Leviticus 2:7-16
THE MEAT offering, which speaks of the perfect spotless life of the Lord Jesus as Man down here, might be offered in three different ways "baked in the oven,” “in a pan,” or “in the frying pan.” They tell of the severe trials to which He was exposed all along His pathway.
“In the oven” would speak to us of His hidden sufferings, those not seen by man, for was it not the love of His heart that made the blessed Lord a sufferer?
Love that made Thee a mourner
In this sad world of woe,
Made wretched man a scorner
Of grace which brought Thee low.
What sufferings He endured which no man could see or understand! He felt, only as a righteous man could feel, the sorrows which sin had brought in. How He must have felt the rejection of man whom He had come to save and bless, for He endured the contradiction of sinners against Himself (Heb. 12:3), when for His love they gave Him hatred (Psa. 109:5)! How deeply He must have felt His rejection when in those cities where most of His mighty works were done, He was not appreciated and they did not repent. For the most part those sorrows were known to none but God, for even in that hour He could say, “I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in Thy sight.” Matt. 11:25,26.
Who can tell how deep His sorrow when at the end His disciples all forsook Him and fled, and Peter denied Him three times. Yet He went through all these trials as the perfect One, taking all in meek submission from the hand of God His Father.
The meat offering baked “in a pan,” speaks of His sufferings which were manifest, or could be seen by others. He was seen to weep at the grave of Lazarus, and His disciples heard His cries in the Garden of Gethsemane. In this case the offering was to be “parted in pieces,” and oil poured on it. How this vividly brings before our souls the breaking-up of every hope and prospect which bonged to Him by right and title of who He was and what He had done.
“The frying pan” would give the same thought in general only perhaps the greater intensity of some of those sufferings of the blessed Lord. He was put to the proof in every possible way, and the effect was only to manifest His excellencies and the perfection that was found in Him. All went up to God as a sweet savor.
ML-05/30/1971