Week 2: Bringing What You Have.

This week we are diving into Leviticus 2, Law of Grain Offering, exciting, right? Ha! I used to think not, but it truly is!  And I hope by the end of Chapter 2, you’ll also think so! 

The Grain Offering (also called the meal offering or “minchah” in Hebrew) did not involve animal sacrifice (blood and fire) but consisted of fine flour, oil, and frankincense. It was a much more domesticated offering than animal sacrifice! We’ll dive into each of these elements individually for a deeper understanding of their meaning. As a whole the Grain Offering was a voluntary offering given as a gift to the Lord, an expression of gratitude for God’s provision.

It’s important to note that the elements needed for the grain offering were items found in the daily life of the Israelites. If you walked into one of their homes, you’d find flour and oil. The people would have been extremely familiar with Frankincense, for it was used as incense burnt in “The Holy Place” inside the Tent of Meeting (remember this from last week?). The simplicity of having the three elements easily accessible is significant, but before I explain why keep reading!

Let’s break down the elements, because this is where it gets interesting!

THE OIL:

The Hebrew word used for oil is “shemen”, which refers to pure olive oil made from olives. It was a precious and very symbolic element in Israelite life. This means olive oil was used for waaaaay more than cooking!! In the Old Testament, “oil” represented pretty incredible things like: God’s presence, blessing, and especially His holy anointing / His Holy Spirit. Kings were anointed with oil. Priests were consecrated with it. Lamps were fueled by it. And now, here in the Tent of Meeting, a humble flour offering is made holy by it! Crazy, right?

This speaks something powerful:
God delights in the simple when it’s surrendered and Spirit-filled.

Not every act of worship is loud. Sometimes, it’s just bread in a bowl, your hands kneading faith into the quiet places of your life. The grain offering reminds us that worship doesn’t always require suffering or drama. Or incredible music and a fancy church building. Sometimes it just requires intentionality. A desire to thank God, honor Him, and welcome His Spirit into the ordinary. In other words, the posture of your heart matters!

THE FLOUR:

We read that the flour had to be “fine flour”, which meant carefully ground to be smooth and pure. This symbolized a life of purity, devotion, and surrender. Flour, a daily staple, reminded the Isrealites that God is the true source of their provision. It also reflected personal sacrifice, because it took time and effort to prepare. Just as the flour was offered as a pleasing gift to God, Jesus, our “bread of life”, offered Himself in perfect obedience becoming the ultimate fulfillment of this offering.

FRANKINCENSE

I have a lot to say about this element, so buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Have you ever smelled the essential oil of frankincense? In Bible times they used Frankincense mostly in its resin form, which was extracted as sap from trees in the Boswellia family (think extracting syrup from a maple tree). When the sappy resin is exposed to air, it turns solid, only turning back to a sappy liquid under heat. This is exactly how it was used as incense in the tent of meeting. Once heated up, it can be further extracted as essential oil. Whether the resin is heated up or turned into essential oil, both are very fragrant…earthy, clean, and grounding. 

In the grain offering, the frankincense was burned entirely on the altar, unlike the flour and oil of which a portion could be eaten by the priests. This showed that worship belongs entirely to God…a pleasing aroma rising heavenward representing their prayers, devotion, and surrender. Because frankincense also often represented purity, its presence in the grain offering may have reminded the people that their worship must be offered with pure motives and a reverent heart. See a theme here between the elements needed for this offering?

In the Grain Offering, frankincense was required, it wasn’t optional. In the same way, our worship today needs to come from a true and respectful heart. If our motives aren’t right, it can feel empty. But when we come to God with honesty, bringing all of who we are (our joys, struggles, worries, fears) He meets us there with His presence! There is zero doubt that He can handle our hard gritty human “stuff”, and when we put it in His hands He handles it with love, compassion, and care. The question is, do you trust that He is capable of caring for you in that way? Often times we place our burdens in His hands to latter take it back out. We don’t mean to play “Junior Holy Spirit” in our own lives, its just that sometimes we get caught in the trap thinking we know what we need. Yikes. I’m so guilty of this!!

