Exodus 29:41
And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
The verse commands the evening lamb answering to the morning lamb, offered with its grain offering and its drink offering as a pleasing offering made by fire to the Lord. The evening lamb was laid on the altar in the court while the priests entered the holy place morning and evening at the time of incense, and with the morning burnt offering it forms the daily service. That daily service also includes sweet incense on the golden altar and special offerings for individual sins, and it stands distinct from the offerings for sabbaths, new moons, and special feasts.
The daily offering was an atoning offering that prefigured the promised Saviour, symbolizing the death of Jesus as the Lamb of God for human sins, with worshipers joining their prayers in faith to His merits. The morning and evening burnt offering of a year-old lamb symbolized the daily consecration of the nation to God and their constant dependence on the atoning blood of Christ. The lamb's freedom from blemish symbolized His perfect purity as One offered without blemish and without spot. The regular morning and evening sacrifices prefigured Jesus as the antitypical Passover Lamb and continued to be offered in the temple while He lay in the tomb after His death.
The appointed morning and evening hours became sacred set times for worship, when worshipers searched the heart, confessed sin, and united in silent prayer with faces toward the holy place, their petitions ascending with the cloud of incense while faith laid hold on the merits of the promised Saviour. Those hours remained sacred throughout the nation, so that later, when scattered as captives in distant lands, the people still turned toward Jerusalem and prayed at the appointed hour. The appointment gives Christians an example for morning and evening prayer, bowing in love to seek pardon for sins committed and to present requests for needed blessings, since God condemns a mere round of ceremonies without the spirit of worship but looks with great pleasure on such worship.
The verse calls followers of Christ to present their bodies as a living sacrifice, giving themselves to the service of God and making the offering as nearly perfect as possible by giving God nothing less than the best. That means loving Him with all the heart, giving Him the best service of life, and bringing every power of the being into harmony with the laws that promote ability to do His will. The morning and evening sacrifice is the pattern for worship in the home, where every house is to be a house of prayer with an altar erected to the Lord and the father as priest of the household lays the morning and evening sacrifice upon the altar in prayer while wife, children, and family unite in prayer and praise. This worship is not to be neglected for lack of time or labor but gives thanksgiving for mercies and seeks divine help, guidance, and the abiding presence of Jesus in the household, so that from a faithful home prayer rises like sweet incense and mercies and blessings descend, and Jesus will love to tarry there.