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Scripture Reading: Lev. 2:1-16
We have pointed out that there are five kinds of offerings because we are in five situations before God. Our first situation is that we are not for God; therefore, we need the burnt offering. The burnt offering is Christ who is absolutely for God. Now we come to our second situation before God; that is, we are not perfect and fine. Fine means that there is nothing rough or coarse; it also means that there is nothing short and nothing too much. Sometimes we are just a little too much in certain things, and sometimes we lack in the things that are necessary. So because we are not perfect and fine, we need the second kind of offering. This is the meal offering made of fine flour.
Why does the meal offering follow the burnt offering? To see this we must see the difference between the burnt offering and the meal offering. The burnt offering is something of the animal life: a bull, a sheep, or a turtledove. But the meal offering is absolutely of another kingdom. It is not of the animal kingdom but of the vegetable kingdom. Fine flour is made from wheat. The Lord Jesus is pictured as being of two kinds of lives: the animal life and the vegetable life. The animal life is for redeeming, for there is the shedding of blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no redemption. The vegetable life is for generating or producing.
In the Gospel of John, the Lord is portrayed as having both the animal and the vegetable life. John 1:29 says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 12:24 says, “Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” As the Lamb, He is of the animal kingdom, and as the grain of wheat, He is of the vegetable kingdom. Thus, by these two chapters in John, we realize that the Lamb, the animal life, is for redeeming, and the grain of wheat, the vegetable life, is for producing. One grain produces many grains. The Lord Jesus is the Lamb, and He is also the grain of wheat. He is of the animal life and also of the vegetable life. He is the redeeming One, and He is also the producing One.
By this we see that the burnt offering is mainly for redeeming. In Leviticus 1 the word blood is mentioned at least three times. The burnt offering is for our redemption by the sprinkled blood. We are told clearly that the burnt offering is not for our food or satisfaction but wholly for God’s satisfaction. The meal offering, however, is mainly for our nourishment. We need to be redeemed, and we also need to be nourished. The burnt offering satisfies God, but the meal offering not only satisfies God but also makes us alive. It causes us to live in the presence of God.
Another thing which we must see is that all the sufferings in the burnt offering are for redemption. The sufferings in the meal offering, however, are not for redeeming but are the personal sufferings. Furthermore, in the burnt offering, the blood is prominent, but with the meal offering, the prominent things are the oil and the frankincense.
Not only do we need to see the difference between the burnt offering and the meal offering, but also between manna and the meal offering. Many Christians think that manna is wonderful. But in the book of Leviticus, the manna is past; it is replaced by something better and richer. The first difference is that manna is from heaven, but the meal offering is from the earth. We would think that something from heaven should be wonderful. Could anything be better than that which is from heaven? But the meal offering is of the earth. Manna was given from heaven, but the meal offering was grown up from the earth.
Isaiah 4:2 tells us that the Lord Jesus on the one hand is “the Shoot of Jehovah.” This speaks of His divinity. But on the other hand, it says that He is “the fruit of the earth.” This is His humanity. As to His divine nature He is the Shoot of Jehovah, and as to His human nature He is the fruit of the earth. Isaiah 53 speaks of the Lord as a “tender plant” grown out of dry ground. He is the fruit of the earth, and He is a tender plant out of dry ground. For the meal offering we do not need the divinity of the Lord Jesus; we need His humanity. His humanity is for our perfection. It is not something given from heaven, but grown from the earth. Many Christians would never think that something of the earth could be better than something from heaven. But the meal offering is better than manna.
Also, manna is a gift from God, and the meal offering is a present to God. Which is better? We must see that a present to God is much better. We must be delivered from our old concepts. Manna is for our satisfaction; it is not for God’s satisfaction. The meal offering, however, is for God’s satisfaction. It is even a memorial to God — this is something more than satisfaction. “The priest shall burn it [the meal offering] as its memorial portion on the altar, an offering by fire, a satisfying fragrance to Jehovah” (Lev. 2:2). Manna is not for God’s satisfaction, but the meal offering is for God’s satisfaction, and it is a memorial in His presence. It is something for God to remember. This is much better.
Moreover, manna is for a life in the wilderness, whereas the meal offering is for a life in God’s dwelling place. Manna is sufficient only to sustain a life in the wilderness, but the meal offering will support a life in the dwelling place of God. Where do you prefer to be: in the wilderness or in the dwelling place of God? We all must prefer to have the meal offering, and we must forget the manna. The meal offering suffices for a life serving God in His presence and in His dwelling place. There is no more wandering but just dwelling with God in His house.
