Leviticus 6:17, commentary and pictures

It shall not be baked with leaven, but is given to the priests as their portion of the offerings made by fire. It is called most holy, as are the sin offering and the trespass offering, and is assigned to Aaron's male descendants to eat through their generations as part of the instructions in Leviticus 1 to 7 regulating the priesthood and Israel's offerings. Every detail has meaning found in the sacrifice, life, and work of Jesus Christ, for the earthly sanctuary and its daily service in the holy place is a pattern, shadow, and object-lesson of the temple of God in heaven and Christ's priestly service there as High Priest, which He began when He ascended on high. The prohibition of leaven makes unleavened bread a fitting emblem of purity, since leaven is associated with spiritual uncleanness and decay while Christ is pure and incorruptible, and the ceremonial law thus shows God's hatred of sin and that sin demanded its penalty. Calling these offerings most holy does not prove they are holier than the Sabbath, which is called holy, and their being given to last forever shows that forever can describe a duration that ends when the practice ends.

Words and Sanctuary Setting

The grain offering was not to be baked with leaven, and what remained after the portion burned was given to the priests as their allotted share of the offerings made by fire. It is called most holy, even as the sin offering and the trespass offering are called most holy. The bread was the priests' own portion to eat, and it was not offered in the most holy place nor associated with it.

The portion belonged to Aaron's male descendants to eat through their generations. The meat offering accompanied the burnt offering and the peace offering and came after them in order. These directions stand in Leviticus 1 to 7, the instructions regulating the priesthood and Israel's offerings. They set forth the special work for individuals as each presented his particular offering as an expression of faith.

That individual work belonged to the daily service in the holy place, the first grand division of the ministration of the earthly sanctuary. It formed part of the complete round of service performed every year in the sanctuary built by Moses in the wilderness, which later gave way to the temple.

Type of Christ's Work

The details of the law of sacrifices and offerings have meaning, and their fuller meaning is found in the sacrifice, life, and work of Jesus Christ. Each of the different kinds of sacrifices described in the omitted instructions has something in type concerning the work of Jesus Christ.

Like all these offerings, this regulation is a type and shadow of the great substance found in Jesus Christ. It helps reveal God's way, His power, and His glory, and was not written in vain or without purpose. It is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness to make the man of God perfect, and was written for learning, that through patience and comfort of the Scriptures hope may be had.

As part of the earthly sanctuary and its service it is a pattern, shadow, and type, an impressive object-lesson to teach the temple of God in heaven and Christ's priestly service therein as High Priest and Minister of the sanctuary. That priestly service in the heavenly sanctuary is the more excellent ministry in the true tabernacle, which Jesus began when He ascended on high. The complete round of service performed every year typifies in each year the service of Christ, which was once for all, so that study of it enables understanding of the heavenly reality and gives clearer views of the Saviour and His work in behalf of men.

The individual offerings described in the first seven chapters, when offered in faith by the sinner together with the daily offering, transferred in figure through the blood of the sacrifice or the person of the priest the sins of the penitent to the sanctuary. In cases where the blood was not brought into the sanctuary, the offering's flesh was eaten in the holy place, and this eating represented the transfer of the offerer's sin to the sanctuary. The sprinkled blood left the forgiven sins in figure before the ark through the year until the yearly cleansing on the tenth day of the seventh month.

The bread used in the sanctuary service was not to be baked with leaven, and this prohibition supports the use of unleavened bread as a fitting emblem of purity. Leaven is associated with spiritual uncleanness and with decay, while Christ is pure and incorruptible. The remainder of the meat offering belonged to the priests as a most holy portion of the offerings made by fire, like the sin offering and the trespass offering. It accompanied the burnt offering and peace offering and came after them, and represented the final and sweetest experience of spiritual knowledge, following knowledge of the sin and trespass offerings, the consecration of the burnt offering, and the joy of the peace offering.

This regulation belongs to the ceremonial law, which was instituted because of sin. It shows God's hatred of sin and that sin demanded its penalty.

Doctrinal and Practical Uses

The description of the grain offering as most holy, together with the sin offering and the trespass offering, does not prove those offerings to be holier than the Sabbath. No comparison with the Sabbath is made in that declaration, since the offerings are termed most holy while the Sabbath is termed holy.

The meat offerings were assigned to Aaron's male descendants as their portion to eat through their generations, and were described as continuing forever, yet those offerings afterward ceased. Forever in such a setting therefore can denote a duration that terminates when the practice to which it applies terminates. God allotted to the priests definite portions of the offerings for food, which shows that eating flesh is not sin. There are circumstances in which it is better to eat flesh than to abstain, because circumstances alter cases.