Outline
F
In such a union, such an identification, all our weaknesses, defects, and faults are taken on by Him—2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 2:20a.
G
We must allow the Lord to burn us so that we may be a continual burnt offering to burn others and be reduced to ashes to become the New Jerusalem for God's expression—Psa. 20:3; Lev. 1:16; 6:8-13; 1 Cor. 3:12a; Rev. 3:12; 21:2, 10-11, 18-21:
１
The ashes signify Christ reduced to nothing; since we are one with the Christ who has been reduced to ashes, we also are reduced to ashes, that is, reduced to nothing, to zero—Mark 9:12; Isa. 53:3; 1 Cor. 1:28; 2 Cor. 12:11.
２
The more we are identified with Christ in His death, the more we will realize that we have become a heap of ashes; when we become ashes, we are no longer a natural person; instead, we are a person who has been crucified, terminated, burned—Gal. 2:20a.
H
Putting the ashes at the east side of the altar, the side of the sunrise, is an allusion to resurrection—Lev. 1:16; John 11:25; Phil. 3:10-11; 2 Cor 1:9:
１
With Christ as the burnt offering, the ashes are not the end—they are the beginning; the ashes mean that Christ has been put to death, but the east signifies resurrection—Mark 9:31.
２
The more we are reduced to ashes in Christ, the more we will be put to the east, and on the east we will have the assurance that the sun will rise and that we will experience the sunrise of resurrection—Phil. 3:10-11.
I
Eventually, the ashes will become the New Jerusalem—Rev. 3:12; 21:2, 10-11:
１
Christ's death brings us to an end, reduces us to ashes, and in resurrection the ashes become precious materials for God's building—1 Cor. 3:9b, 12a.
２
When we are reduced to ashes, we are brought into the transformation of the Triune God to become the precious materials for the building of the New Jerusalem—Rom. 12:1-2; 2 Cor. 3:18; Rev. 21:18-21.
Morning Nourishment
Lev. 6:11 Then he shall take off his garments and put on other garments and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.1:16 …Toward the east, in the place of the ashes.
Phil. 3:10 To know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.
If we realize that we need Christ as our burnt offering,…we need to lay our hands on the Lord in order to have a [proper and] subjective prayer…We may say, “Lord, I lay my hands on You, causing myself to be identified with You and You to be identified with me.”…[Then] the life-giving Spirit, who is the very Christ on whom we lay our hands, will immediately move and work within us to live a life that is qualified for the burnt offering. (Life-study of Leviticus, p. 29)
Today’s Reading
For God to accept the burnt offering is for Him to turn it to ashes.Concerning this, Psalm 20:3 says, “May He remember all your meal offerings
/ And accept your burnt offering.” The Hebrew word translated “accept” here actually means “turn to ashes.” When our offering has been turned to ashes, this is a strong sign that it has been accepted by God.
Ordinarily, people do not regard ashes as something pleasant. However, to us who offer the burnt offering, ashes are indeed pleasant, even precious, because they are a sign which gives us the assurance that our burnt offering has been accepted by God.
The Hebrew word rendered “accept” can be translated not only as “turn to ashes” but also as “accept as fat,” “make fat,” and “be as fat.” For God to accept our burnt offering means not only that He turns it to ashes but also that He accepts it as fat, something that is sweet and pleasing to Him. For the burnt offering to be turned to ashes means that God is satisfied and that we therefore may be at peace.
The ashes were not thrown away. Instead, they were put beside the altar toward the east (Lev. 1:16; 6:10), the place of the ashes. The east side is the side of the sunrise. Putting the ashes beside the altar toward the east is actually an allusion to resurrection. [That] the ashes were not thrown away… indicates that we should treasure the result of our offering of the burnt offering to God. We should never throw it away.
In God’s eyes, the result of our burnt offering is highly regarded. It is fine, pure, and clean. Thus, in carrying the ashes outside the camp [cf. 6:11], the priest wore stately garments and carried the ashes in a stately way. This teaches us to have a high regard for the result of our burnt offering.
To become a full-timer is to offer ourselves to God as a burnt offering…The result of our being a burnt offering will be something that carries out God’s New Testament economy. What we do as full-timers is not merely to preach the gospel to save sinners, to establish local churches, to teach the Bible, or to help people to grow in life and in truth. What we do must result in the building up of the Body of Christ, which is a miniature of the coming New Jerusalem.
What we are doing is actually extraordinary, but to the worldly people it is nothing. To them what we are doing is ashes. However, God has a high regard for these ashes. Eventually, these ashes will become the New Jerusalem. Have you ever realized that the ashes, the result of the burnt offering, will be the coming New Jerusalem?…The New Jerusalem is our destiny and our destination. How can the ashes of the burnt offering become the New Jerusalem? Ashes indicate the result of Christ’s death, which brings us to an end, that is, to ashes. But Christ’s death brings in resurrection. In resurrection the ashes become precious materials—gold, pearl, and precious stones—for the building of the New Jerusalem…When we are brought to ashes, we are brought into the transformation of the Triune God. (Life-study of Leviticus, pp. 57-58, 208-209)
Further Reading: Life-study of Mark, msgs. 56—57