The Law of Grain Offerings
Grain offerings consisted of fine flour, oil and frankincense. Frankincense was a white resin used ceremonially and personally. It was one of the ingredients for compounding the holy incense. (Olive Tree Enhanced Strong's Dictionary) The priest took a handful of the mixture and offered it up in smoke as a memorial portion on the altar to the Lord but the remainder was kept by the priests and was considered holy.
The grain offering could be brought to the priests already cooked into cakes. It may have been baked, cooked on a griddle (over an open fire), or in a pan. The ingredients were the same but varied (depending on how it was cooked) of when the oil was added. Even when cooked, a memorial portion was given to the Lord, in smoke on the altar, but the remainder was for the priests and considered holy because it was given as a grain offering to the Lord.
The grain offering was not to be leavened, but was to be prepared with fine flour, oil and frankincense; however, it was seasoned with salt. The salt represented the covenant of the Lord. In this case leaven represents false teaching and salt represents the truth of the Lord. Grain offerings were first fruit offerings. The very first of the grain harvest was to be given to the Lord as an offering. It takes nearly a week to naturally leaven a batch of dough; however, the grain offering was to be given or cooked immediately before it had time to leaven.
If the grain offering was cooked it must be ground into a fine flour but it was expectable to bring grits (whole grain) of early ripened things. However, oil and frankincense was still put on the grain after roasting the grain heads. The priest offered up a handful to the Lord in smoke on the altar.
For a people who lived off of the annual harvest, this was a thanksgiving offering to the Lord. It was a way of saying thank you for providing for my needs. It was an acknowledgement that the creator God is Lord of the grain harvest. His people are not to be leavened with the teaching of the world but are to be salted with the Word of the Lord.
