Let God Be Magnified

Everyone –

Now we’re on to the Grain Offering in Chapter 2 of Leviticus. There are a few things that become clear about God’s character as you read of these sacrifices:

1. God is holy: He requires things to de done a certain, specific way. Anything outside of these parameters would be offensive to Him.

a) it must have flour mixed with oil and incense (the latter being all that distinguished it from everyday flour)

b) if baked, the flour must have no leaven in it (leaven, today, would be like baking powder. It’s what makes the cakes fluffy and rise).

c) they all must have salt in them.

2. God is merciful and full of grace: He gives several ways to give the offering, in this case the grain offering. He allows four different forms so that no matter the social-economic status of the worshipper they will be able to offer a sacrifice to God.

The grain offering, to the believer, probably represented the daily supplement of their needs by God and their dedication to God during their daily lives since it used their normal foods and cooking methods. In this offering, one portion was taken out by the priest, the memorial portion, and it was burned on the altar. The rest of the food went to the priest for his daily food. Of note, however, was the fact that salt must be included in each grain sacrifice. Salt in the Near East was regarded as not being destructible by fire. And since salt is generally regarded in Scripture as a reminder or symbolic of the Covenant made by God with the Israelites the grain offering with salt is symbolic of God’s eternal covenant with Israel as it pertains to their daily needs and care.

“All the offerings of the holy gifts, which the sons of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a perpetual allotment. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord to you and your descendants with you.” – Numbers 18:19

“Do you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave the rule over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?” – 2 Chronicles 13:5

As a type of the picture of Christ the grain offering is seen in this way:

1) it points to the substitutionary value of His death on the cross (this is because of it’s association with burnt and fellowship offerings)

2) Flour = speaks of his perfect, well-balanced humanity

3) Oil = the Holy Spirit who overshadowed Him at the Incarnation (Luke 1:35)

4) Frankincense (incense) = points to the moral fragrance of His person

5) No leaven = illustrates His separateness from sin

Of note, is that Jesus uses the image of the “death” of a head of grain to bring forth fruit to illustrate His death:

“And Jesus answered them, saying, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” – John 12:23,24

In the end I’m convinced already that as we go through this life we will need to sacrifice something of worth to worship the Holy God. We are in an age of Grace right now where our sins are forgiven when we confess, repent and ask for that forgiveness. We don’t need to kill and animal, or burn something at the alter as a way of attaining that forgiveness and regaining again the fellowship with the Father. However, every offering that the Israelites gave cost them something whether that be resources, time, money, or whatever. It was never without some personal cost. And I think the same goes for us today. To walk away from sin is contrary to our nature. We want to do that sin otherwise we wouldn’t have done it. There is sacrifice in leaving that which, to the flesh, “feels good.” There is sacrifice in our daily lives that needs to be offered up to God as we walk with Him. That’s why in Romans it says:

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” – Romans 12:1

After which follows the verse that we are so aware of:

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of you mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” – Romans 12:2

I think that God very much has in mind for us to offer sacrifice today, spiritual instead of physical (animal, grain, etc) offerings. But like the believers of that day, they offered it willingly because they loved the Lord their God. We should offer up our sacrifice in the same way. For we all know that “God loves a cheerful giver.”

Later Eriek