THE MEAL OFFERING OF THE FIRSTFRUITS
Besides these three appreciations, there is the appreciation of the meal offering of the firstfruits. “And if thou present a meal offering of thy firstfruits unto the Lord, thou shalt present for the meal offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn roasted by the fire, even corn beaten out of fresh and full ears” (Lev. 2:14, lit.). The new green corn is shelled out of the fresh ears. This is an extraordinary appreciation of Christ. The regular appreciations of Christ are those in three degrees, but besides these, there are the extraordinary appreciations of the humanity of Jesus. Sometimes we have some new experiences of Christ as our meal offering. Sometimes in the meetings, the testimony of a certain brother gives the sense of something really green, something new and fresh. Yet it is the meal offering. Therefore, we need to have more and more experiences of Christ. If we do not have a harvest, how can we have the green and fresh ears? We must labor on the good land with the expectation that some day we will have a new harvest with many fresh ears. Then we can bring this to the tent of meeting as a kind of extraordinary meal offering.
THE WAY TO EAT THE MEAL OFFERING
Only for the Priests
Now it is important for us to see the way to eat the meal offering. First of all, the meal offering is not for the common people. It is the special diet of the priests. “And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it. All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of the Lord made by fire: every one that toucheth them shall be holy” (Lev. 6:16, 18).
The meal offering is the food of the priests. If we have no intention to function in the church life as a priest, we do not have the standing to eat this diet. A priest is one who serves and is active in the tent of meeting. It makes a big difference whether or not we function in the meetings. If we will function, we will enjoy much more. But if we will not function, we will lose the standing to enjoy the meal offering as a priest. To be a priest we must function in a full way to enjoy the special diet of the meal offering.
Only for the Males
Another point is that the meal offering is only for the males. “All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it.” This does not mean that the sisters do not have a portion. All the sisters who are functioning in the tent of meeting are males. And all the brothers who do not function are females. To be a male in the Scriptures means to be a strong one. Christ is the male without blemish. To be a female means to be a weaker one (1 Pet. 3:7). Males are the strong ones, and females are the weaker ones. Whether or not you are a male in the eyes of God depends on whether you are strong or weak. If we are weak in the tent of meeting, we are females. If we are strong in functioning, we are males and are in the right position to feed on this diet.
Only in the Tent of Meeting
The meal offering must be eaten in the court of the tent of meeting. This is not food that you eat at home. Strictly speaking, we cannot enjoy Christ properly as the meal offering at home; we must be in the church meetings. This is not a diet for home, but a diet for the house of God. We must be ones serving and actively working in the presence of God in His dwelling place; then we have the right position to eat this diet. Many of us can testify that while we enjoy something of Christ at home, we never enjoy Him as much there as we do in the church meeting. The enjoyment of Christ in the meeting is higher, richer, and without comparison. The meal offering may be prepared at home, but it cannot be enjoyed at home. We must bring what we have prepared to the church meeting for our enjoyment. This is a diet for the court of the tent of meeting.
With No Leaven or Honey
When we come to eat the meal offering, we should not eat it with any leaven or honey. The meal offering itself has no leaven or honey in it, and we should not eat any of these negative spices with this offering. To enjoy Christ as the meal offering, we should have nothing to do with leaven or honey. We must reject anything that is naturally bad or good in order to enjoy Christ in such a high way. We have to be salted. The only spices that we must use are the oil and the frankincense and the salt—the divine Spirit, the resurrection life, and the crossing out of the cross.
Sanctifying Whoever It Touches
The last point in the eating of the meal offering is that whoever touches it is sanctified, separated. I can testify that this is really true. Many times after we have enjoyed Christ as the meal offering in the meetings, we are more separated from the world. We are more separated, more sanctified, because we have been feasting upon the meal offering. When we really enjoy the Lord Jesus as the meal offering, we will be fully separated from anything worldly. Because the meal offering is so holy, whoever touches it is separated from the world to be holy for the Lord. Once we taste the Lord Jesus in this way, there will be a big change in our daily walk. He is so holy that He sanctifies, separates, and causes us to be holy. If we claim to be eating Him as the meal offering, yet we remain the same, I really doubt that we are eating Him as the meal offering. The real meal offering, which is Christ’s humanity, is holy. Whosoever touches it is separated, sanctified, and made holy.
(Christ as the Reality, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee)
