Like the offering for thanksgiving, the offering for a vow or a freewill offering is a kind of peace offering, and it is offered with the peace offering. “If the sacrifice of his offering is a vow or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he presents his sacrifice, and on the next day what remains of it shall be eaten” (v. 16). This signifies that the maintaining power of the peace offering for a vow or a freewill offering is stronger than that of the offering for thanksgiving and that its enjoyment can last until the next day. This also indicates that our stronger enjoyment of Christ can last longer. If our offering is stronger, our enjoyment of this offering will last longer.
However, “if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings is eaten at all on the third day, it will not be accepted, neither will it be reckoned to the one who presents it; it will be an abomination, and the person who eats of it shall bear his own iniquity” (v. 18). This signifies that our enjoyment in oldness will not be pleasant to God and not right with Him. The lawless enjoyment of Christ is abhorrent to God. Therefore, in 1 Corinthians 11 Paul warns us that in coming to the Lord’s table, we must be careful.
In Leviticus 22:18-21 an offering for a vow or for a freewill offering can be a burnt offering. The significance of the burnt offering is to be absolute for God. If we make a strong decision to live absolutely for God, this vow becomes a burnt offering. If, as an exercise of our free will, we spontaneously choose to be absolute for God, this is a freewill offering becoming a burnt offering. This portion of the Scripture also tells us that each of these offerings must be a male without blemish, of the sheep or of the goats. A male here signifies a strong Christ. When we offer an offering for a vow or a freewill offering to God, our offering must be a strong Christ without blemish whom we have experienced.
Among the offerings, there are five basic ones: the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. In addition, there are subordinate offerings, including 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 how the riches of Christ in His various aspects meet the need of God and man.
The burnt offering signifies that through His incarnation Christ lived a life that was absolutely for God. He did God’s will and became obedient even unto death, and that the death of a cross, on which He offered Himself to God once for all for God’s satisfaction. The three elements—the fine flour, the oil, and the frankincense—in the meal offering signify that in His life Christ continually lived in His humanity mingled with His divinity and expressed His resurrection. His excellent, perfect, Spirit-filled, and resurrection-saturated living is offered to God as His food and as the serving ones’ food for the satisfaction of both God and man. The peace offering is the center of the five basic offerings. Christ being the peace offering to God is based on His being the burnt offering to satisfy God, which qualifies Him to deal with the sin in our nature. It is also based on His being the meal offering for God’s satisfaction, which qualifies Him to deal with the sinful deeds in our outward conduct. By this, Christ is accepted by God and becomes our peace offering so that we may have peace with God and with man and enjoy Christ together as our peace with God and with man. The sin offering signifies Christ as the offering to deal with the sin in our fallen nature. Christ being the sin offering for us is based on His being the burnt offering. Christ must be the burnt offering for God’s satisfaction so that He might be qualified to be our sin offering to deal with the sin in our nature. Christ as our trespass offering deals with the sins in our conduct outwardly. The trespass offering not only includes the sin offering and the burnt offering, but it is also related to the humanity of Jesus. This indicates that we commit many sins not only because we have sin within us and because we are not absolute for God but also because we are short of the humanity of Jesus.
The subordinate offerings are the breast of the peace offering which becomes the wave offering for the priests, signifying the loving part of Christ in His resurrection for the serving ones’ enjoyment; the thigh of the peace offering which becomes the heave offering for the priests, signifying the strength of Christ in His ascension for the serving ones’ enjoyment as an eternal portion; the drink offering offered with the burnt offering, the peace offering, and the meal offering, signifying Christ pouring Himself out for God’s pleasure and satisfaction; and the offering for thanksgiving, the offering for a vow, and the freewill offering. All these special effects are produced out of the basic offerings.