The peace or fellowship offering (Lv 3:1-17) was a way for an Israelite to express thanks to God, give God a gift, or make a special promise to God. It was offered on the bronze altar, either a male or female herd animal plus bread made with and without yeast. The blood and fat of the animal could not be eaten. These represented one’s life and their very best to be devoted to God. The fat, liver, and kidneys of the animal were sacrificed. These represented one’s devotion to God. In ancient times, the liver represented the essence of one’s life, the kidneys represented one’s inner emotions and seat of one’s inner thoughts, and the fat represented the very best of one’s life. This represented one was giving their very essence to God. Isn’t that what one does when they get to know someone they care deeply about? To really know someone, you share deep thoughts and ideas that you would not share with just anyone.

The offering could only be offered at the tabernacle (or later, the temple) as this represented where God dwelt. The one making the offering was intimately involved with the slaughter of the sacrifice, and the meat of the offering was eaten at the tabernacle or temple in the presence of God to represent one’s fellowship with God.

Christ became our peace offering. As the meal was eaten in God’s presence to represent having fellowship with him, likewise because of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, we can have fellowship with him as well. The apostle Paul tells us, “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 us both one and has broken down in the flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Ep 2:13-14). This is saying that both Jew and Gentile are one and have fellowship with each other and with Christ in the same way. This sacrifice therefore represents our Fellowship with God.

We have seen how the first three sacrifices reveal our now right standing with God, our devotion to him, and how we share out deepest thoughts with him. Is there more? Join me next time and find out.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Although God supplied a lot of detail about the peace offering, this type of offering was not something totally new to the Israelites. The people had been making such offerings before. We find the people were making these types of sacrifices in open fields (Lv 17:5), they made such offerings to goat idols (Lv 17:7), and even to a golden calf (Ex 32:4-6). The penalty imposed by God of one losing their inheritance was to make the people stop this practice and bring these sacrifices instead to God as a peace, or fellowship, offering (Lv 17:5, 9). God wanted to redirect their devotion to him.

It is not known how early such a sacrifice was offered. Yet, the sacrifice of Cain and Abel may have been a peace, or fellowship, offering: “…and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions” (Gn 4:4). This was the part of the animal also offered to God as a peace offering.

Why did God institute this type of sacrifice and its penalty? He was breaking a chain of wrongdoing and re-establishing a new meaning to the sacrifices they were making. He wanted their worship, praise, and fellowship. Therefore, he instituted that no meal of meat could be made without turning it into a peace offering. It would then help the people remember that all they have comes from him and that God alone is their sustainer.

So, what does that mean for us today? This type of sacrifice pointed toward the one to come who would become our peace offering. Christ is our peace offering. How do we know this? The peace offering established a bond between the one making the offering and God. The meal was offered and eaten in God’s presence—to fellowship with him. It became a way for the Israelites to realize that God’s favor rested on them.

Ep 2:13-18: “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 us both one and has broken down in the flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”

The meal represents intimacy with those you share a meal with. God was offering that to Israel and is offering that to us today. How awesome that the God of the universe wants to have such an intimate connection with us. Do you crave that level of intimacy with him? He’s offering it to you. You just have to accept it. Christ is the way. Just speak to him. He’s there.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The third type of sacrifice mentioned in Leviticus is the Peace Offering – sometimes also called Fellowship Offering. Three options were given for this type of sacrifice: it had to be an animal from the herd (i.e., cattle) (Lv 3:1), or an animal from the flock (i.e., sheep) (Lv 3:6), or a goat (Lv 3:12). It could be either male or female but had to be without defect (Lv 3:1, 6). The other interesting thing here is that the one making the offering was intimately involved in the sacrifice. First, he placed his hand on the animal’s head (Lv 3:2, 8, 13) as a symbol of transferring his sins, or those of his family, to the animal. Then he had to slaughter the animal in front of the tabernacle (Lv 3:2, 8, 13). This was not the duty of the priest, but the one making the offering. As I said, the one making the offering was intimately involved. Then, the priest splashed the animal’s blood against the sides of the altar (Lv 3:2, 8, 13). The animal’s internal organs, fat, long lobe of its liver, and its kidneys were offered on the altar (Lv 3:3-4, 9-10, 14-15).

To honor this type of sacrifice, there were several prohibitions which were instituted: the people were not to eat any fat or any blood (Lv 3:17; 7:26; 17:12) because that was the part of the animal being offered to God; a foreigner living in the land could not eat blood (Lv 17:12) because the land was tied to Israel and its covenant with God (Ex 6:4, 8); anytime game was caught, the blood had to be drained and covered with dirt (Lv 17:13), and anyone found eating blood would lose their inheritance (Lv 7:27) because God had decreed blood to be holy (Gn 9:4, 6) and would pollute the land of their covenant (Nu 35:33) as well as being the source of redemption (Hb 9:22).

There were several things that made this offering unique. The reason for the offering could be for expressing thankfulness (Lv 7:12), because of a vow (Lv 7:16), or given as a freewill offering (Lv 7:16). This type of offering was mandatory only at Pentecost (Lv 23:19) and for fulfilling a Nazarite vow (Nu 6:13-20), which was a vow of dedication to God for a specific period of time.

When this offering was made, several things were made with it: a thick loaf made with fine flour and olive oil, but without yeast (Lv 7:12), or thin loaves made without yeast, but brushed with olive oil (Lv 7:12), or a thick loaf made with yeast (Lv 7:13). The thick loaves then belonged to the priest making the sacrifice (Lv 7:14), the one making the offering would wave the breast before the Lord and give it to the high priest and his sons (Lv 7:30-31) while the right thigh was given to the priest making the sacrifice (Lv 7:32). The remainder of the animal was for the one making the offering and his family (Dt 27:7).

God wanted the people to take this offering very seriously, even if it was for the most part voluntary. If offered for thanksgiving, the meat had to be eaten that day with nothing left over until the next (Lv 7:15). If offered for a vow or as a freewill offering, it could be eaten the second day, but not the third; it had to then be burned (Lv 7:17-18). Violators of this requirement would lose the acceptance of their offering by God (Lv 7:18). Anyone who was unclean and partook of a peace/fellowship offering lost their inheritance (Lv 7:20). All sacrifices had to be brought to the tabernacle. They could not be offered elsewhere; the consequence was also losing one’s inheritance (Lv 17:3-4).

For us today, some of the requirements seem rather strange. We will go into this aspect next time and see why God had some of these requirements for the Israelites and what it can mean for us today. I hope you join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens