I want to give you one of the most important “food offerings” that were offered to God by the Jewish priests in the Old Testament. This will help to answer your two questions: 1) Why is food offered to God? and 2) What happens to the food after the allotted time? Let’s read Leviticus 2:1-3:

“When anyone offers a GRAIN OFFERING to the LORD, his offering shall be of FINE FLOUR. He shall put OIL on it and put FRANKINCENSE on it. He shall bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests, one of whom shall take from it his handful of fine flour and oil with all the frankincense. And the priest shall burn it as a memorial on the altar, an offering made by fire, a SWEET AROMA TO THE LORD. The rest of the grain offering made by fire shall be Aaron’s and his son’s. It is most holy of the offerings to the LORD made by fire.”

I have highlighted the key words to answer the question, “Why is food offered to God?” This “most holy offering” speaks of the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s beloved Son. The “fine flour” is a beautiful type of His perfect and holy humanity that was manifested CONSISTENTLY to a world of lost sinners. The “oil” is a type of the Holy Spirit who came upon Jesus to anoint Him for His public ministry (see Matthew 3:16-17; Luke 4:16-21) and who then led Jesus to lay down His life on the cross to redeem sinners (Hebrews 9:11-14). The “frankincense” is a form of incense that was made from the plant or tree that, when crushed, would give off a “sweet fragrance.” No doubt Aaron and his sons could smell it, but even more importantly Christ’s perfect life (where He suffered while He lived and when He gave up His life on the cross) was a “sweet aroma to the Lord.” God the Father said on 3 occasions “this is My beloved Son” because He was so pleased with his life of devotion and His “obedience unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8). Jesus could say, “I always do those things which please Him” (John 8:29). The Father could say, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

We see at the end of the passage that Aaron and his sons were given “the rest of the grain” (that which wasn’t consumed in the fire). God does NOT eat human food, but the priests did.  Aaron and his sons are a picture of BELIEVERS and thus the “eating of the grain” pictures the privilege that believers have to “feed on Christ.” As we meditate on our Savior and His perfect life that manifested God to the world and was then offered up as a sacrifice for sin on the cross, we will be kept in holy communion with Him and we’ll be able to glorify God (see John 6:41, 56; 15:1-8).

There are many other details about this “grain/meal offering” throughout this chapter. I would encourage you to read it while you rely on the Holy Spirit to teach you more of the precious types we have in this chapter. I will close by mentioning two of them: LEAVEN and HONEY. Verse 11 says, “No grain offering which you bring to the LORD shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn NO LEAVEN NOR ANY HONEY in any offering to the LORD made by fire.” LEAVEN in Scripture is a “picture of SIN” (see Matthew 16:6 and 1 Corinthains 5:1-8). HONEY in Scripture is a “picture of the sweetness of human nature, yet a nature that is fallen because of sin.” Jesus had “no SIN in Him” (1 John 3:5) and He never allowed His “natural relations” (His mother or siblings) to hinder Him in His work for His Father (see Matthew 12:46-50). As we have seen, the grain/meal offering speaks of the life of Christ and thus these things which speak of sin and a fallen nature because of sin were to have no place in this offering to God. It is a HOLY OFFERING to God!  (DO)  (714.3)