Another important point of difference between the manna and the meal offering is that manna never constituted worship to God. God never asked His people to worship Him by presenting manna. But God did command His people to worship Him with the meal offering. Thus, the meal offering is quite sufficient to constitute worship to God. This is why among many Christians there is really no true worship to God. People are always feeding on manna. In the local churches we must have true worship to God by enjoying the meal offering all day long.
There is one additional point concerning the manna and the meal offering. With manna there is no need of human labor. But to have the meal offering, there is much need of human labor. We must labor on the good land by tilling the ground, sowing the seed, watering the plants, and reaping the harvest. We must care for many things in order to obtain the fine flour. Even after the harvest there is the grinding and the baking. All of this is not done in the Tent of Meeting but at home. All that is required for the manna is to go out and gather it. The meal offering requires much more labor than the manna.
So many young people today are loose and careless. Many times I decided to visit the young people’s houses, but my wife said that I should call them first. But if I did that, there would be no need to go. My intention was to see how they keep their rooms and their kitchen. So many of them shout, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” but I want to see their bedroom. I am afraid that many of them did not make their beds today. If that is true, it is certainly not the fine flour. I like to hear the young people shout, “Hallelujah,” but “Hallelujah” what? Sometimes I would rather go to their bedroom to see how they labor on Christ and till the ground by making their bed.
Sloppy ones cannot even get the manna. There may not be much labor, but you still must rise early and go out of the camp to gather it. God is merciful, but He is not so gracious if you are sloppy. God will send the manna outside the camp, but He will not send it into your bedroom and into your mouth. You must rise early, get out of your bed, leave your bedroom, and go out of the camp to pick up the manna. Then you must cook it a little before you eat it.
Solomon says in Proverbs 19:24 that the lazy man, even when he stretches out his hand for food, will not take it back. He is really lazy. A lazy person cannot obtain even the manna, not to mention the meal offering. The meal offering requires much more labor than the manna.
Now we must see something of the ingredients of the meal offering. As we have mentioned, the main substance is the fine flour, which is derived from the vegetable life. In the Bible the vegetable life always refers to the Lord’s humanity. As a man the Lord Jesus is so perfect, even as fine flour. Fine flour is perfect in its evenness, its fineness, its tenderness, and in its gentleness, thus revealing the balance and evenness of the Lord’s humanity.
Some sisters are a little too emotional, and some brothers are a little too mental. Some sisters are so emotional that it seems they never think at all. Some brothers, on the other hand, think too much. Whenever you talk with them, they turn their eyes — a strong proof that they are exercising their mind. I have seen some brothers who are so cold that they cannot even laugh. This means that they are not fine, not balanced, and not even; neither are they tender and gentle.
But the Lord Jesus in His humanity is so fine, so even, so tender, and so gentle. When it was time for joy, He was joyful (John 11:15). When it was time for tears, He wept (v. 35). As a man He was so finely balanced. Sometimes He was bold in rebuking the evil ones, but He was not rough (Matt. 21:12-13; 23:33). He was still fine and even. This is the fine flour. I do not have adequate utterance to speak about the perfect humanity of Christ. It is better to pray-read the four Gospels once more with this point in view. Then we will see the fineness of all His behavior in His human living.
It is this perfect Christ who constitutes our present to God in the Tent of Meeting. It is not a gift from God to us but a present from us to God. When we come to the church meeting, we need to offer such a perfect Christ in His humanity as a kind of present to God. We can say, “Father, here is a dear present for You, and this present is just the man Jesus in His humanity.” God will be so pleased to receive such a present.
It is no wonder that God is perfect, but that a man is perfect is an astounding fact. Praise the Lord that upon the earth among the human race there was a man so perfect, so even, so fine, and so tender! He was just like the fine flour. This is the humanity of Jesus. This is Jesus, the man. Nothing could be so dear and precious to God as a present to Him of the humanity of Jesus in the Tent of Meeting. Our present to God must be the man Jesus whom we appreciate, enjoy, and experience all day long.
In Leviticus 1 we cannot find the word memorial. But this word is used many times in chapter 2 concerning the meal offering. Its significance is greater than that of satisfaction. If you are not satisfied with something, you can never have a memorial of it. But when you are exceedingly satisfied with something, it becomes a continual memorial to you. This is the man Jesus, the perfect man, the fine man, presented to God by us. This is the greatest satisfaction to God, and this satisfaction eventually becomes a memorial to God forever. It is for eternity.
