In this message I am burdened to give a further word on the meal offering. However, I am not burdened to speak on the meal offering merely in itself. Rather, my burden is to fellowship with you concerning the elements, the components, of the meal offering in relation to the Christian life and the church life.
In the foregoing message we saw that the reality of all the offerings is Christ realized as the Spirit. This means that in our experience the Spirit is the reality of the offerings. If we do not have the Spirit in a subjective way, we will not have the reality of the offerings but only the doctrine regarding Christ as the offerings. In Himself, Christ is the reality of the offerings, but He cannot be this reality to us apart from His being the life-giving Spirit.
In Leviticus there are five basic offerings: the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. It is difficult for us to say which of these five offerings is the main offering. Some may say that the peace offering is the main offering because, according to chapters one through five of Leviticus, it stands in the center. Others may say that the main offering is the burnt offering, which signifies Christ as the One who is absolute for God. Still others may say that, since we have the problems of sin and sins in our daily life, either the sin offering or the trespass offering is the main offering. Although we need all the basic offerings, the main offering with respect to the experience of Christ in its many aspects and details is the meal offering.
In understanding the book of Leviticus, we today are standing on the shoulders of many Bible teachers, especially those among the Brethren, who have gone before us. We surely must give credit to them. Nevertheless, because we are on their shoulders, we can see things which they have not seen. One of these things is the matter of enjoying the offerings in order to be constituted to become a certain kind of person. We become what we eat. If we eat Christ as the meal offering, we will be constituted with Christ.
We need to know the elements that compose the meal offering. We need to realize that the meal offering includes four elements but specifically excludes two other elements. To know all these elements is to know Christ in a practical and detailed way.
The first element in the meal offering is the fine flour. This fine flour signifies Christ’s humanity, which is balanced and fine.
Whereas the fine flour in the meal offering signifies humanity, the oil signifies divinity. The oil signifies God. The fine flour is the base, and the oil is added to it.
If we read Leviticus 2 carefully, we will see that the oil is added to the flour in three ways. The oil may be mingled with the flour, or it may be poured on the flour. The flour may also be anointed with the oil. The most important way of adding the oil to the flour is mingling the flour with the oil. The fine flour does not remain dry but is “oiled” both inwardly and outwardly.
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