And thou shalt daily offer a burnt-offering unto Jehovah, of a yearling-lamb without blemish thou shalt prepare it morning by morning.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And thou shalt prepare an oblation with it every morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and of oil the third part of a hin, to moisten the fine flour an oblation unto Jehovah continually by a perpetual ordinance.
Ezekiel's last vision describes a future temple and its offerings, and this verse fixes the grain offering that goes up with the morning lamb. Why do offerings return after the cross, why is the measure larger than before, and why is there no evening lamb?
Many readers stumble at the thought of animal sacrifice returning after the cross. One writer answers that these offerings belong to an earthly people, and that they point back instead of forward:
Some have felt a difficulty about the return of sacrifices. But the difficulty disappears when we remember that these sacrifices belong to an earthly people and an earthly temple, and that they will be commemorative in character. Under the old order they had no power at all apart from their reference to Christ, for it was not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins (Heb. 10:4). In the millennium they will look back to that one sacrifice for sin, offered on the cross, just as those under the law of Moses foreshadowed it. They will simply recall to the grateful, worshipping hearts of God's people the blood of Jesus Christ His Son, which cleanses from all sin.
The old law fixed a lamb at dawn and a lamb at dusk. Here the evening lamb is gone:
It is remarkable again that the daily offering was still the burnt offering of a lamb, prepared morning by morning as of old — but there was no longer an evening lamb... It was the day when the sun of Israel should go down no more. In the old time an evening lamb was in every way suitable. It comforted the people, once they were awakened to the truth, to know that God had provided for that long, long night in which they had slept, forgetting Him who had died for that nation. But now they are in the light of His day. The evening lamb disappears, while every morning it remains as a continual burnt offering.
One writer points out what set this offering apart. Nothing in it dealt with the sin of men:
Exodus 29:38 gives the instructions for the continual burnt offering. It was a special burnt offering. There was no laying on of hands and no presentation of atonement for men. It was wholly for God in every way. It shows us the unbroken delight of Christ's sacrifice of Himself to God.
Fine flour and oil make up this offering, and one writer reads each one as a picture:
Nothing is softer, more even and less gritty than fine flour. So it is a most fitting type of the smooth and flawless perfection of the life on earth of "the Man Christ Jesus." The oil here, as elsewhere, is typical of the Holy Spirit of God. In His power the Lord Jesus went out on His unequalled path of service, as we see in Luke 3:22 and Luke 4:1, 14.
The lamb never goes up alone. Another writer says why the two belong together:
A meal offering always went with the continual burnt offering. The death of Christ glorifying God is chiefly in view. Yet you cannot separate it from the life of Christ that came before it, a life of obedience to His Father's will. That life showed beyond any doubt that the One who died on the tree was worthy to die that death. He died it for the glory of God and for the blessing of man.
The old law asked for less flour and less oil than this verse does:
The oblation is increased from one-tenth to one-sixth, and the oil from one-quarter of a hin to one-third.
The same writer reads the enlargement as a rise in the worshippers' sense of Christ's worth:
The enlarged offerings answer to the meal offerings of old. They are typical of Christ's Person in its human perfection. They may well speak of the greater appreciation of Him in that day, when He will no longer be One having no beauty that He should be desired... The larger proportion of the oil points to the greater fulness of the Spirit, and so of understanding.
The verse ends by making this rule permanent. God always claimed that permanence for this offering:
A third thing in the law of the burnt offering was that it must be perpetual. It was not occasional but a continual offering throughout their generations. Scripture emphasises this permanence... Why? Because of Jehovah's claim that this should be the main feature of the worship of His people.
- Backward, not forward. These offerings are commemorative. They look back to the one sacrifice on the cross, as Israel's old offerings looked forward to it.
- Morning only. The missing evening lamb marks a day whose sun never sets; Israel's long night of forgetting Him is over.
- Wholly God's. This offering had no laying on of hands and no atonement for men. It stands for God's unbroken delight in Christ's self-sacrifice.
