The Minchah, a Type of Christ
Leviticus 2:1, 2
And when any will offer a meat offering to the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil on it…


Because the minchah was an offering without blood, and therefore was not intended as a sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 9:22), some have supposed that it was in use before the Fall. This opinion, however, has but little to sustain it. We certainly read of the minchah as having been offered by Cain (Genesis 4:3); but then Abel, at the same time, offered the holocaust, or sin offering, which no one dreams of having formed any part of the original worship in Eden. Cain's fault was not in having offered the minchah, but in not associating with it some sin sacrifice. It is questionable whether the minchah, under the Law, was ever offered without such an accompaniment. Yet we may view the minchah as a type of Christ. For -

I. ALL THE HOLY BREAD TYPIFIED CHRIST.

1. The manna was of this class.

(1) It is called "bread from heaven" (see Nehemiah 9:15).

(2) Compare John 6:31-35, 41, 48-51.

2. The shew-bread also was of this class.

(1) It was the bread of heaven, for it rested in the sanctuary, which was one of the typical "heavenly places."

(2) It rested under the splendours of the Shechinah, and therefore took its name, "Bread of Faces," viz. of God. The Bread of the Sacred Presence.

3. So was this bread of the minchah.

(1) This, indeed, was offered in the outer court; for there the altar stood. But so was Christ offered "outside the gate" of Jerusalem, and outside the courts of heaven.

(2) But it was, like the shew-bread, destined to be eaten in the sanctuary. So is Christ eaten by his spiritual priesthood in his kingdom of heaven upon earth. So is he destined to nourish the joys of the glorified in the heaven of heavens (Luke 22:30).

(3) This was a Eucharistic offering, and equivalent to the bread of the Christian Eucharist (Matthew 26:26; 1 Corinthians 10:16).

II. THIS BREAD HAD THE QUALITY OF EXCELLENCE.

1. As bread it was the staple of food.

(1) We can dispense with luxuries, but bread is necessary. It is "the staff of life." So is Christ.

(2) Bread is, by a figure of speech, put for everything needful for the body (Matthew 6:12). Christ is, by no figure of speech, everything needful to the soul.

2. This bread was of "fine flour."

(1) It may have been of barley as well as of wheat (see Numbers 5:15). Every variety of spiritual nourishment may be found in Christ.

(2) But the flour must be "fine." The nourishment we find in Christ is of the finest order. Christ is God's best Gift to us. So is Christ our best Gift to God. All secondary gifts are valuable as they are offered in his Name (2 Corinthians 9:15).

III. IT HAD NOTICEABLE ADJUNCTS.

1. Oil was poured upon it.

(1) The oil was from the olive, a tree full of fatness (Judges 9:9). It is a symbol of the Holy Spirit's grace (Matthew 25:4).

(2) The fine flour was anointed with it. Messiah is so named because anointed with the Holy Ghost without measure. The Greek synonym of the Hebrew Messiah is Christ (Isaiah 61:1; Acts 4:27; Acts 10:38; Hebrews 1:9).

(3) We are called Christians because anointed by the Spirit of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 1:21; 1 John 2:20, 27).

2. It was offered with frankincense.

(1) This was a favourite spice, which appears not to have been yielded by one tree alone, but probably was compounded from several. We read of "spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense" (Song of Solomon 4:14).

(2) It is associated with the Bridegroom in the Song of Songs, to express the perfections of his holy character, by which he is infinitely attractive to his Spouse, the Church. He is there described as coming up out of the wilderness "like pillars of smoke," probably alluding to the Shechinah, and "perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the powders of the merchant" (Song of Solomon 3:6).

(3) In these perfections he is no less grateful to God when offered up to him (Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5; 2 Peter 1:17). As we become Christ-like, we are also well pleasing in his sight. The faithful minister of the Word is "unto God a sweet savour of Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:15). - J.A.M.



Parallel Verses
KJV: 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:

WEB: "'When anyone offers an offering of a meal offering to Yahweh, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it.




The Meat-Offering; or the Father Honoured
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