Christ in all the scriptures Leviticus 8

 Christ in all the scriptures

 Institution of the priesthood  Leviticus 8

Leviticus 8 repeats the details of Exodus 29: there it was the principles of the priesthood, necessary to conduct the worship of God, now it is the practice laid down for proper approach.  The fact that this was repeated underlines its importance.  We have established that modern priesthood is of a different order to the Aaronic priesthood, and therefore renders the first obsolete.  Nevertheless there are abiding principles that we can apply today from this important chapter.  The essential difference is that what was done by hands back then, is done in hearts: we worship in spirit and in truth.  No more visible altar, or killing of animals, or sprinkling of blood, or anointing with oil, or distinctive garb, or ornate temples.  Worship is spiritual today, and God resides in redeemed hearts.  Tragically, much of the ceremony of present day religious ceremony finds them living in the past.  God has moved on and so must we.  We can glean from the chapter some of the spiritual realities that are symbolised here.

The call to priesthood   Leviticus 8v1-5

The cleansing of the priesthood  Leviticus 8v6

The clothing of the priesthood  Leviticus 8v7-13

The consecration of the priesthood  Leviticus 8v14-36

The call to priesthood       8v1-5        "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; and gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation."

A priest is one who preserves and promotes the worship of God.  As such it is a status and privilege of highest honour and those who are so called are the elite of humanity.  This privilege was granted to Israel in Exodus 19v5-6, "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation". This honour was conditional upon their obedience, and the treachery and idolatry in chapter 32 removed it from the nation.  It was given to the tribe of Levi who, in the face of this evil had remained loyal.  The priesthood was therefore passed to the Levites, and this order continued until the coming of Christ-as late as Malachi 2v9, the Lord remonstrated with Israel for "corrupting the covenant of Levi", thus perpetuating the exclusive right of priesthood to the Levites.  Thus priesthood was not based on achievement or merit, but simply by birth into the lineage of Aaron!  In the chapter, many times over we read of "Aaron and his sons", or similar: (refer 8v2, v6, v13, v14, v18, v22, v24, v27, v30, v31, v36).      

Fast forward to New Testament times, 1st Peter 2v5 N/T believers are said to be "...a spiritual house, an holy priesthood..."; 2v9 "...a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation...";  Revelation 1v6, 5v10, 20v6 we are called a kingdom of priests.  We are so by NEW BIRTH IN CHRIST JESUS.  Peter describes us as priests in the context of new birth-1st Peter 1v23 and 2v2!  Every believer in Christ, by reason of new birth, is conferred with holy and royal priesthood to represent God in this world.  Our conversion to Christ is a call to serve the living God, as is evident from the gist of scripture.  This elevates every believer to highest service, a fact which needs to be proclaimed from every Christian platform.  Martin Luther made the priesthood of all believers as one of his main objections to Catholicism during the Reformation of the 17th century.  There remains a hierarchy, but this is intended to maximise the working of the whole (refer Ephesians 4v7-13).

Jesus is our great High Priest (Hebrews 2v17; 4v14-16; 6v20; 7v26; 8v1; 9v11; 10v21).  The sanctuary is in heaven, (Hebrews 3v1; 4v14; 6v20; 8v1; 9v24; 10v12-13; 10v19).  We function for God in a heavenly context.  The chapter begins with what is necessary for such a function-8v2: Garments, which speak of character; Anointing Oil which symbolises the Holy Spirit; Animals for sacrifice; Baskets full of bread for fellowship.  Service for God will require all of these.  For us today it means: Excellence of character, Holy Ghost energy, Discernment of the sacrifice of Christ for acceptance and commitment, and Baskets full for sharing holy things.  These are the ingredients for Divine service, in which all believers are occupied today.  

TO BE CONTINUED...

