Leviticus 2:4 4‘And if you bring as an offering a grain offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.
Private pains, deep hurts, shameful addictions. You may think that nobody
understands what you are going through, but God does. He can identify
with all your pains and is able to help you. (Hebrews 2:18, 4:15)
In the Old Testament, the grain offering brought to God speaks of Jesus’ life
on earth. The fine flour, which the grain offering is made with, is flour that has
been pounded, ground, beaten and sifted through to get it consistently even and
fine. Therefore, it typifies the humanity and sufferings of Jesus.
One of the ways the Jewish women prepared the grain offering was to bake
it. The baking done in the depths of the oven speaks of the “hidden” sufferings
that Jesus went though. I believe that Jesus faced sufferings that we cannot fully
understand. Even as a young boy, He must have gone through sufferings that
prepared Him to die for all humanity at the cross. And during His ministry years,
it must have grieved Him when time and time again, He found unbelief not just
in the people around Him, but even in His disciples.
Jesus also suffered at the hands of men — slanderers who misunderstood
Him. Once, the Pharisees insinuated that He was born out of wedlock because
His mother was with child before she married Joseph. (John 8:39, 41) That scandalous
remark, probably not the first, must have hurt Him.
Consider also the temptations He faced. There were not only three. God’s
Word says that He was tempted for 40 days! (Luke 4:2) Not all the temptations
were recorded. Those 40 days must have tried Him sorely.
What do all these mean?
My friend, Jesus went through all those temptations and sufferings for you,
yet He did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15) There is no temptation or suffering that you
are going through that He cannot identify with. So come to His throne of grace
today and receive His superabounding grace to face and overcome those trials in
your life!
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