In the Old Testament times, Israelites were voluntarily asked to present grain offerings in the temple to show honour and respect to God in worship. Leviticus 2 teaches us about the specific instructions God gave to His people explaining what needs to be done while presenting this offering. Three noticeable instructions were:
- The offering must consist of choice flour (Lev 2:1, 4, 5)
- It must not contain yeast or honey(Lev 2:4, 2:5, 11, 12)
- Never forget to add salt to the offering (Lev 2:13)
Of course under the new covenant, we no longer have to make this offering, but these symbolic things teach us three keys to a God-pleasing worship:
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1. CHOICE FLOUR: We always want to give our best to the person we love the most, isn’t it? This attitude should reflect in our worship unto Him too. We must offer our best to God –in heart, in thought, in action, in words, in music and in whatever way we can. He, and He alone deserves our undivided love.
2. NO YEAST OR HONEY: Yeast is a form of bacteria that ferments and causes the bread to rise, affecting the whole loaf even though it is present in one part of the bread. Yeast was symbolic of sin and hence was prohibited for bread that would be used for holy purposes. Similarly when we give a foothold to sin, it is only a matter of time before it corrupts our entire being. It is important to consecrate yourself and confess your sins before God as you come to Him in worship.
Honey is made of sugar and when burnt gives a foul smell. We often resort to saying sweet and big adjectives to God in our worship time, especially before men. But remember if our walk doesn’t match our talk, it is like foul smell unto Him.
3. ADD SALT: God instructed the Israelites that every sacrifice, including the grain offerings, was to be seasoned with salt; this also included the Holy ingredients used for the incense offering. This was done as a sign of their covenant with Him. In Old Testament times, salt was considered more precious than gold and was even used as a form of currency! Salt has many functions—it preserves a thing from getting spoiled, it decontaminates, acts as a purifier etc.
Salt speaks of the saving and purifying life of Jesus himself. Jesus says in Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth”. Again Mark9:49 says “Have salt within yourselves.” Here lies the third and most important key to a God-pleasing worship—our lives should portray Jesus!
Hope this blessed you. Enjoy worshipping Jesus!