Christ in all the scriptures ORDINATION OF THE PRIESTHOOD

 Christ in all the scriptures

    Ordination of the priesthood  Leviticus 8

Chapter 8 presents the natural progression of things in scripture, in relation to Christ.  Chapters 1-7 depict Christ's death for our reconciliation in the different aspects of the one offering of Christ: chapters 8-10 depict His life as our great High Priest for our preservation and instruction in life.  The Christ who died for us, now lives to intercede for us.  This is important to realise, and is one of the most neglected truths of the bible today.  It is the subject matter of almost every epistle of the New Testament, yet it is not fully expounded or understood.  We begin by asserting the teaching of scripture, that there is a Priesthood of which Christ is the great high priest, and in which every believer in Christ is a priest!  The modern concept of priesthood is altogether unbiblical.  A separate caste of special people who wear distinctive garb, and perform religious ceremonies to which all adherents must conform.  They operate in places of worship, overseen by an often invisible hierarchy, in public buildings designated as sanctuaries.  Even evangelicals of all denominations, as well as "non-denoms" have it wrong by the erroneous belief that when they gather together the Lord descends to be with them.  This arrogance is accentuated by the delusion of some, that theirs is the only place of worship, to the exclusion of all others.  Thus, some sectarianists seek to "domesticate" Christ to themselves, resulting in multiple divisions and endless confusion in the minds of believers, not to mention the disastrous effect on the unbelieving world.  Scriptures are emphatic:

1)  "God dwelleth not in temples made with hands..."  1st Kings 8v27 "But will God indeed dwell on earth? behold the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?" (also 2nd Chron. 2v6); Acts 7v48-49 "Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands, as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?"; Acts 17v24-25 "God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things".

Conclusion: THERE IS NO BUILDING ON EARTH WHICH IS A PLACE OF WORSHIP, OR SANCTUARY, WHERE GOD DWELLS.

Some will counter that God built a dwelling place on earth in the Tabernacle.  This notion is false for what He built was "the patterns of things in the heavens"-(Hebrews 9v23); the entire system was only a "shadow of heavenly things"-Hebrews 8v5.  Jesus said in John 4v21-24, in connection with present day worship "Woman believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet in Jerusalem, worship the Father...the hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him...".  Worship today is spiritual and has nothing to do with buildings or ceremonies.  The Apostle Peter said the same, that we are "a spiritual house, an holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ"-1st Peter 2v5.

2)  There is a new order of priesthood in place today.   "Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedek"-Psalm 110v4, repeated also in Hebrews 5v6v10 and 6v20 and 7v11 and 7v17.   This new order is superior to the Aaronic priesthood, which is now superseded (Hebrews 7v12).  "But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building"-Hebrews 9v11.  In this new order, Christ is our great high priest, as is made clear as follows:

He deals with the sins of His people "He is a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people"-Heb. 2v17.   

He is "the Apostle and High Priest of our confession"-Heb. 3v1.  As Apostle He represents God to us; as High Priest He represents us to God. 

His sphere of operation is the sanctuary in heaven...."We have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God"-Heb. 4v15; "We have such an high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man"-Heb. 8v1-2; "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us"-Heb. 9v24.

He deals with our infirmities, our weaknesses, our frailties.  He has lived here in this world, and experienced the hardships of life in a world opposed to God.  He knows, not only the facts of life on earth, but the feelings of our infirmities.  He knows about bodily weakness and pain.  He knows all about the inhumanity of man to man.  He knows about the loneliness of standing for God in this world.  He knows about the frustrations and disappointments in so-called friends.  He knows about the wiles and flaming darts of the devil.  Everything that we will suffer here, He has suffered, and He is fully qualified to succour us in our trials.  Relevant scriptures are: Heb. 2v10, 2v17-18, 4v15, 7v24-25.

This is the reality of worship in the present time.  We can worship Him from wherever we are, both individually and collectively.  It must be obvious to us that when we gather to worship, the Lord does not descend to our man-made buildings, rather we ascend in spirit to the sanctuary in heaven where our great high priest presides over our sacred exercises to the glory of the Father.

