#2. The Grain/Meal Offering: Minchah (מִנְחָה)
Leviticus 2:1-4
‘When anyone offers a grain offering to the Lord , his offering shall be of fine flour. And he shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it. He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests, one of whom shall take from it his handful of fine flour and oil with all the frankincense. And the priest shall burn it as a memorial on the altar, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord .
4 ‘And if you bring as an offering a grain offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil. 5 But if your offering is a grain offering baked in a pan, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil. 6 You shall break it in pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering
‘When anyone offers a grain offering to the Lord , his offering shall be of fine flour. And he shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it. He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests, one of whom shall take from it his handful of fine flour and oil with all the frankincense. And the priest shall burn it as a memorial on the altar, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord .
4 ‘And if you bring as an offering a grain offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil. 5 But if your offering is a grain offering baked in a pan, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil. 6 You shall break it in pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering
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Fine Flour.
Fine Flour.
Now we come to the meal or grain offering, "Minchah," in Hebrew, which means "Gift."
It is the only one that does not involve an animal sacrifice.
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It was to be made of "fine flour." In order to make coarse grain into fine flour, you have to grind and grind and grind and grind it until it is of the finest, smoothest texture; no lumps. Then it was beaten and pounded into the desired shape and baked in the oven. If it was an unleavened "cake," it must be "mixed with oil. If it was an unleavened wafer, it must be "anointed" with oil.
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Leaven depicts sin. This offering contained no leaven because it represented Jesus His perfect life. He was born without sin (leaven), neither did He commit any sin nor did He "know" sin. In other words, His thoughts were completely without sin.
- The cakes were "mixed with oil," but the wafers were "anointed with oil." Jesus was born without sin (mixed with oil: the Holy Spirit) and was "anointed with oil" upon coming up out of the waters after being baptized by John: The Holy Spirit rested ON HIM without measure.
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If the offering was a grain offering baked in a pan, it had to be fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil. They were to "break it in pieces and pour oil on it." This is a picture of Jesus Who's body was "broken for us."
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Perfect Balance.
Such beautiful descriptions of Jesus, aren't they? His character is perfectly smooth, nothing uneven or coarse, and not puffed up, as with "leaven." Like the flour with no lumps, He is perfectly balanced: Gentle but not soft; Kind but not a pushover; Firm but not overbearing. Every which way you turn Him, His character is perfectly balanced!
Born without sin, the Holy Spirit could reside IN HIM and be poured out ON HIM without measure after His baptism.
Born without sin, the Holy Spirit could reside IN HIM and be poured out ON HIM without measure after His baptism.
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Oil And Frankincense.
Oil was added to the flour per God's instructions. As you saw, Oil speaks of the Holy Spirit. In and of itself, it speaks volumes in the way it was made.
The olives used in making oil were pressed 3 times. Each pressing yielding oil for different purposes. Since this is a whole amazing subject in and of itself, rather than discuss it here, you may follow the link below for more on that topic:
The olives used in making oil were pressed 3 times. Each pressing yielding oil for different purposes. Since this is a whole amazing subject in and of itself, rather than discuss it here, you may follow the link below for more on that topic:
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Frankincense depicts Jesus in His role as Great High Priest, representing us to God. The way frankincense is made describes more of what Jesus went through to redeem us. (You may need some tissues.)
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How Frankincense Is Made.
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How Frankincense Is Made.
It is tapped from it's scraggy but hardy tree by slashing the bark, which is called "striping," and allowing the exuded resin to "bleed out" and harden. These hardened resins are called "tears."
There are several species and varieties of frankincense trees. Each produces a slightly different type of resin. Differences in soil and climate create even more diversity of the resin, even within the same species.
Boswellia sacra trees are considered unusual for their ability to grow in environments so unforgiving that they sometimes grow out of solid rock. The initial means of attachment to the rock is unknown, but is accomplished by a bulbous disk-like swelling of the trunk. This growth prevents it from being ripped from the rock during violent storms.
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Sound like anyOne we know? Yep, Jesus! What terrible torture He suffered: Slashings, stripes, beatings at the hands of man before He suffered the most ignominious death.
There are several species and varieties of frankincense trees. Each produces a slightly different type of resin. Differences in soil and climate create even more diversity of the resin, even within the same species.
Boswellia sacra trees are considered unusual for their ability to grow in environments so unforgiving that they sometimes grow out of solid rock. The initial means of attachment to the rock is unknown, but is accomplished by a bulbous disk-like swelling of the trunk. This growth prevents it from being ripped from the rock during violent storms.
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Sound like anyOne we know? Yep, Jesus! What terrible torture He suffered: Slashings, stripes, beatings at the hands of man before He suffered the most ignominious death.
- These trees can actually grow out of solid rock! That's how firmly routed and resolute our Jesus was in His determination to save all of us. He was rock solid.
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Jesus' Perfect Life.
Now you know why this offering has no animal sacrifice involved. It depicts Jesus' perfect, sinless LIFE. While it's wonderful that Jesus lived a perfect life, if that's all He did.....and I say that very reverently.....you and I would still go to hell. We can't come to God just because He lived a perfect life.
But that isn't all He did. He offered Himself in our place and redeemed us back by His blood. It was that perfect life which qualified Him to die that death on our behalf.
But that isn't all He did. He offered Himself in our place and redeemed us back by His blood. It was that perfect life which qualified Him to die that death on our behalf.
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Odd that God speaks of Jesus' death first and then His perfect life. He puts it first in the order of His book because, unless we understand and appreciate His death, we cannot fully appreciate His life. His perfect life does not avail for us without that death. But now, because of both, we can have sweet fellowship with our Abba!
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Jesus, The Bread Of Life.
Jesus called Himself "The Bread of Life." When bread is made, normally, leaven is added so that it will rise. After the dough is allowed to rise, it is then punched down, kneaded and shaped into a loaf, then put into the oven to bake. Then it becomes bread for us to eat.
When Jesus died on the cross, our sins, our "leaven," in Biblical typology, were placed on Him,Mike a garment. He was then beaten, punched and subjected to the fires of God's judgment in payment for them all. That is how He became the Bread of Life to us.
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What a description, not only of His life, but also of what He suffered on our behalf!
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Jesus called Himself "The Bread of Life." When bread is made, normally, leaven is added so that it will rise. After the dough is allowed to rise, it is then punched down, kneaded and shaped into a loaf, then put into the oven to bake. Then it becomes bread for us to eat.
When Jesus died on the cross, our sins, our "leaven," in Biblical typology, were placed on Him,Mike a garment. He was then beaten, punched and subjected to the fires of God's judgment in payment for them all. That is how He became the Bread of Life to us.
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What a description, not only of His life, but also of what He suffered on our behalf!
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