Levítico 3
Samuel Johnson · Citado em PreceptAustin
Levítico 3
Johnson has an interesting comment on the "fragrant aroma" of Christ in Eph 5:2 - Now when he says “to God, for a sweet-smelling savor,” students of the Bible know immediately what Paul is talking about....he’s talking specifically about such places as the burnt offering. Three times in the description of the burnt offering, when the Israelite brought the animal, put his hand on the animal’s head, and the animal was slain, three times in Leviticus 1 (Lev 1:9, 13, 17) it was said, that that sacrifice produced the odor of a sweet smell to the LORD. The interesting thing about that Hebrew expression is that it really means something like this: an odor of rest to the Lord (Ed: Hebrew word translated sweet is nihoah = restful, quieting, tranquilizing as nihoah is derived from nuach meaning to rest). In other words, it’s an expression that means, essentially, that as God looks at the sacrifice which is offered in payment of a debt owed to Him, He rests! He finds it an "odor of rest." So, instead of executing His judgment against the person who (Ed: in faith, not mechanically, not simply "intellectually") has offended the throne of God, He rests and is satisfied (Ed: propitiated)! The penalty is paid (Ed: Cp Jesus' words "It is finished" = "Paid in Full! - tetelestai = perfect tense of teleo ." The Lord Jesus expressed this when he said on the cross, “It is finished!” And the finishing of the offering led the throne of God to smell a sweet savor, an odor of rest. So that God is satisfied by the cross of Christ, and men are saved when they, too, become satisfied with what Christ has done and stop relying on their own good works, or anything else they may be relying upon in order to be saved.! (Note) In another note (excuse the duplication) Johnson comments on "soothing aroma" noting that "In the Hebrew text ("reah-nihoah"odor of rest, and the word translated “rest” in that literal expression is the one from which the name Noah comes. That was his name: “rest giver” or “rest” was his name. So the idea is that as a result of our Lord smelling the sweet savor of the sacrifice he has an odor of rest. And because it is an odor of rest, His claims are met in the sacrifice and He, therefore, rests. This stresses the fact that the animal completely satisfies God and in the antitype is a (beautiful) reference to our Lord Jesus’ finished work. When he said, “It is finished,” it was then that in the whole Godhead there was an odor of rest. It’s a beautiful expression - an odor of rest and is referred in the New Testament in Ephesians 5:2, “An odor of a sweet smell to the Lord.” (Hebrews 2:1-16) G Campbell
Levítico 3
Johnson has an interesting comment on "Food...to the LORD" - "Now isn’t that striking? The sacrifice is called "food for Jehovah." Now, you read through the Old Testament and you will find that the offerings were called bread for Jehovah. They are called food for Jehovah. Why? Because the thing that pleases God is the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not please Him (the Father) except in so far as He (the Son) is seen in us. A holy God cannot ever be satisfied in unholy men. So whenever He is satisfied with us, it is because there is a manifestation of our Lord Jesus in us. So the sacrifice is food for Jehovah -- That’s why the Father kept saying "This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased." (Mt 3:17, 17:6, Mk 1:11, Lk 3:22, 2Pe 1:17-note) He found His "food." He found His "bread" in the perfect obedience of the Son of God (Ed: Compare Jesus' own remark on "food" - Jn 4:34). And, incidentally, He still does today. We are "accepted in the Beloved" (Eph 1:6KJV-note) of course, but all of our life in sanctification (Ed: In the day to day living out of the Christian life - see Three Tenses of Salvation) is pleasing to the Lord only in so far as Christ is seen in us." (S. Lewis Johnson - The Peace Offering) Food (03889)(lehem from lacham = to use as food, to eat) means bread or food and in a general sense refers to anything God has approved for nourishment (First use = Ge 3:19; 25:34; Ps. 147:9). Lehem could refer to a loaf of bread (grain flour mixed and baked = Ex 29:2), any consumable grain product distinguished from meat (1Sa 25:11) or food in general as representative of anything that could be consumed including meat (Lev 3:11). Lehem - translated in NAS as bread(188), food(87), fruit(1), loaves(3), meal(7), meal*(1), meals(2), prey(1), provision(1), showbread*(4), something(1). Lxx translates lehem with artos (Mt 4:3) which means bread or by metonymy food or nourishment (Lk 15:17). BDAG - a baked product produced from a cereal grain. Webster's defines bread as "1. A mass of dough, made by moistening and kneading the flour or meal of some species of grain, and baked in an oven, or pan. 2. Food in general." Duane A. Garrett - Bread was the essential food of the ancient Israelites. Indeed, the very word "bread" could be used generically for any kind of food. Meat was eaten by peasants only at festival occasions, and other foods supplemented bread. As the mainstay of life, bread came to be a primary metaphor for life and sustenance. Bread in the Bible functions as a social bond. The giving of bread to another is a major element of hospitality and serves as a sign of respect and concern (Genesis 14:18; 18:6; 19:3; Deuteronomy 23:4; Ruth 2:14; 1 Samuel 25:18; 28:24; 2 Samuel 16:1-2 ). Conversely, to take someone's bread and then turn against that person is to commit a heinous offense of ingratitude and betrayal, as in the case of Judas Iscariot (Psalm 41:9; John 13:18-30 ). Metaphorically, eating the "bread of idleness" is to indulge oneself without doing one's household duty (Proverbs 31:27 ). Also, bread can symbolize a financial investment (Ecclesiastes 11:1 ). The ritual and theological texts of the Bible often refer to bread. It played a role in the consecration of the Aaronic priests (Exodus 29:2-3 ). Bread was also used as part of an offering of thanksgiving to God (Leviticus 7:12-13 ). Of particular importance in Israel's worship is unleavened bread. In the first Passover, the eating of unleavened bread typified the haste of Israel's departure from Egypt (Exodus 12:8-11 ), although there are already indications that leaven is associated with the pervasive influence of evil (Exodus 12:14-20 ). So important was this concept that a special festival of unleavened bread was instituted (Leviticus 23:6 ). (Bread, Bread of Presence - Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology) See Related Articles on Bread: Bread - International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Bread - Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible Bread - Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature Bread - Holman Bible Dictionary Vine - Lehem refers to “bread,” as distinguished from meat. The diet of the early Hebrews ordinarily consisted of bread, meat, and liquids = (Dt. 8:3). “Bread” was baked in loaves = (1Sa 2:36). Even when used by itself, lehem can signify a “loaf of bread” = (1Sa 10:4). In this usage, the word is always preceded by a number. “Bread” was also baked in cakes (2Sa 6:19). A “bit of bread” is a term for a modest meal. So Abraham said to his three guests - "piece of bread" = (Ge 18:4-5). In 1Sa 20:27, lehem represents an entire meal. Thus, “to make bread” may actually mean “to prepare a meal”: “A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry" (Eccl. 10:19). The “staff of bread” is the “support of life” = (Lev. 26:26). The Bible refers to the “bread of the face” or “Bread of the Presence,” which was the bread constantly set before God in the holy place of the tabernacle or temple = (Ex 25:30). In several passages, lehem represents the grain from which “bread” is made = (Ge 41:54). The meaning “grain” is very clear in 2Ki 18:32. Lehem can represent food in general. In Ge 3:19 it signifies the entire diet. This nuance may include meat, as it does in Jdg. 13:15-16. In 1Sa 14:24, 28, lehem includes honey, and in Pr 27:27 goat’s milk. Lehem may also represent “food” for animals (Ps 147:9; cf. Pr 6:8). Flesh and grain offered to God are called “the bread of God”: (Lev. 21:6; cf. Lev 22:13). There are several special or figurative uses of lehem. The “bread” of wickedness is “food” gained by wickedness = (Pr. 4:17). Compare the “bread” or “food” gained by deceit (Pr 20:17) and lies (Pr 23:3). Thus, in Pr 31:27 the good wife “looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness”—i.e., unearned food. The “bread of my portion” is the food that one earns (Pr. 30:8). Figuratively, men are the “food” or prey for their enemies: (Nu 14:9). The Psalmist in his grief says his tears are his “food” (Ps 42:3). Evil deeds are likened to food = (Job 20:14). In Jer 11:19, lehem represents “fruit from a tree” and is a figure of a man and his offspring. (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words) Baker - Lehem often indicates grain which was used for preparing bread (Isa. 28:28). The manna was bread from the Lord, heavenly bread (Ex. 16:4, 8, 12, 15; Neh. 9:15; Ps. 105:40). Bread was set on the table of showbread in the Tabernacle and termed the “bread of the presence” (Ex. 25:30). Some bread was used as a wave offering to the Lord (Lev. 23:17). Baked from the produce of the early harvest, this word indicates the “bread of the first fruits” (2 Kgs. 4:42). It was used in figurative language to indicate the bread of affliction or adversity (Deut. 16:3; Isa. 30:20) or the bread of tears (Ps. 80:5[6])." Merrill - This Hebrew word for bread or food is a common term used literally hundreds of times in the OT. In Leviticus it is first used in Lev 3:11 in connection with the fellowship offering. Numerous times in Leviticus it is used in a literal manner meaning "bread" or "food" (Lev. 7:13; 8:26, 31, 32; 22:7,13, 25; 23:14, 17, 18, 20; 24:7; 26:5, 26). However in Lev. 21:6 it is used in a figurative manner, as was done in Lev. 3:11, as a parallel to the offerings made to the LORD by fire. God does not "eat" as humans do but as food brings pleasure to a hungry man so the offerings presented to God bring him pleasure. In Lev. 21 lehem is used 5x to signify both what is presented to the LORD and that which the priest would eat of the offering (Lev. 21:6, 8, 17, 21, 22). (Bible Knowledge Word Study) Lehem - 276v - Ge 3:19; 14:18; 18:5; 21:14; 25:34; 27:17; 28:20; 31:54; 37:25; 39:6; 41:54f; 43:25, 31f; 45:23; 47:12f, 15, 17, 19; 49:20; Exod 2:20; 16:3f, 8, 12, 15, 22, 29, 32; 18:12; 23:25; 25:30; 29:2, 23, 32, 34; 34:28; 35:13; 39:36; 40:23; Lev 3:11, 16; 7:13; 8:26, 31f; 21:6, 8, 17, 21f; 22:7, 11, 13, 25; 23:14, 17f, 20; 24:7; 26:5, 26; Num 4:7; 14:9; 15:19; 21:5; 28:2, 24; Deut 8:3, 9; 9:9, 18; 10:18; 16:3; 23:4; 29:6; Josh 9:5, 12; Jdg 7:13; 8:5f, 15; 13:16; 19:5, 19; Ruth 1:6; 2:14; 1 Sam 2:5, 36; 9:7; 10:3f; 14:24, 28; 16:20; 17:17; 20:24, 27, 34; 21:3f, 6; 22:13; 25:11, 18; 28:20, 22; 30:11f; 2 Sam 3:29, 35; 6:19; 9:10; 12:17, 20f; 13:5; 16:1f; 1 Kgs 4:22; 5:9; 7:48; 11:18; 13:8f, 15ff, 22f; 14:3; 17:6, 11; 18:4, 13; 21:4f, 7; 22:27; 2 Kgs 4:8, 42; 6:22; 18:32; 25:3, 29; 1 Chr 9:32; 12:40; 16:3; 23:29; 2 Chr 4:19; 13:11; 18:26; Ezra 10:6; Neh 5:14f, 18; 9:15; 10:33; 13:2; Job 3:24; 6:7; 15:23; 20:14; 22:7; 24:5; 27:14; 28:5; 30:4; 33:20; 42:11; Ps 14:4; 37:25; 41:9; 42:3; 53:4; 78:20, 25; 80:5; 102:4, 9; 104:14f; 105:16, 40; 127:2; 132:15; 136:25; 146:7; 147:9; Pr 4:17; 6:8, 26; 9:5, 17; 12:9, 11; 20:13, 17; 22:9; 23:3, 6; 25:21; 27:27; 28:3, 19, 21; 30:8, 22, 25; 31:14, 27; Eccl 9:7, 11; 10:19; 11:1; Isa 3:1, 7; 4:1; 21:14; 28:28; 30:20, 23; 33:16; 36:17; 44:15, 19; 51:14; 55:2, 10; 58:7; 65:25; Jer 5:17; 11:19; 37:21; 38:9; 41:1; 42:14; 44:17; 52:6, 33; Lam 1:11; 4:4; 5:6, 9; Ezek 4:9, 13, 15ff; 5:16; 12:18f; 13:19; 14:13; 16:19, 49; 18:7, 16; 24:17, 22; 44:3, 7; 48:18; Dan 10:3; Hos 2:5; 9:4; Amos 4:6; 7:12; 8:11; Obad 1:7; Hag 2:12; Mal 1:7 Some representative uses of lehem... Ps 14:4 Do all the workers of wickedness not know, Who eat up my people [as] they eat bread, [And] do not call upon the Lord? Ps 37:25 I have been young, and now I am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Or his descendants begging bread. Ps 41:9 Even my close friend, in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me. Ps 42:3 My tears have been my food day and night, While [they] say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” Ps 53:4 Have the workers of wickedness no knowledge, Who eat up My people [as though] they ate bread, And have not called upon God? Ps 78:20 “Behold, He struck the rock, so that waters gushed out, And streams were overflowing; Can He give bread also? Will He provide meat for His people?” Ps 78:25 Man did eat the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance. Ps 80:5 Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, And Thou hast made them to drink tears in large measure. Ps 102:4 My heart has been smitten like grass and has withered away, Indeed, I forget to eat my bread. Ps 102:9 For I have eaten ashes like bread, And mingled my drink with weeping, Ps 104:14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the labor of man, So that he may bring forth food from the earth, Ps 105:16 And He called for a famine upon the land; He broke the whole staff of bread. Ps 105:40 They asked, and He brought quail, And satisfied them with the bread of heaven. Ps 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved [even in his] sleep. Ps 132:15 “I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her needy with bread. Ps 136:25 Who gives food to all flesh, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Ps 146:7 Who executes justice for the oppressed; Who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free. Ps 147:9 He gives to the beast its food, [And] to the young ravens which cry. Leviticus 3:12 'Moreover, if his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD, goat: Lev 3:1,7-17 1:2,6,10 9:3,15 10:16 22:19-27 Isa 53:2,6 Mt 25:32,33 Ro 8:3 2Co 5:21 PEACE OFFERINGS OF GOATS Offering (07133)(qorban/korban from qarab signifies coming into near, intimate proximity of another [in Leviticus into intimate proximity with Jehovah!] - Does this root verb not help us discern the picture of "offering?") is a masculine noun which means that which is brought near (the altar), thus referring to an offering. Thus qorban/korban was a general term used for all Israelite sacrifices, offerings, or oblations. It is used in a variety of offerings in Leviticus. The Septuagint (Lxx) translates qorban twice in this passage with the noun doron which means a gift or present to show honor and respect (Mt 2:11 of gifts of Magi [Mt 2:7-10] at His birth). Doron also described sacrifices and other gifts offered to God (Mt. 5:23-24-note; Mt 8:4; 15:5; 23:18-19; Mk 7:11; Heb 5:1-note; Heb 8:3-4-note; Heb 9:9-note) Leviticus 3:13 and he shall lay his hand on its head and slay it before the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. lay his hand: Lev 3:1-5,8 Isa 53:6,11,12 2Co 5:21 1Pe 2:24 3:18 sprinkle: Lev 3:2,8 Isa 52:15 Ro 5:6-11,15-21 Heb 12:24 1Pe 1:2) Lay his hand on its head - A picture of substitution - the animal victim's life in place of the offerer's life. Mention of this practice in Lev 24:14 is more difficult to explain - ESV Study Bible says " The laying on of hands prior to the stoning has been commonly explained in such a way that the congregation, having overheard the curse and become defiled, devolves the guilt onto the culprit, and his death makes atonement for the guilt. Alternatively, it may be taken as a gesture simply to indicate who it is that had cursed the name of the LORD." Lay his hand on the head of his offering - This phrase lay hand on head is frequent in Leviticus - Lev 1:4 Lev 3:2 Lev 3:8 Lev 3:13 Lev 4:4 Lev 4:15 Lev 4:24 Lev 4:29 Lev 4:33 Lev 16:21 (Day of atonement) Lev 24:14. Cp Ex 29:10, 15, 19, Nu 8:12 See Leviticus 4:29 Commentary for more detailed notes including discussion by C H Spurgeon. Click notes on Lev 3:2 for more discussion of the Tent of Meeting Sprinkled (02236)(zaraq - word study) Tent of meeting - See note on Lev 3:2 Meeting (04150)(moed from the verb ya'ad meaning to appoint or fix) can refer to either a time or place of meeting (eg, in "tent of meeting" the word for "meeting" in Lev 3:13 is moed). Appointed sign, appointed time, appointed season, place of assembly, set feast. An appointed meeting time in general (Gen. 18:14; Ex. 13:10). Moed often designates a determined time or place without any regard for the purpose. Since the Jewish festivals occurred at regular intervals, this word becomes closely identified with them. Thus moed is a common term for the worshiping assembly of God's people. A specific appointed time, usually for a sacred feast or festival (Hos. 9:5; 12:9). Vine - The phrase, “tabernacle of the congregation,” (tent of meeting) is a translation of the Hebrew ohel moed (“tent of meeting”). The phrase occurs 139 times. It signifies that the Lord has an “appointed place” by which His presence is represented and through which Israel was assured that their God was with them. The fact that the tent was called the “tent of meeting” signifies that Israel’s God was among His people and that He was to be approached at a certain time and place that were “fixed” (yaad) in the Pentateuch. In the kjv, this phrase is translated as “tabernacle of the congregation” (Ex 28:43) because translators realized that the noun edah (“congregation”) is derived from the same root as moed The translators of the Septuagint had a similar difficulty. They noticed the relation of moed to the root ud (“to testify”) and translated the phrase ohel hamoed as “tabernacle of the testimony.” This phrase was picked up by the New Testament in Rev. 15:5-note. Of the three meanings, the appointed “time” is most basic. The phrase “tent of meeting” lays stress on the “place of meeting.” The “meeting” itself is generally associated with “time” or “place.” The Septuagint has the following translations of moed: kairos (time), heorte (“feast; festival”). The English translators give these senses: “congregation” (kjv, rsv, nasb, niv); “appointed time” (nasb); “appointed feast” (rsv, nasb); “set time” (rsv, nasb, niv). (Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words) Tent of meeting - 146x in 143v in NAS - Ex 27:21; 28:43; 29:4, 10f, 30, 32, 42, 44; 30:16, 18, 20, 26, 36; 31:7; 33:7; 35:21; 38:8, 30; 39:32, 40; 40:2, 6f, 12, 22, 24, 26, 29f, 32, 34f; Lev 1:1, 3, 5; 3:2, 8, 13; 4:4f, 7, 14, 16, 18; 6:16, 26, 30; 8:3f, 31, 33, 35; 9:5, 23; 10:7, 9; 12:6; 14:11, 23; 15:14, 29; 16:7, 16f, 20, 23, 33; 17:4ff, 9; 19:21; 24:3; Num 1:1; 2:2, 17; 3:7f, 25, 38; 4:3f, 15, 23, 25, 28, 30f, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 47; 6:10, 13, 18; 7:5, 89; 8:9, 15, 19, 22, 24, 26; 10:3; 11:16; 12:4; 14:10; 16:18f, 42f, 50; 17:4; 18:4, 6, 21ff, 31; 19:4; 20:6; 25:6; 27:2; 31:54; Deut 31:14; Josh 18:1; 19:51; 1 Sam 2:22; 1 Kgs 8:4; 1 Chr 6:32; 9:21; 23:32; 2 Chr 1:3, 6, 13; 5:5 Leviticus 3:14 'From it he shall present his offering as an offering by fire to the LORD, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, fat: Lev 3:3-5,9-11 Ps 22:14,15 Pr 23:26 Jer 20:18 Mt 22:37, 26:38 Ro 12:1,2 Leviticus 3:15 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys. Leviticus 3:16 'The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire for a soothing aroma; all fat is the LORD'S. food: Lev 3:11 fat: Lev 3:3-5,9-11,14,15, 4:8-19,26,31,7:23-25, 8:25, 9:24, 17:6 Ex 29:13,22 1Sa 2:15,16 2Ch 7:7 Isa 53:10 Mt 22:37 Soothing aroma (NIV - "pleasing aroma") - indicates Jehovah's acceptance of the sacrifice. All the fat is the LORD'S - This may have also had medicinal significance as high fat diets are associated with a variety of disorders including atherosclerosis and associated heart disease and strokes. Fat (02459)(heleb) means fat but can also mean "the best," the best or fatty portions of an offering (Ge 4:4; Lev. 4:26). Fat is used in the phrase the “fat of the land” which refers to the best part of the land (Ge 45:18). Figuratively, a a heart grown fat symbolized a heart that had become callous and thus insensitive to God (Ps. 17:10, 73:7, 119:70). Swanson comments that heleb meant "the finest, best part, i.e., the figurative extension of fat as a choice portion, pertaining to olive and wine products and other products as choice, as the feature of an object (Nu 18:12, 29-30 = "best"; Dt 32:14 and Ps 81:16 = finest")." Lxx translates heleb with stear (Gives us English stearin) which means fat. In Nu 18:29-30 "best" (heleb) is translated with the Greek noun aparche which was a technical term for the first portion of grain and fruit harvests and flocks offered to God Heleb translated in NAS as best(5), fat(74), fat portions(2), fatness(1), finest(2), finest*(1), marrow(1), portions of fat(5), unfeeling(1).Heleb - 70v - Gen 4:4; 45:18; Exod 23:18; 29:13, 22; Lev 3:3f, 9f, 14ff; 4:8f, 19, 26, 31, 35; 6:12; 7:3f, 23ff, 30f, 33; 8:16, 25f; 9:10, 19f, 24; 10:15; 16:25; 17:6; Num 18:12, 17, 29f, 32; Deut 32:14, 38; Judg 3:22; 1 Sam 2:15f; 15:22; 2 Sam 1:22; 1 Kgs 8:64; 2 Chr 7:7; 29:35; 35:14; Job 15:27; 21:24; Ps 17:10; 63:5; 73:7; 81:16; 119:70; 147:14; Isa 1:11; 34:6f; 43:24; Ezek 34:3; 39:19; 44:7, 15 Merrill - Although from a practical viewpoint burning the fat from the many fellowship offerings would be both a representative and an easy portion of the animal to bum since fat bums well with little odor, there may well be more to this regulation than pragmatics. It may be that the fat was thought to be a delicacy or "the best" (cf. Deut. 32:13-14; the KJV actually translates heleb as "the best" in Nu 18:12, 29-30, 32) and therefore symbolized the wonderful nature of the worshiper's relationship with the LORD. In addition, since the kidneys are referred to in the OT as the seat of emotions (Job 19:27; Ps. 16:7; 26:2) in the same manner that modern society talks of the heart, it is also possible to see the fat (along with the mentioned kidneys) as a dedication of the worshiper's deepest emotions to God. It is also possible, though less likely, that the LORD was protecting his people from a diet high in fat even as they fellowshipped with him (cf. Lev. 3:17; 7:23, 25). [With] (Bible Knowledge Word Study}) Leviticus 3:17 'It is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall not eat any fat or any blood.'" perpetual: Lev 6:18, 7:36, 16:34, 17:7, 23:14 Nu 19:21)(eat: Lev 3:16 Dt 32:14 Ne 8:10 blood: Lev 7:23,25-27, 17:10-14 Ge 9:4 Dt 12:16,23, 15:23 1Sa 14:32-34 Eze 33:25, 44:7,15 Mt 16:24, 26:28 Acts 15:20,21,29 Eph 1:7, 5:26 1Ti 4:4 Ryrie - No mention is made of a peace offering of birds because they would not provide enough food for a meal. The poor would have to share in the peace offerings brought by others. Perpetual statute - 15x in 15v - Ex 27:21; 29:9; 30:21; Lev 3:17; 10:9; 23:14, 21, 31, 41; 24:3; Num 10:8; 15:15; 18:23; 19:10, 21. (See also Ex 28:43; Lev 7:36; 17:7; Ezek 46:14) Obviously this phrase serves to highlight important principles. Perpetual (Everlasting, Eternal, Forever) (05769)(olam - word study) The Lxx translates olam with the phrase "eis ton aiona" which literally means "into the ages." Statute (05769)(huqqah from haqaq = to cut in, inscribe, decree) refers to something prescribed, an enactment. Given the derivation (to cut), huqqah thus alludes to the practice of inscribing or incising laws in stone. The upshot is that this ordinance regarding the fat was one that conveyed a sense of gravity and was not to be held lightly. Shall not eat...any blood - This would have been necessary here since it was the first offering in which the participants could eat, thus God made an exception for blood. Rooker explains that "Since life is a gift of God, blood, the unique manifestation of this gift, must not be eaten but given back to God, the Source of life. The burning of the fat and the sprinkling of blood against the altar signified the giving of the life of the animal back to God upon its death." Peter Pell on the relationship of the Peace Offering and Christ - The finished work of Christ in relation to the believer is seen in the peace offering. The Lord Jesus is our peace (Eph. 2:14), having made peace through the blood of His cross (Col. 1:20). He preached this peace to those who were afar off and to those who were near (Eph. 2:17), thus breaking down the middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile. In Christ, God and the sinner meet in peace; the enmity that was ours is gone. God is propitiated, the sinner is reconciled, and both alike are satisfied with Christ and with what He has done. Wenham links the OT peace offerings with the NT Lord's Supper - Christ's death on the cross is a closer parallel to the burnt offering. His sharing of his body and blood with his disciples forms the closer parallel to the peace offering. Other similarities between the Christian communion service and the OT peace offering can be drawn. Both demand that the worshipper should be clean, i.e., in a fit state to participate. "Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord" (1 Cor. 11:27; cf. Lev. 7:20). Divine punishment is promised on those who eat without discerning the body. "That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died" (1 Cor. 11:30). Here Paul is putting the provisions of Leviticus into more modern terms. The first recorded peace offering was at Sinai, when the ten commandments were given. It is therefore highly appropriate for the Decalog, or our Lord's summary of the law, to be read at the Lord's supper. (NICOT) Rooker sums up the peace (fellowship) offering - In Leviticus the worshiper is God’s invited guest to enjoy the festive meal. Similarly, in the Lord’s Supper the believer is invited to feast regularly upon the blood and body of the lamb of God. The participant is only warned to be clean in order to participate (Lev 7:20; 1Cor 11:27).The focus and main feature of the fellowship offering was fellowship with God. This fellowship was made possible by atonement through sacrifice. The fellowship offering was not presented until the burnt offering had been made. In order for anyone to have fellowship with God, an atoning sacrifice on behalf of the sinner must be made. The Fellowship Offering Bob Deffinbaugh An excellent, pragmatic discussion of The Fellowship Offering or Peace Offering and below is his entire message... Introduction As I have studied the Book of Leviticus this past week, I have come to realize several things which greatly motivate and enhance my study. Let me share these