Is the Grain Offering Relevant for Us Today?

The New Covenant no longer requires a grain offering or an animal sacrifice as mandated in the Old Covenant.

Because of what Jesus accomplished they each have a significant spiritual relevance for us.

In Leviticus 2 we find instructions on how the Lord expected the administration of the grain offering. It began with the flour.

When you present grain as an offering to the Lord, the offering must consist of choice flour. You are to pour olive oil on it, sprinkle it with frankincense. Leviticus 2:1

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“Choice flour?” In my mind that would be the difference between a generic brand and one with a name brand. So since I don’t know much about the quality of flour, I took a crash course on it.

I found out that the quality changes because flour may contain different parts of the grain. Also, the milling process determines whether the finished product will turn out coarse or fine.

So the grain offering began with choice grain. Before anyone had accepted Christ into their life they were anything but choice grain. We were all just weeds in the sea of humanity.

Jesus said the following in a parable; The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. Matthew 13:38

The Lord went on to give us the application of the parable and what it means to us. About the weeds He said the following;

And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Matthew 13:42-43

How the Grain Offering Relates to Us

This chapter described three methods of presenting the grain offering and it made no difference which one they used. They could bake it in an oven, cook it on a griddle, or prepare it in a pan.

Here’s how we can relate to this. In life, we can enjoy cultural differences, a variety of jobs, and prefer one lifestyle over another. But through Jesus, He made us all choice flour.

In the grain offering the flour was mixed with olive oil and sprinkled with frankincense. But it could not contain any yeast whatsoever.

Olive oil has the potential to saturate or mix into the flour. It helped to give the flour body and flavor. For us, olive oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit who Christ sent to us.

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. John 14:16-17

The Holy Spirit also comforts, teaches, and guides us. He helps us grow in the Fruit of the Spirit. And we receive gifts from the Spirit to do the work of the ministry.

So how does frankincense relate to our Christian lives? It was an expensive fragrant incense used many times in the Old Testament. It often pointed to the holiness of God.

As frankincense was sprinkled on the grain offering so holiness should be sprinkled in our lives. Others will see it through our love for others and our Christ-like actions.

Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Ephesians 5:2

The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2 that our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.

What’s Wrong with Yeast?

Verse 12 said that yeast could be added to an offering of the first crops of the harvest. But the Lord gave instructions that the grain offering could contain no yeast. I wonder why?

Do not use yeast in preparing any of the grain offerings you present to the Lord, because no yeast or honey may be burned as a special gift presented to the Lord. Leviticus 2:11

Yeast represents sin. Therefore adding it to an offering of choice flour would only contaminate it. Thus making the offering unacceptable to God. And yeast quickly spreads through flour.

Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? 1 Corinthians 5:6

The fact is that all sin is like yeast and can easily spread throughout our being. Unlike yeast in flour, our bodies can be cleansed from sin by the blood of Jesus.

But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 John 1:9

The Added Seasoning

God gave the final instruction concerning the grain offering as a reminder to all His people.

Season all your grain offerings with salt to remind you of God’s eternal covenant. Never forget to add salt to your grain offerings. Leviticus 2:13

Keep in mind when we have Jesus in our lives we are like choice flour. Like oil, the Holy Spirit is mixed into us and we are sprinkled with His holiness. But it doesn’t stop there.

Jesus said you are the salt of the earth. Think about it, you are seasoned by God Himself. The grain offering, even though we’ve never offered one, what it represents is relevant to each of us.

Lord, purify us, mix in the Holy Spirit, and sprinkle us with holiness. Beginning today and forever, we offer ourselves to you as living sacrifices.

Check out these other posts written on verses in Leviticus