The Aaronic priesthood is now set aside, but it was the only priesthood instituted by God, and many of the features are retained, ether by comparison or contrast, as we shall discover when we study Leviticus chapter 8-10.  There is no separate priestly caste today, as we shall see in the next study.

Christ in all the scriptures The Law of the sacrifice of peace offerings

 Christ in all the scriptures

The Law of the sacrifice of peace offerings   Leviticus 7v11-34

We remind ourselves that Jesus is the fulfilment of the peace offering: He is the Prince of Peace-Isaiah 9v6; at His birth the angels of heaven announced, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward man"-Luke 2v14; in His death He "made peace through the blood of His cross"-Colossians 1v20; at His resurrection the first word He declared to the faithful was "Peace be unto you"-John 20v19 and 20 v26; of 21epistles in the New testament, 18 begin with the salutation, "Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ" (or similar)-Romans 1v7, 1st Cor. 1v3, 2nd Cor. 1v2, Galatians 1v3, Ephesians 1v2, Philippians 1v2, Colossians 1v2; 1st Thess. 1v2, 2nd Thess. 1v2, 1st Timothy 1v2, 2nd Timothy 1v2, Titus 1v4, Philemon 1v3, 1st Peter 1v2, 2nd Peter 1v2, 2nd John 1v3, Jude1v2, Revelation 1v4.  In Christ God extends peace to all believers, that tranquillity of assurance that the enmity is over, that peace and harmony will be their portion eternally.  In the words of  Isaiah 32v17, "And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever".  What great news to a world in interminable conflict!

The law of the peace offering views grateful people approaching the Lord in the good of  peace with God.  More is said about this offering than any other.  We begin by observing that the law of the peace offering is the culmination of all the offerings as stated in chapter 7v37. This is important, for in coming to God in fellowship (which is the purpose of the offering), we come recognising that our peace with God, our communion, our harmony with Him, is based on the fulfilment of all the other offerings.  In the burnt offering, the whole of life devotion of Christ to God; in the grain offering, His whole of life perfection; in the sin and trespass offerings, His effective work to remove sin and its guilt: all of these have resulted in our state of tranquillity before the Lord.  Without all of these aspects of the one offering of Christ, there could be no peace with God.

Offering for thanksgiving 7v11-15  We note this is called the "sacrifice of peace offering", and the "sacrifice of thanksgiving", reminding us of the cost of our redemption.  Paul wrote, "He made peace through the blood of His cross"-Col. 1v20.  A redeemed people should be a thankful people, unlike the godless world in which we live.  A trait of our unconverted days was that we were unthankful"-Romans 1v21.  Jesus observed that out of ten lepers who were cleansed, only one returned to give Him thanks, so that even when saved we can be unthankful.  The hallmark of faith is of a grateful people who express their gratitude in word and in deed.  Paul said, "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift".  Scriptures are full of expressions of thanksgiving for the grace of God in Christ: Psalm 92v1;103v1; 104v1; 105v1; 106v1; 107v1v8v15v21v31; 111v1; 118v1 to mention but a few.  We draw near with our peace offering with unleavened cakes mingled with oil (the INCARNATION, when humanity and deity were combined-Luke 1v35); unleavened wafers anointed with oil (the ANOINTING for public service-Luke 3v22; 4v18; Acts 10v38); cakes mingled with oil of fine flour, fried (the CRUCIFIXION-the intense heat of the cauldron as He suffered the brutal death of the cross-Colossians 1v20, to which we have already referred.  As we draw nigh to God, in the good of reconciliation, we bring with us the wonder of the incarnation, the beauty of perfect service, and the enduring of deep suffering.  Thus we share communion with God and all His people (1st Cor. 1v9). 

