Laws for Grain Offerings (Leviticus 6:14-23)
“When anyone brings a grain offering to the LORD, his offering must consist of fine flour. He is to pour olive oil on it, put frankincense on it, and bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the flour and oil, together with all the frankincense, and burn this as a memorial portion on the altar, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. The remainder of the grain offering will belong to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD.
Now if you bring an offering of grain baked in an oven, it must consist of fine flour, either unleavened cakes mixed with oil or unleavened wafers coated with oil. If your offering is a grain offering prepared on a griddle, (a shallow pan for baking or frying) it must be unleavened bread made of fine flour mixed with oil. Crumble it and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. If your offering is a grain offering cooked in a pan,( a deep pan or stew pan) it must consist of fine flour with oil.
When you bring to the LORD the grain offering made in any of these ways, it is to be presented to the priest, and he shall take it to the altar. The priest is to remove the memorial portion from the grain offering and burn it on the altar as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. But the remainder of the grain offering shall belong to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD.
No grain offering that you present to the LORD may be made with leaven, for you are not to burn any leaven or honey as an offering made by fire to the LORD. You may bring them to the LORD as an offering of firstfruits, but they are not to be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma. And you shall season each of your grain offerings with salt; you must not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offering—you are to add salt to each of your offerings.
If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits to the LORD, you shall offer crushed heads of new grain roasted on the fire. And you are to put oil and frankincense on it; it is a grain offering. The priest shall then burn the memorial portion of the crushed grain and the oil, together with all its frankincense, as an offering made by fire to the LORD.”
Why is God ordering His people to make grain offerings? God knows that in the Promised Land, the Israelites will be doing a lot of farming, raising grain and olives and grapes, and producing grain, olive oil and wine. Obviously, the Israelites will want to make offerings, so they need regulations; otherwise, there will be a line of smirking farmers hauling moldy grain, sour wine, and poor – grade olive oil to the temple.
“When anyone brings a grain offering to the LORD, his offering must consist of fine flour. He is to pour olive oil on it, put frankincense on it, and bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the flour and oil, together with all the frankincense, and burn this as a memorial portion on the altar, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. The remainder of the grain offering will belong to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD.”
One of the ways the priests benefited from their work was by receiving their share of offerings. Notice that the priests were only to offer a token amount of the fine grain and olive oil plus all the frankincense. The remaining fine grain plus oil belonged to the priests. Other grain offerings included baked or fried unleavened cakes made from flour mixed with oil or unleavened wafers coated with oil.
Why the proscription against leaven? In Egypt leaven was used to brew beer and bake bread. God knew that the Israelites had Egyptian statues, amulets, and all kinds of religious articles hidden in their luggage. God wanted the Israelites to make a complete break with everything reminding them of Egypt. Worshipers could offer honey as part of first fruits offerings but they were not to include honey with any of the baked grain offerings; however, they were to include salt with all the offerings. Not only was salt a precious commodity, but it also was considered as a form of purification.
“If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits to the LORD, you shall offer crushed heads of new grain roasted on the fire. And you are to put oil and frankincense on it; it is a grain offering. The priest shall then burn the memorial portion of the crushed grain and the oil, together with all its frankincense, as an offering made by fire to the LORD.” At certain times of the year, the Israelites were to present the first fruits of their harvest. Why the first fruits? When offering the first fruits from the harvest, farmers could not be certain that there would be any more. Offering the first fruits meant taking a risk and trusting God to provide a bountiful harvest.
APPLICATION: These days, nobody is hauling grain into church; however, there are charitable farming organizations that donate grain to areas struck with famine. What can we learn from these ancient instructions?
- God deserves our best, not left-overs.
- God is not impressed by quantity but by quality. God is not telling the Israelites how much grain to offer; even the poorest of Israelites might still bring a small offering.
- The principal of first fruits still applies. When we offer God our best and trust Him for the rest, He will provide.
Many years ago, my bank account had taken several hits. Expenses of traveling to interview for pediatric surgery training programs, supporting an orphan through World Vision, tithing to my church – Although I had been careful, my bank account was down to $1.37. At that point, God spoke to my heart and asked, “How much do you think that $1.37 will do? Give it to Me.” I shrugged my shoulders, said, “Fine!” and dropped a check for $1.37 in the church offering plate. That is when the miracles began. First, I came home to find a huge bag of fresh vegetables from my neighbors on my doorstep. Next, some friends invited me for supper several times. I was living immediately across the street from the hospital where I was working, so transportation to work was no problem. And I still had enough fuel in my car to take me to church until I got my next paycheck. One night I suddenly realized that my dry supplies such as beans, flour, soy powder, etc., should have run out several weeks earlier but my cannisters were still half full. God had provided more than I could possibly anticipate.
God does not play favorites. If you will trust Him, He will provide. But you must take the first step: trusting Him.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help all who read these words to trust You as their Provider. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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