And this is what thou shalt offer upon the altar -- two lambs of the first year, day by day continually.
God has just set Aaron and his sons apart as priests, and now He turns from the priests to the altar. Why did He want a lamb burning there at dawn and at dusk, every day of Israel's history, and what was that unbroken smoke meant to say?
This is not a sacrifice for sin. No one laid hands on these lambs, and no guilt passed to them. What rose from the altar was fragrance, not confession.
The continual burnt offering, for which instructions are given in Exodus 29:38, was a special burnt offering. There was no laying on of hands, no presentation of atonement for men; it was wholly for God in every way, showing us the unbroken delight of Christ's sacrifice of Himself to God.
The daily lamb was not first about what the worshipper needed. It was about what pleased God.
In a word then, the special theme here is God's delight in Christ. True it is — thanks be to God, and to Jesus Christ His Son — our sin is atoned for, judged, and put away for ever; our trespasses forgiven and guilt cancelled. But above and beyond this, the heart of God is fed, refreshed, and delighted by Christ.
The offering never stopped. Because the fragrance never lifted from the altar, Israel always had a place to stand. One writer reads the believer's position the same way.
Because the offering before us never stopped, God laid a foundation by it on which Israel could stand and be accepted in all its fragrance and savour. So it becomes no small picture of the believer's position, showing the ground of his acceptance in the Beloved. For just as the sweet savour of the continual burnt offering always ascended to God on behalf of Israel, so Christ in all His acceptability is always before His eyes on behalf of His own. We can therefore say, "as He is so also are we in this world"; for we are in the divine presence in all the savour of His sacrifice, and in all the acceptance of His person.
The altar stood at the tent door, the place where God met His people. Remove the daily lamb and you cut that link. A later prophecy foretells someone doing exactly that.
It was at the door of the tent of meeting before Jehovah, "where I will meet with you, to speak to you there [the mediator]. There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it [the tent] shall be sanctified by my glory." So it stands in Ex. 29:38-46, the book of redemption. Only in this way could Jehovah dwell among them. So we can measure the daring that takes away from the Prince of the host the "daily" or continual offering (Dan. 8); for it was the removal of the visible link of acceptance between God and His people on earth — a far worse insult to God than any political oppression of His people.
Each part of the daily offering pictures Christ: the lamb, the fine flour, the oil, the drink offering. One writer draws out what it should mean for a believer's day.
It speaks of a consistent personal communion with the Lord Jesus in thankful adoration of Him as the constantly fresh sacrifice that delights the heart of the Father. This involves both His blood sacrifice (seen in the lamb) and the perfection of His lowly humanity (the fine flour), mixed with oil (the permeating presence of the Holy Spirit). Added to this, the drink offering speaks of the joy of the offerer as he dwells on the perfections of the Lord Jesus and His sacrifice. This ought to be true of every Christian life. Can we allow a morning or an evening to pass without some fresh, admiring thoughts of the Lord Jesus and His sacrifice?
A later vision of temple service keeps the morning lamb but never mentions an evening one. Commentators see meaning in the omission.
That is the day when Israel's sun will never go down again. In earlier times an evening lamb was in every way fitting. Once the people were awakened to the truth, it comforted them to know that God had provided for that long, long night during which they had slept, forgetting Him who had died for that nation. But now that they are in the light of His day the evening lamb disappears, while every morning it remains as a continual burnt offering.
- Continual — the smoke never stopped. Neither does the value of Christ's sacrifice before God.
- For God — no one laid hands on these lambs, and no sin passed to them. The offering was wholly for God's delight.
- Ground — because the fragrance never lifted, Israel always had a standing. The believer's acceptance rests the same way: "as He is so also are we."
- Meeting — the altar at the tent door was where God met His people. Taking the daily offering away insults Him more than any political cruelty.
- Morning — the evening lamb suited Israel's long night. When their sun no longer sets, only the morning lamb remains. Until then, each dawn and dusk calls for fresh thoughts of Christ.
The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer between the two evenings.
God gives this instruction just after setting Aaron and his sons apart as priests. It fixes a rhythm Israel was never to break: one lamb at dawn, one at dusk, day after day. Why two lambs? Why a burnt offering and not a sin offering? And why must it never stop?
