Let’s read Leviticus 1:7-9, “And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: And the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.” In the book of Leviticus, there were four offerings that the Lord’s people made to the Lord. They were the peace offering, the meal offering, the burnt offering, and the sin (trespass) offering. What our portion here is speaking of is the burnt offering. The peace offering, the meal offering, and the burnt offering were all offered to the Lord as a sweet savour to the Lord. The sin offering, or trespass offering was not considered a sweet savor for it represented our sins.

The ‘burnt offering’ represented Christ and God’s glory in providing a sacrifice that has removed all our sins from us. This offering was a reminder that our sins are gone through the death of Christ. In the burnt offering, we are to remember a living thing put to death for our benefit. Of course, it speaks of Christ.

The ‘meal offering’ represented Christ, but in a different way. In this meal offering, there is no meat. There is nothing in this offering to represent sin. It speaks of the devotedness of the perfect One who could say in John 8:29, “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.”

The ‘peace offering’ represented Christ as the One who gave us peace with God through His death. Ephesians 2:14 says of the Lord Jesus, “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.”

We can see how these offerings were reminders of the finished work of Christ the One who removed our sins from us, the One who gave us peace and fellowship with God, and the One who made peace and is our peace. These things were to God as sweet smelling savour. It’s not the literal smell of these animals being burnt, but they reminded God of His blessed Son and what He had accomplished for us. We have the thought of Christ being a sacrifice and offering for us in Ephesians 5:2 which says, “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a SWEETSMELLING SAVOUR.” Of course, Christ was not literally burned, yet His qualities represented in the sacrifice and offerings were well pleasing to the Lord.

We find Christ represented in all the offerings. Let’s briefly consider Hebrews 10:8 as it speaks of the Lord Jesus. It says, “Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law.” All four of the major offerings are found in this verse.

  • SACRIFICE represents Christ as found in the PEACE offering.
  • OFFERING represents Christ as found in the MEAL offering.
  • BURNT OFFERING represents Christ as found in the BURNT offering.
  • OFFERING FOR SIN represents Christ as our TRESPASS, or sin, offering.

It was not those offerings which pleased the Father, it was Christ Himself represented in the offerings in which He found His pleasure. It is Christ who has perfectly pleased His Father. It is He which was daily the delight of His Father. It is He of which His Father said in Matthew 3:17, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” In this, the death and life of the Lord Jesus Christ, He was a sweet s