"And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, 'Command the children of Israel and say unto them, My offering and My bread for My sacrifice made by fire for a sweet savor unto Me shall ye observe to offer unto Me in their due season.'" (Num. 28:1-2.
A deeply interesting and most precious portion of scripture is before us here, one which reveals to us in a remarkable way the gracious and tender character of God's manner of dealing with His children.
The inmost desires of His own heart are also told out ; indeed, it is His portion that is specially considered here:"A savor of My rest," He is pleased to call it (see margin). " My food " (the word here rendered " bread," is the Hebrew "lechem" commonly translated food) . . . "shall ye observe to offer unto Me." This is wonderful, truly ; that He of whom it is written, " The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof," should ask His creatures to offer Him food !
What does it mean ?
The food here spoken of is unquestionably the Lord Jesus in the many and varied aspects of the " One Offering," the burnt-offering being by far the most prominent, as a perusal of this and the following chapter will show.
In the burnt offering, we have just what the language of our text indicates, God's food, His portion in the offering of Christ, what the Son was in all His intrinsic worth and loveliness to the Father, obedient unto death.
The believer's ability to offer this offering is necessarily measured by his apprehension of Christ in such capacity. He who is content to know Christ only so far as himself and his interests are concerned, never enters into and appreciates this wondrous offering. He has, if we may so speak, but half a Christ. But he who will "follow on to know the Lord," and, with the apostle, "count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus," such an one often delights the heart of God with the sweet savor of the burnt-offering.
But the question naturally arises, 'Why should "the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ " desire us to point out to Him the matchless beauty and infinite and varied perfections of His beloved Son whom He has known from all eternity?' Just this:God is so delighted with Christ that He wants some to share His joy, some who are able to converse, so to speak, with Him about the deepest and sweetest and richest things concerning His Son ; some to whom He can reveal "All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" that are hid in Him.
Our "new man " is made after the image of Him that created him, and we know how we crave fellowship in the things nearest our hearts, and often do we see the same desire manifested in the Lord Jesus as He walked among men-the manifestation of God.
In Mark 9:30, we find Him endeavoring, as He walks by the way, to have fellowship with His disciples concerning His sufferings, soon to be accomplished. Doubtless the shadow of the cross at times lay dark upon His soul, and the sympathy of earthly friends would have made His path much brighter. But what do we find ? " They understood not that saying and were afraid to ask Him. And He came to Capernaum, and being in the house He asked them, "What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?" But they held their peace, for by the way they had disputed among themselves who should be greatest. And so the Son of God must bear his grief alone! " His " friends " were too much occupied with themselves and their interests to weep with Him who wept. But He does not reprove them ; in patient grace He concerns Himself with their dispute and solves their question. He had many things to say unto them, but they could not bear them yet.
How often was He thus wounded in the house of his friends, and easily can we understand how refreshing to His hungry heart was Mary's willingness to sit at His feet and hear His word.
"Whom," exclaims the prophet, "shall He teach knowledge, and whom shall He make to understand the hearing? Them that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts." Again and again our God expresses His desire that we should "know" (e.g., see Eph. 3:10-19; Col. 1:9, 27; Heb. 5:2:14), but He cannot reveal to us " the deep things of God" while we are yet babes, simply because we could not understand them. And as if to tempt us to "Grow in grace and in the knowledge our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," He asks us to "offer "to Him. Himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Thus He gives to him who offers the more blessed place. Who could conceive of a more gracious way of winning our heart's affection and leading us into closer intimacy with Himself ? A way well worthy of our God who in His mercy makes it as easy as possible for man to receive His grace, often stooping to take the place of servant rather than of benefactor. (See Matt. 20:25-28.)
Though Christ is God's free gift to all His children, yet there is a sense in which He must be won by them. (Phil, 3:8-" that I may win Christ."). Just as the whole land of Canaan had been given to the children of Israel. (Num. 27:13.) Yet it remained true that only what the sole of their foot trod upon was theirs. (Josh. 1:3.) Their title to the land was clear, for Jehovah had given the deed, but the Canaanites still dwelt in the land, and only as they were driven out could Israel enter upon the practical possession their inheritance. In our land too the Canaanite dwells. Satan and his hosts inhabit the heavenly places, and warfare must be waged with them if we would " win Christ." (Eph. 6:ii, 12.)
Well they know the Son of God, as the gospels frequently bear witness, (e.g., Mark 1:23-27; 3:ii; 5:7; Luke 4:33, 34 ) Perhaps before their fall they had enjoyed intimate fellowship with Him, but now, in their enmity and hatred of Him and His, they would fain blind our eyes to His surpassing loveliness, well knowing that had we but open eyes to see Him as He is, " all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them" could not turn us from pursuing after Him.
Let us "arise, that we may go up against them, for we have seen the land ; and, behold, it is very good. And are ye still? Be not slothful to go and to enter to possess the land." The victory is surely ours, for "if God be for us, who can be against us."
Not until Israel possessed and dwelt in the land could they bring an offering of the fruit of the land- unto Jehovah. (Deut. 26:1-27.) Nor can we offer to our God His food until we have in some measure " learned Christ."
The last clause of the Scripture we are considering is of great importance, "In their due season."
This necessitates fellowship with God to enable one to discern what manner of food He desires and when He desires it. Let us illustrate again from the life of Jesus. In the fourth of John we find Him at the well of Samaria "wearied with His journey," and thirsty. " Give Me to drink," He says to the despised Samaritan woman. And she gave Him a more satisfying draught than she knew as she heard and believed His words, and let Him reveal Himself to her. To Him it was " a savor of My rest ; " and He tells His astonished disciples, " I have meat to eat that ye know not of." " My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work." (God rested when He finished the work of creation, and Jesus rested when He accomplished this work.)
Again, in Luke 12:36, He is in the Pharisee's house. And behold a woman in the city which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and did anoint them with the ointment." The Pharisee had made Him a feast, but he had entirely mistaken the kind of food acceptable to Him, but the woman had offered Him a " portion of meat in due season."
When Jesus endured the agony of the garden of Gethsemane, " There appeared unto Him an angel from heaven strengthening Him." Perhaps had the disciples kept the watch with Him, instead of sleeping, they might have been privileged to be His ministers, but they neither discerned His need nor the "due season."
Jesus is in the glory now, but He is " the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever." He still longs to have us enter into His thoughts, His mind, His ways. Perhaps to-day, when it really seems to us that we are "too busy," He wants us to come apart and rest, while He expounds unto us " things concerning Himself." G. M. R.