Sermon Tone Analysis

​ NASB951 ‘Now when anyone presents a grain offering as an offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour, and he shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it.

2 ‘He shall then bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests; and shall take from it his handful of its fine flour and of its oil with all of its frankincense.

And the priest shall offer it up in smoke as its memorial portion on the altar, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. 3 ‘The remainder of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons: a thing most holy, of the offerings to the Lord by fire.

Ingredients: Fine flour or wheat, oil (combustion) and frankincense (smell, main ingredient of incense)How offered: Priest took a portion and burned it in the fire as a “memorial portion”Memorial portion - offerer mindful of God’s grace and provisionOther portion - was given to the priests, they were the only ones who could eat it.

It was the main portion of their income.

Was called the “most holy part.”

​ NASB9513 Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar?

14 So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.

the verses covering are instruction for additional cooked methods: oven, griddle and pan are to be handled identically

Additional Grain regulations

Were not to be taken if yeast or honey was in the grain or the cooked grain.

Honey was used in pagan cults and yeast came to represent “evil human tendencies” (Wenham)Salt was to be added by the priest, and symbolized covenant.

Salt being a preservative highlighted the enduring, eternal quality of the covenantother examples

​ NASB955 “Do you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave the rule over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?

​ NASB9519 “All the offerings of the holy gifts, which the sons of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a perpetual allotment.

It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord to you and your descendants with you.”

Grain offering of first fruitsUsed the heads of barley in the same procedure as the grain offering except that it was done to mark the special occasion of first fruits

​The New American Commentary: Leviticus (4) ConclusionThe grain offering was a gift to the Lord that honored him as the source of life and of the fertility of the land.

It represented the dedication to God of the fruit of one’s labor.110

In the grain offering the worshiper offered the best of the kernels of wheat to indicate that he was offering the best to God, which signified the dedication of one’s life and work to God.

The same is to be the response of the New Testament worshiper as well.

Fellowship Offering

3 Occasions:Feast of weeksCompletion of Nazarite Vowinstallation of the priests3 types:Thanksgiving offering (for receiving a blessing)votive offering (or vow offering)freewill offering (expression of gratitude)Distinction from burnt offering:offering could be eaten by the offerer, and others as a shared meal“the worshipper in this sense shared a meal with the Lord”, denoting fellowship

​The New American Commentary: Leviticus (2) Fellowship Offering from the Flock (3:6–11)This concept of having fellowship through the sharing of a meal sheds light on Paul’s warning in that partaking of a sacrifice offered to an idol or demon is in effect having fellowship with it.

​ NASB9518 Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar?

19 What do I mean then?

That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?

20 No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.

21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.

22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?

We are not stronger than He, are we?

offering could be male or femalethe fat of the animal (which was the best part) was offered to Godthe fat was burned on top of the burning offering sacrifice, which was to be wholey consumed by the fire.

This means this was the fat of an additional animal.

Fellowship offering often accompanied a burnt offering.v. 5 is talking about the daily “burnt” offering called the Tamid sacrifice

​The New American Commentary: Leviticus (1) Fellowship Offering from the Herd (3:1–5)The order, burnt offering followed by fellowship offering, is theologically significant.

It indicates that the atonement that resulted from the burnt offering was essential before the fellowship offering, which indicates fellowship with God could be enjoyed.

This correlates to New Testament theology, where the death of Christ for our sins is the basis for sinners to have relationship and hence fellowship with God

Relation to NT

​The New American Commentary: Leviticus (4) ConclusionAlthough the term “fellowship offering” does not occur in the New Testament, the distinctive feature of this offering, the eating of the festive meal in communion with God, does resemble the practice of the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

In Leviticus the worshiper is God’s invited guest to enjoy the festive meal.

Similarly, in the Lord’s Supper the believer is invited to feast regularly upon the blood and body of the lamb of God.135

The participant is only warned to be clean in order to participate (; ).

The focus and main feature of the fellowship offering was fellowship with God.

This fellowship was made possible by atonement through sacrifice.

The fellowship offering was not presented until the burnt offering had been made.

In order for anyone to have fellowship with God, an atoning sacrifice on behalf of the sinner must be made.