The peace offering may also be offered with leavened bread (v13), although it is thought this was not offered on the altar, but only as the portion of the priests with the heave shoulder of the animal (7v14-15) and with the wave breast part of the offering (23v16-18).  The well known expositor Campbell-Morgan explains, "The Peace offering is supremely the symbol of communion based on reconciliation.  It is the offering which symbolises two sides to a great transaction; one of those is that of God, and the other is that of man.  God and man are at peace.  The Godward side can only be symbolised by that which is unleavened, free from all evil, separated from everything that tends to corruption.  On the other hand, there remains in man much of imperfection. This is symbolised by the leavened cakes (Morgan)  

The portion of the flesh of the peace offering enjoyed by the priests was the heave shoulder and the wave breast of the animal. this symbolises the nature of priestly service being that of strength and affection.  The restrictions on eating the portions of 1/2 days at the most was to ensure that the offerings were fresh.  The Lord wants our offerings to Him to be fresh-refer Numbers 18v12; Nehemiah 10v37, only the best for God.  All of this of course is the opposite of mindless ritual; our appreciation of God should be with all the strength we can muster, and with affection and the freshness of true thanksgiving.

Christ in all the scriptures The law of the trespass offering

 Christ in all the scriptures

The Law of the Trespass offering   Leviticus 7v1-10

The ritual details for the trespass offering are exactly the same as for the sin offering.  Leviticus 7v7 says this "As the sin offering, so is the trespass offering: there is one law for them...".  This fact, however raises an interesting matter; God distinguishes between sin and trespass, and we should investigate this distinction.  The New Testament confirms this in Ephesians 2v1, referring to our pre-conversion state, Paul writes, "And you hath He quickened (made alive) who were dead in trespasses and sins".  Again in Colossians 2v13 he says, "And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses".  In both Old and New testaments the distinction is made.  The Divine answer to both is the same-the blood of sacrifice, pointing to Christ's death on the cross.  

In fact there are three words used repeatedly to describe the fallen condition of man before God...SINS, TRESPASSES, INIQUITIES.      Consider the following scriptures:

Exodus 34v7 "Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin..." Psalm 32v1-5 "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity...I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid.  I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.  Selah."                                                                            Psalm 51v1-3 "Have mercy upon me, O God, according unto thy lovingkindness: according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.  Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.  For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.  Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me".    

A cursory reading of these and other scriptures reveal that these terms are interchangeable describing the fallen condition of mankind.  Nevertheless, each has a specific meaning, and we should understand the distinctions.

Sins  Heb. chattath (296 times) Gr. hamartia (174 times)   It means to "miss the mark" as in archery.  Paul said it was to "come short" of the glory of God-Romans 3v23.  Obviously this is a high standard, the highest there is; yet man was made in the image of God (Genesis 1v26) and after the likeness of Divine beings.  We were created to display the glory of our Maker, and, because of sin we have come short.  We were made to be godly (god-like), but we are ungodly, failing to live up to the high standard of our creation.                    

Trespasses (transgressions)  Heb. pesha (93 times) Gr. paraptomah (23 times)  Trespasses or transgressions are actions which unlawfully cross boundaries that have been set; put another way, one is missing the mark, the other is overstepping the mark.  Sins are actions which come short; trespasses are actions which go beyond what is allowed.  Both can be intentional or unintentional.  The Divine law was only given at Sinai, where Leviticus was written, and so now the Divine standard has been set by which we can measure human behaviour.  The Decalogue given to Moses contained positive and negative instructions-"thou shalt...thou shalt not".  James stated in his epistle that even one violation of the law of God rendered us guilty of the whole (James 2v10).  Moses reminds us in Leviticus that ignorance of the law does not diminish our guilt.   

Iniquities  Heb. avon (230) times  Gr. anomia (15 times)  Iniquity is the force within us from our parents (ultimately from Adam and Eve) which naturally leads to acts of sin and transgression.  The word anomia literally means without law, lawlessness, the powerful trend within each of us of opposing God-1st John 3v4-5 "Whosoever committeth sin (practices sin) transgresses also the law: for sin is lawlessness (most versions).  And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin".  Lawlessness (iniquity) is the opposite of righteousness, the standard required by God.  It is written in Psalm 45v7, and quoted again in Hebrews 1v9, "thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness".  Iniquity is crookedness, perversion, that inward rebellion that will always militate against the will of God. 

