After being exiled from Eden, Genesis 4 tells us that Adam and Eve had two sons, whom they named Cain and Abel. “Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard” (vv. 2-5).

Some insist that Yahweh looked with favor upon Abel and his offering because Abel made a blood sacrifice of either sheep or goats. After all, doesn’t Hebrews 9:22 say that without blood there is no forgiveness of sin? While that is true, as we saw of the whole burnt offering, Cain and Abel were not bringing sacrifices for forgiveness. Instead, they were bringing a minchah to Yahweh, an offering of tribute from a servant to his lord. Just as a province paid tribute to their ruling empire to show their loyalty and subservience, so were Cain and Abel making tribute offerings to God, “acknowledging him as their king” (EEC Vol 1, 73). Atonement always requires blood, but they were not making atonement but paying homage.

Indeed, as we will discover in our present text, the tribute offering that Israelites were to bring to the tabernacle was entirely an offering of grain. Therefore, Cain’s sacrifice was not rejected because it came from the ground; it was rejected because unlike Abel, Cain did not give his best in faith. As Hebrews 11:4 says, “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” The problem wasn’t necessarily with what Cain offered but with how he offered it. Thus, as we study the grain or tribute offering, may the LORD conform us to Abel’s testimony and keep us back from Cain’s presumptuous sin.

A GRAIN OFFERING AND A MEMORIAL // VERSES 1-3

As we noted, Leviticus begins abruptly with Yahweh giving Moses commands for the five basic offerings that the Israelites could make at the tabernacle. Remember, however, that Leviticus is not meant to be read alone. The great drama over the opening chapters is how can Israel actually meet with God at the tent of meeting, especially since Moses their mediator could not yet enter it. These chapters are the answer to that problem. The people of Israel could meet with Yahweh at His tabernacle through drawing near with offerings.

The first and most basic offering was the whole burnt offering, which could be given for a number of reasons but fundamentally was presented for the purpose of making atonement for one’s sins. But as we noted, the whole burnt offering was not made for specific sins but for the worshiper’s general sinfulness. It was a humble acknowledgement that we deserve death in payment for our sins, but God graciously permits substitution to be made for us.

There is a logical pattern to the presentation order of these offerings. The whole burnt offering must be discussed first because atonement must be made for sins before any worship can be properly offered to Yahweh. But once our sins are atoned for by the LORD, what is the next step of worship? The grain offering teaches us.

Verse 1 begins by saying, When anyone brings a grain offering as an offering to the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour. Just like the whole burnt offering, the grain offering is called an offering (qorban), a gift with which we draw near to Yahweh in worship. The word for grain offering is minchah. We call it the grain, cereal, or even meat offering because grain was exclusively offered in the tabernacle cultus. However, it is sometimes called the tribute offering, which I believe gets to the purpose of this offering. As we noted in the introduction, Cain and Abel both brought a minchah to Yahweh, and Abel offered either sheep or goats. This was an offering of tribute, an offering that acknowledged kingship and sovereignty. Abel presented his best to Yahweh as an expression of how he valued Yahweh as his King and Lord. Cain’s neglect to bring his best reflected his view of Yahweh. While he may have acknowledged the divinity of the LORD with his lips, his actions said that God did not deserve the best from his land. Notice again that worship always reveals the heart of the worshiper.

So if the whole burnt offering was an appeal for Yahweh to forgo His wrath against our sins, the grain or tribute offering is a confession of His Lordship and Kingship over us and thanksgiving gift to Him. Indeed, the gifts that the wisemen brought to Jesus could be considered a form of tribute, for they were acknowledging Jesus’ kingship and rejoicing in Him.

Because bread is so inexpensive to us, we might question how grain could be an offering fit for a king. Bread, however, was the most basic food for ancient Israel. So much so that the word bread (lechem) can refer to food in general. Furthermore, producing bread was a household effort. The men would most often work the field and harvest the grain, while the women would grind the grain into flour and bake it into bread. Palmer notes that “it took an estimated five hours a day to produce enough bread for a household.”

So this was no small offering being made. Especially when we consider that the worshiper could only bring fine flour (soleth). For their ordinary diet, Israelites ate a coarser flour (kemach) made from the whole grain. The fine flour here was made solely from the inner kernel and was much finer. Sklar notes that “this flour was fit for a king; the Israelites were to present the LORD their very best” (108).

He shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it and bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. The oil, most likely olive oil, and frankincense both increased the value of this offering even further. Frankincense, especially, was fragrance most commonly associated with royalty, hence its inclusion among the gifts presented to Christ. Practically, it also likely enhanced the aroma of the flour as it was burnt up, which alone is not particularly pleasant.

