LEVITICUS 4
We will begin this lesson in Leviticus 2:1 " And when any will
offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be [of] fine
flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:"
This "meat offering" really had no animal flesh in it. This
offering accompanied the burnt offering. We must recognize right here
from the beginning, the symbolic meaning of these elements. These
elements above are the elements used in making bread. Jesus is the
Bread of life. Notice these 2 following Scriptures which say that very
thing. John 6:35 "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he
that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me
shall never thirst." John 6:51 "I am the living bread which came down
from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and
the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life
of the world." This statement, that this bread is His flesh, just
might be the reason this offering is called the meat offering. Fine
flour indicates that this is the best. We must not offer God second
best. This oil here, symbolizes the Holy Spirit. Jesus was full to
overflowing with the Spirit of God. Frankincense made a sweet odor
before God. Frankincense was given Jesus at His birth, which
recognized Him as the Bread and burnt offering. He was our atonement.
Leviticus 2:2 "And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests:
and he shall take thereout his handful of the flour thereof, and of
the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest
shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, [to be] an offering made
by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD:"
Notice, here, that the tithe of this flour, oil, and frankincense
was not eaten by anyone, it was an offering to God. The rest of this
was given to the priests, who are symbolic of the Christians. The
Christians are to partake of this bread. This burning of a portion of
this on the fire, is to glorify God. The remainder, which was given to
the priests, shows the great sacrifice of Jesus' body on the cross for
the Christians. Matthew 26:26 "And as they were eating, Jesus took
bread, and blessed [it], and brake [it], and gave [it] to the
disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body." You see the Bread
was symbolic of Jesus' body. Jesus' sacrifice of His body, on the
cross, glorified the Father and provided the Bread of life for the
believers.
Leviticus 2:3 "And the remnant of the meat offering [shall be]
Aaron's and his sons': [it is] a thing most holy of the offerings of
the LORD made by fire."
These Bread remnants should be eaten by the minister {who Aaron
represents} and the Christians {who the sons represent}. This is,
perhaps, speaking of communion. Matthew 4:4 "But he answered and said,
It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Another meaning for this
could very well be that, the minister and all Christians should
partake of the Bread {Bible}. It is of utmost importance to study the
Bible every day. We can not live without this spiritual food.
Leviticus 2:4 "And if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering
baken in the oven, [it shall be] unleavened cakes of fine flour
mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil."
The fact that this Bread {whether baken in an oven or served
separately} must be without leaven, because leaven symbolizes sin.
Jesus was without sin. In fact, He was Holy. This offering therefore
must be Holy, and without leaven. The oil here, again, symbolizes the
Spirit.
Leviticus 2:5 "And if thy oblation [be] a meat offering [baken]
in a pan, it shall be [of] fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil."
It does not matter how this Bread is prepared, it must be without
leaven. This just states over and over the importance of being without
sin. This {mingled with oil} just means to be totally under the
control of the Holy Spirit. This means that Jesus was the Son of the
Spirit of God. Jesus did not have an earthly father, His Father was
God the Spirit. The fine flour speaks of the evenness {balance} of His
{JESUS'} character.
Leviticus 2:6 "Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil
thereon: it [is] a meat offering."
When Jesus served the bread and wine to the disciples, He broke
it and then served it. Jesus' body was broken for you and me. This
indicates that there is plenty to go around. Matthew 14:19 "And he
commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five
loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and
brake, and gave the loaves to [his] disciples, and the disciples to
the multitude." We see, in this Scripture from Matthew the abundance
of this Bread. There were 12 baskets full left over. God fed the
Israelites in the wilderness every day with this Bread. We studied in
Exodus that the multitude on their way to the promised land were about
3 million. The Bread {Jesus} is sufficient for everyone. We must not
just read the Bible, but let the Holy Spirit teach us the meaning. The
Word {bread} must be consumed along with the Holy Spirit, to satisfy
our needs.
Leviticus 2:7 "And if thy oblation [be] a meat offering [baken]
in the fryingpan, it shall be made [of] fine flour with oil."
Oblation means something brought near the altar, or a sacrificial
present. The main thing to be learned in the verse above, I believe,
is that, if you fry, it must be in oil not animal fat.
Leviticus 2:8 "And thou shalt bring the meat offering that is
made of these things unto the LORD: and when it is presented unto the
priest, he shall bring it unto the altar."
In this verse, we see the priest symbolizes our great High Priest
Jesus Christ. To approach God, we must come to Jesus. Jesus opened the
way to the Father for us, as the priest makes the offering for the
person here. Jesus Christ is our only mediator.
Leviticus 2:9 "And the priest shall take from the meat offering a
memorial thereof, and shall burn [it] upon the altar: [it is] an
offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD."
This memorial {meat offering} speaks of the death of the body of
Jesus Christ on the cross for us. In the very next verse, we will see
the Bread, Jesus, feeding the living. The life of Christ is the living
Bread. We Christians have life, because we partake of the Bread of
life {Jesus Christ our Lord}. In this next verse, see ministers in the
priest and Christians in the sons of the priest.
Leviticus 2:10 "And that which is left of the meat offering
[shall be] Aaron's and his sons': [it is] a thing most holy of the
offerings of the LORD made by fire."
Two very important things happened in Jesus' sacrifice on the
cross. It glorified the Father {sweet savour}, and it brought life to
all who would believe. This Bread, we have been looking at here, is
symbolic of the body of Christ. All must eat of this Bread to have
everlasting life. John 6:53 "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and
drink his blood, ye have no life in you."
I have one question for you. Have you eaten of this living Bread?
Questions
1. What 3 elements made up this meat offering?
2. The meat offering accompanied what offering?
3. What do these 3 elements symbolize?
4. Who is the Bread of life?
5. Where are the 2 Scriptures found that call Jesus the Bread?
6. This offering is called a meat offering, why is it not called a
bread offering?
7. We must offer God our ____ not our second ____.
8. The gift of frankincense at Jesus birth recognized Jesus as what?
9. The person bringing the meat offering to the tabernacle should
turn it over to whom?
10. What was the offering of part of this on the fire called?
11. Who do the priests symbolize in this?
12. Why is a portion of this burned on the fire?
13. What did Jesus call the bread that He broke and gave the disciples
when he fed them passover?
14. What were 2 of the things the sacrifice of Jesus' body on the
cross did?
15. Who was the remnant of the meat offering given to?
16. Who does Aaron represent in verse 3?
17. Who do Aaron's sons represent?
18. Man shall not live by bread alone but by what?
19. How often should Christians study the Bible?
20. Christians cannot live without ___________ food.
21. What does leaven represent?
22. Why must this Bread be unleavened?
23. What does it mean when it says mingled with oil?
24. When Jesus fed the multitude with the 5 loaves and 2 fishes, what
did He do before He passed the bread?
25. How large was the multitude that was fed on the way to the
promised land?
26. The Bread must be consumed along with what to satisfy the needs of
the Christians?
27. What does oblation mean?
28. For the Christian to approach God, we must come to _____.
29. What does the memorial meat offering speak of?
30. The remainder speaks of what?
31. Who is the Bread of Life?
32. Who did the death of Jesus' body on the cross bring life to?
33. Quote John chapter 6 verse 53.
34. Have you eaten of this living Bread?
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