with you as we commence our study of the “Fellowship” or “Peace” Offering. First, I have begun to appreciate the opportunity to consider the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice one-by-one. A friend of mine tells the story of the woman who is trying to decide how she should confess her sins. She asks, “Shall I ’fess ’em as I does ’em, or shall I bunch ’em?” The problem of “bunching” is very much related to our study of the offerings. The offerings of the Old Testament are something like the tools in John Maurer’s shop: He has a particular tool for each particular task, and you never use the wrong tool for the task. The Old Testament seems to have more offerings than we can count. That can lead to a fair bit of frustration on the part of the New Testament saint. There is a very important lesson to be learned here, which may help to motivate us in our study of these offerings. There is no one Old Testament offering which sums up the work of our Lord, and thus we must see that Christ’s death, burial and resurrection served to accomplish many different functions, not just one. I believe that it is Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer who lists over thirty things which the death of Christ accomplished. We tend to “bunch” the benefits of the work of Christ, rather than to deal with them one at a time, and in so doing we miss much of the blessing which could be ours. One great contribution of the offerings in the Book of Leviticus is that they portray the blessings of the death of Christ, the Lamb of God, individually. The Old Testament saint would sacrifice the various offerings and would grasp, to some degree, the blessings God had given him. With each offering was associated some particular blessing. For us, all the blessings of God are realized by one offering, made once for all, the death of Christ at Calvary. In the Old Testament offerings, we are given the privilege to pause and to focus on the particular benefits and blessings we have received in Christ’s death, and to do so one at a time. Second, every sacrifice that an Israelite offered was of a certain type, and for a specific purpose. Every offering has very exacting rules as to what is offered, how it is offered, and by whom it is offered. For example, the Peace Offering could be eaten on the day it was sacrificed, or on the day after, but not on the third day. To eat this sacrificial meat on the third day would have serious consequences (Lev. 19:5-8). A burnt offering had to be a male, while the Peace Offering could have been a male or a female, but not a bird. An ox or a lamb with an overgrown or stunted member could be offered for a freewill Peace Offering, but not for a votive Peace Offering (Lev. 22:23). Because of the consequences for failing to observe the “laws” of the offerings, one must be very certain what offering he was making, and then do it in accordance with all the laws God had laid down. If you would, the law prescribed the plan, the way in which every offering was to be made. Before men could follow the plan, they had to determine the purpose, that is they had to decide which offering they were about to make, and why. Thus there was a built-in safeguard against mindless ritual, in which one went through the motions of making an offering without really thinking about what he was doing or why. The Israelite’s worship was to involve his whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. The precise regulations encouraged the Israelite worshipper to engage his mind in his worship. Third, the only meat which an Israelite ate from their cattle was that which was offered as a Peace Offering. I know this is hard to believe, but listen to the command of God as given in Leviticus 17: “Any man from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, or a lamb, or a goat in the camp, or who slaughters it outside the camp, and has not brought it to the doorway of the tent of the meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD, bloodguiltiness is to be reckoned to that man. He has shed blood and that man shall be cut off from among his people” (Lev. 17:3-4). These are strong words indeed! Any animal that was slaughtered had to be offered to God as a sacrifice. Any blood that was shed, was shed as a part of a sacrifice. Thus, any meat that was eaten (at least from the cattle of the Israelites) had to be that which was first offered to God as a part of a sacrifice at the tent of meeting. And since the Peace Offering was the only sacrifice of which the Israelite could eat, every time the Israelite wanted to eat meat for dinner, he had to offer a Peace Offering. There are three principle passages in the Book of Leviticus which deal with the Peace Offering. They are: A. Leviticus 3:1-17—the mechanics of the sacrifice B. Leviticus 7:11-34—the meaning of the sacrifice C. Leviticus 19:5-8—The “law of leftovers” Leviticus 3 is structured similarly to Leviticus 1. The regulations for the sacrifice of the Peace Offering are dealt with in terms of the kind of animal sacrificed. Thus, in Lev 3 we find the following structure: A. Leviticus 3:1-5—offerings from the herd B. Leviticus 3:6-17—offerings from the flock 1. a lamb (Lev 3:7-11) 2. a goat (Lev 3:12-17) Leviticus 7:11-34 is structured differently: A. Lev. 7:11—Introduction B. Lev. 7:12-14—Grain Offerings which accompany the Peace Offering C. Lev. 7:15-34—The flesh of the Peace Offering 1. Its Defilement— Lev 7:15-27 a. By delay, Lev 7:15-18 b. By contact with unclean thing, vv. 19-21 c. By definition, Lev 7:22-27 2. Its Distribution—Lev 7:28-34 The Peace Offering Imagine for the moment that you are an Israelite in the days of Moses, and that you are about to make a Peace Offering, according to all of the regulations in the Pentateuch. You could offer a Peace Offering as an act of thanksgiving (Lev. 7:12; 22:29-30), or to fulfill a special vow (Lev. 7:16; 22:21), or as a freewill offering (Lev. 7:16; 22:18, 21, 23). These were all optional offerings, which an Israelite could offer at any time, except for the feast of Pentecost (Lev. 23:19) and the fulfillment of the Nazarite’s days of separation (Nu 6:13-20), when the offering was mandatory. You would begin by selecting an animal without any defect, either male or female, from the herd or from the flock (Lev. 3:1, 6). You would then bring this animal to the doorway of the tent of meeting, where you would lay your hand upon its head (Lev 3:2, 8, 13), thus identifying your sin with this animal, and yourself with its death. When you have slain the animal, the priests will collect the blood which is shed and sprinkle it around the altar (Lev 3:2, 8, 13). The animal would then be skinned and cut into pieces. The priests would then take the fat of the animal, along with the kidneys and the lobe of the liver, and burn it on the altar of burnt offering (Lev 3:3-5; 9-11; 14-16). God’s portion of the Peace Offering would be the blood and the fat (Lev. 3:16-17; cf. Lev 17:10-13). The priests would be given the breast and the right thigh of the animal (cf. Ex. 29:26-28; Lev. 7:30-34; 10:14-15). Aaron and his sons receive the breast (Lev 7:31), while the thigh goes to that priest who offers up the Peace Offering (Lev 7:33). Along with the fat which is offered up to God there would also be the appropriate offering of grain. In the case of a thanksgiving offering both leavened and unleavened cakes were to be offered, some of which was burned on the altar, and the rest of which was to go to the priests (Lev 7:12-13). This was not the only grain offering which was leavened, for the celebration of Pentecost included the offering of leavened bread (Lev. 23:17). Those who would tell us that leaven is always a symbol of evil, and that, as such, it can never be used in conjunction with Israel’s worship or offerings, have some explaining to do here. Since the fat and blood are offered to God and the breast and the right thigh are given to the priest, the rest of the sacrificial animal is left for the offerer to eat. Thus, after the offering of the fat portions on the altar, the Israelite would eat a meal, partaking of the portions of the sacrificial animal which remained. Not much is said about the meal that is eaten (in Leviticus 3). In contrast, there is considerable emphasis placed on the disposal of the meat of the Peace Offering (cf. Lev. 7:15-18; 19:5-8). I call this, “the law of the leftovers.” The meat of the thanksgiving Peace Offering must be eaten on the day it is sacrificed (Lev 7:15); if it is a votive offering or a freewill offering, it can be saved and eaten on the next day, but then must be burned (Lev 7:16-18; 19:5-8). The one who disobeys this regulation must be cut off from his people (Lev 19:8). Distinctives of the Peace Offering There are several distinctives of the Peace Offering, as compared with the Burnt and Grain Offerings of Lev 1 and Lev 