The Peace Offering

The Sacrificial System – How To Draw Near To God

The Peace Offering - Lev. 3

Several years ago I was reading through the church services section of the newspaper, and what I saw was pretty amazing. The listings went something like this. “Next Saturday the Lutheran church will be hosting a free-will ham dinner.” The next add said, “The Methodist Church will be serving baked ziti from 5 – 7 PM on Wednesday evening. Proceeds to help the Methodist Mission to America.” As I continued to scan down the listing, the Baptist were serving roast beef, the Episcopalians corned beef, and the Presbyterians were having a steak and clam bake. I kid you not, practically every listing mentioned food! What is this thing Christians have with food?

This morning we are going to see the historical roots of the importance of food to the follower of Christ, so let‟s look at Lev. 3 and investigate the peace offering.

Similar to last week in our study of the grain offering, this offering is known by several other names as well. Your Bible may refer to it as the “thank” offering, and one resource I consult calls it the “saving” offering. The word that is used to describe this offering is actually one of the Hebrew words most of us are familiar with, it is the greeting “shalom.” Literally, it means “peace,” and that is the word used in our text, hence, the peace offering. But the reason it is referred to as the saving offering is because this kind of offering was what was offered when a treaty was struck between two kings or nations at war. As applied to our relationship with God, when we are at peace with God we are “saved,” so in a very general sense we can call it a saving offering.

I want to take a minute and look at the handout you were given this morning. Remember that Leviticus has two basic sections, how to obtain fellowship with God and how to maintain fellowship with God. We are in this first section that deals with “how to draw near to God,” which is all about the sacrifices, but there is one division that you need to be aware of that isn‟t on your handout. Instructions concerning the final offering ends in chapter 6:7. Starting in 6:8 and going through the end of chapter 7, there is a quick overview of the five sacrifices, but the emphasis on the priesthood. Chs. 1 – 5 all focus on the person bringing the sacrifice – what kind of an animal can he bring, what kind of condition does it have to be in, how does he kill it, etc.; but this last chapter and a half focus on the priest’s actions during the sacrifice – what does he do with the ashes, where does he sprinkle the blood, what part gets burned and what part is waved before the Lord? It‟s all about the priesthood, not the one offering the sacrifice.

So with that in mind, let‟s think about the specifics of this peace offering. To begin with, either a male or female animal could be used (v. 1) – which was unlike the burnt offering, which had to be a male only. The animal had to be perfect, the one bringing the offering after he had placed his hand on the head to signify the transferral of his condition to the animal, he then killed the animal, cut it into pieces and gave it to the priest.

Where things start to get a little different from the burnt offering is seen in verses 3 – 5. “And from the sacrifice of the peace offerings, he shall present an offering by fire to the LORD, [now note what gets put on the altar] the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver [another piece of fat], which he shall remove with the kidneys. 'Then Aaron's sons shall offer it up in smoke on the altar on the burnt offering, which is on the wood that is on the fire; it is an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD.”

Interestingly enough, the only parts of the animal that were thrown on the fire and consumed were the fat and the kidneys. Anatomically, it was only the fat that was easily removed. The one bringing the sacrifice didn‟t spend hours carving the animal up – he just took of the large areas of fat that were easily accessible. But this burning of the fat and kidneys only alerts us that something is a little different about this offering, and we see that difference elaborated on a little bit more in verse 11. Let‟s read this verse again and see if you can see a phrase we haven‟t come across yet. “The priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, as food, an offering by fire to the Lord.” What is the significance of this phrase – “as food,” especially in light of the fact that God doesn‟t need food? This phrase lets us know the primary significance of the peace offering, and that is that this is the only offering that involved eating a meal. It didn‟t come out explicitly in our reading of chapter three, but let‟s look at chapter seven where we see the rest of the information about this offering.