And he shall take from it a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall burn this as its memorial portion on the alter, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. But the rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the LORD’s food offering.

Most of the fine flour was given to the priests, which would be their food. It is called most holy (literally holy of holies) because only the consecrated priests were allowed to eat it. The opposite of holy is not necessarily sinful but common or ordinary. In giving this offering to Yahweh, the flour could no longer be eaten by a regular Israelite but only by a priest who represented Yahweh before the people of Israel.

Yet notice that one handful of the grain, with all the frankincense, was given directly to Yahweh through being burnt up. As with last week, the word for burn is hiqtir, which means literally to turn into smoke. So, by turning the flour into smoke which ascended into heaven, this portion was given directly to the LORD.

Notice as well that this portion is called a memorial portion. Sklar notes that:

To be remembered before the LORD is to experience his favor and care. The language of remembrance does not imply the LORD has forgotten his people in some intellectual sense. Rather, for this LORD to remember his people is for him to show through action that they are in the forefront of his thoughts. (108)

Indeed, God’s remembrance is often immediately followed by His intervention into the lives of His people. For example, the central point in the flood narrative of Genesis 7-8 is found in 8:1: “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark.” Or again in Exodus 2:24, which is right before Yahweh reveals Himself to Moses: “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.” Remembrance precedes action. Thus, the worshiper is asking Yahweh to remember him and act favorably toward him according to His covenant. Of course, it could, and very likely does, also function as the worshiper declaring to Yahweh that he remembers the covenant and will be obedient to the LORD’s commandments therein.

The financial tithes and offerings that we bring today are most similar to this grain offering. Both are freely given to show gratitude to God for our redemption. Both are expressions of our fealty to the LORD as our King. Likewise, both serve as a memorial. Of course, we do not give financially in order to demand an action from God. Anti-amen! But our giving should be a tangible reminder of our own dependency and devotion to God. Indeed, that is one reason that we stopped doing online giving as a family. While there is nothing sinful about online giving, we went back to physical currency for two reasons. First, we wanted our girls to visibly see our giving, so they know that that is what we do as Christians. Second, digital giving felt too much like just another subscription service. We wanted to bring back the memorial aspect of giving.

As with the whole burnt offering, this memorial was also a pleasing, or rest-giving, aroma to the LORD.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR BAKING // VERSES 4-13

Verses 1-3 addressed an offering that was made of raw flour. Verses 4-10 give instructions for how a baked grain offering was to be given. Notice that it could be made in a number of ways. It still needed to be made with fine flour, but it could be baked in an oven, cooked in a pan or griddle, and made into cakes or wafers. A portion of it was still burnt on the altar, while the priests consumed the rest. It was also offered with oil, which was either baked in or smeared on.

What then is missing here that was present in the unbaked offering? Frankincense. Again, frankincense was a costly fragrance, which was important because an offering to Yahweh needed to cost the worshiper something. Therefore, offering frankincense was a significant financial offering. What then could an Israelite do if he or she could not afford frankincense? What they could not offer monetarily, they could offer practically, through their time and actions. Thus, they brought their offerings baked. Again, let our motto in worship be that of David: “I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24). True worship is always costly. It costs time, effort, and certainly comfort.

This principle can also be helpful for thinking through how we use AI tools. Like all tools, there is nothing inherently sinful about using AI, but greater tools require greater skill and wisdom from the user. A car is in many ways more useful to us than a shovel, but it also has the potential to do much more harm if we use it recklessly. In the same way, AI can be beneficial.

AI becomes problematic whenever it is used to strip away all effort and thought to what we are doing. Specifically, this came to mind because I listened to a podcast this week, which mentioned pastor in his seventies who said that he now uses AI to write his Sunday morning messages for him. And many will likely make the argument that doing that very thing will free pastors to do the “real” work of ministry. However, a sermon or any other kind of Bible teaching should be done in sacrificial manner because in doing so, we are confessing Christ’s name and Word publicly before others. To present a generated sermon or teaching is to offer a sacrifice that cost the preacher or teacher nothing, an offering in the manner of Cain rather than Abel.

To be honest, if you tell AI to write a Bible study that conforms to the theology of the creeds and the 1689 Confession, it will probably present more technical theology than you can. But that’s not the point. Sanctification, both in ourselves and our hearers, happens as we wrestle with God, like Jacob did physically, through His Word.

