John Calvin Commentary Leviticus 2:1

"And when any one offereth an oblation of a meal-offering unto Jehovah, his oblation shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:" — Leviticus 2:1 (ASV)

And when any will offer. In this chapter Moses prescribes the rules for those offerings to which the name of minha is specifically given. They were not bloody sacrifices, nor offerings of animals, but only of cakes and oil. If anyone would offer plain flour, he is commanded to season it with frankincense and oil, and also to choose fine flour, so that the offering may not be defiled by the bran.

Thus here, as in all the service of God, the rule is laid down that nothing but what is pure should be offered. Besides, its flavor is improved by the oil, and a fragrant odor is imparted to it by the frankincense. We know that God is attracted neither by sweetness of taste nor by pleasant scents; but it was useful to teach an unrefined people by these symbols, so that they would not corrupt God’s service by their own foolish inventions.

Moses later commands that whatever is consecrated to God should be delivered into the hand of the priest. As we have seen before, private persons were excluded from this honor so that Christ’s unique dignity should remain to Him; that is, access to God should be sought through Him alone, and that everyone might know that no worship pleases God except what He sanctifies.

The substance of this type is shown by the words of the Apostle, when he says that “by him” we now “offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15).

But when the priest had burned a handful of the flour with the oil and frankincense, what remained was left for his own use; for, as we have seen elsewhere, the most holy portions of the offerings were given to the priests.

Other kinds are then spoken of: namely, cakes baked in the oven, then those fried in a pan, and thirdly, those cooked on a gridiron. For God would have the minha offered to Him from every kind of cake, so that the Israelites might learn to look to Him in all their food, since nothing is clean to us except what He consecrates by His blessing. This is the reason why Moses accurately distinguishes between the cakes that were cooked either in the oven, or the frying pan, or on the gridiron.