August 20, 2024
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in selections from Leviticus and Galatians? Here’s today’s reading:
Leviticus 2 (NIV)
The Grain Offering
1“ ‘When anyone brings a grain offering to the Lord, their offering is to be of the finest flour. They are to pour olive oil on it, put incense on it 2 and take it to Aaron’s sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the flour and oil, together with all the incense, and burn this as a memorial portion on the altar, a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.……Continue Reading
Leviticus 2
Helpful note from the study bible…”As a preservative, salt would remind them of the permanence of their covenant relationship with the Lord.”
Though God’s Word does not here indicate the “why?” behind the command that all offerings shall be offered with salt…the note above does make sense. It also brings to mind the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”
Salt that was unable to season or preserve food was worthless…as disciples of Jesus, we are to be the salt of the earth. Salt is often described as a flavor amplifier…you can have too much salt, to where it is overwhelming and makes the food inedible. But, properly applied salt helps to bring out the flavors present in the food, intensifying the experience. As disciples of Jesus, we are commanded to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have command you.” Matthew 28:19-20. The reality is that without Jesus, people are only experiencing a shadow of what God has created…they have no idea of the true magnificence and goodness and glory of the Creator, shown through His creation…we are to be the salt of the earth, sharing the good news of the Gospel with a lost and dying world, that they might “taste and see that the Lord is good!” Psalm 34:8
Leviticus chapters 1-4
To read the books of Moses to see how specific and detailed that God is, it’s such a strong reminder of a glimpse of who God is that when we pray and come before our God to come in reverence and awe To be holy as I am holy!
Leviticus 2
Interesting thing I heard or read, in the scriptures “leavening” is always bad, and “salt” is good. It is interesting that salt kills, or severely hinders yeast.
Just one example:
”Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”“
Mark 8:15 NKJV
”“Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?“
Luke 14:34 NKJV
The grain offering was to be an offering of thanks and dependence on God as well as a provision for the priests. It too was to be the best they had to offer, which should be what marks our lives as we give ourselves and our resources to Him. It was also an offering that anyone could bring..rich and poor alike due to the readily available nature of grain.
God wants our best and we should be a pleasing aroma. That means something that stands apart and doesn’t get mixed up with all the other scents around it but rather distinct and pleasing. When we are living a life for Christ we should always give our best and we should look different from the rest of the world!
Leviticus 2 the grain offering
Leviticus 2