Leviticus 3:1-17 And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female… The goat stands here in the same relation to the peace-offering from the herd as did the turtledove and pigeon to the bullock of the whole burnt sacrifice. The poorer sort might bring the goat; when he could not bring the blood of bulls he brought the blood of goats. And thus stilt they were prevented from attaching importance to the mere type. The goat represents Jesus, as one taken out of the flock for the salvation of the rest. Let us suppose we saw "a flock of goats appearing from Mount Gilead" (Song of Solomon 6:5). The lion from Bashan rushes upon this flock; one is seized, and is soon within the jaws of the lion! This prey is enough; the lion is satisfied and retires; the flock is saved by the death of one. This incidental substitution does not indeed show forth the manner of our Substitute's suffering; but it is an illustration of the fact that one dying saved the whole flock. The goat is one of a class that go in flocks in Palestine, and so are fitted to represent Christ and His people. And perhaps the fact of an animal like the goat being selected to be among the types of Christ was intended to prevent the error of those who would place the value of Christ's undertaking in His character alone. They say, "Behold His meekness; He is the Lamb of God!" Well, all that is true; it is implied in His being "without blemish." But that cannot be the true point to which our eye is intended to be directed by the types; for what, then, becomes of the goat? They may tell us of the meekness of the lamb and patience of the bullock, and tenderness of the turtledove; but the goat, what is to be said of it? Surely it is not without a special providence that the goat is inserted where, if the order of chap. Leviticus 1. had been followed, we would have had a turtledove? The reason is to let us see that the main thing to be noticed in these types is the atonement which they represented. Observe the stroke that falls on the victim, the fire that consumes the victim, the blood that must flow from the victim, whether it be a bullock, a lamb, a turtledove, or a goat. The Socinian view of Christ's death is thus contradicted by these various types, and our eye is intently fixed on the atoning character of the animal more than on anything in its nature. (A. A. Bonar.). Parallel Verses KJV: And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD. |
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