In verse 11-12, we are told that the offering could not contain leaven or honey. Leaven refers to yeast within bread that makes it rise. The word for honey can certainly mean what comes from the beehive, but it can also refer to any kind of syrup made from fruits like dates or grapes. Neither, which we still commonly add to bread, could be added to the food offerings. Now, if the offering was a firstfruits offering, it was permitted to contain yeast and honey.

Why then were these forbidden? Palmer notes:

It is sometimes suggested that fermentation was viewed as decay and any hint of death would be incompatible with the sanctuary, meaning that leaven (which experiences fermentation) and date syrup (which was possibly susceptible to fermentation) were prohibited on the altar. Another suggestion is that leavened cakes sweetened with raisins and dates might have too closely resembled offerings to the Canaanite fertility goddess Asherah (Jer. 7:18; Hos. 3:1).

But those are only guesses. The text does not say why, so we cannot say for certain why they were forbidden. We can, however, relate it to our own worship today. Ultimately, they were forbidden because God said so. He is object of worship; therefore, He sets the rules for how worship should be conducted. Like so many things, we understand this reasoning with ourselves, but we don’t want to apply it to God. I am not expressing my love for my wife by taking her fishing if I like fishing and she doesn’t. In that case, she is one expressing her love for me! Worship functions the same way. If we want to show God how much we love Him, our supreme thought needs to be about what He desires, not about what we desire.

We can also find parallels to the usage of honey and leaven today. Honey and leaven were not sinful and could be given in certain offerings, but they were forbidden from the most holy offerings. Likewise, there is much freedom for what activities and special services that a church can have, but the regular Lord’s Day gathering should be very focused on doing only a few things: singing, praying, reading and hearing the Word, and the ordinances. For example, skits and plays can be wonderful activities, especially for getting kids involved, but they shouldn’t be done on Lord’s Day gathering for worship. Indeed, even recognitions such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, we do before our call to worship Scripture and prayer. Even though those are good things, once the call to worship is made, our gaze should be as fully as possible upon the LORD.

Notice, however, in verse 13 that salt is required:

You shall season all your grain offerings with salt.
You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering;
With all your offerings you shall offer salt.

The triple repetition of the command ought to immediately mark this as significant. The first command is plain enough. Every grain offering, regardless of how it is given, must be made with salt. The second command repeats the first in the negative. The third command, however, leaves out the word grain. The third command applies it beyond only the grain offering to all offerings (qorban).

Why was it so important that every offering be made with salt? As with oil and frankincense, salt was certainly important in the ancient world. The key phrase is the salt of the covenant with your God. Salt, for some reason, is linked to Yahweh’s covenant with Israel. Allen Ross offers this explanation:

The emphasis most likely is on the nature of salt as a preservative. If that is the case, then the “salt of the covenant” symbolized the preservation of the covenant (Num. 18:19; 2 Chron. 1:35). When covenants were made, each party ate the salt, which in some settings may even have been passed around on the edge of a blade of a sword. Those who “tasted the salt” became covenant allies; or, if “salt was between them,” they were in covenant. The requirement of salt for the meal offering, then, was filled with significance for the covenant people. (105)

For us today, salt is so commonly used that almost no food tastes complete unless it has salt. It so permeates our meals that we tend to only notice it whenever there is an absence or over-abundance. The covenant between God and His people is similar. The beauty of the Creator Almighty entering into an eternal agreement with us ought to never cease to amaze us, and even more as Christians, since Christ has established the new covenant for us. Our confident and continuous ability to draw near to God’s very throne through His Spirit who dwells within us is what a godly Israelite could scarcely dream of. And it should rightly shape and pervade every aspect of our lives. Just as Paul calls for our speech to be seasoned with salt, so should all that we do. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). That is our modern equivalent of putting salt in each offering.

FIRSTFRUITS TO THE LORD // VERSES 14-16

It seems as though the grain offering was most often brought alongside other offerings, particularly the whole burnt offerings, which is fitting. After acknowledging his sinfulness and presenting an unblemished animal for atonement, the Israelite would then give a grain offering as a gift of gratitude and tribute to Yahweh as his King and Lord. Verse 14, however, also ties the grain offering to one of Israel’s festivals, the harvest or firstfruits festival:

If you offer a grain offering of firstfruits to the LORD, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits fresh ears, roasted with fire, crushed new grain. And you shall put oil on it and lay frankincense on it; it is a grain offering. And the priest shall burn as its memorial portion some of the crushed grain and some of the oil with all of its frankincense; it is a food offering to the LORD.

