In reading Leviticus 3:1, the Bible’s first stipulation about the “Peace Offering,” we find: “And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD.”

Remember that the noun translated “oblation” is “qorbam,” which (its root “qarab”) means a “drawing near” unto God! (God inviting us, what a thought!)

And note that the noun “sacrifice” used here (in Hebrew “zabach”) means “something slaughtered,” with an emphasis on the “bloody” aspect of that ordeal. Quite graphic!

Then the term “peace offering” must be considered. Spelled “shelem,” its a derivative of “shalom” (specifically “shalam”) of Hebrew fame, “PEACE!” Life’s ultimate “blessing” … harmony, communion with God!

The “heard” means of one’s “cattle.” (Including the huge ox, if the offerer was so disposed, so endowed.)

But now comes an unusual aspect of the Peace Offering. It could be either a male or female! “Whether it be a male or female,” allows our amazing God!

Why?

Do notice that this is not a “loosening” of the “no blemish” disqualifier! A Jew still could not bring a diseased calf! Or one with a broken leg, or birth defect of any kind! GOD WANTS (AND DESERVES) OUR BEST! “Whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it WITHOUT BLEMISH before the LORD.”

By the way, “without blemish” (spelled “tamiym”) literally means “whole,” missing no body parts! Then it eventually came to mean “wholesome, healthy,” and finally … “perfect.”

But still, why the “female,” and why now?

I believe God is “broadening” the “acceptability range” for this “Peace Offering” because (as we shall see more clearly tomorrow) it emphasizes God and humanity … eating (fellowshipping) together around Calvary!

Look at Psalm 22:26, the Premier Old Testament Passage on Calvary … “The meek shall EAT and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.” Eating (spiritually) because of the old rugged Cross! (I have been feasting on Calvary for years now!)

And both men and WOMEN can come and so enjoy the Saving Grace of God! Thus … male and female sacrificial animals are permissible, allowed!

NO FEMALE CATTLE (OR LAMBS) in the Burnt Offering, however. The emphasis there is JESUS giving His ALL to the Father, even as He shed His incorruptible Blood for you and me! And Jesus was a Man, a “male!”

But worshippers of God (having been saved via Jesus’ Blood) may approach Him for fellowship … men or women, no matter!

Ladies, rejoice today!

He included YOU as well!

That “whosoever” is a great big word, isn’t it?

Romans 10:13 … “For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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The meal offering (fine flour, oil, frankincense and salt) was partly burned upon the altar, a symbol of Jesus giving His Incarnate Life to God in total dedication! But only a “handful” of it was so burned, incinerated by those holy flames! (“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.” Leviticus 1:2)

But what of the rest of the offering?

The majority of it we presume? (All but a “handful,” for sure!)

“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 2:3

The meal offering … mostly eaten (with God’s tacit approval) by the priests!  (1 Corinthians 9:13 … “Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?”)

Watch carefully!

So … Jesus as the MEAL OFFERING … not only pleased His Father in His earthly Life, His Body, His physical Existence and Behavior … the small part of the meal offering that was burnt on the altar!

Jesus … as the MEAL OFFERING … also fed the priests (which we all are as New Testament Christians) with His holy unselfish, sinless Life!

He lived physically to please God.

And He (a new truth to me) lived physically to meet the needs of mankind as well!

Wow!

Now as a priest, practically speaking … have I “eaten” Jesus today; loved Him, internalized Him, trusted Him, leaned on Him?

Have I feasted on His (perfect) Life (so dramatically emphasized here in the Meat or Meal Offering)?

Remember … the accomplishments of His (vicarious) Death (as dedication to God the Father) have already been emphasized in His Offering Himself as the Whole Burnt Offering, Leviticus chapter 1.

No wonder Paul wrote, rather cryptically, in Romans 5:10 … “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, WE SHALL BE SAVED BY HIS LIFE.”

Hallelujah!

Enjoy the peerless LIFE Jesus lived today, ponder every aspect of it you can recall. Then worship Him for His Coming to earth … “to seek and to save that which was lost.”

In a way, as viewed from the Burnt Offering … Jesus died (in the first place) to please His Father!

Then in a way, as viewed from the Meat Offering … Jesus lived (in the main) to feed those all around Him! He really was the divine Servant of God! He lived for “others!”

Wow!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Yes … an early morning … lots of driving to be done today!

Yes, last night I preached (the last of two consecutive evenings) in Hendersonville, North Carolina. At the Progress Baptist Church here. (Great Services, praise the Lord!)

And in the morning I begin Revival in the little City of Whitesburg, Georgia (near the Alabama State Line) at Consolation Baptist Church … so Debbie and I must leave the motel here early! Then drive home, wash clothes, repack, etc. (In fact, I badly need a haircut and the barber shop is only open until Noon!)

