Bible Studies
Pancakes for God
Have you ever had a bad experience with food?
I’m not talking about burning down the kitchen while trying to make chicken parmesan. I’m talking about the “free barbeque with a fill up” special from the gas station on the corner. I understand – it’s free, so you gotta eat it, right? Next thing you know, you got that sick “uh-oh” feeling and when it’s all said and done, you’ve sworn yourself off barbeque for the rest of your life. It’s sad, really.
Travel back with me to the early 90’s. It was a bright summer morning in the Smoky Mountains and my parents and I were on one of our annual family getaways. We went to one of the many pancake houses in Gatlinburg, TN that seem to line every street – which, by the way, I found really odd when I was a kid… why are there so many? It’s not like we have Egg Houses or Hash Brown Houses everywhere. Hmmmm…
These were the thoughts that plagued my young teenage mind.
Anyway, I ordered sausage pancakes. Nope, not sausage AND pancakes. These were special. They were pancakes with sausage chopped up and cooked inside. How convenient! Now, I won’t have to reach ALL the way across my plate to take a bite of sausage with my pancakes! That’s gotta save a few seconds of time, right? More time to listen to my latest mixed tape through the spongey headphones that were glued to my ears back then. This was before the tiny white earbuds of today, obviously.
A few minutes later, the waitress brought out the biggest, most giant plate of pancakes I had ever seen in my life. The stack had to be 3 inches tall, and it covered the entire ginormous plate. “Can I git’che anything else, hon?” She oozed with the sweetness I was accustomed to from almost every waitress in the South. I looked at her in disbelief. Did she really think I needed something else to go with that? A wheelbarrow to take out the leftovers, maybe?
I tried to eat as much as possible – because, after all, my mother always said you shouldn’t waste... starving kids in India, etc. As I stared miserably at my plate, I realized it looked as if I hadn’t eaten a thing. It was like that commercial that shows the endless pancakes that magically reappear on your plate.
But I had all I could stand.
“No more pancakes, please. Ever.”
Ok, enough about pancakes… at least that kind, anyway. I’d rather talk about the pancakes in the Bible. The holy kind.
What – you didn’t know there were pancakes in the Bible? Ok, maybe I’m being a little silly. But in all seriousness, have you ever read about the offerings and sacrifices in Exodus and Leviticus?
I know … I can already imagine the look on your face. The first five books of the Bible, especially Exodus and Leviticus, usually generate one of three responses among Christians: some become uncomfortable because they know they haven’t read them so they’re hoping you don’t ask them anything about it. A few honest souls just shrug their shoulders and admit that these books are boring. Others dismiss the importance of them by saying that it was ceremonial stuff the Jews haven’t done in over 2,000 years … and besides, Jesus fulfilled the Law, so there’s no need for us grafted-in Christians to worry about it, right?
Alright, I can see why you’d think it’s boring. Given the details found in the Law and how different our culture is from the Israelites’, it’s enough to make you want to throw your hands up and say, “What does this have to do with anything?!”
The Law: Is It Still Relevant?
Most people, when referring to the Law, mention two things: the sacrifices and “all those rules” the Israelites had to follow. The tone of their voice and the dismissing wave of their hand reveal their true thoughts about it: “Gosh, I’m so glad I don’t have to do all that sacrificing stuff. And all those rules… I’m not even going to bother with all of that.”
In one sense, I agree. I’m thankful I don’t have to keep a pasture of lambs and goats on hand for Sunday morning service. Church is way less messy for us than it was 3,000 years ago. And, yes, a thorough study of the New Testament gives us the plan of salvation, while also instructing us on how to become the person God has called us to be. So does this mean we just ignore the first 2/3 of our Bible? Hardly! I believe it’s important to be familiar with the Old Testament so we can truly understand and appreciate what Jesus did when He died for us. After all, you said it yourself a few minutes ago: Jesus fulfilled the Law.
But if you don’t know the Old Testament, how do you know what He fulfilled?
Grain Offerings
When you say “sacrifice”, normally you think of killing an animal. But one of the offerings that the Lord commanded had nothing to do with animal sacrifice and it was called the Grain Offering. My version of the Bible also calls it “Cereal Offering”, which always makes me giggle, because I picture a priest holding up a bowl of Rice Krispies to the Lord.
“Snap, crackle, pop, Hallelujaaaaahhhhh!”
I can’t help the pictures that pop in my mind sometimes.
