03 July 2014

EJ&T: Leviticus 2: The meat offering

In the Every Jot and Tittle project, I am listing all of the Bible's commandments from Genesis to Revelation, in accordance with Jesus's words in Matthew 5:18-19. I have no idea how many commandments I'll find, but Jewish tradition claims there are 613. See here for a list of those that I've found so far.

  1. Make a meat offering to the Lord.
  2. When you make a meat sacrifice, use the best flour and oil you can find. Pour some oil and frankincense on your meat offering and bring it to the priests (Aaron's sons and their descendants). The priests will then burn a handful of the flour, oil, and frankincesne on the altar. This will smell good to God. The remainder of the meat offering belongs to the priests. It is a most holy offering made by fire.

    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: 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: 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. Leviticus 2:1-3

    If your meat offering is baked in the oven, be sure to use only unleavened cakes of the finest flour mixed with oil. If your sacrifice is a meat offering that is cooked in a frying pan, use only the best flour and oil. Bring your offering to the Lord, and then to a priest who will burn it on the altar. It is an offering made by fire and will smell good to God. The remainder of the offering belongs to the priests. It is a most holy thing.

    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. And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil. Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is a meat offering. And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in the fryingpan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. 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. 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. 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. 2:4-10

    Don't bring any meat offering to God that is made with yeast or honey.

    No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire. 2:11

    If you're sacrificing your first fruits to God, don't burn them on the altar. That wouldn't smell good to God.

    As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the LORD: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour. 2:12

    Be sure to season your meat offering with salt. God wants salt on all of his offerings.

    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. 2:13

    If your meat offering includes first fruits, offer green grains ("ears of corn" in the KJV) that are dried by the fire. Pour oil on it, along with some frankincense. The priest shall offer it as a meat offering, an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

    And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the LORD, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears. And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon: it is a meat offering. And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 2:14-15

    More details about the meat offering are given in Leviticus 6.

    And this is the law of the meat offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD, before the altar. And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour, even the memorial of it, unto the LORD. And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it. It shall not be baken with leaven. I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering. All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of the LORD made by fire: every one that toucheth them shall be holy. Leviticus 6:14-18

    And in Numbers 15.

    Then shall he that offereth his offering unto the LORD bring a meat offering of a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of oil. ... Or for a ram, thou shalt prepare for a meat offering two tenth deals of flour mingled with the third part of an hin of oil. ... Then shall he bring with a bullock a meat offering of three tenth deals of flour mingled with half an hin of oil. Numbers 15:4-9

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