Leviticus 2:1 ‘‘When anyone offers an offering of a grain offering to Yahweh, his offering shall be of fine flour. He shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it. 2 He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. He shall take his handful of its fine flour, and of its oil, with all its frankincense, and the priest shall burn its memorial on the altar, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh. 3 That which is left of the meal offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. It is a most holy part of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire.
4 “‘When you offer an offering of a grain offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil. 5 If your offering is a meal offering made on a griddle, it shall be of unleavened fine flour, mixed with oil. 6 You shall cut it in pieces, and pour oil on it. It is a meal offering. 7 If your offering is a grain offering of the pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. 8 You shall bring the meal offering that is made of these things to Yahweh. It shall be presented to the priest, and he shall bring it to the altar. 9 The priest shall take from the grain offering its memorial, and shall burn it on the altar, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh. 10 That which is left of the grain offering shall be Aaron’s and his sons’. It is a most holy part of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire.
11 “‘No grain offering which you shall offer to Yahweh shall be made with yeast; for you shall burn no yeast, nor any honey, as an offering made by fire to Yahweh. 12 As an offering of first fruits you shall offer them to Yahweh, but they shall not rise up as a pleasant aroma on the altar. 13 Every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt. You shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt.
14 “‘If you offer a grain offering of first fruits to Yahweh, you shall offer for the grain offering of your first fruits fresh heads of grain parched with fire and crushed. 15 You shall put oil on it and lay frankincense on it. It is a grain offering. 16 The priest shall burn as its memorial part of its crushed grain and part of its oil, along with all its frankincense. It is an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
Imagine that you have come to church to worship your Creator and as you take your seat you are distracted. You find yourself burdened by your sins, the wicked things that you said and did during the week and the many good things that you left undone; the acts of kindness and encouragement that you could have done but decided to ignore.
How are you able to come into God’s presence, knowing that you are a sinner?
Traditionally in ages past, the New Testament Church followed the example that God laid out for his people in Leviticus. After the worshipper arrived at church the service would begin with a call to worship to help the worshipper focus on the holiness of God.
You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;
With you the wicked cannot dwell.
But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
Let them ever sing for joy! Psalm 5:4,11
Next, the worshipper prepared to meet with God by first admitting their unworthiness to come before God and confessing their sins. After which the pastor may lead the congregation by reading from Psalm 32:1-5
Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy on me, my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.”
After a time of confession the pastor could continue to read from Psalm 32:5-8 & 11
And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found;
Surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them.
You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!
Having confessed your sins and been granted the assurance that God forgave your guilt and is now your safe hiding place, you are prepared to enter into worship with Psalms and praises of true gratitude: Rejoice in the Lord and be glad because God now counts you as righteous.
And that is exactly what we see happening in the second chapter of Leviticus. After confessing his sins and receiving forgiveness through the sacrifice at the door of the Tent of Meeting, the worshipper responds in gratitude with the grain offering, a voluntary expression of devotion, acknowledging that everything he has belongs to God.
Because while (you) were a sinner God loved you, Romans 5:8, and graciously granted you forgiveness. Because you neither earned nor deserved God’s favor, Ephesians 2:8, your response should be one of dedication to God.
As such, like the burnt offering, the grain offering made by fire, (is) a pleasant aroma to Yahweh. Paul later taught the Ephesian church, Therefore be imitators of God, beloved children, and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering. Ephesians 5:1-2
According to some theologians the fine flour of this offering symbolizes the perfect life of Christ sacrificed in your place. The oil pictures the power of the Spirit poured out on the believer. And the frankincense represents the fragrance of Christ in the believer’s life as he lives renewed by the Spirit. Your dedication to God is the outward demonstration of the inner change that is taking place in you, which is known as sanctification. (Life-Study of Leviticus, bibleread.online)
Sanctification is a work of God’s grace whereby… through the powerful operation of his Spirit applying the death and resurrection of Christ to them, renews the whole man after the image of God, having the seeds of repentance unto life, and saving graces, put into their hearts, and those graces so stirred up, increased, and strengthened, as they more and more die to sin and rise to newness of life. (Westminster Confession of Faith, Larger Catechism Question 75)