2. It is these distinctives which provide us with the key to the unique role of this offering. First, the animal sacrificed in the Peace Offering could be from the herd or from the flock (but not a bird), whether male or female. Second, the offering was shared by God, by the priests, and by the offerer. All of the Burnt Offering was the Lord’s (except for the skin). Most of the Grain Offering was for the priests. But the Peace Offering was shared by all, each receiving their appointed portions. Third, three of the occasions on which the Peace Offering was appropriate were for thanksgiving, for completing a vow, and for a freewill offering. Fourth, the Peace Offering was unique in that there was a meal associated with this offering. Fifth, the thanksgiving Peace Offering included leavened bread (Lev. 7:13). The Origin and Meaning of the Peace Offering Sacrifices were not new to the Israelite, nor to the pagan, for that matter. The laws of Leviticus which pertain to the offerings do not initiate sacrifice, they merely seek to regulate it. The reason for these regulations, as for most all laws, is that men are abusing certain privileges. Before we seek to discern the meaning of the Peace Offering, let us take a moment to trace the history of sacrifice from the biblical data we are given. Sacrifice was first offered by Adam and Eve and by their sons. Animals had to be slaughtered for the skins which covered the nakedness of Adam and his wife (Gen. 3:21). Then, in Genesis 4, Cain and Abel made offerings to God (Ge 4:1-5). Abel offered a blood (animal) sacrifice. It is especially interesting to note the wording here: “And Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions” (Ge 4:4a, emphasis mine). In the first recorded animal sacrifice by men, we are told that the “fat portions” are offered. And thus we read in Leviticus, “all fat is the LORD’s” (Lev. 3:16b). Then, after the flood, Noah offered animal sacrifices to God as burnt offerings (Ge 8:20), and as a result, God made a covenant never to destroy mankind in this way again (Ge 8:21-22). God then pronounced a blessing on Noah and his sons, and gave the animals to them for food, seemingly for the first time (Ge 9:1-3). There was the stipulation, however, that the blood of the animals could not be eaten (Ge 9:4-5), which, if it is not the precedent for this command in Leviticus, is surely somehow related: “‘It is a perpetual statue throughout your generations in all your dwellings; you shall not eat any fat or any blood’” (Lev. 3:17). The prohibition against shedding man’s blood is then stated, along with the institution of capital punishment, as the penalty for murder (Gen. 9:5-7). It is my speculation that from this time on, no animal was sacrificed apart from some kind of sacrificial ceremony, at which time the blood was poured out, and perhaps the fat was offered up in fire to the Lord. I believe that this practice persisted, in a perverted form, by the pagans who descended from Noah and his sons. I say this on the basis of two biblical texts: So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play (Exod. 32:6). “The reason is so that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing in the open field, that they may bring them in to the LORD, at the doorway of the tent of meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD. And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the LORD at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and offer up the fat in smoke as a soothing aroma to the LORD. And they shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they play the harlot. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations” (Lev. 17:5-7). Before Moses had descended from Mt. Sinai with God’s instructions, which included the sacrifices, the Israelites were offering “peace offerings” as a part of their heathen worship. They did not learn to make peace offerings from Moses, and so they must have known similar offerings from their past. The text in Leviticus 17 is even more explicit. The reason why God ordered the Israelites to slaughter every animal as a sacrifice before the tent of meeting (Lev. 17:1-4) was because they were slaughtering their animals outside the camp in the open field, not in a neutral way, but as a part of a heathen ritual which involved the worship of “goat demons” (Lev 17:7). Thus, the regulations of Leviticus pertaining to the offerings were to deal with the corrupted form of offering, which I believe stems from the sacrifices of Abel, and later of Noah. The killing of animals by the shedding of their blood thus was originated by God, and was normally associated with atonement (covering sin) and with God’s blessing, as expressed in His covenants. The Book of Genesis thus laid a vital foundation for the origins of worship and of sacrifice, intended to correct the distortions and perversions of it over time by sinful men. Much of Israel’s understanding of the Peace Offering (and the rest) was therefore based on the divine revelation of Genesis. In the Book of Exodus we find further revelation concerning the Peace Offering, which would assist the Israelite in understanding the significance of this offering. God spoke specifically of the Peace Offering in Exodus 20:24: “ ‘You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.’” Again, in Exodus 24, we find the Peace Offering. You will recall that God has just proclaimed the details of the Mosaic Covenant to Moses, and in Ex 24 this covenant will be formally ratified. Thus, we read: And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD. … Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they beheld God, and they ate and drank (Ex 24:4-5, 9-11, emphasis mine). Numbers 7 is an account of the gifts and offerings which were initially offered by the leaders of Israel (Nu 7:2), which includes peace offerings. It seems to me that in both Exodus 24 and Numbers 7 the leaders are acting representatively for the people in making their peace offerings. While it is not stated per se in Exodus 24, it would seem to me that the meal which was eaten by the leaders of Israel in God’s presence was the prototype and predecessor of the peace offering which would be made in conjunction with the tabernacle. Where did the leaders of Israel get the food which they ate in God’s presence? I think that it was that which remained from the peace offerings of Ex 24:5. It is against the backdrop of Genesis and Exodus, in the light of the previous sacrifices and peace offerings of God’s people, that the Israelite was to understand the peace offering. But this is not all the information we have concerning the meaning of the Peace Offering. In addition, we have (1) the meaning of the original term employed for the Peace Offering, (2) the instructions and regulations pertaining to the Peace Offering, (3) biblical examples of the Peace Offering, and, (4) the ability to distinguish this offering from the others (knowing the primary significance of the other offerings at least enables us to discern what facets of Israel’s relationship to God have not yet been enacted by their sacrificial ritual). Let us briefly consider each of these, so that we can discern the meaning of the Peace Offering to the Israelite of Moses’ day. (1) The meaning of “peace.” There is considerable difference of opinion as to exactly what the Hebrew term employed for the “Peace” Offering actually means. Nevertheless, there is some help to be gained from a consideration of the general meaning of the root word. Essentially “peace” has the connotation of “wholeness” or “completeness.” An illustration of biblical “wholeness” can be seen in marriage, specifically in the marriage of Adam and Eve. When God made Adam, he was initially alone. When Adam named the animals, they all passed before him—in pairs! There was Mr. and Mrs. Sheep, Mr. and Mrs. Ox, and so on. Adam began to feel incomplete, and rightly so. God said that Adam’s aloneness was not good, and so he made a mate for him—Eve. When the two were joined together, they became one flesh. Adam became “whole” when he became one with Eve. So the Israelites became whole when they become one with God in worship. “Peace” describes this wholeness. I believe “peace” refers to the condition of acceptance (cf. Lev. 19:5, “So that you might be accepted”) which the Israelite experienced with God by virtue of the sacrifices, resulting in an inner peace on the part of each Israelite. Since the offerer places his hand on the animal that is sacrificed, the element of sin is clearly present. This offering assures the offerer that he has peace with God, based upon the shedding of innocent blood. (2) The instructions pertaining to the Peace Offering. In particular, the most striking features of this offering are that the offerer personally partakes of the sacrificial meat by means of a festive meal. I take it, that in