Christ in all the scriptures
No leaven, no honey, not without salt, Leviticus 2
God uses symbolism to communicate the details concerning His Son, and it is imperative we understand them. The case of Philip the evangelist speeding alongside the chariot of the Ethiopian Treasurer is relevant here-Acts 8. He said "Do you understand what you are reading"? referring to Isaiah 53. How often we read scripture, glossing over the wording, with no attempt to understand what it means? In the grain offering, God forbad the use of leaven, and of honey; He also demanded that the offering must be salted. It is our duty to investigate the meaning of these symbols if we are to understand the person of Christ.
No leaven "No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the Lord, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven...in any offering of the Lord made by fire"-2v10. Indeed at the Passover on leaving Egypt, they were to hold a feast of unleavened bread lasting seven days-Exodus 12v14-17, and this was to be a feast "throughout their generations" to be observed, failure to do so would result in excommunication from the congregation of Israel. Therefore this is no small detail, and demands our comprehension-refer Ex. 12v19/20. There was to be no leaven in their homes during this feast, and never at the altar where they came to worship the Lord. No leaven must be in the grain offering. Leaven (or modern yeast, a common ingredient to puff up bread for easy consumption) must not be used, so what does it mean. Unless a clear definition is given of any biblical symbol, we can only interpret by reference to scripture usage. It seems that the overwhelming usage of leaven in scripture is to represent evil that is present in every human being, and manifests itself in corrupt and varied ways. The Blue Letter Bible defines it as a "metaphor of inveterate mental and moral corruption, viewed in its contagious social effect"; this last aspect is emphasised, in that "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (1st Cor. 5v6) Just as the yeast will puff up bread to almost twice its size, so a little evil introduced into any society or group, permeates the whole. This is the nature of sin, and there was nothing of it in Christ. No corruption, no puffing up of self (indeed He was selfless), no evil influence on others (in fact the opposite).
Jesus spoke of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy-Luke 12v1, Matthew 16v6v11. This is presenting outward appearance amid inward corruption. It is saying but not doing; preaching but not practising. Not only does this corrupt a person who is living a lie, but it affects everyone associated with them. Sadly this evil is prevalent today, especially in churches professing the name of Christ.
He also spoke of the leaven of the Sadducees, an elite group of individuals who presided over the ruling Sanhedrim in Jerusalem. Their particular evil is not stated, but it is known their leaven was false doctrine. They only accepted the Torah (first 5 books of the bible) as being Divine-they rejected all other writings. They denied the existence of angels, or the future resurrection of the body-in fact all that is supernatural, declaring that this life is all there is-refer Matthew 22v23; Mark 12v18-27; Luke 20v27; Acts 23v8. It is obvious that false doctrine in any form, deviating from the revealed word of God is contagious, spreading through groups and institutions until error is enthroned. Paul described false teaching as a cancer permeating the whole body (2nd Timothy 2v16-18. He describes their words as profane and vain babblings which are to be shunned. Even ungodly speculations and purely human opinions are to be avoided. There was nothing of that in Jesus who spoke only the words of God (John 12v49-50).
The leaven of Herod-Mark 8v15-21; 6v52. This is worldliness manifested in violent opposition to God. Three Herods are highlighted in the Gospels and Acts, and all were of the same nature. Subservient to Rome, from whom they enjoyed their status, they opposed God and His people to protect their own position in the eyes of Rome. Herod the great, known for his love of ornate buildings, slaughtered the infants of Bethlehem to protect his rule which he perceived to be under threat. Herod Antipas, his son, at the whim of a young woman, beheaded John the Baptist for condemning his adulterous relationship with his brother's wife. He also set at naught Jesus Christ to please the Roman governor. Herod Agrippa 1 persecuted the church in Acts 12 to suppress the new movement and to please the Jews. Their particular evil was love of place in this world. Jesus had no such desires, no leaven in Him. His kingdom was not of this world.