So, pray for us today. Within thirty minutes of my posting this little “Lesson Explanation” … you will be able to read this Saturday’s full Bible Study Installment. Still from Leviticus, of course!

These Services (beginning in the Morning at Consolation Baptist Church) continue through Wednesday night, the Lord willing.

Ask the Lord to give us safety in travelling these many miles.

Glory to His Name.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

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Fine flour … Jesus as the very best Saviour, the “Preeminent One” of God! (Flour that had been milled and milled too! Suggesting the heartache and agony Jesus faced as a Man walking this earth, prior to Calvary!)

And oil (olive oil) … Jesus as fully controlled by the Holy Spirit of God! (John the Baptist even wrote that our Lord was given the Spirit “without measure.” John 3:34)

And then frankincense on top of both the oil and the flour … sweet-smelling frankincense, picturing Jesus as a pleasant (fragrant) Son in the Eyes of God! (“In Whom the Father was well pleased!”)

Then, rather strangely, salt was to be added as well. “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.” Leviticus 2:13, with salt picturing the “incorruptibility” and “perpetuity” of our Lord Jesus Christ! Salt retards the rotting process and preserves whatever it touches! (Even in Death Jesus saw no corruption! His Blood, too, is incorruptible!)

Yes … these four ingredients comprise the essence of the “Meat Offering” (meaning “meal” offering, a “grain” offering, or at times simply called a “cereal” offering).

Part of which will be burned on the altar (Jesus satisfying His Father) being a delightful (totally dedicated Son). Leviticus 2:2 reveals the procedure: “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.”

Jesus in four picturesque ways anyhow … giving Himself back to His Father! Note John 8:29 … Jesus talking: “I do ALWAYS those things that PLEASE him (my Father).” The Perfect Meal Offering, the Perfect Man!

BUT … in addition to these ingredients, God also specifically forbade the use of two more entities, items. NONE of which could be included in this offering!

Leaven … absolutely forbidden for the meal offering! In the Bible leaven typifies “sin!” (“Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” Matthew 16:6 … Jesus was (and still is) sinless!

Honey … why this prohibition? Honey seems sweet! No honey because honey “sours” when subjected to heat! And in Jesus there is nothing rancid or unpleasant or malodorous! He is “altogether lovely!” So says the Bride in Song of Solomon 5:16.

And what a picture of loveliness these ingredients (or lack thereof) bring to the altar of fire (brazen altar) … to be offered to Almighty God. (In a way this is Jesus worshipping His Father!)

But tomorrow, the Lord willing, we shall learn there is even more beauty in the Meal Offering! Come and see …

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Scripture proving my data used above …

“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.” Leviticus 2:1

“And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt. Leviticus 2:13

“No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey.” Leviticus 2:11

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I have always thought of these offerings as representing Jesus (and Jesus alone). But in realty (though I still maintain that Jesus is First to be considered here) these acts of worship also teach us how to better live our lives to the Glory of God.

Let me give you an example.

Having already viewed the burnt offering (where every bit of the sacrificial animal is burned on the altar) as typifying Christ in His TOTAL DEDICATION to His Father in Heaven … one might (easily and Scripturally) then view that same offering as a “picture” of the TOTAL DEDICATION we are to bring to our dear Lord! (Jesus must always have the PREEMINENCE … but we are to follow “in His steps!”)

Maybe this is why we often sing the song that asks: “Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?” Or even “I surrender all.”

But today (the unique view I’ve mentioned) I want to lay beside the burnt offering the meat offering, from Leviticus chapter 2. But actually it does not contain any “meat” at all. (Meat back then merely spoke of solid food, of any kind. Not liquids!)

The meat (hereafter “meal”) offering did not even involve blood sacrifice! Not a drop! Rare indeed with Almighty God! It consisted of “fine flour.” Wheat that has grown “from the earth, out of the ground.” Upon that fine flour was poured “oil” (a picture of the Holy Spirit) and “frankincense” (an emblem of sweet smelling fragrance, pleasant to the Nostrils of God) and these ingredients (or at least a part thereof) were burned on the altar. It is foremostly a Picture of Jesus in His Manhood, His Earthliness, in His physical Life! (IF OUR LORD HAD NOT LIVED RIGHT … HE COULD NOT HAVE DIED RIGHT!) He was perfect in His Humanity!

Now let’s apply that meal offering to you and me …

It is as if the Holy Spirit (quoting God the Father) had His Eye on the Law of Moses as He penned these first two Offerings.

The BURNT OFFERING … right relationship with God … just as the first Tablet of the Ten Commandments dealt with obeying God … looking vertically, upward!

The MEAL OFFERING … right relationship with man … just as the second Tablet of the Ten Commandments dealt with living godly toward our brethren … looking horizontally, outward!

Wow!

How intricate, how precise is the Word of God!

How beautiful!

And we have just begun our little journey into these five offerings!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

More tomorrow morning, the Lord willing.

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