so doing the focus here is more upon the experiential benefits to the offerer than in the previous offerings. In the Burnt Offering, the offerer received none of the sacrificed animal at all. In the Grain Offering, the same was true, although the priests fared better here. But it is in the Peace Offering, indeed, only in the Peace Offering, that the offerer gets something back, something like a rebate. I believe this suggests that the emphasis falls on the benefits to the offerer, that the offerer is here more in view than previously has been the case. (3) The biblical examples of the Peace Offering. In 1 Samuel 1, Hannah made a vow to the Lord that she would dedicate her son to the Lord if He would but give her a boy child. When God answered her prayer, she fulfilled her promise, thus completing her vow. Thus, in obedience to the instructions found in Leviticus pertaining to the Peace Offering, Hannah went to Shiloh and gave her son to the Lord, offering her Peace Offering at this time (1Sa 1:22-28). As she had experienced the “wholeness” of child-bearing and of being able to fulfill her vow, she offered her “peace” offering. In many other instances the Peace Offering was offered in the history of Israel. Interestingly, this offering was made both in times of great sorrow (e.g. Jdg. 20:26; 21:4) and in times of great joy (e.g. Dt. 27:7; Josh. 8:31; 1Sa 11:15). In each instance the Peace Offering focuses on the benefits, the wholeness, which Israel is experiencing, or which she had lost (and for which she hopes), the offering then being an act of faith, a looking forward to a future wholeness or peace, which God will grant His people. (4) The Peace Offering as contrasted to the Burnt and Grain Offerings. I said at the outset of this message that each of the sacrifices focuses on one particular facet of God’s grace and of the benefits which God’s people experience through the sacrifices. The Burnt Offering focus on the satisfaction of God’s righteousness because of the sacrificial death of the animal offered. Here, as it were, the emphasis falls on God, and the satisfaction of His anger, due to the general fallen condition of man. The Grain Offering focuses on the Israelite’s dependence upon God, not only for forgiveness and spiritual life, but for physical life. The Peace Offering focuses on the Israelite’s “peace with God,” the joys and the peace of mind which comes from knowing that God is at peace with us. Thus, whether it is the joy that God has enabled the Israelite to fulfill his vow, or in thanks for some gracious act of God, or a freewill offering, the Israelite’s peace with God is in view. The Peace Offering and the Contemporary Christian (1) Christ is our Peace Offering. The primary significance of the Peace Offering of the Old Testament is to be found in its antitype, Jesus Christ. In the offering of the Peace Offering the Israelite was benefited by the peace of knowing and experiencing God’s forgiveness. In fact, it was more than this. God’s anger was not just appeased, God was no longer angry with the offerer, His favor was with him. There is the sense in which Christ’s death appeased (propitiated) God’s anger, but the “Peace Offering” aspect of Christ’s work went beyond this. Because of Christ, God is no longer angry with the one who has identified with Him by faith, He is favorably disposed to Him. And because this is true, we can experience the inner peace that comes from knowing God’s favor is directed toward us. Just as our love for God is reflected in a love for man, so our “peace with God” also manifests itself in a peace with men. This is the message which Paul proclaimed: But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father (Eph. 2:13-18). Some versions have translated the “Peace Offering” the “Fellowship Offering.” Both terms, “peace” and “fellowship” are appropriate, in my opinion. Through Christ’s death we have peace and fellowship with God and peace and fellowship with man. The meal that the offerer of the Peace Offering enjoyed, along with his fellow-Israelites, whom he invited, signified the peace which the sacrifice brought about. Years ago, Dr. Billy Graham wrote a book entitled, Peace With God. There are a lot of expressions used for conversion which I do not care for, because they are not really biblical, but this expression, “peace with God” expresses, perhaps better than any other, the blessing which salvation brings to the believer. Have you experienced this peace with God my friend? The Bible tells us that we are born at enmity with God. That is our natural state (cf. Eph. 2:1-3). That condition of hostility, Paul tells us in Ephesians 2, is remedied and removed by the blood of Christ, and enmity with God is replaced by peace with God, and with our fellow men. We are hearing a lot of talk these days about “fulfillment” and “self-realization” and the like. We can read much about “reaching our full potential” and having a “positive self-image,” but all these goals fall far short of the joy of having peace with God, through faith in our great Peace Offering, Jesus Christ. I urge you, if you have never received this gift, do so today, by simply trusting in Jesus Christ as your Peace Offering to God. When you receive Christ as your Peace Offering you will be able to sing with conviction and assurance, “It Is Well With My Soul,” for this is the peace which God offers us in Christ. (2) The meaning of a meal. Throughout the Bible, the meal has a meaning much greater than that which our culture attributes to it. I believe that for the people of God, and often for the pagans (cf. Exod. 32:6; Num. 25:1-3), the meal had a deeply religious significance. I do not think that the Peace Offering was the origin of this significance, but rather a reflection of it. Before Leviticus, Abraham offered meat and a meal to his unknown visitors (Ge 18), as did Lot (Ge 19). Later on, it was significant when the Levite was seeking a meal and a place to lodge without success (Judges 19). The festive meal which was a part of the Peace Offering simply added to the significance which the meal already had. Here, the meal was a symbol of the peace which the Israelite had with God and with men, through the sacrifice of the innocent victim. When you stop to think of it, the New Testament is saturated with stories and teachings related to the dinner table. In Luke 14 the entire chapter is dealing with “meals,” precipitated by the fact that our Lord associated with the “wrong kind of people” at the table, at least in the minds of the scribes and Pharisees (cf. Mark 2:16). Our Lord taught, for example, that one should not invite those to dinner who are wealthy and influential, and who can thus return the favor to us in some way (Lk 14:12-14). Was not this especially applicable at the meal associated with the Peace Offering, when the poor would only be able to participate if the more affluent invited them? (Remember, there was no “poor people’s” alternative for the Peace Offering, as there was for the Burnt Offering, for example.) The story of the “prodigal son” takes on even more significance once we understand the nature of the “Peace Offering.” (Lk 15:11-32) What was it that the prodigal son missed so much in that foreign land, when he was longing to eat the pods which the pigs were eating, but his father’s table? And what was it that angered the older brother, if it was not the father’s slaying of the fatted calf? Now, in the light of what we know of the Peace Offering, what would the father have had to do, before the fatted calf could have been eaten? It would have been offered first as a Peace Offering. What, then, did the fatted calf signify, if not the fact that the son had been accepted by the father, and that there was “peace” in the family again? The Peace Offering deepens our grasp of the significance of meals in the New Testament. So, too, the significance of meat and of meals enhances our grasp of the problem which Paul dealt with in 1 Corinthians of eating meats, especially those eaten in the home of an unbelieving neighbor, who may very well have obtained meat which was involved in a pagan ritual, or which might take place in the meal itself. The Peace Offering helps the Christian to understand the significance of a meal, especially since the Lord’s Table was initially conducted as a part of a meal (cf. 1Cor. 11:23-34). The Lord’s Table, or Communion, is, in large measure, the New Testament version of the Peace Offering festive meal. The Peace Offering sacrifice is not offered, for our Peace Offering is Christ, who died once for all, to make peace between men and God, and between men and men. The celebration goes on, however, and so in the communion service we are reminded of our unity with others, as well as our unity with God: “Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread” (1Cor. 10:16-17). Because of the significance