The divine sequence of the five basic offerings opens with the burnt offering, showing that the primary thing for us is to be absolute for God. The burnt offering is followed by the meal offering, which shows that we should take Christ as our life supply and live by Him daily. The issue of taking Christ as the burnt offering and the meal offering is peace. Even though we have peace, we still have certain problems that need to be dealt with—sin within and sins without. Hence, after the peace offering, there is still the sin offering and the trespass offering.
The sin offering signifies Christ as the offering to deal with the sin in our fallen nature (Rom. 8:3; 2 Cor. 5:21). Leviticus 4 repeatedly speaks of the sin of ignorance (vv. 1-2, 13, 22, 27), that is, sin committed unintentionally. This signifies the indwelling sin in our fallen nature. Christ became flesh for our sin, but He was only in the likeness of the flesh of sin and did not have the sin of the flesh (John 1:14; Rom. 8:3). Nevertheless, He was crucified in the flesh (1 Pet. 3:18). Thus, on the cross He judged Satan, who is related to the flesh, and the world, which hung on Him (John 16:11; 12:31), and He destroyed Satan (Heb. 2:14). At the same time, through Christ’s crucifixion in the flesh, God condemned sin, which was brought by Satan into man’s flesh (Rom. 8:3). As a result, we can walk according to the spirit rather than the flesh, no longer being under the bondage of sin and fulfilling the righteous requirement of the law in us (v. 4).
The sin offering may be a young bull, a male or female goat, or a female lamb (Lev. 4:3, 14, 23, 28, 32). This signifies that Christ as the sin offering is experienced by different people in different degrees. In Himself as the sin offering, Christ does not differ in size. He is always the same. However, our realization, presentation, and application of Christ as the sin offering may differ in degree.
Some of the blood of the sin offering was brought into the Tent of Meeting and sprinkled seven times toward the veil of the Holy of Holies (vv. 5-6, 16-17). This signifies that the blood of Christ has been brought into the Holy of Holies in the heavens for our redemption (Heb. 9:12). Christ’s blood covers our situation with God in the Holy of Holies. Moreover, some of the blood was put upon the horns of the altar of fragrant incense (Lev. 4:7a, 18a). This signifies that the redemption of Christ’s blood is effective for us to contact God in prayer (Heb. 10:19). We need to contact God in our prayer through the blood. Furthermore, some of the blood was put upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering (Lev. 4:25a, 30a, 34a). This signifies that the blood of Christ is effective for our redemption. All the rest of the blood was poured out at the base of the altar of burnt offering (vv. 7b, 18b, 25b, 30b, 34b). This signifies that the blood of Christ at the standing of the cross is for peace in our conscience and that we have been redeemed and accepted by God.
The sin offering was slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering was slaughtered (Lev. 6:25). This indicates that the sin offering is based on the burnt offering, and it signifies that Christ can be the sin offering for us because He is the burnt offering. Christ must be the burnt offering for God’s satisfaction so that He can be qualified to be our sin offering. This also indicates that our experience of the sin offering is altogether related to our enjoyment of the Lord Jesus as our burnt offering. The more we love the Lord and enjoy Him, the more we will know our evil nature and know our great need for Christ as our sin offering.
For the priests’ service, the sin offering is followed by the burnt offering (16:3, 5). This signifies that, as the priests of God, we must take Christ as the burnt offering in order to live Christ for God’s satisfaction, after enjoying Him as the sin offering.
Whereas Christ as our sin offering deals with the sin in our nature inwardly, Christ as our trespass offering deals with the sins in our conduct outwardly (1 Pet. 2:24). Leviticus 5 shows that the trespass offering is also called the sin offering (vv. 6-8, 11-12). This signifies that Christ’s redemption for our sin resolves the problem of sin in its two aspects—sin in our inward nature and sins in our outward conduct. These two aspects of sin make up the totality of sin. John 1:29 speaks of this totality: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” The word sin is in the singular; it denotes the totality of sin, comprising both inward sin and outward sins.
Leviticus 5:7 says, “If he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring as his trespass offering to Jehovah for that in which he has sinned two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.” Here we see that a sin offering and a burnt offering form the trespass offering. This signifies that the source of a trespass is the inward sin and that the reason for a trespass is not living for God. Inward sin needs the sin offering. Not living for God needs the burnt offering. The two are a complete type of Christ as the trespass offering, which resolves the problem of our sins.
Leviticus 5:11 says, “But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, then he shall bring as his offering for that which he has sinned, the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering.” Here, fine flour is used for a sin offering. Fine flour typifies the humanity of Jesus. Thus, the trespass offering not only includes the sin offering and the burnt offering, but it is even related to the humanity of Jesus. This indicates that we commit many sins not only because we have sin within us and are not absolute for God but also because we are short of the humanity of Jesus. Because of this shortage, we are full of lies, death, the natural life, and rashness. The humanity of Jesus is an all-inclusive dose to kill our germs, to heal our diseases, and to supply our need.