To wow you even more of God’s intricacy and provision, frankincense offers a wide range of health benefits backed by today’s modern science. Its powerful anti-inflammatory properties can help reduce joint pain, support gut health, and improve conditions like arthritis and asthma. The list keeps going: it’s known to aid in skin healing, reduce stress, and even show potential anti-cancer effects. It’s true!! Scientifically it helps our cells kill off the yucky cells that are mutating into cancer!!

Historically, the resin was chewed like gum for dental health! Frankincense also supports immune function, calms the nervous system, and promotes mental clarity. It does this because the chemistry of the resin and its essential oil works with the body’s chemistry in these healing ways! Yes, the body knows exactly how to use such a tool because God made it so! Pretty neat that when the incense was burned, the people received its benefits by simply inhaling the aroma!

Frankincense remains a healing gift, both biblically and biologically, BUT LISTEN: Not all frankincense products are created equal!!! The world has watered down and diluted true frankincense products,  just like the world has done with truth. Look for pure, therapeutic-grade oils! Click here to buy the therapeutic pure grade frankincense I enjoy using.

Lastly, just like the other two elements of the Grain Offering, frankincense points forward to Jesus and we see this in Matthew 2:11 when the Magi brought it as a gift to the young Christ. As mentioned earlier, Aaron and his sons used frankincense in the grain offering as priests, symbolizing prayers and worship rising to God as the resin was burned. By bringing it to Jesus, the Magi were recognizing Him as more than a child. They were honoring Him as our future Great High Priest, the one through whom our prayers now rise to the Father! 

Just as the grain offering pleased God, Jesus’s life would be a perfect offering of obedience and holiness, fully pleasing to the Father. Mary, familiar with frankincense’s spiritual and practical uses, likely understood its deep meaning both as worship and as something she could use during stressful times, illness, or prayer.  Could you imagine being Mary and being given such a meaningful gift, one that foretold your child’s ministry!?

And don’t miss the bigger picture here! When I read through Leviticus 2, this is what God showed me through the everyday elements needed for the Grain Offering. When you get to the heart of it, the grain offering foreshadowed Jesus in this way:

He was the Bread of Life (fine flour), anointed by the Holy Spirit (pure olive oil).
He, too, was poured out like oil. Crushed like grain. Offered up like incense.
And now, His Spirit dwells in us…filling our simple, daily offerings with eternal meaning.

Let me say that again: ETERNAL meaning. SIMPLE offerings. Is your mind blown by this like mine was? When I put it all together I sat there in awe wondering how I ever missed the connections to Jesus in Leviticus 2!

Understanding the meaning of the Grain Offering’s elements creates so much more depth, doesn’t it? It reminds us that God does everything on purpose for a purpose. And, if there’s one word to sum up Leviticus 2, it’s the word “simple”. God wasn’t asking for extravagance. He was simply asking for ordinary Israelite household items like fine flour and olive oil. He made worship accessible. Just as He placed healing benefits in things like frankincense, He wove care and intention into the smallest details for our good. This chapter reminds us that God values a surrendered heart more than a show. Our simple, Spirit filled prayers and offerings rise to Him as a pleasing aroma! Gosh, He loves us SO SO MUCH!

REFLECTION: Where in your life is God asking for something simple but surrendered? A quiet yes? A daily discipline? A moment of stillness to acknowledge Him?

PRAYER: Father, I bring You what I have today…simple, quiet, not always impressive. But I want it to be refined (like fine flour), filled with Your Spirit, and pleasing in Your sight. Teach me to live a life of worship in the everyday, to pour out my heart like oil on fine flour. Help me let your Spirit saturate me, and help me let go of what I want so you can teach me to trust that You delight my offerings others may never see. Thank you for the gift of your Word. It’s in your precious name we pray, Jesus, Amen.