of the Lord’s Table, as it pertains to the peace which Christ has accomplished on the cross, misconduct at this table is taken most seriously, even as infractions of the regulations pertaining to the Peace Offering are sobering. The newly born church manifested its life and fellowship by sharing meals from “house to house” (Acts 2:46). One of the greatest barriers between the Jewish believers and the Gentile saints was that of eating (cf. Acts 10, Acts 11). Thus, when Peter departed from what God had taught him in this passage, Paul rebuked him for departing from the very essence of the gospel (Gal. 2:11-21). The coming of our Lord and joy and peace experienced by true believers at this time are thus appropriately described in “banquet terms”: And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready … And he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God” (Rev. 19:6-7, 9). The dinner table has become much more secular to us than it ever was to the people of earlier times. I suspect that some of this is due to the pace of our lives, and to the instant “TV” dinners, which are eaten before the TV, rather than at the table, or which are gulped down at a “fast food” chain outlet. How much we can make of the meal table is suggested by the Peace Offering meal of the Old Testament, and by the Lord’s Table of the New. May God enable us to make more of the meal table, and to meditate more on the peace which Christ has won for us on the cross. (Online Version on Bible.org) WHAT A FELLOWSHIP! WHAT A JOY DIVINE! Rob Morgan Here’s the way it should be… • When we wake up in the morning and look out the window, we should say, “Lord, this is the day you have made! I will rejoice and be glad in it!” • When we leave our house and arrive at work, we should pause, glance around the sky to see if any birds are singing, and we should pause to thank God for the sky, the clouds, the rain, the sunshine, or the snow. • When we encounter problems and frustrations during the day, we should say, “Now, Lord, give me wisdom to deal with this and cause it to work out for good as You have promised.” • When we have a stressful encounter with another person, we should remain at peace with ourselves, praying for wisdom and doing our best to “live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18). • When we take our meals, we should bow our heads in thankful recognition of the abundance of God’s provision. • When we commit a sin, we should take it seriously and confess it earnestly, readily removing it from our hearts and lives. • When we close our eyes at night, we should say, “Thank you, Lord, for the blessings of this day. Now I’m going to put everything ‘on hold’ for a few hours while I sleep and my body rests. I am trusting You to stay alert and take care of things while I’m sleeping. May the Holy Spirit bless my subconscious mind during the night.” • The next morning we should wake up, look out the window, and say, “Another day the Lord has made!” That’s the way it should be. An attitude of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. A firm confidence that God is in charge of every day. An absence of fear and failure. I’m not describing a carefree life or a life without stress and strain, but I am describing a life that carries with it a sort of “heavenly carelessness” that trusts God with all things, prays without ceasing, rejoices in all things, and lives in the abundance of God’s peace. That’s the kind of life Jesus Christ wants to develop in us, for He is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). The apostle Paul said, “For He Himself is our peace” (Ephesians 2:14). Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). In other words, Jesus Christ died on the cross that our lives might dwell in the midst of this kind of peace, for He is our Peace Offering. And that brings us to our study today in the book of Leviticus. I know that Leviticus is considered the dullest and driest book of the Bible, but that’s because most of us have never taken the time to really study it. For the sake of those of you who have just dropped in today or who might be on vacation, let me share a word of background about this book and about our series of studies. When you read through the Bible, you begin with Genesis, which tells how the world began, how life began, and it tells us how the Jewish nation began. That’s very important in God’s eyes, because the Jewish nation is the bloodline through which the Messiah would come into the world to provide redemption for all. We have three great men in Genesis: Abraham and his son and grandson, Isaac and Jacob. The sons of Jacob migrated to Egypt and by the end of the book of Genesis, the Jewish people had become a slave-nation under the lash of the Pharaohs. The second book of the Bible takes up the story. Exodus tells us how God raised up a deliverer named Moses who liberated the Children of Israel and led them out of Egypt and toward the Promised Land. This nomadic people stopped at an isolated mountain in the desert, Mount Sinai, and there God gave them the Ten Commandments. There they also built a special tent for worshipping God. This tent and its courtyard was known as the Tabernacle; and when you entered the Tabernacle courtyard, you saw a very austere piece of equipment—it was a large bronze altar on which animals were sacrificed. That’s where the book of Exodus ends. When we begin reading the third book in the Bible—Leviticus—the first thing we encounter in chapter 1-7 are descriptions of the five great sacrifices that were to be offered on that altar. That’s how the book of Leviticus begins—with seven rather tedious chapters giving us the details of these five primary offerings. Now, all of that would be recondite and abstruse – as boring and meaningless to us as ashes – were it not for one thing. These sacrifices and offerings were designed by God to be prototypes of Jesus Christ, and each one of them is prophetic. It is a prophetic object lesson. These are symbols and pictures of Christ. And Almighty God wanted us to know 1400 years in advance what our Lord Jesus was going to do on the cross, so He gave us five incredible emblems of Calvary in the five ancient sacrifices. Without question and without doubt, these offerings point directly to Jesus Christ. They are like laser beams of light that burn through the centuries until they pinpoint with unfailing accuracy the wooden beams of Calvary. There are five different offerings because God wanted us to know, in advance, five different aspects of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Leviticus 1 describes the burnt offering. What distinguished this offering? It was totally consumed by the flames. The key words in Leviticus 1 are: All on the altar. It speaks of the totality of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us. Leviticus 2 describes the grain offering. What distinguished this offering? It was the only offering that did not involve blood. It wasn’t an animal offering; it was an offering of bread. It represented, not the death of Christ, but His life. The key words in Leviticus 2 are: fine flour. It represented the perfect humanity of Christ. Now today we come to the third offering, which is the Peace Offering or the Fellowship Offering. It signifies the fact that by offering Himself as our Sacrifice, Jesus made possible our peace with God, our peace with Himself, our peace with one another, and our peace with ourselves. It signifies the fact that, as Paul said, He is our peace. As Isaiah said, He is our Prince of Peace. Let’s read portions of this passage, then I’ll point out a few things about it. Leviticus 3:1-5: When his offering is a sacrifice of a peace offering, if he offers it of the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of meeting; and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood all around on the altar. Then he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire to the Lord. The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove; and Aaron’s sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is on the wood that is on the fire, as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. Lev 3:11: …and the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire to the Lord. Lev 3:16-17: …and the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma; all the fat is the Lord’s. This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor blood. If that sounds like advice you might hear on the Food Network when they’re talking about how to carve up and slice various pieces of meat for the grill, that’s exactly what it is. Think grilling out. Think the meat section at the supermarket. Think the local butcher. Think barbeque. This is an offering that was designed to be eaten. Here’s what happened. A family wanted to celebrate a special event, so they brought the fattened calf to the