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Laws for Peace Offerings
3 “If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, 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 entrance of the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar. And from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as a food offering to the LORD, he shall offer the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. Then Aaron’s sons shall burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering, which is on the wood on the fire; it is a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
“If his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering to the LORD is an animal from the flock, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. If he offers a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before the LORD, lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it in front of the tent of meeting; and Aaron’s sons shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. Then from the sacrifice of the peace offering he shall offer as a food offering to the LORD its fat; he shall remove the whole fat tail, cut off close to the backbone, and 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 at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. And the priest shall burn it on the altar as a food offering to the LORD.
“If his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD and lay his hand on its head and kill it in front of the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. Then he shall offer from it, as his offering for a food offering to the LORD, the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. And the priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering with a pleasing aroma. All fat is the LORD’s. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood.”
(ESV)
Leviticus 3 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
In Leviticus 1, we explored the burnt offering. In Leviticus 2, it was the grain offering. Now, in Leviticus 3, we come to the peace offering. If you remember, the burnt offering required only a male animal to be sacrificed, while the peace offering here in Leviticus 3 allowed for male or female to be used.
These offerings were done voluntarily by the community depending on the context. For example, the burnt offering was given for the atonement of sin. The animal was a substitute for the worshiper who was offering it as payment for their sin. The grain offering, as discussed in the previous chapter, was brought to the priests from a worshiper who voluntarily wanted to express devotion to God while also recognizing His faithfulness. As for the peace offering, scholars have differed on its function.
Generally speaking, it has been concluded that the peace offering was to consecrate a meal between two parties and to feast together with thankfulness to the Lord. This is due to the nature of the party which would follow the peace offering when the worshiper and his friends would feast together on the meat from the sacrifice. The portions that were not edible would be given to the Lord, and at times, the priests would be given the breast and thigh meat to keep for themselves (Lev 7:31). The priests would also receive the skin.
The term ‘peace offering’ is never used in the NT. However, we do read in the NT that Jesus clarifies the purpose of the peace offering (animal sacrifice).
“But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 9:13 NASB
“But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.
Matthew 12:7 NASB
Jesus states that He desires compassion, not a sacrifice. What does this mean? In a way, He is giving us a glimpse into God’s heart. The sacrifices were supposed to be a declaration of God’s mercy and a willingness to obey because peace had been established. The problem was, it didn’t translate. The religious leaders in the NT were more concerned with following the outward rule than truly living with peace, mercy, and compassion.
The transition from OT to NT involved a new type of thinking and Jesus would bridge that gap. Animal sacrifices could not produce true peace with God. They could not change a person to live with freedom and purpose. Neither could the OT law. It simply highlighted the need for a Savior so that a new life could be found.
Jesus is the final peace offering. He has made a way for us to live in harmony with our Creator and that alone should be more than enough to produce authentic compassion for those around us!