This is God's definition of the human condition revealed in scripture.  Not only are we ungodly and unrighteous in thought and in deed, we are powerless to save ourselves.  We are utterly dependent on God to provide the answer, and provide it He has in full in Christ:

Isaiah 53v5-12 declares that He has comprehensively dealt with the sin question in all its aspects, sins, transgressions, and iniquities: "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with     His stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth.  He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare His generation? for He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was He stricken.  And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death; because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.  Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him: He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see a seed, He shall prolong days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.  He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.  Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors".

The section ends with the material benefits additionally given to to operating priests.  From the burnt offering the priest received the skin of the animal-Leviticus 7v8; from the grain offering he receives the residue to eat with his family and all the sons of Aron-7v9-10.  This is an illustration of the truth of Romans 8v32, "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not WITH HIM ALSO FREELY GIVE US ALL THINGS?"  He has done the greater thing in dealing with our sin; He will also do the lesser thing by proving for our needs in this life.  Does any one of us doubt it?  The God who gave His Son will give us anything we ask if He judges it is in our interest to give it.  Jesus said so, "Ask in my name and I will give you all things"-John 14v13-14.     

Christ in all the scriptures The law of the sin offering

 Christ in all the scriptures

The Law of the sin offering   Leviticus 6v24-30

The section begins "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying...".  Each time this appears, it is a fresh revelation from the Lord giving additional details.  This confirms that the slow, detailed release of truth is God's method of teaching.  Leviticus is a manual of worship, a way to approach the Living God.  The revelations prescribe the different sacrifices, when to bring them, and the ritual associated with them.  Leviticus is unique, in that it contains mostly the words of God (70% approx.), and contains 37 separate Divine calls.  It is in fact a gracious invitation from God to His people to worship Him in the only way which is acceptable to Him, thus granting to them highest privilege of reconciliation and communion with Himself.  We must not interpret Levitical offerings as bringing us into relationship with God; this was done in Egypt by the Passover Lamb.  Leviticus has to do with the fellowship of God's people who are already in relationship to Him.  Fellowship with God can be broken through sin; however relationship with Him is unbroken.  These twin aspects of spiritual life are expounded in 1st John.  In chapters 1/2 we have the subject of fellowship, communion with God and with each other.  Note the recurrence of "if...if...if" in these chapters.  Fellowship with God can be broken and God has provided for its restoration.  This corresponds to the sin offering in Leviticus.  In chapters 3/5 the subject is relationship-union with God which cannot be broken, as opposed to communion which is broken because of sin. 

Leviticus chapter 4 mentioned all groups who may sin...any man, the priests, the whole congregation, a ruler, and the common people.  This is a sharp reminder that the propensity to sin does not leave us at conversion.  Though saved and sanctified for highest service, we are not immune from the old nature within, and thus we need provision in Christ.  We have this, as John said "We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  And He is the propitiation for our sins...".   God is pure light, and He demands all sin, including that from a redeemed people, be banished from His sight.  Focus is now on the priest, who was in a position of high office in the congregation.  They correspond to spiritual leaders in the present day.  We have already seen that high privilege brings great responsibility.  The sin of a priest was greater in the sight of God than that of the common people, and all had to be dealt with in the course of worship service.  Spiritual leadership is a function of highest honour, and with it comes great demands and great detail to be observed:

1) The sin offering must be killed in the same place as the burnt offering (v25-refer chapter 1v11, the north side of the altar before the Lord).  This links the sin offering to the burnt offering, a reminder that the total devotion of Christ to God involved removing all sin from before Him.  The two are linked in Isaiah 53v10, "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him: He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand".  What kind of devotion did it take for His holy sinless soul, which shrunk from sin, to become sin for us, and receive within the wrath of God upon Him?