Tabernacle in thanksgiving to God. The animal was slain, the fat was removed and burned, and the blood was drained and sprinkled on the altar. God knew that that the fat would only clog up our arteries anyway, so He allowed that to be His portion. The blood was sprinkled on the altar and the fat was burned on the grill. The rest of the animal was cooked over the flames to become a meal for the worshipper and for the priests. Some of you grew up on the farm where animals were raised and slaughtered and the meat was eaten or salted and stored away. My family didn’t raise our own beef. I remember every once in a while my dad telling me that he had bought half a cow, but I never quite understood that terminology. I always wondered which half of the cow he had purchased. I had an uncle who raised and killed a hog every year, but we never attended the festivities. The reports were that everyone had a great time (except, I suppose, for the hog). But it all seems a little messy to me. I’m squeamish, and I don’t even carve our Thanksgiving Turkey. All these years, Katrina has cooked the turkey and handed it to me, and I’ve handed it right back. I told her, “I don’t do turkeys.” I don’t even eat chicken with the bone in it. When I acquire a piece of beef or chicken, I like for it to be all nice and tidy and bloodless and ready for the grill. But people who grow up on farms or people who are butchers by trade think nothing of it. It’s a part of the culture. And in biblical times, when people ate beef or mutton, they had to raise and slaughter the animals themselves. This passage tells them how and where to do it, how to cut up the animal, and what parts to eat and what parts to avoid eating. Twenty-five hundred years ago, in His infinite wisdom, God warned His people against eating the fat that we now know to be unhealthy for consumption. This passage says, “When you kill an animal for food, here are the parts to eat and the parts to avoid. The parts to avoid can be My part. I’ll take that part. You can drain out the blood and sprinkle it on the altar as a symbol of the blood of my Son who will die on the cross, and you can burn the fatty portions on the altar as an act of thanksgiving to Me. But then you take the rest of it—the good parts, the protein, the lean meat—and enjoy it. Eat the steak and enjoy it. Eat the roast beef and enjoy it.” That was the Peace Offering. There is some indication in Leviticus 17 that every time an Israelite family slaughtered an animal for food, they were to do it in this way and to consider it a Peace Offering. In other words, this offering was simply to be woven into their normal, everyday lives. It was somewhat akin to our bowing our heads and giving thanks before our meals. Let me give you an example in 1 Samuel 9. This is the story of how Israel gained her first king. A young man named Saul was sent by his father to track down some runaway donkeys, and when he was unable to find them, he decided to consult the prophet Samuel, so he met some girls and asked them if they knew where Samuel was. As they went up the hill to the city, (Saul) met some young women going out to draw water, and said to them, “Is the seer here?” And they answered them and said, “Yes, there he is, just ahead of you. Hurry now; for today he came to this city, because there is a sacrifice of the people on the high place.” In other words, this is the Fourth of July. This is Labor Day. This is a holiday, and we’re going to have a community picnic. We’re going to all grill out together. Samuel is coming to oversea the Peace Offering as we prepare the animal for the grill. As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. This is the Peace Offering. Another example is in the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. When the boy returned, what did the father do? He told the servants to kill the fatted calf. They were going to celebrate the reconciliation of the boy to his dad by offering a sacrifice of thanksgiving and having a feast together. The Peace Offering, then, was an offering in which the fat and blood were removed from the animal. The blood was sprinkled on the altar and the fat was burned on the grill. The rest was enjoyed in a communal meal by the worshippers. What does it convey? The blood sprinkled on the altar and the fat offered on the grill represented the fact that we now have peace with God. And the communal meal signified the fact that we now have peace and fellowship and communion with one another. That’s why some translations call this the Peace Offering and others call it the Fellowship Offering. It conveys harmony. It conveys blessing. It conveys that fact that Jesus Christ came to establish peace with God Ephesians 2:12-13 puts it this way: Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle way of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. When Jesus Christ died on the wooden beams of Calvary, His blood splattered against the cross, giving us a basis for having peace with God. And His broken body also made us one with each other, giving us a basis for communion with each other. Blood splattered and flesh enjoyed. Peace with God and a feast with one another. Even as John told us: If we walk in the light as He is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. How, then, do we enter more earnestly and successfully into God’s peace? Here are four suggestions. First, make Jesus Christ the Lord of all your difficulties. Give your problems to Him. Let go and let God. Place them on the altar. Cast all your cares of Him for He cares for you. Do this consciously and deliberately. Second, memorize the great verses in the Bible about God’s peace, some of which I’ve quoted in this message. Third, meditate on those verses. This is the missing ingredient in Bible study. We have too much noise, too many technical contraptions around us all the time. We need quiet walks, quiet bicycle rides, quiet car trips, and quiet moments to think. When we study and memorize Scripture, it’s like swallowing a jewelry box whole. Meditation is the key that unlocks that internalized box and allows us to start bedecking our lives with the jewels. Fourth, master your emotions. In the power of the Holy Spirit and using the tools of the Scripture you’ve memorized and meditation on, cast our discouragement and fear, anger and anxiety. Cast these things out like Jesus casting out demons. Make up your mind that you aren’t going to let these emotions and moods master your heart. Take yourself in hand and choose to live in God’s peace. Sometimes it’s a matter of sheer, sanctified, Spirit-empowered will-power. What happens when we do these things? • When we wake up in the morning and look out the window, we can say, “Lord, this is the day you have made! I will rejoice and be glad in it!” • When we leave our house and arrive at work, we can pause, glance around the sky to see if any birds are singing, and thank God for the sky, the clouds, the rain, the sunshine, or the snow. • When we encounter problems and frustrations during the day, we can say, “Now, Lord, give me wisdom to deal with this and cause it to work out for good as You have promised.” • When we have a stressful encounter with another person, we can remain at peace with ourselves, praying for wisdom and doing our best to “live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18). • When we take our meals, we can bow our heads in thankful recognition of the abundance of God’s provision. • When we commit a sin, we can take it seriously and confess it earnestly, readily removing it from our hearts and lives. • When we close our eyes at night, we can say, “Thank you, Lord, for the blessings of this day. Now I’m going to put everything ‘on hold’ for a few hours while I sleep and my body rests. I am trusting You to stay alert and take care of things while I’m sleeping. May the Holy Spirit bless my subconscious mind during the night.” • The next morning we can wake up, look out the window, and say, “Another day the Lord has made!” He is our Burnt Offering who lay all on the altar and gave Himself fully for you and me. He is our Grain Offering for He represented the fine flour of a perfect manhood. He is our Peace Offering because His sacrifice of Himself gives us peace with God and communion with one another so we can say: “What a fellowship! What a joy divine!” Does the peace of Christ rule in your heart? Does the Prince of Peace reign in your life? Have you given yourself to Him, and taken for yourself His blessings of eternal life. The Bible say: “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” And those who do can say: Jesus, I am resting, resting, In the joy of what Thou art; I am finding out the greatness Of Thy loving heart. Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee, And Thy beauty fills my soul, For by Thy transforming power, Thou hast made me whole.