Leviticus 2:11 ¶ No meat
offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye
shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire. 12 As
for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the LORD: but
they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour. 13 And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt
thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of
thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou
shalt offer salt. 14 And if thou offer a
meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the LORD, thou shalt offer for the meat
offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even
corn beaten out of full ears. 15 And
thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon: it is a meat
offering. 16 And the priest shall burn
the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof, and part of
the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof: it is an offering
made by fire unto the LORD.
I’ve already talked about how leaven represents corruption. God
did not want it in His sacrifices and it was forbidden to the Hebrews fleeing
Egypt. Honey and leaven are not bad things in and of themselves for our use but
represent things that have been corrupted. Honey is produced by the insects’
regurgitation or enzymatic activity and leaven is used for dough and batter to
soften it by a foaming action of gas bubbles making it useful for making food.
They do not represent things in their unadulterated state but after being
processed. This is not to say that we must not eat honey or leaven as their
references refer to spiritual things.
In Exodus it was reported that the firstfruits were to be offered to the Lord.
Exodus 34:22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end…26 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God…
God wanted these sacrifices seasoned with salt which can represent
metaphorically the flavor of those in the world who believe Him, trust Him, and
love Him. The salt of the earth is present in the world to speak of the truth
of God. Notice the context of Jesus’ sermon popularly called ‘The Sermon on the
Mount’ although it is not given a name in the Bible. Why are His followers
called the salt of the earth and the light of the world? It would not be
for walking around with your nose up in the air acting how you have some secret
knowledge and everyone else would do well to hang on your every word as you
wear a sandwich board and scream Bible verses at the top of your lungs on a
busy street corner. There is more to being the salt of the earth than that.
Matthew 5:1 ¶ And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 ¶ Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
13 ¶ Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
In America when we think of corn
we think of ears of maize, a cereal grain possibly first cultivated in the
Americas. However, the British definition and the Bible definition of corn is for a head of wheat. In British English corn refers to any type of
cereal plant growing in a particular area, for example wheat, barley, or maize.
In the following verses in John, Christ’s impending death is likened to the
planting of wheat.
John 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
For those who argue that Leviticus 2:14 saying
green ears of corn cannot refer to wheat
I refer you to the Arab dish called greenwheat freekeh and an old commentary
that says, “Green or half-ripe ears of wheat parched
with fire is a species of food in use among the poor people of Palestine and
Egypt to the present day.” [1]
[1] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, published in the early 1800’s and made
available on the web at http://www.studylight.org/commentary/leviticus/2-14.html,
also read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freekeh
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