This is another of the "sweet savor offerings" in which God's portion and delight in Jesus is fully brought out. True in one sense all that Jesus did, all that He was in life and death was "for us;" but His work to God for the expiation of sin is surely a different thing from His work to God for the acceptance of the offerer. In the former, Gods hatred to sin and outpouring of wrath upon the sinner's Substitute is expressed; in the latter, God's delight in holiness and in the infinite perfection of Christ in His person and work. "Christ made sin for us," characterize the various sin and trespass offerings. Christ giving Himself for us "an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor," describe the distinguishing feature of the other sacrificial offerings.
If the burnt offering sets Jesus before us coming up to the altar—the cross—of His own free will, and there, in the place of sin, and where only it could be expiated, offering Himself to accomplish the will and glory of God in death; the meat offering presents Him offering a whole unblemished life to God, and that too, in the place of sin and sorrow. The material of which it was composed was "fine flour"—humanity in perfection; its adjuncts were "oil"-the Holy Ghost; "frankincense"-the moral graces; and "salt"—incorruption and perpetuity. What was forbidden was "leaven " (save in one marked exception), figure of evil; and "honey," type of mere human affection. The "oil poured" upon the offering is the expression of Christ's anointing by the Spirit and power, as in Acts 10:38; while the offering mingled with oil sets forth the profound teaching of Matt. 1:20 -"conceived of the Holy Ghost." This "most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire," was brought to the priests; a handful taken out with all the frankincense and burnt upon the altar. Thus Jesus in all His blessed life, His words, His ways, His actions, and in all the moral graces and beauties and lovely traits of that wondrous path, trod to the glory of God, was subjected to the trial of fire. And what was the result? A sweet savor of rest to God. That part of the offering not put upon the altar, became the food of the priests. Thus we enjoy communion with God in His expressed delight of His Beloved One as a man on earth. Wondrous privilege!
Neither leaven nor honey were to be burned on the altar (Lev. 2:11). The meat offering of first fruits being baked with "leaven" (Lev. 2:12; see Lev. 23:17), was an exception, but this, as setting forth the church at Pentecost, sanctified and presented to God by the Holy Ghost, could not be "burnt on the altar," for the simple but weighty reason that there was "leaven" or sin there; hence, when the "meat offering," typical of the church was offered, the loaves made of fine flour were baken with leaven, but there was also offered with them a sin offering, to meet the actual state of the church, which, of course, on this side of glory is necessarily one of imperfection (Lev. 23:15-21); for the meat offering representing Christ personally - in which there was the most careful exclusion of "leaven," see Lev. 2:1-10. The vital connection between the God-glorifying life and death of priceless worth, of Jesus, was carefully maintained by an abiding statute when the people were settled in the land, every burnt offering (death of Jesus), was to be accompanied with a meat offering (life of Jesus). Num. 15:8-11.
We would again call attention to the interesting and important distinction in these offerings. The four classes of sacrifice were the burnt, meat, peace, and sin offerings, the three former specially expressive of God's delight therein, while the latter expressed His judgment upon sin.