A meat offering (minchah) was a meal or cereal offering, consisting of flour or grain prepared in various ways, but never of flesh meat.
The word (minchah) originally designated a gift presented to a superior. The “present” Jacob gave Esau was a minchah (Gen. 32:13) and also the “present” that Joseph’s brothers gave him when they arrived to Egypt (Gen. 43:11). And it represented the tribute paid by subjugated peoples (2 Sam. 8:2, 6). These meat offerings expressed submission.
At Moses time, minchah became the official title for a gift to the Lord. It signified man’s dependence upon Him for all the blessings in life. It was an acknowledgment of Him as Creator and provider. In presenting such an offering, a person considered himself a steward to God’s blessings.
There were both private and public meat offerings. The private meat offerings were voluntary, and could be offered at any time. The public meat offerings were set and mandatory.
The public meat offerings included shewbread, or “bread of the Presence.” The shewbread was offered to God under an “everlasting covenant” (Lev. 24:8). After it was offered to God, it was laid on the table on Sabbath in the Holy place for a week, and then eaten by the priests. The shewbread offering consisted of 12 loaves, each made from about 51/3 lb. of flour. The loaves were placed in two stacks of six each on the table.
In addition to this offering, a drink offering attended the morning and evening sacrifice (Ex. 29:40; Num. 15:5). This drink offering was offered in the holy place “unto the Lord.”
Like the shewbread in the OT, we have the bread of the Lord’s Supper in the NT (Luke 22:30; 1 Cor. 10:21) which represents Christ’s body that was slain for our redemption. The cup is the new testament in His blood (1 Cor. 11:24, 25). The bread represents Christ who “ever lives to make intercession” for us, and the “living bread which came down from heaven” (Heb. 7:25; John 6:51).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