Paul describes the sins at the church at Corinth as leaven-1st Corinthians 5. He cites fornication, covetousness, extortion, idolatry, railing (false accusation), drunkenness as leaven. Puffing of oneself up in pride is leaven, turning a blind eye to open sin is leaven, the old leaven that belongs to unconverted days. They are to also avoid the new leaven of malice and wickedness, the tendency in the close knit community of a church to gossip, to defame others, to plot for their downfall. All of this is leaven that MUST BE PUT AWAY, just as in old times leaven was forbidden. Indeed the works of the flesh, enumerated in Galatians 5v19-21 (all 17 of them) are all manifestations of a corrupt nature, the practise of which excludes us from the kingdom of God. By contrast Jesus was ever under the control and influence of the Spirit of God, and demonstrated love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. We need to put leaven away, He had none in Him in His holy character. There was nothing of leaven in Him, no sham hypocrisy, no dubious teaching, no opposition to God, nothing of this world, or of self interest. Only sincerity and transparency, and truth. The contagious nature of leaven is prominent, as only a little can contaminate the whole. The process of leaven, as a corrupting element in human life, spreads to every one with whom it is in contact. In a close knit community like a church this becomes a solemn reality, and evil in me contaminates the whole.
No honey "For ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the Lord made by fire". We have no explanation of this anywhere in scripture, so we should not seek one. We know that honey is the sweetest food on earth-Judges 14v18; Psalm 19v10; Psalm 119v113; Proverbs 24v13; Ezekiel 3v3. So honey we can say is natural sweetness of the highest form, there is nothing sweeter than honey. However, Proverbs 25v16 and 25v27 warns against eating overmuch, which can cause nausea and vomiting. We know that by experience, for eating too much sweetness can make us sick. Perhaps this is what is meant, that the burning of honey on the altar would produce overmuch sickly sweetness. Jesus Christ was the sweetest man ever to walk this earth, but He was not so sweet as to make people sick! He was kind, He was forgiving, He was compassionate, He was harmless, but He was also holy, undefiled, and separate from sinners. In the home at Nazareth He was subject to His parents; however He also asserted His right at the age of 12 to attend to His Father's business-Luke 2. He commended Nathaniel as a true Israelite, but revealed he still had much to learn-John 1. He promised the Samaritan woman living water to change her life forever, but pointed out her marital deviations-John 4. He removed condemnation from the woman taken in adultery, but told her to "go and sin no more"-John 8. He commended Simon Peter for his understanding of Christ as Messiah, but condemned his lack of understanding of what Messiah would suffer-Matthew 16. These and many more examples illustrate that Jesus was not sickly sweet. His compassion for man was balanced with His commitment to God.
Not without salt "And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt".
The instructions are very precise, and we need to understand the importance of this. Salt is the opposite of leaven in that it prevents decay, whereas leaven spreads it. Reference to all scriptures relating to the usage of salt (Lev. 2v13; Numbers 18v19; 2nd Kings 2v21; 2nd Chron. 13v5; Job 6v6; Matthew 5v13; Mark 9v49-50; Luke 14v34; Colossians 4v6), suggests at least three aspects: palatable to the taste; prevention of decay; permanence of relationship. Salt is one of life's indispensable seasoning agents. We well know that if there was no salt in the seven seas the whole earth would decay to putrefaction. We know it is useful for daily cuisine. God decreed it was an indispensable ingredient in all the offerings. The main thought in salt in the bible is that of purity, the effect of slowing or stopping natural corruption or degradation. There is plenty of scope for salt in us, and we are encouraged to have salt in ourselves (Mark 9v50), but this cannot apply to Christ in whom there was no corruption. There is another aspect of salt, and it is the one highlighted here; it is the aspect of loyalty, "the salt of the covenant of thy God". It appears that salt was the currency exchanged in settling the terms of a covenant; it was an expensive commodity back then, indeed legend has it that Roman soldiers were paid in salt, and this must have been a practise handed down for centuries. Numbers 18v19 refers to God's covenant with the priestly tribe of Levi as a covenant of salt. Also the Divine covenant with the house of David in connection with the eternal kingdom is described as a covenant of salt in 2nd Chronicles 13v5. These were solemn indestructible covenants made between God and His people, the symbolic element was salt. Christ came to seal the new covenant (Jeremiah 31v31-34; 32v40; 33v14; Hebrews 8v10-13;10v16-18, which will never be rescinded, and so the salt points to Him, the guarantor of all the covenants. Therefore as we approach God it must be without doubt or wavering, but in full assurance of faith. It must also be with full loyalty and commitment to Him in sincerity and truth, and devoid of any sense of mere ritual.
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