2) The sin offering is regarded by God as most holy (v25, v29).  God cherishes this above all else, the sacrifice that removed sin, and enabled God to display His character to all. 1st John 2v2, "And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world"; Romans 3v25, "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past...".  What happened in three hours of darkness at Calvary has opened the floodgates of blessing to all mankind.  It was there He "bore our sins in His own body on the tree..."-1st Peter 2v24

3)  The sacred character of the sin offering demands that all associated with it must be holy  Only the officiating priests could eat of it, and only in the holy place (v26-29).  The priest who offered it must be holy (v27); the garment stained with the blood of sacrifice had to be cleansed in the holy place; the earthen vessel that contained the flesh of the sin offering had to be broken, and the brazen holding pot thoroughly scoured and rinsed (v28).  Any sin offering, from which the blood was taken to cleanse the tabernacle and reconcile the people must not be eaten but taken outside the camp to be utterly consumed by fire.  God dealt with sin in the darkness. away from public view.  Sins are not to become public gossip, but removed privately away from the public gaze.  The tendency of pointing the finger, and publicising sin must be avoided, for God wants no remembrance of it any more.  Jesus confirmed this attitude in John 8 "Let him that is without sin cast the first stone...Woman where are those thine accusers, hath no man condemned thee?...Neither to I condemn thee, go and sin no more".  This is not condoning of sin, neither is it a condemnation, for all that would fall on Christ.  Sin must be dealt with as discreetly as possible.  There are times when sin must be judged on earth, but only before God, and only with humility, because we all have this propensity.  

 

Christ in all the scriptures The law of the grain offering

 Christ in all the scriptures

The law of the grain offering (the Minchah)   Leviticus 6v14-23

The Minchah, or the gift offering, as it is sometimes called, was a simple "thank you" to the Lord for all His wonderful provisions.  It was the one offering that everyone could bring, for its contents were staple household items.  It was considered to be the poor man's offering, for, while not everyone could afford to bring a bullock, or a goat, or a sheep, everyone could bring the minchah, for it was daily in use in every household.   This gracious provision of God brought the worship of God down to the very poorest people in the congregation.  Every household could bring fine flour, and oil, and frankincense, and salt, prepared at home, in a variety of ways, as a token of appreciation to God, who provided the ingredients and also the domestic knowhow to feed a family.  This offering was a humble acknowledgement of God's goodness to them, and became a homage of highest honour to the One who sustained them.

This is a reminder of the One who came in poverty to raise us to high status, "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might become rich"-2nd Corinthians 8v9.   God does not despise the poverty of the poor, but elevates them to highest service, and this is one example.  God provides for, and protects, and pities the poor.  Indeed, He reserves a special place for those who in life are in poverty for whatever reason.  Most of His people on this earth are poor..."Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him"-James 2v5.  God designed a system of worship that could be engaged by all, no matter their material status.  Jesus, Himself, was poor in this world:  

He was born, not in a palace, but in a stable where cattle were kept (Luke 2v7).  He was raised in a poor family who could only afford the smallest of offerings (Luke 2v24).  He worked as a humble carpenter, helping to sustain the family after the premature death of His earthly guardian (no mention of Joseph after Luke 2v48-51).  He taught using a borrowed boat (Luke 5v3); He never owned a home (Matthew 8v20, John 7v53-8v1); He asked for a penny to illustrate His teaching (Luke 20v24); He entered Jerusalem on a borrowed colt of an ass (Matthew 21v2-3); He borrowed the upper room for the Lord's supper, which became the home of the disciples for more than 50 days (Luke 22v10-12 with Acts 1v13); He possessed only the garments He wore, which were parted among the soldiers (John 19v23-24-in modern language "they took the shirt from His back"); He was buried in a borrowed tomb (John 19v38-42).  All His life He was a poor man, His was the poor man's offering!  Through Him, eternal riches will be the inheritance of His followers, riches beyond any computation.  Through Him God calls the poor of this world; if not poor materially, certainly the poor in spirit, to bring their humble offering to the God who stoops to have fellowship with them.  We are all blessed to commune with the Majesty of heaven.

