14 And this is the law of the meat offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the Lord, before the altar.

15 And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour, even the memorial of it, unto the Lord.

We now hear God describing more of the meat offering, this time not from the perspective of the person making the offering, but from the perspective of the priest who carried out the ritual. As we have already heard, the flour was to be mixed with flour and frankincense, then burned upon the altar. Verse 15 mentions that the purpose of burning the treated flour was to create a sweet savor, a pleasant aroma that would raise to the Lord. It is interesting to note that this scent would be “the memorial” of the offering. There once was something physical, the flour and the ointment. When they were burned, the physical thing was lost, but the aroma remained as a reminder of what once was.

This is an excellent allegory for memory and spirit. We have moments in our lives that are very real, very tangible and meaningful, but they only exist for a brief instant, then are relegated to the past. Afterwards, though, there still remains the memory of them. We no longer have the actual occurrence, but its spirit can continue on with us. Thus, this meat offering could serve as a reminder of this link between the physical and the spiritual world, a lesson that though things become unseen they can live on in another manner.