The Grain Offering was given by the Israelites as an expression of devotion and worship. They were to make either cakes or wafers and they had a choice in how it was prepared. The Bible lists the following methods: uncooked, baked in an oven, cooked on a griddle, or cooked in a pan (which sounds like that about covers it, since they didn’t have microwaves back then). Part of the cake was burned on the altar along with incense. The remaining part of the cake was given to the Priests to eat.
Hold the Honey, But Please Pass the Salt
There were specific ingredients that were not allowed in the grain offerings, such as yeast and honey, while other ingredients, like oil and salt, were required.
Yeast was not allowed in the original Passover when the Israelites were preparing for the exodus out of Egypt. Because yeast needs time to rise, and the Israelites didn’t exactly have time to hang around baking bread, the Lord commanded them to eat bread “made without yeast” (Exodus 12:8). This, along with several other rules and requirements, became “a lasting ordinance” the Israelites were to observe annually (Exodus 12:14-20). Because yeast was not allowed in the Passover celebration, nor in any of the regular grain offerings, it later became synonymous with sin and contamination. Paul made reference to this in 1 Corinthians 5:7 when he said, “Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast.” (NIV) Even Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 16:6, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Saducees.” (NIV)
Understanding why yeast was not allowed is pretty easy. But honey? Everyone likes honey, right? It’s sweet, it’s made by cute little bees… I mean, even the Promised Land was called “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8 NIV). Although the reasoning behind the “no honey allowed” rule is not fully known, several commentaries and notes state that there is a good chance honey was used in pagan worship at that time. If that’s the case, then of course God wanted His worship to be holy and completely different from the filthy pagan religious acts that were customary in that day.
Oil is mentioned often in the Bible, and it almost always refers to olive oil. It was very valuable and having an abundance of oil signified the Lord’s blessing.₁ A special recipe of “sacred anointing oil” was used in the anointing of the tabernacle and its furniture to “consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy” (Exodus 30:29 NIV). From this example in Exodus to the New Testament command to anoint the sick with oil in the name of the Lord (James 5:14 NIV), we can see that oil is representative of holiness, purity, and the Holy Spirit.
Salt is mentioned several times in both the Old and New Testament. The most well-known reference is when Jesus told us in Matthew 5:13 that we are to be the “salt of the earth”. Paul follows the same line of thought in Colossians 4:6 by commanding, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.” (NIV) Just as salt enhances the flavor of food, so we’re called to enhance our surroundings by being an example of God’s goodness, love, and mercy to those we come in contact with. It also seems that God required salt in these offerings so the Israelites would remember the covenant He made with them. Check out how specific and “to the point” God is in Leviticus 2:13:
“Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all of your offerings.” (NIV)
“The salt of the covenant” is defined in Easton’s Dictionary as “a covenant of perpetual obligation.” In other words, it was a binding, indestructible pact that God made. By leaving salt out of the offerings, the Israelites would be leaving out the representation of the covenant God made with them. He also instructed the priests in Numbers 18:19:
“Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings the Israelites present to the LORD I give to you and your sons and daughters as your regular share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD for both you and your offspring.” (NIV)
God is very good about sending us forgetful humans reminders of His faithfulness. The rainbow is a symbol He gave us in Genesis regarding a promise He’s made to us (Gen. 9:12-15) and it looks like God was pretty serious about the salt in the offerings as well! He wanted the Israelites to remember “the salt of the covenant” that He made with them every time they prepared a grain offering for their Lord.
Fellowship Offerings
The Peace Offering, also called the “Fellowship Offering”, was an animal sacrifice and it was given for one of two reasons: thanksgiving or freewill. The Lord viewed it as a meal of fellowship between God and man. How cool is that? God saw it the same as having lunch with a special friend.
If the offering was given in thanksgiving, the Lord required the following in addition to the animal sacrifice:
1. One cake of bread without yeast, mixed with oil
2. One wafer made without yeast, spread with oil on top
3. One cake of fine flour, mixed with oil and well-kneaded
4. One cake of bread made with yeast
On the surface, it sounds like a lot of work! Three kinds of bread, one wafer, all made just slightly differently… I could just picture me in the kitchen trying to keep all the recipes separate.
