In The Word
Read: Leviticus 2-3
The Law of Grain Offerings
2 ‘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 he 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 most holy part of the offerings to the Lord by fire.
4 ‘Now when you bring an offering of a grain offering baked in an oven, it shall beunleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers spread with oil.5 And if your offering is a grain offering made on the griddle, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil; 6 you shall break it into bits and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. 7 Now if your offering is a grain offering made in a pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. 8 When you bring in the grain offering which is made of these things to the Lord, it shall be presented to the priest, and he shall bring it to the altar. 9 The priest then shall take up from the grain offering its memorial portion, and shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. 10 The remainder of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons: a most holy part of the offerings to the Lord by fire.
11 ‘No grain offering, which you bring to the Lord, shall be made with leaven, for you shall not offer up in smoke any leaven or any honey as an offering by fire to the Lord. 12 As an offering of first fruits you shall bring them to the Lord, but they shall not ascend as a soothing aroma on the altar. 13 Every grain offering of yours, moreover, you shall season with salt, so that the salt of the covenant of your God will not be lacking from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.
14 ‘Also if you bring a grain offering of early ripened things to the Lord, you shall bring fresh heads of grain roasted in the fire, crushed grain of new growth, for the grain offering of your early ripened produce. 15 You shall then put oil on it and place incense on it; it is a grain offering. 16 Then the priest shall offer up in smoke its memorial portion, part of its crushed grain and its oil with all its incense as an offering by fire to the Lord.
The Law of Peace Offerings
3 ‘Now if his offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings, if he is going to offer from the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without defect before the Lord.2 And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood around on the altar. 3 From the sacrifice of the peace offerings he shall then present an offering by fire to the Lord, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 4 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.5 Then Aaron’s sons shall offer it up in smoke on the altar on the burnt offering, which is on the wood that is on the fire; it is an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. 6 But if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord is from the flock, he shall offer it, male or female, without defect. 7 If he is going to offer a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before the Lord, 8 and he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. 9 From the sacrifice of peace offerings he shall then bring as an offering by fire to the Lord, its fat, the entire fat tail which he shall remove close to the backbone, the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is on the entrails, 10 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys. 11 Then the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire to the Lord.
12 ‘Now if his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord, 13 and he shall lay his hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. 14 From it he shall present his offering as an offering by fire to the Lord, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 15 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys. 16 The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar asfood, an offering by fire as a soothing aroma; all fat is the Lord’s. 17 It is a permanent statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places: you shall not eat any fat or any blood.’”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
The offerings brought to the Lord were a thing most holy, consecrated, and set apart for the Lord. Parts of the offerings were used to support the Lord’s priest and the Lord’s tent of meeting. I Corinthians 9 reminds us that we are not to muzzle the ox while he is working. Those who performed the sacred services were allowed to eat the food of the temple, and those who attended regularly to the altar had their share from the altar. The Lord directed those who proclaimed the gospel to get their living from the gospel.
Not everyone is called to full-time ministry. Some are called to bi-vocational service where they work a full-time job and then volunteer their time freely for the Lord. Paul had the God-given right to live from the gospel, but he chose to work two full-time jobs: his trade and planting churches. He endured this so he would not be a hindrance to the churches as they were planted.
We are to bring the Lord our first and our best, not what’s left after we pay our bills and get the things we want. We are to bring the whole tithe to the Lord’s local storehouse, His local church. The Lord uses those resources to support His mission, His house, and the ones He has called to be His shepherds. Remember your tithe doesn’t belong to you. It is a thing most holy that belongs to the Lord.