14我们若把关于奠祭的经文像七巧板一样拼在一起,就要看见奠祭主要的是为着召会。创世记三十五章第一次提到奠祭。在圣经里,第一次提到一件事,就决定了那件事的原则。圣经第一次提到奠祭,乃是与神的建造有关,因为奠祭是浇在柱子上。若没有创世记三十五章十四节作基础,我们读到出埃及记、利未记和民数记中的奠祭,就不会认识奠祭是为着神的建造。但我们必须回到第一次提到奠祭的地方,在那里我们看见,奠祭不仅是为着敬拜神,也是为着建造伯特利。圣经最后一次提到奠祭是在提后四章六节,在那里奠祭也是为着召会,为着伯特利。因此,从第一次所提,到末一次所提,奠祭主要的乃是为着神的建造,而不是为着敬拜神。表面看来,奠祭是为着敬拜,实际上乃是为着神的家,为着柱子的建造。这柱子乃是神殿的告示牌(创世记生命读经,一三六八至一三六九页)。
14If we fit together the verses concerning the drink offering like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, we will see that the drink offering is mainly for the church. The first mention of the drink offering is in Genesis 35. The first mention of a matter determines the principle of that matter in the Scriptures. The drink offering is first mentioned in relation to God’s building, for this offering was poured out upon the pillar. If we read about the drink offering in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers without having Genesis 35:14 as a basis, we will not realize that the drink offering is for the building of God. But we must return to the first mention of the drink offering, where we see that it was not only for the worship of God but also for the building of Bethel. The last mention of the drink offering is 2 Timothy 4:6. Here the drink offering is also for the church, for Bethel. Therefore, from the first mention to the last, the drink offering is mainly for God’s building, not mainly for the worship of God. Apparently, the drink offering is for worship; actually, it is for the house of God, for the building of the pillar, the signboard of God’s temple. (Life-study of Genesis, p. 1150)