And a tenth part of an ephah of flour for a meat (meal) offering, mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil. Numbers 28:5
Do you ever get confused by the measurements used in the Old Testament? So do I; I always have to look up measurements like the ephah and the hin that are used in today’s text. In many cases, it really doesn’t matter much to us because we are not going to be actually mixing up the flour and oil for a meal offering. In general terms, the offering was to be about ten litres of flour mixed with about a litre of oil, again for us the quantities don’t make much difference although some real Bible students might disagree. What is really important is that some flour and oil were to be included in the daily offerings of the morning and evening lambs. Because the flour and oil have some lessons for us today.
Fine flour that was included in the Old Testament sacrifices was an illustration of the perfect humanity of the Lord Jesus. As we study His life as recorded for us by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we see One living in such a way that He could declare, ‘The Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him’ (John 8:29). Every aspect of His life was as fine flour in its purity and its consistency. We are told that our lives should be such that we will display the character of our Lord and Saviour. We need to model our lives on His perfect example. But it’s not easy, we are such weak and failing creatures. That is where the oil comes in.
Oil in the Scriptures is a picture of the Holy Spirit. You and I since we first trusted Christ have had the Holy Spirit resident within us. He is our seal and sign that we are the children of God. He is the earnest of our inheritance, the guarantee of our home in Glory. And He is our Enabler, providing us with the ability to be what the unconverted cannot be: true worshipers of our Lord and true workers in His vineyard. Just as the meal offering included oil in the flour, so our lives need to display the working of the Holy Spirit as we allow Him to control and enable us.
Don’t be concerned about the ephah and the hin today, just remember that our Lord has given to us His Holy Spirit to enable us to be like Him in our character and our actions. – Jim MacIntosh