It is important to see the significance of the spices of the meal offering. There are always spices in a proper recipe. In the meal offering, there are three positive spices and two negative spices. The fine flour is not a spice, but is the main substance and ingredient for preparing the meal offering. Added to the fine flour are a number of spices mentioned in Leviticus 2.
The first spice is the oil. We have mentioned this in the previous chapter. We all know that in typology oil signifies the divine Spirit. I use the word “divine” instead of “holy” because Christians today have many deviant concepts related to the words “Holy Spirit.” In this chapter I prefer to use divine Spirit, for the divine Spirit is just the divinity of God. The fine flour signifies the humanity of Jesus, and the oil signifies the divinity of Jesus. So the oil is the divine spice added to the meal offering.
Jesus is a man, yet He is mingled and anointed with the divine Spirit. The divine Spirit is not only mingled with the humanity of Jesus, but also anoints His humanity. The mingling is deeper than the anointing, but the anointing is more apparent. For instance, in Leviticus 2, the fine flour from the pan must be mingled with the oil. Then it becomes a certain form to be divided into portions. Then, after being divided into portions, oil is poured upon it. “And if thy oblation be a meal offering baked in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil. Thou shall part it in pieces, and pour oil thereon: it is a meal offering” (Lev. 2:5-6). After the mingling, there is still the need of the anointing. The mingling takes place within, inwardly, whereas the anointing is accomplished without, outwardly.
From His birth, Jesus was mingled with the Holy Spirit. He was born of the Holy Spirit; this means that His humanity was mingled already with the divine Spirit. But at the time He was baptized, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove (Matt. 3:16). He was not only mingled within with the divine Spirit, but also anointed without with the divine Spirit in the form of a dove. He was not just anointed in an abstract way, but anointed with the Spirit in a definite form, as a dove. So we see that the oil, as a spice of the meal offering, was mingled with the fine flour and was also used to anoint the fine flour. Jesus, as our meal offering, was both mingled and anointed with the divine Spirit.
The second spice in the meal offering is frankincense. In typology, frankincense signifies the fragrance of the resurrection life and nature of Christ. Even before He was crucified and resurrected, there was always something so sweet and fragrant in all His behavior and activities. That was the resurrection life. In the humanity of Jesus, the meal offering, there is the spice of the divine Spirit and the spice of the resurrection life.
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