Leviticus 2:1-10
It’s About Us
We continue our study through the Old Testament offerings. As I began
with some introductory comments about the Burnt Offering so I need to
share with you some additional thoughts now.
The first, the oldest, the most common, and the most descript
sacrifice is the Burnt Offering. The Burnt Offering described the
nature of man (sinful), the Savior (portrayed by the Sacrifice), and
the sinner (portrayed by the offeror). No other sacrifice pointed to
these three so fully, and none needed to do so. The Burnt Offering
was to be burning, demonstrating those truths, 24 hours a day, 7 days
each week.
With that in mind, each of the remaining sacrifices illustrated
different truths. Some may ALSO reflect aspects of the work of
Christ, but none will fully do so; and in some aspects, some of the
other sacrifices may seemingly contradict what we know to be a truth
from the Burnt Offering. When this happens, we need to remember two
things:
1. In picture, those sacrifice were not attempting to wholly
illustrate Christ and His sacrifice. It had another primary
purpose. It was illustrating another primary truth. Its
teaching on Christ and His sacrifice was secondary.
2. In practice, God made allowances to allow as many offerors as
possible to make the sacrifices.
a. We saw that in the Burnt Offering.
b. God allowed a bull, a sheep or goat, or even two turtle
doves or pigeons to be offered.
(1) No doubt, the most expensive and rare offering, the
bull, would have represented Jesus better.
(2) However, not everyone could afford a bull so God
compromised the quality of the offering to allow
more to participate in the sacrifice.
Tonight, we begin looking at the Meat Offering. While our primary
goal is to find truths about our Christ and salvation through the
sacrifices, we will not find many of those in the Meat Offering
because this sacrifice does not deal with sin, salvation, and the
Savior.
How do we know that? Because this sacrifice does not involve an
animal sacrifice. If you will remember as we began this series, I
gave you a rule about sacrifices. I believe it to be a steadfast
rule.
1. What was the rule?
2. If an animal is being killed, that offering has something to
do with sin, and the substitutionary death of Jesus.
Although this sacrifice is called a Meat Offering, there is no meat
involved. The name, Meat Offering, comes from the old English. In
olden days, a meal was sometimes referred to as meat. In speaking of
their meal, they would say something like, "Set meat on," meaning to
set the meal on the table. Perhaps their meals were normally served
with meat I don’t know, but this sacrifice has no animal sacrifice
to it. It is an offering of grains. (It’s a vegan sacrifice!)
Hence, the lessons to be learned here are not about sin, salvation,
and the Savior. What then can we learn? The Meat Offering is about
us.
I. The Meat Offering’s grains pictured the body of believers.
A. I feel certain that what I am about to share with you is true
of all believers, Old and New Testament; however, I do not
have as many Scriptures to prove all of this concerning the
Old Testament Saints.
B. To the Jews, the Meat Offering was a Thanksgiving Offering.
1. I told you the name, the Meat Offering, came from the
English not the Hebrew, and it is related more to the
time when our Bible was translated than it was the time
when God gave the sacrifice.
2. The Hebrew word that is used means "gift, offering, or
present."
3. For the Jews, the Meat Offering was a gift given to God.
a. For the Jew, it was something of a thanksgiving
offering.
b. There were other bloodless sacrifices that could be
made as a thanksgiving offering to God, i.e. the
Wave Offering, the Heave Offering, the Drink
Offering, but the Meat Offering was the most
prominent sacrifice to give to God as a gift.
4. This is true of us as well.
a. Do we not bring our tithes and offerings to the Lord
as a gift?
b. Many start tithing as if it were a payment to be made,
but most learn that giving is a gift that we offer!
c. Paul taught that.
2Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he
purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not
grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth
a cheerful giver.
(1) If you give because you think you are paying a
debt, keep it. God doesn’t need your money.
(2) The church may. The pastor and his family might
like to eat, and the power and gas company might
like their payments; but if you can’t give to
God with appreciation and joy, keep it.
(3) God will provide another way.
C. To the New Testament believers, the Meat Offering pictures US.
1. I believe it pictured the Old Testament believers as well.
2. The offering consisted of grain, either ground into flour,
cooked into a loaf, or offered after being roasted on the
stock and beaten off.
3. Why?
a. Because the grains are a picture of the believers.
