Yesterday we talked about what the grain offering symbolized: thankfulness. Today we'll be talking about the regulations for making various types of grain offerings.
"If you bring a grain offering baked in an oven, it is to consist of the finest flour: either thick loaves made without yeast and with olive oil mixed in or thin loaves made without yeast and brushed with olive oil. If your grain offering is prepared on a griddle, it is to be made of the finest flour mixed with oil, and without yeast. Crumble it and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. If your grain offering is cooked in a pan, it is to be made of the finest flour and some olive oil." (Leviticus 2:4-7) There is never to be any yeast in the grain offering, for as we've said before, yeast symbolizes sin in the Bible. Oil tends to symbolize the Holy Spirit and we see here that each type of grain offering either contains olive oil or is brushed with olive oil.
"Bring the grain offering made of these things to the Lord; present it to the priest, who shall take it to the altar. He shall take out the memorial portion from the grain offering and burn it on the altar as a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the food offerings presented to the Lord." (Leviticus 2:8-10) The priests shared in almost everything brought as an offering to the Lord. This is how they supported and fed their families.
"Every grain offering you bring to the Lord must be made without yeast, for you are not to burn any yeast or honey in a food offering presented to the Lord." (Leviticus 2:11) Scholars disagree about the reason for prohibiting the use of honey. Some say the pagan idolaters of Canaan offered cakes made with honey to their false gods. Others say that honey would attract bugs or cause the bread to spoil faster. I doubt that the bread cakes were baked up too far ahead of time before bringing them to the tabernacle so they probably wouldn't have had time to spoil before being offered, but since yeast and honey are capable of causing quicker spoilage they may symbolize corruption. Nothing that symbolizes sin and corruption is acceptable as a burnt offering on the Lord's altar.
Items containing honey can be brought as a different type of offering, but never as a burnt offering. "You may bring them to the Lord as an offering of the firstfruits, but they are not to be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma. Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your offerings; add salt to all your offerings." (Leviticus 2:12-13) Salt acts as a preservative. It is the opposite of ingredients like yeast and honey which promote faster spoilage. Salt is often used in the Bible to symbolize purity, usefulness, and faithfulness. The Lord Jesus Christ referred to believers as the "salt of the earth". (Matthew 5:13)
"If you bring a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord, offer crushed heads of new grain roasted in the fire. Put oil and incense on it; it is a grain offering. The priest shall burn the memorial portion of the crushed grain and the oil, together with all the incense, as a food offering presented to the Lord." (Leviticus 2:14-16)
All this talk about bread brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt is making me hungry, but that just serves to remind me that we owe our thanks to the God who fills our bellies with what we need to keep us alive and healthy. When bringing this type of offering to the Lord I don't think the people could help thinking about the goodness of bread and about the goodness of the God who gives it. "Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things." (Psalm 107:9)
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