“Ok, this one doesn’t have yeast, but this next one will need yeast… right? Does oil go IN this one or ON this one? Yes! I mean, no! Wait… ”
Let’s go a little deeper though. Think about how much time and effort the Israelites would have had to put into just learning all of these regulations. That thought might make you feel sorry for them at first. But I urge you to think about it in a different way: the Grain Offering and Peace Offering were expressions of devotion, worship, and thanksgiving. Notice what Bob Hennibaugh says in his study on Grain Offerings:
The grain to be offered had to be “fine.” The term “fine” could mean “fine quality,” which it does, but the “fine” here refers to the finely ground flour which is to be offered … (which) entailed a great deal of extra effort on the part of the person who ground it, for it was not something … purchased from the store … or run through an electrically powered mechanical grinder. The flour would have had to have been ground on a primitive grinding stone, a process which, at best, usually produces only a coarse flour. Such “fine” flour was that which was fit for a king (cf. 1 Ki. 4:22).
While grain was not unfamiliar to the Israelite, it was not common either. Remember, the Israelites are not living in Egypt, where grain was common, nor are they yet living in Canaan, where they would grow grain. (When the Law was given) the Israelites were camped at the base of Mt. Sinai. They were in the desert, where grain could not be grown, and where it could not be purchased, either. Thus, the sacrifice of grain was either impossible to do until reaching Canaan, or it was something not easy to do. Offering manna, on the other hand, would have been easy, but this is not what God commanded.
Assuming that the Israelites had grain with them in the camp, grain which they would not eat, but which could be offered to God, what would this grain have been for? I have come to the conclusion that this grain was taken with the Israelites for seed (cf. 2 Cor. 9:10). To sacrifice their seed to God was indeed an act of faith.₂
Imagine how you feel when you really love someone or you feel passionate about a hobby or line of work. If you love someone, you want to know everything about them – the big things, little things, and everything in between. When you’re passionate about a hobby or line of work, you’ll devote all your extra time and energy into learning more and becoming the best that you can be. As I read the requirements for the offerings, I saw them for the first time for what they were. Rather than quickly scanning over the words and muttering “sacrifice, flour, blood, yadda, yadda….”, I carefully read the instructions and finally got it! They truly were offerings of devotion, worship, and thanksgiving! I pictured myself as an ancient Israelite, filled with joy and love for My Lord – so much that I wanted to present the best Grain Offering I could. I would have spent hours grinding the flour to perfection, measuring the oil precisely, and preparing the cakes exactly as required; not out of obligation, but because I wanted to. It wouldn’t be just making pancakes for God. It would be an honor to present a sacrifice of my time and seed for my Lord.
I want you to look at the Bible in the same way. God designed the Laws for many reasons: one obvious reason is to prove to us that we could not keep them, so we would understand that we needed a Savior. But He also wanted us to want to keep the Laws. Check out Psalm 119:47, which says “…For I delight in your commands because I love them” and verse 97 exclaims “Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.” This Psalmist’s love and adoration of God and His Laws is the spirit that God wants among His children.
So, What Does This Mean for You?
There’s no getting around Jesus’ statement in John 14:15: “If you love Me, you will obey My commandments.” (NET) It’s simple and to the point. When I read this, I’m always reminded of the verse in Hebrews 4:12 which says, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (NIV) Jesus’ simple words in John 14:15 causes pain by penetrating and dividing my soul and spirit because I’m reminded of the many times when I fail Him. But it also stirs the desire deep inside me to keep His commandments. I love Jesus, so I want to obey what He told us to do.
Nevertheless, it’s still a battle. I can relate to the Apostle Paul when he says in Romans 7:19-20 that he has a desire to do what’s right, but it doesn’t always work out that way. In verses 22 and 23 he says, “I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind.” (NLT)
What about you? Are you like me and want to obey God, but often fall short? Or would you even go so far as to say that you sometimes struggle with even having a desire to obey? It’s alright, we all struggle with that, probably more often than we want to admit. But remember what James 4:8 says: “Come close to God, and He will come close to you.” (GOD’S WORD Translation) God is there, waiting for you to come close to Him. I promise, when you submit everything to Him, He’ll take care of you and you’ll find yourself more in love with Him than ever before. Then, one day you’ll realize your desire to obey Him is stronger than it’s ever been.
Thankfully, because of what Jesus did for us, we don’t have to make pancakes for God anymore. But… I would if He wanted me to. Why?
Because I love Him.
₁ Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology
₂ http://bible.org/seriespage/grain-offering-leviticus-21-16-614-18-79-10-1012-13
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