(1) The Bible refers to the body of Christ as the
grain still on the stock which is one way that
the Meat Offering was offered \\#Lev 2:14\\.
James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the
word of truth, that we should be a kind of
firstfruits of his creatures.
(2) What is the firstfruits?
(a) It is the first of the crops to be
harvested and offered to God.
(b) The firstfruits would be uncooked and
unprepared, either a bundle of stocks
tied together into a sheaf or if the
harvest had no stocks, it would be placed
in a basket.
Romans 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in
their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who
is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.
Revelation 14:4 These are they which were not
defiled with women; for they are virgins. These
are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he
goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being
the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
(3) There are more verses than these but these make
clear that the believers are pictured by the
raw harvest.
(a) For example, Jesus spoke not only of the
believers, but the whole world being a
field needing harvesting.
Luke 10:2 Therefore said he unto them, The
harvest truly is great, but the labourers are
few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest,
that he would send forth labourers into his
harvest.
(b) God sees the whole world as a field of
grains needing to be harvested before they
die on the vine and perish.
b. But God also sees the believers in the dough made from
the ground grains.
(1) Once the grains are grounded, they become flour.
(2) Once mixed with water, milk, or oil, the flour
becomes a dough.
1Cor 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not
that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye
may be a new lump….
(3) The "whole lump" is the whole lump of dough
before the loaf is cooked.
(a) Paul said a little leaven (sin) will spread
through the whole lump.
(b) Sad, but that is the body of Christ.
(c) Whether the grain is on the stock or ground
to flour, the harvest is a picture of the
believers.
c. But God also sees the believers in the baked loaf.
1Cor 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless,
is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?
The bread which we break, is it not the
communion of the body of Christ?
17 For we being many are ONE BREAD, and one
body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.
(1) Paul said we are the one bread or loaf.
(2) Jesus is pictured in the Scripture as the Bread
of God that came down from heaven, the Bread
that has been broken for us, and the Bread that
if we eat, we shall have everlasting life.
(3) But just because Jesus is pictured as Bread, that
doesn’t mean we are not.
II. The Meat Offering prepared pictured the believers.
A. Whether the Meat Offering was stocks of grain, dough, or
flour, it was always presented as one.
1. This spoke and speaks of the UNITY of the believers.
Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it
is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Romans 12:5 So we, being many, are one body in
Christ, and every one members one of another.
a. In the Old Testament, they were one nation worshipping
one God.
b. In the New Testament, we are one body worshipping one
Lord.
(1) Paul in Ephesians 4 speaks of the six one’s which
we have.
(2) One body, Lord, faith, Spirit, baptism, God!
c. In both testaments, the believers are one.
2. There were three ways to prepare the Meat Offering.
a. \\#Lev 2:1-3\\ You could offer flour mixed with oil.
b. \\#Lev 2:4-10\\ You could cook it.
(1) \\#4\\ It could be baked.
(2) \\#5\\ It could be fried.
(3) \\#7\\ It could deep fried in a pot.
c. \\#Lev 2:14\\ You could roast it on the ear or stock.
3. No matter how you prepared it, this was not an offering of
individual grains but of the whole, joined together as
one.
a. If it was on the stock, the stock was one.
b. If it was flour mixed with oil, the lump was one.
c. If it was cooked, the loaf or waver was one.
4. The Meat Offering was about the many being one.
a. Unity has always been the desire of God for His
people.
b. Division comes from sin and selfishness, but if the
people of God will obey the Word of God as lead by
the Spirit of God with the mind of God, they will be
one.
B. The Meat Offering was always to be anointed with oil.
Lev 2:1 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
1. It did not matter how the Meat Offering was cooked, it had
to be anointed with oil.
2. When we speak of the anointing, we need to discuss both
the act and the object.
a. The Act - To anoint is to pour something, usually oil
over that which is to be anointed. It was to
literally cover whoever or whatever was being
anointed.
b. The Object - They anointed with oil. Oil was and is
a picture of the Holy Ghost.
c. This is true in both the Old and the New Testaments.
Is 6:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me;
because the LORD hath ANOINTED me to preach
good tidings unto the meek….
Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went
about doing good, and healing all that were
oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
d. The command to have oil is mentioned 9 times in this
chapter.
3. Believers are nothing more than individuals pulling in
different directions until they are covered inside and
out with the Holy Ghost.
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