Drink-offerings, like burnt offerings were
presented to God before the giving of the law, for Jacob poured out
one on the pillar he had set up on his return to Bethel from Padan-Aram
(see Gen. 35: 6-15). Now Jacob set up several pillars during his
life—a pillar of witness between himself and Laban (see Gen. 31:
36-54), a pillar of memorial over Rachel’s grave (see Gen. 35: 19,
20), and, on his first visit there, a pillar at Bethel (see Gen. 28:
18-22). This pillar he had also anointed with oil—a well-known
emblem of the Holy Spirit (see Ps. 133: 2; 2 Cor. 1: 21, 22; Heb. 1:
9 etc.)—to demonstrate how the holy character of the place had
struck him. This anointing was not, however, a drink-offering for,
many years later, when Jacob returned to Bethel, he set up a pilar
of stone “and poured on it a drink-offering, and
poured oil on it” (Gen. 35: 14, my emphasis)—the drink-offering and
the anointing with oil being thus carefully distinguished. It was
fitting for him to erect a stone for a memorial of the promises that
God there reiterated to him. It was fitting too, to repeat his
former act of anointing the pillar, as the sanctity of the place
remained abundantly clear to him. But something more was required of
Jacob. He now knew something of the grace and
faithfulness of that holy God, and, accordingly, he poured out a
drink-offering as expressing the feelings of his heart. This is not
to say that Bethel was not unmarked by sorrow, for Deborah was
buried there under a tree called Allon-bachuth (oak of weeping),
and Rachel died after leaving Bethel (see Gen. 35: 8, 16), but there
was a deep joy expressed in the drink-offering that
such sadness could not touch.
It is in relation
to the Mosaic law that we discover what the drink-offering actually
consisted of: “in the sanctuary shall the drink-offering of strong
drink be poured out to Jehovah” (Num. 28: 7). In Scripture, wine is
a figure of joy (see Judges 9: 13; Ps. 104: 15), and the amount of
wine offered varied: “And their drink-offerings: half a hin of wine
for a bullock, and the third part of a hin for the ram, and the
fourth part of a hin for a lamb” (Num. 28: 14). Of course, Jacob’s
drink-offering was not associated with a sacrifice, but here we
learn that under the law no drink-offering was offered apart
from a sacrifice. The lesson is surely that our spiritual
joy is also wrapped up in the death of Christ. Whether a burnt
offering, or a peace offering there was always to be the taking of a
life (see Num. 15: 1-12). Indeed, this was a feature that separated
the true worship of Jehovah from idolatrous rites (see Jer. 7: 18;
19: 13 etc.) where the drink-offering was offered up apart from an
animal sacrifice. Again, under the law, no drink-offering was
enjoined in connection with the oblation by itself, and no
drink-offering in connection with a sacrifice by itself. Oblation,
sacrifice and drink-offering went together (see Lev. 23: 12, 13, 18
etc.). Not only the sacrifice, but the Person who
died—had to kept in view. Again, drink-offerings were to be offered
up every day under the law in connection with the
morning and evening burnt offering (see Exod. 29: 38-42). The only
sacrifices with which the drink-offering was not associated were the
sin and trespass offerings, for there could be nothing of joy
connected with these.
So what are the
practical implications of this teaching for the Christian
today? Simply this: our worship ought not to be gloomy but
joyful. Of course, I am not talking of the frivolous mirth of the
flesh but the deep, spiritual joy that is bound up in both the
Person and the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. As He Himself said,
“I have spoken these things to you that my joy may be in you, and
your joy be full” (John 15: 11). Thus, for example, when we come
before God our Father in worship, it ought to be our happy
service to present Christ as a sweet-savour offering—the
drink-offering and the sweet-savour offering go together. Certainly,
like Jacob, we can pour out a drink-offering to God at any time, for
He has given us much to be joyful about—but there is surely a
peculiar preciousness of that joy of spirit that is directly
associated with all that Christ is, and all that He has done in
relation to the Father’s will. Hence, we also enter (in measure)
into the deep joy that God has found in Christ.
There is, however,
another aspect. When we turn to the New Testament, we find that the
apostle Paul twice alluding to the drink-offering in relation to
himself: “But if also I am poured out as a libation on the sacrifice
and ministration of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice in common
with you all … For I am already being poured out, and the
time of my release is come” (Phil. 2: 17; 2 Tim. 4: 6—the Greek word
used here for poured out is
spendw and occurs
nowhere else in the NT). Of course, primarily, the drink-offering
pictures the death of Christ (“he hath poured out his soul unto
death”—Is. 53: 12) but these NT verses show how, in a secondary way,
the believer presents his own life as a sacrifice. In 2 Timothy 4,
Paul is speaking of himself alone (very much in keeping with vs. 10,
11, 16), but in Phil. 2 the picture is Paul pouring himself out on
the sacrifice of the Philippians—he the lesser offering and they the
greater, but nonetheless, together as one sacrifice. One wonders how
much we know in a practical way of the drink-offering in this
character?
