In the previous lesson, the Lord God gave Moses the instructions for making the burnt offerings on the altar. Now, He would give the instructions for making the grain offerings. When He first gave the commandment for the grain offerings, He said the lamb offering was to be done twice daily, once in the morning, "And the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; and you shall offer with it the grain offering and the drink offering, as in the morning, for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord." (Exodus 29:41)
Then, when Moses constructed the Tabernacle and put all the articles in their place, And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. (Exodus 40:29) The burnt offering, the shedding of specific animals blood, a male without blemish, represented the children of Israel receiving forgiveness of their sins; that's why Christ Jesus was the final sacrifice for our sins. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. (I Peter 2:24) For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. (Romans 6:10)
The grain offering represented thanking God for providing for their needs, a tithe and offering, and it was to be of their firstfruits. ‘When anyone offers a grain offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. And he shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it. He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests, one of whom shall take from it his handful of fine flour and oil with all the frankincense. And the priest shall burn it as a memorial on the altar, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. The rest of the grain offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. It is most holy of the offerings to the Lord made by fire. (Leviticus 2:1-3)
‘And if you bring as an offering a grain offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil. But if your offering is a grain offering baked in a pan, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil. You shall break it in pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. (Leviticus 2:4-6)
‘If your offering is a grain offering baked in a covered pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. You shall bring the grain offering that is made of these things to the Lord. And when it is presented to the priest, he shall bring it to the altar. Then the priest shall take from the grain offering a memorial portion, and burn it on the altar. It is an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. And what is left of the grain offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. It is most holy of the offerings to the Lord made by fire. (Leviticus 2:7-10)
‘No grain offering which you bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey in any offering to the Lord made by fire. As for the offering of the firstfruits, you shall offer them to the Lord, but they shall not be burned on the altar for a sweet aroma. And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt. (Leviticus 2:11-13)
‘If you offer a grain offering of your firstfruits to the Lord, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits green heads of grain roasted on the fire, grain beaten from full heads. And you shall put oil on it, and lay frankincense on it. It is a grain offering. Then the priest shall burn the memorial portion: part of its beaten grain and part of its oil, with all the frankincense, as an offering made by fire to the Lord. (Leviticus 2:14-16)
A few things to make note of: the grain offering was the most holy of the offerings to the Lord made by fire. With the burnt offering, the Lord God said, "And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord." (Leviticus 1:9) The priests were not to receive a portion of the burnt offering because that represented Christ Jesus dying for our sins, and all of it had to be burnt because all of Christ had to be sacrificed. But, the Lord God made sure that a portion of the grain offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons. Because the priests had to perform the service of ministering in the Tabernacle day and night, they could not work to provide for their own food and needs, so a portion of the sacrifices was to be provided to them.
The grain offering had to be mixed a certain way, and No grain offering which you bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven. Leaven represented sin, or trying to add something to what God has commanded. Remember Christ Jesus taught the disciples, "...to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 16:11-12) The Jewish religious leaders, the Pharisees and Sadducees, had the laws and the prophets, but they mistaught the people by adding to God's Word things that should not have been added.
We are not to add anything to or take anything away from God's Word. Nor can we claim to be children of God but continue to live and behave as the world. Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (I Corinthians 5:6-8)
And finally, With all your offerings you shall offer salt. Salt preserves and keeps, just like the salt of the covenant of your God. As Christ Jesus taught, “For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.” (Mark 9:49-50) We are to make sure we keep the "salt" of God's Word in us, and you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. “Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Luke 14:34-35) AMEN!
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