Commentary - Leviticus 6:14-18

Bird's-eye view

In this section of Leviticus, God provides Moses with specific instructions for the priests regarding the grain offering. This is not a new offering, as it was introduced back in chapter 2, but here the focus shifts to the priestly duties and privileges associated with it. The text meticulously outlines what portion of the offering belongs to God, to be consumed on the altar, and what portion belongs to the priests as their food. This is sanctified food, holy sustenance, provided by God for His ministers. The details here are not tedious minutiae; they are a profound illustration of communion, provision, and the holiness that must characterize the lives of those who draw near to God. The grain offering, a tribute from the people's labor, becomes a picture of Christ's perfect life offered to God, and the eating of it by the priests is a type of our fellowship with Christ and our dependence on His finished work for our spiritual nourishment.

The central themes are holiness, communion, and divine provision. The offering is "most holy," placing it in the highest tier of sacredness, on par with the sin and guilt offerings. The regulations surrounding its consumption, it must be unleavened and eaten in a holy place, underscore the separation and purity required to fellowship with a holy God. This passage reminds us that worship is not a haphazard affair. God cares about the details because the details all point to the perfect sacrifice and perfect priest to come, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our access to God and our ongoing fellowship with Him are purchased and sustained by a provision far richer than cakes of fine flour.

Outline

Context In Leviticus

Leviticus 6 begins a new section of the book, running through chapter 7, which provides supplementary instructions for the priests concerning the offerings already introduced in chapters 1-5. The earlier chapters described the offerings primarily from the perspective of the lay Israelite bringing the sacrifice. Now, God turns His attention to the ministers of the sanctuary, the sons of Aaron. This is the "torah," the law or instruction, for how the priests are to handle these holy things. This passage on the grain offering follows the instructions for the burnt offering (Lev 6:8-13) and precedes the laws for the sin and guilt offerings. The placement is significant. It is situated in the midst of the sacrifices that deal with sin and atonement, reminding us that our worship and tribute to God (represented by the grain offering) are only possible in the context of blood atonement. We cannot offer our works or our substance to God acceptably until the problem of sin has been dealt with.

Key Issues

God's Provision for His Ministers

One of the central points of this passage is that God provides for His ministers out of the offerings brought to Him. The priests did not have a territorial inheritance in the land like the other tribes. Their inheritance was the Lord Himself (Num 18:20). This was not a spiritual platitude; it had a tangible, physical reality. God fed them from His own table. The sacrifices brought by the people were first and foremost offerings to God, but a portion was then given by God to the priests as their rightful share. This system established a beautiful economy of dependence. The people depended on the priests for mediation, and the priests depended on the people's faithful worship for their sustenance. And ultimately, both depended entirely on God, who established the system and provided the bounty that made the offerings possible in the first place.

This principle carries forward into the New Covenant. The Apostle Paul argues that those who preach the gospel should make their living from the gospel (1 Cor 9:13-14), explicitly referencing the Levitical priests who shared in the offerings of the altar. Giving to the church and her ministers is not simply paying a salary; it is an act of worship, an offering to God from which He provides for His servants. It is a participation in this ancient pattern of God sustaining His ministry through the faithful gifts of His people.

Verse by Verse Commentary

14 ‘Now this is the law of the grain offering: the sons of Aaron shall bring it near before Yahweh in front of the altar.

The verse begins by identifying what follows as the "torah," the authoritative instruction, concerning the grain offering. While the offering itself was described in chapter 2, this is the specific protocol for the priests. The offering is brought "before Yahweh," a constant reminder that all worship is coram Deo, before the face of God. It is presented "in front of the altar," the central piece of furniture in the courtyard, the place of sacrifice and atonement. This location is not incidental. The grain offering, representing the work of man's hands, his labor and substance, has no place before God apart from the altar of blood sacrifice. Our good works, our tithes, our service, are only acceptable to God because they are placed before the cross.

15 Then one of them shall raise up from it a handful of the fine flour of the grain offering, with its oil and all the frankincense that is on the grain offering, and he shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, a soothing aroma, as its memorial offering to Yahweh.

