The tabernacle typifies God incarnated to dwell among men that they may contact, receive, possess, and enter into Him to enjoy Him as their life and their life supply. The offerings typify the incarnated Christ who joined Himself to man to be man’s substitute offering to solve all of man’s problems, including sin, before God. As the offerings, He also becomes food to God and to those who belong to and serve God so that both God and man may be satisfied. There are five basic offerings: the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. In addition, there are subordinate offerings, such as the wave offering, the heave offering, the drink offering, the offering for thanksgiving, and the offering for a vow or a freewill offering. All these offerings are types of Christ, revealing that the riches of Christ in His various aspects meet the need of God and man.
The basic offerings are the basis of all the offerings; all the subordinate offerings are based on the basic offerings.
The burnt offering (Lev. 1) is mainly for God as food for His satisfaction. It primarily signifies Christ in His living for God and for God’s satisfaction, not in His redeeming man from sin. In the life of the Lord Jesus there was no blemish, defect, or imperfection. He was perfect, and the life He lived was perfect and absolutely for God. He was fully qualified to be the burnt offering. Through His incarnation, a body was prepared for Him by God to be the real burnt offering. He did God’s will (Heb. 10:5-9) and became obedient even unto death, and that the death of a cross (Phil. 2:8), on which He offered Himself to God once for all (Heb. 10:10).
When the priests offered up the sacrifice of the burnt offering to God, a satisfying fragrance, that is, a savor that brings satisfaction, peace, and rest, ascended to God for His satisfaction and rest. Since God is satisfied, He will render His sweet acceptance to man. This shows that if we desire to walk in a way that satisfies God with sweetness, peace, and rest, that is, to live a life that is absolutely for God, we must take Christ as our burnt offering. We need to lay our hands on Him to be identified with Him, to be one with Him, and to live the life He lived on earth. Such a life includes our willingness to be slaughtered (put to death), skinned (stripped of the outward expression of our virtues), cut into pieces (broken, without any reservation in our entire being), and washed (cleansed by the Holy Spirit). By passing through all these processes, we will have something to offer to God as our burnt offering—the very Christ whom we have experienced.