There is a unique description of this offering in chapter 6v17 "It is most holy, as is the sin offering, and the trespass offering".  Literally this means "holy, holy"-superlatively holy!  There is no provision in the Hebrew language for superlatives, and repetition of the word is used as an alternative.  The ultimate superlative is "Holy, Holy, Holy" to address the Lord in Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4v8.  This is noteworthy, since the minchah is the only bloodless offering and yet it is stated to be superlatively holy.  God places great emphasis on this humble offering, for the poor of this world hold a very special place in His estimation, and in His heart.  He is not so much concerned with the material value of an offering, but with the spiritual approach of a thankful heart.

There are a number of important principles we can derive from the regulations pertaining to the grain offering:

The principle of Christ being at the heart of our worship

What they offered in worship is what we can all offer, the things that speak of Christ.  The fine flour-Christ in His perfect humanity; the oil-Christ in His fulness of the Holy Spirit; the frankincense-Christ in His sweet aroma of delight to the Father; the salt-Christ in His ability to restrain evil, and His commitment to the covenant of God.  These are all things that bring pleasure to God and they are the things we can all bring.  All we need to do is bring our handful, no matter what capacity that is. 

The principle of reverent approach  Throughout the narrative of Leviticus we can note the call to "bring" an offering-1v2, 1v10, 1v14, 2v2, 2v4, 2v8, 2v11, and many more.  The word bring is, in Hebrew, qarab, to draw near, to approach reverently.  We do not draw nigh with brashness, we are approaching the Most High.  Drawing near to God in the New Testament is always with reverence in acknowledgement of who He is.  Hebrews 10v19-22 invites us to draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, knowing that Christ has made us fit to enter the sacred courts.  James 4v8 also invites us near, but reminds us to cleanse ourselves in hand and heart as we do.

The principle of godly order   The offeror placed his offering with the priest, who presented it before the Lord for acceptance before placing it on the altar of burnt offering, an offering made by fire unto the Lord.  In those days the priests were a separate group from the common people, and it was only the tribe of Levi who administered the place of worship to the Lord.  There was a priestly caste system in operation back then and the people were expected to observe this.  In our day all believers are priests, and are able to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, both individually and collectively.  There is, however a hierarchy, as indicated in 1st Corinthians 12v28, and all members are expected to observe protocol in 1st Corinthians 14v40, "Let all things be done decently and in order".  Practices may vary, but public decorum is implied.

The principle of support  The work and worship of God must be supported, materially, and the offerors were aware that the greater part of their offering went to support the priesthood, as emphasised in verse 16.  Whatever we give to the Lord, He expects it to be shared by the public servants whether of giving to evangelists, teachers, elders, or widows, or to the fabric of the buildings where public worship is held.  Scripture indicates all these support measures.   The principle is stated in 1st Corinthians 9v13-14 "Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?  Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel".  This is a clear reference to the priestly service in Leviticus.  It is important that the work is sustained, for the edifying of the church and for the glory of God.

The principle of variety  For the "minchah" offering, some brought the raw ingredients; some baked bread in the oven; some made wafers (pancakes) on the griddle; others boiled the mix in the cauldron (they say with oil);  from the firstfruits of the harvest some brought green ears of corn roasted.  It was the same offering but in a variety of sways.  Likewise in the church age, we all have gifts differing, according as it has pleased God to give us all (Romans 12v6-8; 1st Corinthians 12v4-18).  It is the variety of our several abilities that, when enacted in humble service, enriches and edifies all the members.  Always, the offering was placed on the burnt offering upon the altar.  Our gift offering ascends to God as it is given on the basis of the whole of life devotion of Jesus, whose death fits us for service.

The priests, who partook of the offerings of the congregation, were themselves to make an offering at the time of their anointing, and it is thought for every day thereafter during their tenure.  The leaders of God's people should be model examples to the congregation.  It was never to be the case of "Do as I say", rather "Do as I do".   There was one exception, they were not to eat of their own offering; it was to be wholly burnt on the altar for the Lord (Lev. 6v19-23).  This was their commitment in holy service.  Leaders should not enrich themselves at the expense of God's people.