Leviticus 6:14-23 ~ 20160619 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org
06/19 Leviticus 6:14-23; The Priests Grain Offering; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20160619_leviticus-6_14-23.mp3
We are in Leviticus 6-7, a section which deals again with the five sacrifices introduced in chapters 1-5.
Leviticus 1-7
A. Instructions for the People B. Instructions for the Priests
The Burnt Offering (ch.1) The Burnt Offering (6:8-13)
The Grain Offering (ch. 2) The Grain Offering (6:14-18)
The Priest's Grain Offering (6:19-23)
The Peace Offering (ch.3)
The Sin Offering (4:1-5:13) The Sin Offering (6:24-30)
The Guilt Offering (5:14-6:7) The Guilt Offering (7:1-10)
The Peace Offering (7:11-36)
Summary (7:37-38)
Where chapters 1-5 deal with the five offerings primarily from the perspective of a worshiper who brings his offering to the tabernacle, chapters 6 and 7 deal with these same offerings (with one additional offering which we will look at today) primarily from the perspective of the priest who is making the offering. Chapter 1 begins with the Lord speaking to Moses saying 'speak to the people of Israel and say to them, when any one of you brings an offering to the Lord...' Chapter 6 begins with the Lord speaking to Moses saying 'command Aaron and his sons, saying...'
A Bloodless Offering
The grain offering is unique among the offerings as it is the only offering that is not a blood sacrifice. Leviticus repeatedly reminds us of our sins, our sinful nature, even our unintentional sins, sins of omission, sins of neglect; and that the wages of sin is death. Leviticus teaches us the horrific gruesome outcome of our failure to follow God, our failure to worship, failure to honor God as God. The wages of sin is death and blood must be shed, but Leviticus also teaches us that God has provided a way for our sins to be dealt with, a way for sinners to live in the presence of a holy, just and righteous God. He has provided a way for an innocent victim to die in the place of a guilty sinner. This of course points us to the message of the cross, the good news of Christ crucified, that while we were his enemies Christ died for us, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
The Work of Our Hands
But what about this grain offering? As we saw in chapter 2, the grain offering is an offering of fine flour. This would require seeds to be sown, fields irrigated, weeds removed, crops protected from wildlife, the mature grain to be harvested, wheat separated from the chaff, and the kernels of grain ground fine into flour, sifted to ensure consistency. The grain offering could be presented as raw grain, or it could be presented as baked or grilled or fried cakes. It was always to be accompanied by oil pressed from olives, and the aromatic resin frankincense, and salt, The grain offering is the work of our hands.
A Tribute
Also as we saw in chapter 2, the grain offering, or 'minha', was a tribute offering. We see this same word used in Judges and Samuel and Kings to express a tribute offered to a conquering king. In Judges 3, the Lord strengthened Eglon, king of Moab, who together with the Ammonites and Amalekites defeated Israel. The people of Israel were subservient to Moab for 18 years, and they were required to bring a 'minha', a tribute offering to the Moabite king. In 2 Samuel 8, when David conquered Moab and Syria, the surviving Moabites and Syrians became servants to David and brought him tribute 'minha'. In 2 Kings 17, Israel was defeated by Assyria and Hoshea king of Israel was allowed to continue to rule as a vassal king, but was required to pay tribute 'minha' to Assyria. Hoshea was later imprisoned for treachery because he stopped paying the 'minha' tribute.
It was common for a defeated king to enter into a treaty with the conquering king where he would bring a regular quantity of grain or produce to express loyalty, allegiance, and fidelity to the king, and to acknowledge his debt to the king for their very life and existence.
This is the cultural context of the grain or tribute offering. God was the conquering King. He had defeated the Pharaoh of Egypt and purchased for himself a people. He demonstrated his supremacy over the gods of the Egyptians. He freed his people to serve and worship him.
When David brough the ark of God's covenant with Israel into Jerusalem, they sang:
1 Chronicles 16:28 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! 29 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering [minha] and come before him! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; 30 tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. 31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!”
A Voluntary Offering
The interesting thing about this grain or tribute offering in Leviticus 2 is that it is voluntary. It is 'when anyone brings a grain offering...' God is a great King, he owns all, and we owe to him all that we are and all that we have. It is our due to him, but he invites us to come, to come gladly, to come freely, to come as often as we wish, with as much as we desire. We joyfully confess our allegiance to our great King. We eagerly affirm our faithfulness to him.
The Priests Portion of the Grain Offering
Leviticus 2 gives instructions to the worshiper. Leviticus 6 gives instructions for the priests in how to handle the grain offering. Chapter 2 gives details on the different ways the grain can be prepared, the frankincense and oil and salt that is required in its preparation, and the leaven that is not permitted on the altar. Chapter 6 reads:
Leviticus 6:14 “And this is the law of the grain offering. The sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD in front of the altar. 15 And one shall take from it a handful of the fine flour of the grain offering and its oil and all the frankincense that is on the grain offering and burn this as its memorial portion on the altar, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 16 And the rest of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten unleavened in a holy place. In the court of the tent of meeting they shall eat it. 17 It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of my food offerings. It is a thing most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering. 18 Every male among the children of Aaron may eat of it, as decreed forever throughout your generations, from the LORD's food offerings. Whatever touches them shall become holy.”
Leviticus 6 focus on the responsibilities of the priests in the offerings. It picks up where chapter 2 left off. The priest is to take whatever has been brought by the worshiper, and present it to the Lord in front of the altar. Then he is to take a handful of the grain offering, together with all the frankincense, and thow it into the fire on the altar of burnt offering. This portion would go up as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. Everything but that handful would then become food for the priests. Paul picks up on this in 1 Corinthians 9, where he argues for the right of those who preach the gospel to be supported by those they serve.
1 Corinthians 9:13 Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
This instruction in chapters 6 and 7, although dealing specifically with the priests responsibilities, would have been read to and known by all the people. Anyone bringing an offering would not be surprised when only a portion of the grain he brought was burned and the rest went to the priests to be eaten. God made this explicitly clear; “I have given it as their portion of my food offerings.” This is God delcaring in the first person what he intends to happen with this offering. This is “decreed forever throughout your generations, from the LORD's food offerings”. God makes clear and communicates plainly and openly what he intends to be done with the offering. The bulk of it is to go to feed those who are serving in the temple.
But this does not mean that they are free to do what they please with it. They are not permitted to take the flour home, bake leavened bread, and share it with their family and friends. Because it is presented at the altar, and a portion of it is burned on the altar, it is most holy, literally 'holy holy' or 'a holy of holies'. This grain offering is set apart, and consequently is to be treated with great care. Only Aaron and his sons, blood descendants of Aaron, only males, only those who are ceremonially clean and permitted to enter the Lord's courtyard are allowed to eat. It must be eaten in the courtyard of the tabernacle or temple; none of it is to leave the area. It is holy food to be eaten in a holy place. And it is to be eaten unleavened. It may not be baked with leaven. Twice it is empasized that leaven is not to be used. We saw when we looked at chapter 2 that leaven throughout scripture is consistenly a symbol of the sin of pride, which puffs up. There is to be humility in the Lord's presence.
The Priests Grain Offering
Verses 19-23 introduce an offering that was not mentioned in the first 5 chapters.
Leviticus 6:19 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 20 “This is the offering that Aaron and his sons shall offer to the LORD on the day when he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening. 21 It shall be made with oil on a griddle. You shall bring it well mixed, in baked pieces like a grain offering, and offer it for a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 22 The priest from among Aaron's sons, who is anointed to succeed him, shall offer it to the LORD as decreed forever. The whole of it shall be burned. 23 Every grain offering of a priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten.”
This is a grain offering, but it is specifically a grain offering offered by the high priest. It is different in almost every way from the voluntary grain offering of the worshiper in chapter 2. The anointed priest is to offer a regular grain offering twice daily. This is a mandatory offering. And there is one specific way in which it is to be prepared. The amount is specified, and the times which it must be offered are specified. God is very specific in the way he is to be worshiped by those who serve him. As we learn from Exodus 29 and Numbers 28, this grain offering of the high priest was to accompany the twice daily whole burnt offering of a lamb. Every morning, a lamb was to be slaughtered, and the whole lamb would go up in smoke to the Lord. With that lamb, this baked grain offering would go up in smoke as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. Then, every evening, another whole lamb would be offered, and with it this baked grain offering. As we learned in verses 12 and 13 the fire on the altar was never to go out. Continually, day after day, morning and evening, a sacrifice was buring on the altar. And on top of that sacrifice was placed the unleavened bread. Unlike the grain offering that came from the people, this grain offering from the high priest was not to be eaten by anyone. Its entirety was to go up in smoke as a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
The high priest was required morning and evening to express his complete allegiance and devotion to the Lord. He was to acknowledge God as King. The work of his hands, morning and evening, was to be placed on the altar and given over completely to God.
Jesus is our Great High Priest
Remember, as the author of Hebrews reminds us over and over, Jesus is our great High Priest. Jesus is the one who expressed his complete and perfect allegiance to his Father. He said in John 8:29 “I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” Even when Jesus stood trial before an earthly high priest who was flagrantly violating the law, Jesus perfectly obeyed his Father. Jesus,
Philippians 2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Jesus is our great High Priest, who was entirely devoted to his Father, who offered up the work of his hands completely to God.
Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Jesus was a fragrant offering, a pleasing aroma to his Father. Jesus was the perfect grain offering. This gives a new depth of meaning to the familiar line in the Lord's prayer 'Give us this day our daily bread'. I need Jesus daily. I need communion with Jesus daily.
We are a Royal Priesthood
Remember too, that we are a royal priesthood.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Having been purchased with a price, we are created for good works, works we are intended to live in.
Peter says:
1 Peter 2:5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ...9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Be amazed at this! Revel in this! You and I are a royal priesthood! We have been made eligible to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ! We belong to him! We are his treasured possession! It is our privilege to proclaim the excellencies of him!
Lord, teach us how to do that this week. Teach us how to offer up spiritual sacrifices to you, the work of our hands. Give us boldness and opportunity to proclaim your excellencies because you are worthy!
Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org