Leviticus is the book where many Bible-reading plans go to die. Those who begin well in Genesis and Exodus find themselves, like the people of Israel, stumbling through the wilderness in Leviticus and Numbers, desperate to find their way to the story of David or the letters of Paul. For many, they stumble because they haven’t been taught The ABC's of the sacrificial system. The instructions about arranging animal parts, sprinkling blood, and bodily emissions are incomprehensible until they learn the basic grammar of the Levitical world.
Once we have grasped some of the basics, however, we find that we’re not only able to read
Leviticus with more understanding; we are also able to see depths in the rest of
Scripture, including Paul’s letters. Consider the
following sentences, tucked away in his exhortation to the Philippians to do
all that they do without grumbling or complaining:
Philippians 2:17-18: Even if I
am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your
faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and
rejoice with me.
The language here is Levitical and layered. We are invited to consider the life of a disciple of the lord Messiah Jesus, and our ministry to others, through the lens of Leviticus. Paul assumes that his readers would be familiar with the various sacrifices and offerings, and therefore able to comprehend the aim of his ministry and the aim of their lives.
All of Me to All of You
Paul
references two offerings: the drink offering and the sacrificial offering
(literally, “the sacrifice and service of your faith”). The latter is most
likely a reference to the ascension offering, sometimes called “the whole burnt
offering.”
The whole
burnt offering is the baseline offering in the Old Testament, in which the
worshiper lays hands on the unblemished animal so that the spotless animal now
represents the sinful worshiper. The animal is killed, its blood drained and
then sprinkled on the altar by the priest. After this, the priest arranges the
dismembered body parts on the altar, with a particular focus on the head and
the fat portions. Finally, the priest burns up the whole animal so that the
animal, as the representative of the worshiper, ascends to God in the smoke as
a pleasing aroma.
This offering is a fitting image of total surrender, of our heartfelt desire to draw near to the living and holy God - Yehovah despite our sinfulness. In it, the worshiper confesses, in essence, “All of me to all of you, O God - Yehovah.”
Paul draws out this
element of the sacrificial system in Romans 12:1-2:
I appeal to
you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God - Yehovah, to present your bodies as a
living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God - Yehovah, which is your spiritual worship.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your
mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God - Yehovah, what is good and
acceptable and perfect.
In the new
covenant, rather than offering an animal through fire and smoke, we offer
ourselves; our whole being as our spiritual service and worship to
God - Yehovah. We present the members of our bodies to God - Yehovah as His slaves, purchaced by the blood of Jesus, and we
submit our enite being to the truth of His word. Paul makes clear
in Philippians, that we do all of this by faith. Every disciple of the lord Jesus is now a living
ascension offering, daily presenting ourselves to God - Yehovah through faith in the Messiah Jesus.
And, of course, the deepest reason that we are now able to make this spiritual offering of our enire being is that the Messiah Jesus has fulfilled the Levitical sacrificial system by offering himself as a sin-offering sacrifice on the cross. The Messiah Jesus entered the heavenly holy place, “not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” [Hebrews 9:12]. The Messiah Jesus offered a better sacrifice than bulls and goats, putting away sin once for all by the sin-offering sacrifice of himself [Hebrews 9:26]. We offer ourselves totally to God - Yehovah only on the basis of the Messiah Jesus ultimate sin-offering sacrifice.
Poured Out for Their Sacrifice
Remember,
however, that Philippians 2. mentions a second offering with which the
apostle identifies both himself and his ministry: “Even if I am to be poured
out as a drink offering . . .” Again, with the ABC's of Leviticus in hand, we
recall that alongside the primary ascension offering were also secondary
offerings such as the tribute or grain offering, representing the works and
labor of the worshiper. If the ascension offering is the main course, the
tribute offering is the side dish.
In the book
of Numbers, we learn that once Israel entered the Promised Land, they were to
offer not only grain offerings but also drink offerings. They were to pour out
wine on the altar, along with the grain. And here’s a crucial point: according
to Numbers 15, every ascension offering made in the Promised Land was to be
accompanied by a grain offering and a drink offering.
So, what
does that have to do with Philippians? Paul says that each of the Philippians was offering themselves as a living sacrifice, as an ascension offering. And his labor
for their joy and faith is the drink offering on the side. He’s being poured
out so that they can be offered up. And so, he’s willing to be poured out, all
the way to the bottom, that is, to death.
Isn’t this
a wonderful, biblical, Levitical picture of the called-out Assembly and the life of a disciple of the lord Messiah Jesus?
We are all called to offer ourselves wholly to God - Yehovah, to be totally committed to Him in all we do! “All of me, to all of you, O
God - Yehovah, because of Jesus.” Total surrenderto to the will of Yehovah. Each of us is an ascension offering,
daily giving ourselves to God - Yehovah, renewing our minds by His word, and presenting
our entire being as a living sacrifice. This is our spiritual worship.
Following the apostle’s example, each of us is also called to be a drink offering for others. We’re called to be poured out as a glorifying accompaniment to a life of sacrificial service. Like Paul, we labor and run and work and give so that others can be pure and blameless for the day of the Messiah Jesus. We pour ourselves out so that they can offer themselves up to God - Yehovah, with us.
Offering One Another to God - Yehovah
Consider how it shapes our prayers. When Paul says that he is being poured out as a drink offering, this includes the prayers that he offered for the Philippians at the beginning of his letter.
It is my
prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all
discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and
blameless for the day of the Messiah, filled with the fruit of righteousness that
comes through Jesus the Messiah, to the glory and praise of God - Yehovah. [Philippians 1:9:11]
Abounding
love, growing discernment, wise approval of what is good and right in any
circumstance; this is the life of a disciple. If God - Yehovah answers this prayer, these people
will be grow to become pure and blameless, living sacrifices filled with His righteousness,
and fully pleasing to Him. And behind the life of a disciple's spiritual worship
lie the prayers and labors, graciously assisting and serving as a full and complete offering of God’s - Yehovah's people to God - Yehovah.
And all of
this is done with joy. When Paul pours himself out in prayer and service, even
unto death, he does so with indomitable joy. And he invites the Philippians to
join him in that joy. “Rejoice in the Lord - Yehovah always; again I will say, rejoice” [Philippians 4:4].
For Paul,
living is showing forth the Messiah, and dying is gain, therefore, his labor for the progress and
joy of the Philippians’ faith is a deeply happy one. He gladly spends and is
spent for their enitre beings, pouring himself out as a drink offering, to help bring
them nearer to God - Yehovah. Through his written words, he still does the same for all who hear and fear.
And now we can share in the joy of pouring out ourselves for others, enabled to do so by the indwelling presence and power of Yehovah and His son Jesus.
Written by Joe Rigney who serves as a fellow of theology at New Saint Andrews College, and edited by Bruce Lyon
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