Friday, December 15, 2006
Question of the Day
Why is the grain offering "the most holy"? Why not the lamb? I figured if Rob Bell starts his church reading the book of Leviticus, claiming the entire gospel is preached in its pages, I probably should read it again. Leviticus isn't an IHOP favorite devo scripture. I have never heard a Worship with the Word set on Leviticus. It's not exactly what I would call devotional - I mean, what do to with the guts of an animal you just cut open, instructions on body fluids, commands to stay away from mildew - but it's the Bible so it's supposed to point the way to the beauty of God, right? I am asking Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus in Leviticus. So far I have more questions than answers. So any ideas on the grain offering? (Chapter 2)
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5 comments:
I found the comments on this sight quite interesting. Especially the milling of the flour and sifting of any coursness or chaff and how that corrilates with Jesus life and death.
I was thinking, "Sermon on the Mount" totally.
http://www.watton.org/studies&stories/feasts/feasts2.htm
The grain offering is the king of gift from the faithful worshipper to his God. In other nations when a treaty was made the conquered nations were expected to bring their gifts or tribute to the other king. Thus Israel too was tied to the Lord througha a covenant with God and had a responsibility through the grain offering to express her faithfulness to God and God alone. This offering helped keep Israel in good standing before God. That is why the aroma was smoothing to God.
According to Deut. 26 the worshipper at the offering had to acknoledge God's covenant mercies toward him in bringing him inot the promised land, and had to delcare that he faithfully kept the law of the firstfruits. It showed that he was loyal to God and loyal to the covenants.
I think the jist of it is that the offering was an offering of thanksgiving and one that aknowledged the goodness of God to Israel. This is why the Lord delighted in it so much and it was called the "most holy." It was Israel remember and thanking God for what he had done.
oddly enough, Cain and Abel had the opposite problem. The grain offering was unacceptable, and the animals were acceptable. I always attributed that to the fact you can always grow more grain, but you cannot grom the animal back, you have to get a new one. It is a literal sacrifice.
I thought the grain offering of Cain wasn't so much that it was the grain, but that it wasn't the first fruit or the best of the grain and he was trying to pass off inferior stuff to God. But I'm not an authority.
The other offering that I have noticed throughout the OT & NT is the drink offering. That one has always intrigued me.
well, Grain didn't do anything tp sin and could make mistakes... really, i don't know... i want to know the answer to that 2
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