Here in Los Angeles we have been enjoying Christ so much, and I believe that as we experience the man Jesus more and more, we will have such a dear present to God in our church meeting. This will become an eternal memorial to God and even to us. I believe that in eternity we will still remember the enjoyment that we had of the humanity of Jesus on Elden Avenue in Los Angeles. It is better than satisfaction.
The words satisfying fragrance are also used concerning the meal offering unto God. Some versions translate this as “fragrance of rest.” It is a sweet odor that causes God to be so restful. If we present the man Jesus from our experience as a real present to God, this will become a sweet odor, a restful fragrance, and a satisfying savor.
We must realize that the meal offering is mainly for us. Only a handful as a memorial is for God; all the remainder, the major part, is for the priests. “What is left of the meal offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’” (2:3). This is the diet of the priests. The priests feed on Christ as the meal offering day by day. We are the priests, so we must eat Christ as the meal offering for our priestly diet.
The Lord Jesus said in John 6:57, “He who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.” If we eat the meal offering, we will live because of this offering. We are what we eat. What we eat eventually becomes our being. If day by day we eat Christ as our meal offering, eventually we will become Christ. “To me, to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). It is this kind of life that is adequate to serve God in the priesthood.
God does not expect the angels to serve Him as priests. He wants human beings. We must not serve God as angels, but as men. For men to serve God is indeed wonderful, but we need the nourishment. To be in the presence of God serving Him, we need the nourishment. To be in the presence of God serving Him, we need an extraordinary diet. That is Christ as the meal offering. The more we enjoy Christ as such a diet, the more we will be nourished, qualified, strengthened, and supported to serve God in a priestly way. This is why we need to experience such a Jesus daily.
We all need to have a change in our diet. Forget about reading magazines or newspapers. We must spend more time in eating the man Jesus in the four Gospels. The humanity of Jesus will then become our real food and our daily diet. When we come to the meeting, we will be real priests serving God.
With the meal offering there is the fine flour, and there is the oil. We all know that oil signifies the divine Spirit. The fine flour is Christ’s humanity, and the oil is the divine Spirit. The oil is poured upon and even mingled with the fine flour. I have been criticized in the past for using the word mingle to describe the mingling of divinity with humanity. But eventually, I found the word here in Leviticus 2:4-5: “...fine flour, unleavened cakes mingled with oil.” The fine flour is mingled with the oil. The humanity is mingled with the divinity. The humanity is flavored, strengthened, and watered by the divine Spirit.
John Darby was one who really knew the Bible. In his New Translation of the Bible, he points out that to be mingled is more than to be anointed. In Psalm 92:10 the word anointed can also be translated as “mingled” because it is the same word that is used in Leviticus 2:4: “I am mingled with fresh oil.” We all must be mingled with the Holy Spirit. It is not just to have the Holy Spirit poured upon us, anointing us, but to have the Holy Spirit mingled with us. Christ Jesus was such a person. When He was on the earth, He was a man fully mingled with the Holy Spirit.
Not only is there oil with the meal offering, but there is also frankincense. “You shall put oil upon it and place frankincense on it; it is a meal offering” (Lev. 2:15). The frankincense signifies the sweet fragrance of the manifestation of resurrection. When the Lord was on earth, whatever He did in all His activities, behavior, and conversation was always a sweet, fragrant manifestation. His deeds were not natural but something of resurrection. Though He was not yet crucified, He was living in resurrection. Even when He was twelve, He was in the temple caring for God, behaving Himself in the way of resurrection. He never did anything according to His natural concept; He was always in the manifestation of resurrection life. It was so sweet and so fragrant. He had the real frankincense. In the Lord’s humanity, there is always the oil plus the frankincense. There is always the divine Spirit plus the fragrance of resurrection.
One day while He was speaking, He was told that His mother and brothers were looking for Him. He replied that all those who do the will of God are His mother and brothers. This was not natural but something of resurrection. Even when He wept, He did not weep in a natural way. In His weeping, there was also the fragrance of resurrection.
The fine flour signifies the humanity of Jesus, the oil signifies the divine Spirit, and the frankincense signifies the fragrance of resurrection life. This is the man Jesus: a life in humanity, mingled with the divine Spirit, and expressing something of resurrection life. This is the meal offering. Just a handful of this offering was burnt on the altar to God for His satisfaction as an eternal memorial, and the remainder, the greater part, was left for the priests. We all must learn to feed on Christ as this offering to be presented to God in the Tent of Meeting. We simply partake of the same Christ with God, and this will become our daily food. This food will transform us so that we have a priestly life, thus qualifying us to serve God as the priesthood.
