Exodus 25:21 says, “In the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.” According to Exodus 31:18, the tables of stone on which the Ten Commandments were written are called the “two tables of testimony.” This indicates that the law was God’s testimony. Because the law, God’s testimony, was placed in the ark, the ark was called the ark of testimony (Exo. 25:22; 26:33-34); and because the ark was in the tabernacle, the tabernacle was called the tabernacle of testimony (Exo. 38:21; Num. 1:50,53). The law was called the testimony because it testifies of God; it testifies what kind of God He is. In particular, the law, the Ten Commandments, testifies that God is holy and righteous and that He is love and light. In nature our God is love (1 John 4:8), and in expression He is light (1 John 1:5). He is also holy in nature and righteous in all His activities. The law testifies that He is such a God.
As the testimony of God, the law is a type of Christ. The real, living, full, and adequate testimony of God is Christ Himself. Christ describes God and expresses Him in a full and adequate way. Therefore, the law, the testimony, typifies Christ as God’s living testimony. The law was given, but Christ came to be the living expression of God (John 1:17). When Christ came, the testimony of God became a living person. Wherever the Lord Jesus went, He expressed God. Whatever He did and said expressed God. For this reason He is called “the faithful Witness” (Rev. 1:5; 3:14). As the faithful Witness, Christ is the testimony of God, His expression. He testifies that God is holy and righteous and that He is love and light. Christ is the reality of the testimony typified by the law.
Aaron is a type of Christ as the High Priest (Exo. 28:3; Heb. 5:4-5). Aaron was called and established by God to be the high priest (Heb. 5:4, 1). This is even more true with Christ, who did not glorify Himself to become a High Priest but was ordained by God (Heb. 5:5), having been chosen as a man to go to God with the needs of man. Aaron, as the high priest, took care of things pertaining to God on behalf of the people. Christ is superior to him in taking care of all of our cases before God. In type, Aaron offered both gifts and sacrifices for the people and himself (Heb. 5:1, 3), but, in reality, Christ offered Himself as the sacrifice for sins. As typified by Aaron, Christ offered Himself to God for our sins (Heb. 7:27; 9:14, 26; 10:10, 12), made propitiation for our sins (Heb. 2:17), and made purification for our sins, after which He “sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3). On the cross, Christ, offering sacrifice to God for our sins, was a High Priest typified by Aaron. Therefore, this aspect of Christ’s priesthood, the Aaronic priesthood, is mainly for the forgiveness of sins.
Aaron was established in honor to be the high priest only for his lifetime, for he was prevented by death from continuing. But Christ was ordained in glory to be our High Priest forever. With Him there is no preventing of death. He is glorified forever to be our High Priest.
As the high priest in type, Aaron bore the names of the twelve tribes of Israel on his shoulders and on his heart (Exo. 28:9-10, 12, 21, 29). Today, as the High Priest in reality, Christ is in the heavens bearing us and holding us before God.
In the Old Testament Christ is typified by all the offerings. The New Testament reveals that in His person Christ is the fulfillment of these types.
The burnt offering (Lev. 1:3), which was wholly for God’s satisfaction, typifies Christ as God’s pleasure and satisfaction. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He made God happy and satisfied Him because He always did God’s will (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38) and sought His glory (John 7:16-18). Whatever God wanted, Christ did. Therefore, He pleased God and satisfied Him.
According to Leviticus 1, the burnt offering was burned to ashes as God’s food to satisfy Him. The Hebrew word for burnt offering actually means ascending sacrifice. When this offering was burned on the altar, it became a sweet savor ascending to God for His enjoyment. This is the reason Numbers 28:2 and 3 speak of the burnt offering as God’s food. God’s food, the burnt offering, satisfies Him. As the fulfillment of the type of the burnt offering, Christ is God’s food. Christ has been “burned” to feed God and satisfy Him.
The meal offering (Lev. 2:1) typifies Christ in His humanity as food for God and especially for those who have fellowship with God and serve Him. In His humanity Christ is our food and constant satisfaction.
The meal offering was made of fine flour mingled with oil (Lev. 2:4). The fine flour, with its evenness and fineness, typifies Christ’s perfect humanity with its balance, evenness, and fineness. The four Gospels portray the fineness of the Lord’s behavior in His human living. The oil mingled with the fine flour signifies the divine Spirit. This mingling typifies the mingling of divinity with humanity in the Lord Jesus. The frankincense added to the meal offering (Lev. 2:15) signifies the fragrance of resurrection life. This is Christ typified by the meal offering, the mingling of humanity and divinity with the fragrant manifestation of resurrection life to be our daily nourishment and supply.