Starting in verse 11 we see the beginning of the instructions for the peace offering. “Now this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings which shall be presented to the LORD.” Drop down to verse 15 where we read, “Now as for the flesh of the sacrifice of his thanksgiving peace offerings, it shall be eaten on the day of his offering; he shall not leave any of it over until morning. 16 'But if the sacrifice of his offering is a votive or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice; and on the next day what is left of it may be eaten; 17 but what is left over from the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned with fire.” And then we drop down to verse 33 and read, “The one among the sons of Aaron who offers the blood of the peace offerings and the fat, the right thigh shall be his as his portion. 34 'For I have taken the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution from the sons of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as their due forever from the sons of Israel.”

What sets the peace offering apart from all the other ones is that it provided a meal for the officiating priest (the thigh and the breast), the person bringing the sacrifice (everything else), and, according to 3:11, even in a symbolic sense, God himself.

Let‟s look at a couple of other interesting dimensions of this offering that are brought out in chapter 7. In verse 30 we read “His own hands are to bring offerings by fire to the LORD. He shall bring the fat with the breast, that the breast may be presented as a wave offering before the LORD.” Then in verse 34 we read, “For I have taken the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution from the sons of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as their due forever from the sons of Israel.” From Ex. 29 we see that the thigh portion of this offering was to be “heaved” before the Lord.

The wave offering and the heave offering were not separate offerings, but a sub-category of the peace offering. “Waving” referred to a horizontal motion made with the breast portion, and “heaving” referred to a perpendicular motion made with the thigh portion. It didn‟t mean it was thrown! Both were symbolic gestures showing that ultimately they belonged to the Lord.

And while we are talking about sub-categories of the peace offering, chapter 7 shows us three more. First of all in verse 12 we see it could be a thanksgiving peace offering. “If he offers it by way of thanksgiving, then along with the sacrifice of thanksgiving he shall offer unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, and cakes of well stirred fine flour mixed with oil.” Then down in verse 16, we see two additional choices, the peace offering could be a votive offering, probably better understood as a “vow” peace offering, or it could be a “freewill” peace offering. “But if the sacrifice of his offering is a votive or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice; and on the next day what is left of it may be eaten.”

So the thing to remember about the peace offering it that it was a broad category of offerings, all of them voluntary offerings, just like the burnt and grain offerings. You offered them at your own initiative, there was no compulsion. And the most striking element of the peace offering is that it involved eating. We‟ll come back to that in a moment, but as we think about eating, I want us to think quickly about the prohibition on fat and blood. In 3:16 we read, “all fat is the LORD's. It is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall not eat any fat or any blood.” Then it is reiterated in chapter 7. 23“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'You shall not eat any fat from an ox, a sheep, or a goat. [Note that the prohibition extends beyond sacrificial meals] 24 'Also the fat of an animal which dies, and the fat of an animal torn by beasts, may be put to any other use [candles, lubrication, medical], but you must certainly not eat it. 25 'For [and here we see how seriously God took this matter] whoever eats the fat of the animal from which an offering by fire is offered to the LORD, even the person who eats shall be cut off from his people.”

This is an interesting dimension of Israel‟s laws, and it catches our attention for at least four reasons.

1) First of all, it is called a “perpetual statute.” That means it is a long-term, binding, significant stipulation. This calls attention to the gravity of the rule.
2) It is not mentioned in conjunction with any of the other sacrifices – truly unique to this offering.
3) It applied to home life as well, not just the sacrificial meal. This means that the object lesson was to be visible on a daily basis, not just periodically as the sacrifice was made. And finally,
4) It is reiterated in chapter 7. God saw fit to make sure His people heard the rule twice.

So, what is the big deal about fat and blood? Let‟s start with blood. When we think about blood, our minds go back to Gen. 9:3-4. “Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant. 4 "Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” Blood is what gives life to our flesh. If you cut off the blood flow to an organ, it will die because blood is what carries life giving nutrients and oxygen. That is in the physical realm. In the non-physical realm, we know that it is God who gives life to our flesh. In Gen. 2:7 we read that “the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.” What I want you to see is that blood is the physical representation of the spiritual reality. There is a connection between blood, and God, and life. That is why blood had to be poured out. It was sacred. The pagans would drink blood in hopes that the strength and vitality of the victim would become theirs. And God didn‟t let His people do that. And every time the blood was drained from an animal and poured out, God was reminding His people that He was the source of life for all flesh.