The daily lamb was not there to deal with fresh guilt each morning. One writer sets out what God Himself found in it.
In a word, the special theme here is God's delight in Christ. Morning and evening, day by day, week after week, from one new moon to another, from the opening to the close of the year, it is Christ in His fragrance and preciousness to God. True it is, thanks be to God and to Jesus Christ His Son: our sin is atoned for, judged, and put away for ever. Our trespasses are forgiven and our guilt cancelled. But above and beyond this, the heart of God is fed, refreshed, and delighted by Christ.
Two things missing from the ritual set it apart from the offerings that dealt with guilt.
The continual burnt offering, for which instructions are given in Exodus 29:38, was a burnt offering of a special kind. There was no laying on of hands and no presentation of atonement for people. It was wholly for God in every way, giving us to know the unbroken delight of Christ's sacrifice of Himself to God.
Because the offering never stopped, it gave the nation a standing that never lapsed.
Since the offering before us was perpetual, God laid a foundation by it on which Israel could stand and be accepted in all its fragrance and savour. It becomes no small picture of the believer's position, showing the ground of his acceptance in the Beloved. Christ in all His acceptability is always before God's eyes on behalf of His own. We can therefore say, "as He is so also are we in this world." For we are in the divine presence in all the savour of His sacrifice, and in all the acceptance of His person.
The two lambs stand at the two ends of the day.
Priests and people were to begin their day and end it with a reminder that they stood in acceptance before God only on the ground of sacrifice.
The ESV's "at twilight" translates a phrase that reads literally "between the two evenings." Writers have long argued over its exact limits.
A difficulty has arisen over the phrase "between the two evenings." The Passover lamb was to be killed then, and some have thought this allowed it at any time between the evening of the 14th and the evening of the 15th of Abib. This cannot be the meaning, because none of it was to be left till the morning, and because the same phrase is used of the daily sacrifice and of lighting the lamps. The Jewish writers do not agree on how to define the expression: some suppose it falls between the beginning and the ending of sunset, others from sunset to full darkness.
The evening lamb burned on through the night, when no one was watching.
Note that it was "all night until the morning" (although it was perpetual). No doubt this points out that Christ is for Israel always a sweet savour to God, even during the present period of Israel's darkness and forgetfulness. In the morning Israel will know that their acceptance and blessing come through the work of their Messiah on the cross.
In a later picture of Israel's worship in a coming day, one of the two lambs is missing.
While the daily offering consisted of the burnt offering of a lamb, as of old it was to be prepared morning by morning, but there was no longer an evening lamb. The fitness of this is clear. It was the day when the sun of Israel would go down no more. In earlier times an evening lamb was in every way suitable. It is a comfort for the people, once awakened to the truth, to know that God had provided for that long, long night.
One writer weighs what Israel lost when this offering stopped.
It was at the door of the tent of meeting before Jehovah, "where I will meet with you, to speak to you there." So it stands in Exodus 29:38-46, the book of redemption. Only in this way could Jehovah dwell among them. So we can measure the daring of taking the "daily," the continual offering, away from the Prince of the host (Daniel 8). It shut out the visible link of acceptance between God and His people on earth. That was a more shameless affront than any political oppression of His people.
- Continually for God. No one laid hands on this lamb, and it presented no atonement for people. The whole of it went up as God's own portion — His delight in Christ.
- Continual acceptance. The offering never stopped, so Israel's standing never lapsed. Believers stand on the same footing, accepted in the Beloved.
- Continual rhythm. Dawn and dusk, the day opened and closed with one reminder: acceptance rests on sacrifice alone.
- Continual through the night. The evening lamb burned on unseen till morning. Commentators read this as Christ's fragrance holding good through Israel's long night of forgetfulness.
- Continual into the morning. In the restored worship of that coming day the evening lamb is gone — one sacrifice, every morning, in a day whose sun does not set.
And with the one lamb a tenth part of wheaten flour mingled with beaten oil, a fourth part of a hin; and a drink-offering, a fourth part of a hin of wine.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And the second lamb shalt thou offer between the two evenings; as the oblation in the morning, and as its drink-offering shalt thou offer with this, for a sweet odour, an offering by fire to Jehovah.