Not all of the firstfruits would have been considered a grain offering, but grain offerings were a regular part of the firstfruits. The firstfruits were supposed to represent the first and best of Israel’s harvest. Thus, while Cain gave from the fruit of the ground, he did not give his firstfruits, whereas able gave the firstborn of his flock.

Furthermore, since the text specifies that it is to be fresh ears, roasted with fire, crushed new grain, Andrew Bonar sees a glimpse of Christ here. He says,

The best ears of the finest corn in the plains of Israel were plucked while yet green; and instead of being left to ripen in the cool breeze, and under the genial sun, are withered up by the scorching fire. It was thus that the only pure humanity that ever walked on the plains of earth was washed away in three-and-thirty years by the heat of wrath he had never deserved. While obeying night and day with all his soul and strength, the burning wrath of God was drying up his frame. “Beaten out of full ears,” represents the bruises and strokes whereby hie was prepared for the altar. “Though he were a son yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.” (Heb. 2:10). It is after this preparation that he is a perfect meat-offering, fully devoted, body and substance, to the Lord.

While we can assume that the Israelites prayed and sang psalms while making their offerings to Yahweh, we may find it a bit surprising that Leviticus does not include any such instructions. This is likely because there were no set prayers and psalms that the Israelite had to pray and sing with each offering. Yet we do find a kind of liturgical call and response in other passages of Scripture. For instance, Deuteronomy 26:1-11 tells us what the Israelite was supposed to say as he or she brought the fruitfruits gift:

When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there. And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.’ Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God.

And you shall make response before the LORD your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. And the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor. Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders. And he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O LORD, have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the LORD your God and worship before the LORD your God. And you shall rejoice in all the good that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.

The Israelites were to present the best of their harvest to the LORD, and they were to do so out of thankfulness for “all the good that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house…” Even though we do not make grain offerings today, we are still called to present ourselves as a sacrifice to God. As we noted last week, Romans 12:1 commands us to be living sacrifices. Like the Israelites, we should certainly offer the best of ourselves to God, the best of our time to the intake of His Word and prayer, the best of our efforts to the building of His kingdom. But we also now offer everything to God, our very selves. Again, whether we are eating and drinking, whether we are acting or speaking, we are to do everything to the glory of God, giving thanks to God the Father through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Indeed, we should not underestimate thanksgiving as an offering with a pleasing aroma to God. Negatively, all of the great sins that Paul lists in Romans 1 arise because “although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him” (1:21). God gives people over to what we think of as more extreme sins when they refuse to honor Him as God or give Him thanks. Instead, as people who have been redeemed by the blood of God’s own Son, “through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (Hebrews 13:15-16). The sacrifices that we now bring to God are not to cover our sin; Christ accomplished that perfectly! Our sacrifices are now in praise to the God who has rescued us from our sin and brought us into an eternal covenant with Himself.

For what it’s worth, the word for sacrifice (θυσια) is the same word used in the Septuagint for the grain offering. Just as the grain offering was a tribute offering to acknowledge and submit to God as God, so too are our praises to Him. We certainly ought to give from the fruit of our finances, but most importantly, God wants “the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” Continually acknowledging (or confessing) the name of Jesus is the sacrifice of praise that God now desires from His people. We certainly confess Christ’s name each Lord’s Day as we sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to Him. But since the author of Hebrews just commanded us to go to Christ outside the camp and bear His reproach (13:13), we should think of this more in terms of not being ashamed of Christ before those who would mock Him or (as is more common with us today) who we fear may mock us because of Him. We should be unashamed of confessing before men the One who is not ashamed of confessing us before His Father.

We most often call the Table before us the Lord’s Supper or Communion, yet in many traditions it is more commonly called the Eucharist. But we should not forsake that title simply because we differ theologically from many who use it. Eucharist is simply an English transliteration of the Greek word for thanksgiving. Each of the four accounts of Christ’s last supper (which instituted to the Lord’s Supper) say that He gave thanks before breaking the bread. Thus, under the looming shadow of the cross, Christ modeled for us how we ought to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). So let us come to the Table this morning with hearts of thankfulness to our God.

And since this bread and cup is a proclamation of Christ and His atoning death, it is a physical and tangible acknowledgement and confession of His name. By eating this bread and drinking this cup, we confess that Christ alone is the full and final sacrifice for sin, that He has cleansed us of all unrighteousness. And we come now to His Table, bringing ourselves as tribute, honoring Him as God and giving thanks to Him, a pleasing aroma to our King.