From the total offering, the priest takes a sample, a "handful." This portion, along with all the oil and frankincense, is designated as the "memorial offering" (azkarah). This is God's portion. It is offered up in smoke on the altar, ascending to God as a "soothing aroma." This phrase does not mean that God has olfactory senses, but rather that the offering is acceptable and pleasing to Him, like a pleasant smell is to us. The frankincense, a costly incense, speaks of prayer and intercession, making the offering fragrant. The oil speaks of the Holy Spirit's anointing. This memorial portion is a token that brings the worshiper to God's remembrance. In the gospel, we see the reality this pictured. The perfect life of Christ, His anointed work, is the truly soothing aroma offered to God on our behalf, ensuring that we are remembered in grace.

16 What is left of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten as unleavened cakes in a holy place; they shall eat it in the court of the tent of meeting.

After God receives His portion, the remainder is designated for the priests. This is their food, their provision from the Lord. Notice the strict regulations. It must be eaten as "unleavened cakes." Leaven in Scripture is consistently a symbol of sin, corruption, and false doctrine. Its prohibition here signifies that those who commune with God and feed on His provision must do so in holiness and sincerity. There can be no mixture of corruption in the holy things of God. Furthermore, it must be eaten in a "holy place," specifically "in the court of the tent of meeting." This meal was not to be taken home and treated as a common thing. It was a sacred meal, a fellowship meal, eaten in the presence of God. This is a powerful picture of our fellowship with Christ. We feed on Him, the Bread of Life, but we must do so with hearts purged of the leaven of malice and wickedness (1 Cor 5:8).

17 It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their share from My offerings by fire; it is most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering.

The prohibition of leaven is repeated for emphasis. Then God gives the basis for these rules: "I have given it as their share." This is a gift from God to His priests. It is not their wage earned, but their portion given. Then the status of this food is defined in the strongest possible terms. It is "most holy." This category is reserved for the things that have the highest degree of sanctity. To underscore the point, it is explicitly ranked alongside the sin offering and the guilt offering. The offering that atones for sin and the offering that represents our tribute of labor are equally and supremely holy. This teaches us that our work, when offered to God through Christ, is not a secondary, less spiritual matter. Sanctified work is as holy as the atoning sacrifice because it is accepted on the basis of that sacrifice.

18 Every male among the sons of Aaron may eat it; it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations, from the offerings by fire to Yahweh. Whoever touches them will be set apart as holy.’ ”

The privilege of eating this most holy food is restricted to the "male among the sons of Aaron," the functioning priests. This was not for their wives or daughters. This was for those who served at the altar. It was to be a "perpetual statute," an ongoing ordinance for all their generations. The final clause is striking: "Whoever touches them will be set apart as holy." This is not to be understood as a magical transference of moral character. Rather, it speaks of consecration. That which comes into contact with a "most holy" thing is itself transferred into a state of holiness, meaning it becomes dedicated to God's exclusive use and cannot be returned to common purposes. A man's garment that touched this bread, for example, would have to be treated as holy. This principle demonstrates the potent and contagious nature of God's holiness. In the Old Covenant, this was a source of great danger, as a sinful person could be "zapped" by this holiness. But in Christ, this contagious holiness becomes our salvation. When we, by faith, touch Christ, His holiness is imputed to us. We are set apart, consecrated, and made holy for God's own possession.

Application

Leviticus can seem remote, but the principles here are intensely practical. This passage teaches us, first, that our work and substance, our "grain offering," are to be offered to God. We are to present the fruit of our labor to Him in worship, acknowledging that it all comes from Him. But we must never imagine that we can offer our works on their own terms. They must be brought to the altar, which for us is the finished work of Jesus Christ. Only through Him are our imperfect offerings made a "soothing aroma" to God.

Second, this passage is a picture of our communion with God. Just as the priests ate the bread from God's altar, so we are invited to feed on Christ. He is the Bread of Life, and our spiritual sustenance comes from Him alone. The Lord's Supper is our version of this holy meal. We come to the Lord's Table to be nourished by Him, to have our faith strengthened by feeding on the reality of His body and blood given for us. But we must come on His terms, without the leaven of unrepentant sin, examining ourselves and confessing our sins so that we might partake in a worthy manner.

Finally, we see the contagious nature of holiness. In Christ, we who were unclean have touched the Holy One and have been made holy ourselves. We are "set apart." This is not a suggestion; it is our fundamental identity. We are saints, holy ones. The application, then, is to live like what we are. We are to pursue practical holiness not in order to become holy, but because we have already been made holy in Christ. We are consecrated, no longer for common use, but for the exclusive and glorious purpose of our God.