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 there is nothing rough or coarse; it also means 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 differences between the burnt offering and the meal offering. The burnt offering is something of the animal life: a bullock, 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 a 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.
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