But what about the fat? Many people would look at this prohibition and see in it God‟s concern for the physical health of the nation. They would say that today we know that fat is bad for you – it causes heart disease, clogs your veins, and is linked to cancer and digestive disorders; but 4,000 years ago, people didn‟t know this, so God was protecting His people. They would say this is the thinking behind the prohibition against eating catfish an eels – they are bottom feeders. What is at the bottom of ponds and rivers, in addition to mud? All the feces of all the animals that inhabit that water! So to protect the health of the Israelites, God banned those kinds of fish from being eaten.

I don‟t believe that is the rationale here. Is fat really bad for you? Not necessarily. In the 1980‟s fat was public enemy #1, but now health experts are a little more cautious in their assertions. Now, in certain contexts fat is bad, such as when you eat too much of it, or when it is accompanied by a sedentary lifestyle, but eating fat isn‟t like eating poison. I remember a teacher telling us about his grandmother who collected all the fat on the plates leftover from the Sunday ham, she would sprinkle salt on it, and then eat it! And then he said, “It killed her!” when she was 93. In the Arctic regions where great amounts of energy is consumed keeping your body warm, fat is a vital part of your diet. So I don‟t believe what God is after here is a health provision.

Think with me a little bit about fat. Up until the last couple of hundred years, fat was an incredibly valuable asset. If you were to drive across the Rip Van Winkle bridge and go to Hudson, you could look at the street signs and see that all of them have a little whale on them. What is that all about? Hudson used to be a whaling town. Some historians think that whales used to come up the Hudson River as far as Poughkeepsie (an Indian word for “where the fresh meets the salt), but more likely is that the whaling vessels would bring their loads of whale blubber to Hudson to be rendered into whale oil. And when you think about it, whale oil was similar to the petroleum industry 200 years ago. So remember, fat was valuable.

Secondly, fat used to be a sign of wealth. What do you suppose is the connection between fat and wealth? Only wealthy people could afford enough food to get fat. So if you were fat, that said something about your net worth, especially in the Arabic world! When I was in college, we had an elderly missionary speaking in chapel one time, and I only remember one thing about his message. He had spent many years working in Arabic lands, and he told us that in their culture, fat was a sign of beauty. Again, it was tied to wealth, but more than that, fat was prized as being desirable in a woman. And what was disgusting to us was that some sheiks had harems of women who were so obese, they couldn‟t walk. He compared them to walruses that just rolled around to get to where they wanted to go. So in the Arabic culture, fat was not disgusting – it was a valuable commodity, and it signified health, wealth, and beauty.

And it burns very well! I believe that part of what was going on in burning the fat is that in the practical realm, it helped the fire burn. But this understanding of the prohibition of eating fat fits perfectly into the overarching meaning of the offering in that it was costly! That was a valuable portion of the animal, and to whom did it belong? God. Lev. 3:16 – “The fat belongs to the Lord.” So what we see in this prohibition is more object lessons – God is the one who gives life, whether to man or animal; and the valuable fat was sacrificed to God.

What does this mean for us today? I want to read a paragraph explaining the rationale of our fellowship committee. “It is hard to overstate the importance of social fellowship in the life of the follower of Christ. Jesus and the disciples apparently spent a lot of time eating (they must have been Baptists), and the connection between food and significant spiritual events is startling. Jesus‟ first miracle took place in the context of a wedding and involved the miraculous creation of wine (John 2). Several other miracles involved food as well (Mt. 14, 15). He instituted the Lord‟s Supper at a meal (Mt. 26), and a church-wide fellowship meal was a regular part of the early church (1 Cor. 11). After Peter denied Jesus, he was restored to fellowship during a breakfast shared with the risen Christ (Jn. 21). Profound spiritual truths were taught in the context of meals as well. Mary and Martha learned about what things are really necessary in life at a meal (Lk. 10), and Simon the Pharisee learned a huge lesson about forgiveness during a dinner (Lk. 7). It is not surprising then, that a large meal figures prominently in our entrance into heaven (Rev. 19:9).”

Parties who are estranged from one another cannot eat a meal together – they have to be at peace to be able to do that. And that is the significance of the peace offering.