Leviticus 3
1And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD.
2And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.
3And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
4And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.
5And Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is on the fire: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
6And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering unto the LORD be of the flock; male or female, he shall offer it without blemish.
7If he offer a lamb for his offering, then shall he offer it before the LORD.
8And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons shall sprinkle the blood thereof round about upon the altar.
9And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat thereof, and the whole rump, it shall he take off hard by the backbone; and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
10And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.
11And the priest shall burn it upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire unto the LORD.
12And if his offering be a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD.
13And he shall lay his hand upon the head of it, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof upon the altar round about.
14And he shall offer thereof his offering, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
15And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.
16And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD's.
17It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.
Today's Scripture Meaning:
The peace-offering of the herd. (1-5) The peace-offering of the flock. (6-17)
Verses 1-5: The peace-offerings had regard to God as the giver of all good things. These were divided between the altar, the priest, and the owner. They were called peace-offering, because in them God and his people did, as it were, feast together, in token of friendship. The peace-offerings were offered by way of supplication. If a man were in pursuit of any mercy, he would add a peace-offering to his prayer for it. Christ is our Peace, our Peace-offering; for through him alone it is that we can obtain an answer of peace to our prayers. Or, the peace-offering was offered by way of thanksgiving for some mercy received. We must offer to God the sacrifice of praise continually, by Christ our Peace; and then this shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock.
Verses 6-17: Here is a law that they should eat neither fat nor blood. As for the fat, it means the fat of the inwards, the suet. The blood was forbidden for the same reason; because it was God's part of every sacrifice. God would not permit the blood that made atonement to be used as a common thing, (Heb 10:29); nor will he allow us, though we have the comfort of the atonement made, to claim for ourselves any share in the honour of making it. This taught the Jews to observe distinction between common and sacred things; it kept them separate from idolaters. It would impress them more deeply with the belief of some important mystery in the shedding of the blood and the burning the fat of their solemn sacrifices. Christ, as the Prince of peace, "made peace with the blood of his cross." Through him the believer is reconciled to God; and having the peace of God in his heart, he is disposed to follow peace with all men. May the Lord multiply grace, mercy, and peace, to all who desire to bear the Christian character.
Today's Scripture Application
Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue in the book of Leviticus with Chapter 3 and in today's text we see the Peace offering. A person gave a peace (or thank) offering as an expression of gratitude and a means of establishing fellowship between himself and God. To come to God - one would have to have the attitude of humility and obedience in the instruction of the Lord. In making application we see to make peace with God today, we too, need to come to Him in Humility and Obedience. Humility in that we have to put our own desires and will aside and come to God in Obedience of the Cross and Christ to have Peace with God. God has a price of Peace and that Price is the all sufficient savior Jesus-Christ. Simply put - to make peace with God - we come to God - His way - by faith in the finished work at Calvary. We cannot make peace with God coming to Him in our ways, good works, church membership, baptism, etc, These are not His ways - Only a humble soul, under conviction, confessing and repenting of their sin, can recieve by faith, the free pardon of sin, that Jesus paid by dying on the Cross. This is God's way for a soul to make Peace with God. How about you? Have you made Peace with God? Did you make Peace His way through Jesus-Christ OR are you depending on your good works, or some other means which You believe (which ultimately brings a false sense of peace)? Let us learn from today's text and bring the correct peace offering which will be received of the Lord.
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Sincerely, Dr. David Burnette
Director, The United States Bible Society, Inc.