How We Are to Offer

“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” (Leviticus 2:1, scriptures from NASB unless otherwise noted).

— Ray Charlton

Unleavened Bread

The first mention of unleavened bread is in Genesis when two angels came to Lot in Sodom. Lot offered them the opportunity to stay in his house rather than in the town square. “Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate” (Genesis 19:3). There appears to be no spiritual significance to Lot baking unleavened bread here, only that it could be made and baked quickly.

On the eve of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt, the Israelites were told to bake unleavened bread. “They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs … Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel” (Exodus 12:8,15,18).

It was expedient for the Israelites to eat unleavened bread, which could be made quickly and carried with them. It would sustain them on the start of their journey. “They baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread. For it had not become leavened, since they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves” (Exodus 12:39).

Spiritual Significance

The spiritual significance of unleavened bread was introduced by Moses. “Remember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of slavery; for by a powerful hand the LORD brought you out from this place. And nothing leavened shall be eaten … You shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt’” (Exodus 13:3, 8). In Exodus chapter 23, when the Sabbath and Festival laws were introduced, they were instructed to use unleavened bread. Exodus chapter 29 speaks about the consecration of the priesthood, where bread, cakes, and wafers were all to be made with unleavened flour.

Jehovah, through Moses, used unleavened bread to teach the Israelites of their special place in His plans. Because Egyptians used yeast in their bread making, the unleavened bread showed a difference between God’s chosen people and the world. If they were obedient, they would “be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). The consecration of the Levitical Priesthood also showed their separation from the rest of tribes of Israel. “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine … for they are wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel” (Numbers 8:14, 16).

The Laws of Grain Offerings

“And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it and put frankincense thereon” (Leviticus 2:1 KJV). The words “meat offering” imply that it was an animal offering necessitating the shedding of blood. However, the Hebrew word “minchah” has the meaning of a gift or a bloodless offering (RVIC) and is better rendered as a “meal-offering” or “grain offering.” This explains why the offering was “of fine flour, and he shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it.” Many translations use either “meal offering” or “grain offering.”

The Instructions

Leviticus chapter two is devoted to the requirements of the law for these grain offerings and is quite specific. “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. The remainder of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons: a thing most holy, of the offerings to the LORD by fire” (Leviticus 2:2-3). This offering was of raw grain, with part offered as a sacrifice to Jehovah and the remainder given to Aaron and his sons (i.e., the Levitical Priesthood).

Unleavened Offering

The instructions were then given for the cooked grain offering. “Now when you bring an offering of a grain offering baked in an oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers spread with oil. If your offering is a grain offering made on the griddle, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil; you shall break it into bits and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. Now if your offering is a grain offering made in a pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil” (Leviticus 2:4-7). The requirement that the sacrifice be unleavened is critical for it to be acceptable. “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” (Leviticus 2:11). In time, honey can ferment and have the same effect as the leaven in dough and when burned creates a burnt smell, rather than a sweet savor to Jehovah.

The Significance of the Unleavened Offering

To understand the meaning of the unleavened offering, the clue is in the animal sacrifices. In chapter one of Leviticus, Jehovah gave Moses explicit requirements for the animals which were to be offered. “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When any man of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd or the flock. If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD’” (Leviticus 1:2-3).

In chapter 22 the Israelites were warned, “Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it will not be accepted for you” (Leviticus 22:20). Unfortunately, the Israelites often did not fulfill their obligation to provide unblemished sacrifices. In Malachi the priest was chastised for bringing unacceptable sacrifices to Jehovah, ones that they would not even present to an earthly person in authority. “But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly? says the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 1:8).

Defects in the animals pictured evil, so the animals had to be checked, so that only those without defects were offered to Jehovah. Defects are like what leaven symbolizes. To prepare unleavened offerings, the house was to be totally cleansed of any leaven. It required diligent inspection, including the cooking implements and the clothing to be been worn. The rules were strict and the punishment severe “Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land” (Exodus 12:19). Even a small amount will permeate the whole loaf. “A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough” (Galatians 5:9).

With the coming of Christ, the meaning of leaven became clear. Speaking to his disciples, Jesus said, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1). The meaning is further explained in Matthew 16:12, “Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Br. Russell wrote: “The leaven — Symbol of an evil influence … the hypocrisies of the Pharisees were impurities, contaminating in their influence (R5390:2). Of the Pharisees — The false doctrines and corrupt influences proceeding from the Scribes and Pharisees” (R2635:1, 1670:6) (Expanded Comments, Luke 12:1).

The Leaven in the Church of Corinth

The Apostle Paul learned of the sexual immorality that had defiled the church, one such kind that did not even exist amongst the Gentiles. Their elders failed to act. It should have humiliated them, and yet they had become arrogant, unwilling to discipline the guilty. Paul explains, “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:6-7). He continues; “Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:8).

Clean Out the Old Leaven

Once leaven is in the lump, it is impossible to remove it. Paul explains what he means by old leaven: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). We cannot remove old leaven ourselves. However, there is a way that this can be achieved. “You were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).

First, we must be cleansed of our inherited unrighteousness by having the merit of Christ applied to us, receiving his righteousness as a robe which covers our imperfections from God’s sight (Isaiah 61:10). By this imputation, we can present our “bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God” (Romans 12:1). In this way we become unleavened as Paul wrote, “Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7).

Walking in Newness

However, another step is needed. The apostle John clearly states change is needed in directing our lives. It is a new direction away from the darkness of the world, the old leaven. “Walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). The apostle Paul brings these two steps together in Romans 6:12-13: “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”

Leavened-Bread Offering

However, peace-offerings did use leaven. “With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving, he shall present his offering with cakes of leavened bread. Of this he shall present one of every offering as a contribution to the LORD; it shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offerings” (Leviticus 7:13-14).

The use of leaven here is significant. Adding leavened cakes, picturing sin, indicates that the offerers acknowledged their sinful condition, and that peace with God is only possible to those who acknowledge their sinful condition. Part of the offering of leavened cakes was to be given to the priest as payment for his service.

This beautifully pictures consecrated Christians bringing their living sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to the Heavenly Father. They can do so only through Christ, our Redeemer. “Through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” “For He Himself is our peace” (Colossians 1:20, Ephesians 2:14).