture is most full and explicit. For the worshipers once purged should have "no more conscience of sins".—"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin."—"And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." (1 John i. 7; Heb. x.) By the work of Christ for us, our sins were all put away; and now, by faith in God's word, we know that they are all forgiven and forgotten. Hence, we can draw near to God, and stand in His holy presence, in the happy assurance that there is neither sin nor stain upon us. Our Great High-Priest has pronounced us "clean every whit." (John xiii.) Believing this, the sense of guilt is taken away,—we have "NO MORE CONSCIENCE OF SINS."

This deeply precious truth, observe, does not mean that there is no more consciousness of sins. Far from it. Or that we may not get a bad conscience through failure; or that we need not be exercised "to have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward man." Not at all. It simply means that Christ, by the one, perfect, finished sacrifice of Himself, has forever put away all our sins—root and branch. And having been led to know and believe this, how can there be sins on the conscience? Christ has put them all away. The precious blood of our once-offered and accepted Sacrifice has cleansed us from every spot and stain of sin. There may be the deepest sense of indwelling sin, and of many sins and shortcomings in our every-day life, and the painful confession of them all to God; still there is the full assurance that Christ died for our sins, put them all away, and that not one of them can ever be laid to our charge. This is indeed a most wonderful truth; but it is the great, the needed truth for a worshiper. How could we stand in God's presence, where all is perfection, if we were not as clean as He would have us to be? We must be clean enough for the eye of Infinite Holiness. But, blessed be God, all who believe in Jesus, and rest on His finished sacrifice, are forgiven and justified; they have eternal life, righteousness, and peace. The first cry for mercy of the guilty sinner is answered by the blood of the Sacrifice. It penetrates to the deepest depths of his need; it raises him to the highest heights of heaven, and fits him to be there, a happy worshiper, in the immediate presence of the throne of God.—"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God."—"For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; 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!" (1 Peter iii. 18; Heb. ix. 13, 14.)

II. In the second place, we have in the rich provisions of God's grace, the Lord Jesus Christ as our Great High-Priest in the presence of God for us. He ministers there for us.—"We have such a High-Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a Minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." (Heb. viii. 1, 2.) His work of sacrifice having been fully completed, He sat down. Aaron is represented as being always in a standing position. His work was never finished. He stood "daily ministering, and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God." Immediately after the law of the Lord had been given as to sacrifice, the priesthood was established. (See "Notes" on chapters viii, ix.) The saints have both in Christ. He is our Sacrifice and our Priest. He appeared once on the cross for us: He now appears in heaven for us: ere long He will appear in glory with us. To know what He accomplished on the cross, and what He is now doing in the sanctuary above, will nourish in our hearts the hope of His coming, and lead us to long for His appearing in glory.

In the New Testament we only read of two orders of priests, namely, Christ as the Great High-Priest in heaven, and the common priesthood of all believers on the earth. "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." (1 Peter ii. 5.) And again, "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father." (Rev. i. 5. 6.) These passages clearly prove the common standing of all believers as priests unto God. There is no mention in the New Testament of any peculiar class or order of Christians who hold the office of priests, as distinct from other Christians. Christ is the Great High-Priest over the house of God, and all His people are, in virtue of their connection with Him, priests, and privileged to enter, as once-purged worshipers, into the holiest of all. Even the apostles never took the place of priests, as distinct from or superior to the humblest child of God. They might know their privileges better than many, and enjoy them more. Their gifts and callings as to the ministry of the Word were distinct and special, but as worshipers, they stood on the same ground as all others, and, together with them, worshiped God through Jesus Christ, the Great High-Priest of all His people.

In the priestly ministry of our blessed Lord, there are many points of special interest; we only notice the two following:—

1. As our Great High-Priest, He represents us in the sanctuary above. And, oh, what a Representative!—God's beloved Son, the glorified Man, whose name is above every name!—"For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." (Heb. ix. 24.) Oh, what dignity! what nearness to God is ours! Oh that our hearts appreciated it more! When Aaron appeared before the Lord in his garments of glory and beauty, he represented the children of Israel. Their names were engraven in precious stones in the beautiful breastplate. Blessed type of our real and everlasting place in the heart of Christ, who appears, not annually, like Aaron of old, but continually in the presence of God for us. The name of each believer is kept continually before the eye of God, in all the glory and beauty of Christ, His well-beloved Son. He is our righteousness, we possess His life, enjoy His peace, are filled with His joy, and radiate His glory. Although without right, title, or privilege in ourselves, we have all in Him. He is there for us and as us. His name be forever praised.

"He stands in heaven their Great High-Priest,
And bears their names upon His breast."