- Life with death. Flour speaks of Christ's flawless human life. Oil speaks of the Spirit's power in it. The lamb never goes up without the grain offering, because the death rests on the life.
- More, and always. The larger measures of flour and oil suggest a greater appreciation of Christ and a fuller understanding by the Spirit. The "perpetual statute" means God never lets that appreciation lapse.
They shall offer the lamb, and the oblation, and the oil, every morning for a continual burnt-offering.
Ezekiel's vision of a future temple ends its rules for worship with the simplest offering of all: one lamb, with flour and oil, set out each morning. Two questions stand out. Why does animal sacrifice appear at all after the cross, and why does this daily offering have a morning but no evening?
These chapters raise an obvious question. How do offerings fit with the finished work of Christ? One writer answers that they point back to the cross, not forward:
Some have found it hard that sacrifices will be restored. The difficulty disappears when we remember two things. These sacrifices belong to an earthly people and an earthly temple, and they will be memorials. Under the old order they had no power at all apart from their reference to Christ, for it was not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins (Heb. 10:4). In the millennium they will look back to that one sacrifice for sin which was offered on the cross, as those under Moses foreshadowed it.
The verse names three things. The flour and oil make up the meal offering, also called the grain offering:
Nothing is softer, more even and less gritty than fine flour. So it is a most fitting picture of the smooth and flawless perfection of the earthly life of "the Man Christ Jesus." The oil here, as elsewhere, pictures the Holy Spirit of God. In His power the Lord Jesus went out on His unequalled path of service.
The grain offering never stands alone. It goes with the lamb, and a comment on the same pairing in the law says why:
Offerings by fire had to come with grain offerings. This shows that Christ's sacrifice would not have been possible without His perfect life on earth. The two belonged together — and so it was, too, with the continual morning and evening burnt offering.
What is missing from this daily offering sets it apart from other burnt offerings:
Exodus 29:38 gives the instructions for the continual burnt offering, and it was a special burnt offering. No one laid hands on it, and it presented no atonement for people. It was wholly for God in every way. It lets us know the unbroken delight of Christ's sacrifice of Himself to God.
Under the law there were two lambs a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. Here only the morning lamb remains, and one writer finds the reason in the day it belongs to:
It is remarkable again that 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 again seems very clear. It was the day when the sun of Israel would never go down again. In earlier times an evening lamb was in every way suitable. It was full of comfort for the people once they woke up to the truth that God had provided for that long, long night. Through that night they had slept in forgetfulness of 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.
Another writer traces the night and morning back to the law of the burnt offering, where the fire burned all night:
It was "all night until the morning" (although it was continual). This no doubt points out that Christ is for Israel always a sweet fragrance to God, even during the present period of Israel's darkness and forgetfulness… In "the morning" Israel will know that their acceptance and blessing is through the work of their Messiah on the cross.
The amounts in verse 14 are larger than the ones given under Moses:
Finally comes the daily burnt offering… The grain offering is increased from one-tenth to one-sixth, and the oil from one-quarter of a hin to one-third.
The verse says the offering "shall be provided," without saying who provides it. One writer finds the answer in the prince:
It does not appear that the people bring sacrifices themselves. It is the Prince who gives everything for the prescribed ritual, including the daily burnt offering (Ezek. 45:17). The people are spoken of as simply worshipping at the times when the Prince offers. But the act of offering is his, with the priests and Levites acting in their own capacities.
- Provided — the prince supplies the daily offering. He offers; all the people worship.
- Composed — lamb, flour and oil: the death of Christ, the flawless perfection of His life, and the Spirit's power in which He served.
- Directed — no hands laid on it, no atonement presented. This offering is wholly for God: His unbroken delight in Christ's self-offering.
- Timed — morning by morning, with no evening lamb. Israel's long night is over, and their sun will not set again.
- Enlarged — the grain and oil are larger than under Moses. The old offerings looked forward to the cross; these look back.