Reflections on Leviticus 2

Leviticus 02 (Contemporary English Version)

1. When you offer sacrifices to give thanks to me, you must use only your finest flour. Put it in a dish, sprinkle olive oil and incense on the flour,
   
2. and take it to the priests from Aaron's family. One of them will scoop up the incense together with a handful of the flour and oil. Then, to show that the whole offering belongs to me, the priest will lay this part on the bronze altar and send it up in smoke with a smell that pleases me.
   
3. The rest of this sacrifice is for the priests, it is very holy because it was offered to me.
   
4. If you bake bread in an oven for this sacrifice, use only your finest flour, but without any yeast. You may make the flour into a loaf mixed with olive oil, or you may make it into thin wafers and brush them with oil.
   
5. If you cook bread in a shallow pan for this sacrifice, use only your finest flour. Mix it with olive oil, but do not use any yeast.
   
6. Then break the bread into small pieces and sprinkle them with oil.
   
7. If you cook your bread in a pan with a lid on it, you must also use the finest flour mixed with oil.
   
8. You may prepare sacrifices to give thanks in any of these three ways. Bring your sacrifice to a priest, and he will take it to the bronze altar.
   
9. Then, to show that the whole offering belongs to me, the priest will lay part of it on the altar and send it up in smoke with a smell that pleases me.
   
10. The rest of this sacrifice is for the priests, it is very holy because it was offered to me.
    
11. Yeast and honey must never be burned on the altar, so don't ever mix either of these in a grain sacrifice.
    
12. You may offer either of them separately, when you present the first part of your harvest to me, but they must never be burned on the altar.
    
13. Salt is offered when you make an agreement with me, so sprinkle salt on these sacrifices.
    
14. Freshly cut grain, either roasted or coarsely ground, must be used when you offer the first part of your grain harvest.
    
15. You must mix in some olive oil and put incense on top, because this is a grain sacrifice.
    
16. A priest will sprinkle all of the incense and some of the grain and oil on the altar and send them up in smoke to show that the whole offering belongs to me.
    
    

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    As mentioned in the reflections for chapter 1, these first seven chapters of Leviticus serve as a handbook on sacrifice describing the procedures for the five sacrifices the Israelites were to offer to the Lord: burnt, grain, fellowship, sin, and guilt offerings. Chapter one described the burnt offering and chapter two describes the grain offering.
    
    There were two types of grain offering and multiple ways in which they could be prepared. The first type of grain offering consisted of grain that had been ground into fine flour. Olive oil was to be poured on the flour and frankincense put on top of it. This preparation was to be made by the worshiper and then the offering brought to the priests. The priests were to "take a handful of fine flour and oil from it, along with all its frankincense, and will burn this memorial portion of it on the altar." (2:2) The remaining portion of the offering belonged to the priests. This was referred to as the "holiest part of the fire offerings." In other words, it was the portion of the offering that was to be eaten only by qualified members of the priesthood. As described with the burnt offering, the grain offering that was burned on the altar was "a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the LORD." (2:2)  The grain offering using flour could also be baked in an oven, prepared on a griddle, or prepared in a pan.
    
    A second type of grain offering was the offering of firstfruits in which the grain was unground heads of grain. The heads of grain were to be fresh and to be crushed, roasted on the fire, and covered with oil and frankincense. As with the flour, the priest would take a portion to be burned "as a fire offering to the Lord." (2:16)
    
    What was the significance of the grain offering since there was no blood ritual involved? It perhaps recognized God's provision of daily needs. Especially with the firstfruits offering, it acknowledged God's covenant mercies in providing for the people. One can also wonder if it provides an image of Christ's substitutionary death as with His reference to grain falling into the ground and dying to bring forth fruit.