Leviticus 2 Devotional
by Pastor Lawrence

         In the Old Testament temple sacrifices, the grain offering always accompanied the whole burnt offering that is described in the previous chapter.  It was offered unto God immediately after the burnt offering had propitiated or appeased the wrath of God against Israel due to their sin.  Unlike the burnt offering, the grain offering was not to be associated with sin at all.  Instead, it was an offering of thanksgiving unto God both for his mercies as well as for His provision for their needs both spiritual as well as physical.  This type of offering was considered a tribute offering unto God similar to the tribute that would be offered to an ancient king for his provision and protection of his subjects.     

         There were a few prescriptions given in how one was to offer his grain offering unto the Lord.  First, it had to be without leaven or honey.  The purpose for this seems to be that these two ingredients would speed up the decomposition of the offering making it useless to the priests who would receive a portion of it for their own sustenance.  Additionally, leaven was often associated with a sinful influence that caused a spiritual breakdown of relationships within society.  On numerous occasions, Jesus uses leaven with this connotation in mind. 

On the other hand, the worshippers were to add salt, for the purpose of preserving the food for the sake of the priests as well as to show the enduring nature of God’s gracious covenant with Israel.  Likewise, the oil and frankincense added to the offering showed that this was a sacrifice of celebration in thanksgiving, since these two ingredients were often associated with God’s blessings and cheerful hearts. 

Nevertheless, it still was a sacrifice for the Israelites to give such an offering to God.  Especially in lean years when the harvest was paltry.  By these sacrifices, the Israelites were showing their love and dedication to God.  Likewise, they were loving their brothers by providing for the daily necessities of the priests and the Levites since the majority of the offering was actually given to them with only a small portion being burned in the fire. 

As we all know, the Lord does not have a mouth that needs to be fed.  If he were hungry, he certainly wouldn’t ask us for something to eat.  No, the purpose of the offering was to dedicate the fruit of their labor unto the Lord and to maintain the service of the worship in God’s house by providing for the needs of its servants and their families.   

Today, we no longer offer a sacrifice of grain upon the altar, since the Lord Jesus is the grain of wheat that fell to the ground and died for our sakes as a pleasing aroma unto the Lord.  Since he lives forever more, there is no need for another grain sacrifice.  Yet the principles behind the grain offerings are still applicable today, for by our monetary offerings unto God’s Church we still are devoting the fruit of our labor unto the Lord, providing for the needs of God’s servants and seeing that the Church continues to promote a spiritual harvest from year to year.