Sacrificial Offerings 5

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L eviticus 2:1-16

 

And when any will offer a meat offering unto the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon: And he shall bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests: and he shall take thereof his handful of fine flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn a memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord: And the remnant of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire. And if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil. And if thy oblation be a meat offering baked in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil. Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is a meat offering. And if thy oblation be a meat offering baked in the frying pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. And thou shalt bring the meat offering that is made of these things unto the Lord: and when it is presented unto the priest, he shall bring it unto the altar. And the priest shall take from the meat offering a memorial thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord. And that which is left of the meat offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’: it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire. No meat offering which ye shall bring unto the Lord, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the lord made by fire. As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the Lord: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour. And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. And it thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the Lord, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears. And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon: it is a meat offering. And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto the Lord. 

Leviticus 6:14-18  And this is the law of the meat offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the Lord, before the altar. And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour, even the memorial of it, unto the Lord. And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation shall they eat it. It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering. And all the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statutes forever in your generations concerning the offering of the Lord made by fire: every one that toucheth them shall be holy. 

The meal offering was the only one of the five that did not involve flesh and/or blood! 

The oblation comprised flour, cakes, grain, and firstfruits. 

John 21:5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. 

In this instance Jesus was referring to fish. Meat is an old English word no longer in common use. The Revised Version translates meat as cereal, or grain. 

The Hebrew word is minchah. It has reference to the gift of an inferior to a superior. It is translated present, in Genesis 32:13, 18. And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother. Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us. 

Genesis 4:3, 4  And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof, And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 

The gift must be worthy of the office to whom it is presented. Better not present a gift than to offer an inferior present, thereby insulting the individual! The emphasis here is more on the character of the offerer. 

The meal offering was rendered according to property. It comprised raw flour, unleavened cakes and roasted grain. 

Flour speaks of service: our time, talents, etc. It follows that in order to effect efficient service, the individual needs to know his/her place in the Body of Christ. 

Unleavened cakes show forth consecration, a more advanced form than raw flour. 

Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 

Roasted grain was preserved by fire. 

1 Peter 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 

Matthew 13:23  But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 

This offering comes after the burnt offering. We must first offer ourselves, then our service. 

2 Corinthians 8:5  And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. 

The Meal Offering was prepared in three different methods: 

In a concealed oven, which portrays the workings of God in the Christian's life. 

In an open pan, shadowing the public aspect of our lives, subject to criticism. 

In the frying pan, typifying persecution. 

Two substances were unacceptable in the meat offering: 

Leviticus 2:11 No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the Lord, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the Lord made by fire. 

Leaven causes risings and therefore disturbances when brought into contact with fire! 

1 Corinthians 5:6,7 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 

Matthew 16:11, 12 How is it that you do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 

Honey:   

Proverbs 25:27 It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory. 

Roasted barley without sweetness is tasteless. Men's teachings are not to be embraced! In many aspects, they are more palatable. 

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. 

Matthew 16:23, 24  But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me

Beware the philosophies of men! 

Certain substances were added to the meal offering. 

Oil, which shows forth the anointing. 

Frankincense, which shadows prayer. 

Salt:  

Numbers 18:19 All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute forever: it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord unto thee and to thy seed with thee. 

2 Chronicles 13:5  Ought ye not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David forever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? 

Colossians 4:6  Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. 

Luke 14:34, 35 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 

Mark 9:50  Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltiness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.