God is setting Aaron and his sons apart as priests, and the instructions end with a daily rhythm at the altar. Why the same lamb, grain offering and drink offering twice a day, and why does He call it food and a pleasing aroma?
A lamb opened Israel's day, and a lamb closed it. That daily repetition taught the people where they stood with God.
This leads to the ordinance as to the daily sacrifice of two lambs, one each morning and one each evening. So priests and people were to begin their day and end it with a reminder that they only stood in acceptance before God on the ground of sacrifice. Only in this way was it possible for God to dwell among them...
Which sacrifice was this? Not a sin offering. No one brought this lamb because of a sin committed that day.
Exodus 29:38 gives the instructions for the continual burnt offering. It was an unusual burnt offering. There was no laying on of hands, and no atonement offered for men. It was wholly for God in every way. It shows us the unbroken delight of Christ's sacrifice of Himself to God.
The verse calls this offering food for God. What feeds Him is Christ.
In a word, the special theme here is God's delight in Christ. Morning and evening, day by day, week after week... it is Christ in His fragrance and preciousness to God. It is true, thanks be to God and to Jesus Christ His Son: our sin is atoned for, judged, and put away for ever. Our trespasses are forgiven, our guilt cancelled. But above and beyond this, the heart of God is fed, refreshed, and delighted by Christ.
The verse names three things together. Each shows a different side of the same Person.
The grain offering is an emblem of the devotedness of Christ in life, His entire consecration to the will and glory of God. The fine flour was mixed with oil. That pictures the mysterious truth that Christ in His humanity was begotten of the Holy Spirit. It represented the perfection of His life below — His life of perfect obedience... The drink offering was composed of wine. Wine is a symbol of joy — "it cheers God and man". Here it is offered to God, so it speaks of His joy, His joy in the sacrifice presented.
The wine meets a different end from the lamb.
It always comes last, as though it suggested the securing of the delight of God as the result of the sacrifices which it followed... The sacrifice was offered up and so consumed. The drink offering was poured out and so remains.
The offering never stopped. That gave Israel a standing place before God.
The offering before us was perpetual. By it God laid a foundation on which Israel could stand, accepted in all its fragrance and savour. It becomes no small type of the position of the believer, revealing the ground of his acceptance in the Beloved. The sweet savour of the continual burnt offering always ascended to God on behalf of Israel. In the same way, Christ in all His acceptability is always before His eyes on behalf of His own.
Other parts of Scripture mark the hour of this second lamb.
It was 3 p.m. In Jerusalem, the evening lamb was being laid on the altar of Jehovah, with its grain offering and drink offering. All of it spoke to God of Christ, and His death at Calvary took place at that hour (Ex. 29:41; Matt. 27:46). It was the hour of divine blessing: compare Ezra 9:5; Dan. 9:21.
The pairing was not meant to last for ever. One day the second lamb drops out.
The morning lamb and the evening lamb provided this constant sweet fragrance before God. When the night for Israel is over, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings. Then there will be no need for the evening sacrifice — only the morning sacrifice, as Ezekiel 46:13 instructs.
The altar's rhythm becomes a question about our own days.
It speaks of a steady personal communion with the Lord Jesus. It speaks of thankful adoration of Him as the ever-fresh sacrifice that delights the heart of the Father... the drink offering speaks of the joy of the offerer as he dwells on the perfections of the Lord Jesus and His sacrifice. Can we allow a morning or an evening to pass without some fresh, admiring thoughts of the Lord Jesus and His sacrifice?
- Continual — the lamb opened and closed every day. Israel never stood before God on any ground but sacrifice.
- For God — a burnt offering with no hands laid on it, and no atonement asked. Its whole point was God's delight in Christ.
- Complete — lamb, flour with oil, and wine stand together. They present His death, His obedient life, and the joy God takes in both.
- Ours — the fragrance never stopped rising. Christ Himself stands before God for the believer, and that is his acceptance.
- Fading — the evening lamb belongs to Israel's night. When their morning comes, only the morning sacrifice remains.