Leviticus 10

Leviticus 10:1

The Law of the Sin Offering

After the law of the grain offering, the law of the peace offering does not come, as in the earlier description of the offerings, but first follows the law of the sin offering. The emphasis here again is on the priest eating it.

The first thing that is said by the LORD in the law of the sin offering is that the sin offering must be brought in the place of the burnt offering. This immediately indicates that whoever has to bring a sin offering may also see that the Lord Jesus is also the burnt offering. We come in the awareness that we have deserved the judgment because of the sin we have committed and that the Lord Jesus has entered that judgment in order to deliver us from it. Added to this we also come to the awareness that the Lord Jesus has glorified God in that same work and that on that basis we are made pleasant. How versatile and great is the miracle of His work! It is indeed “most holy”.

The sin offering is about sins. Someone has sinned and comes with a sin offering to the priest, who offers it and eats it. Bringing a sin offering speaks of acknowledgment in God’s presence – “in the holy place” (Leviticus 6:26) – that the Lord Jesus had to die for that sin. Eating the sin offering means identification with the sin that the other has committed.

To point out the sin that another has committed is one thing; to identify with it is another. It is the awareness that it could have happened to me too. I am in no way better (Job 33:6; Galatians 6:1). Ezra and Daniel confess this, each in chapter 9 of the book named after them (Ezra 9:1-15; Daniel 9:1-19). They have eaten the sin offering. They themselves are innocent of the condition of the people, but they identify themselves with it and confess the sins of the people as their own. That is eating the sin offering.

Eating is the most perfect identification of the priest and the sacrificed animal representing the sin of the offeror. Christ is always both the Priest and the Victim. The action of the priest as he eats the sin offering, shows how Christ made sin His. This eating of the offering shows us the heart of Christ Who, when we sin, makes our cause His.

The priest did not commit sin. On the contrary, he has made atonement for it by the blood he has sprinkled. Yet he fully identifies with it. In this way Christ has also prepared the most perfect comfort for us. He Himself, Who is blameless and Who has worked atonement, has identified Himself with all our sins.

Now He is, because His one offering has been brought once and for all, active as Advocate with the Father in the case of sin. He works in connection with fellowship, not with atonement. There is nothing more to do in terms of offering or bloodshed. That work has been completely accomplished. On the basis of that work He now serves as Advocate.

The sin offering has a sanctifying effect. Everything it comes into contact with becomes holy. The work of the Lord Jesus for sin is perfect in its effect. Nothing in His whole work bears the character of decided holiness, of complete and perfect separation from God, so much as His bearing of sin. That God has judged Him, the Son of His love, when He is made sin is the clearest proof of how much God hates sin. Whoever sees this, will have a holy aversion to all things that have to do with sin and will want to live in complete holiness before God.

If blood from the sin offering comes on a garment, the garment must be washed with water (Leviticus 6:27). This shows the powerful effect of the blood on my behavior, as can be observed by others. If I suddenly realize again the meaning of the blood of Christ, which has been made sin for me, it will have influence on my life. More humility will be seen in my life. The water of the Word will cleanse my life of things that conflict with humility.

The flesh of the sin offering must first be cooked in order to be able to eat it. This can be done in an earthenware or bronze vessel. An earthenware vessel represents our body (2 Corinthians 4:7). This, as an instrument used by sin, must be broken. Nothing of natural man may be linked to the work of the Lord Jesus. The bronze vessel speaks of what we have become after we have come to faith. Bronze speaks of the righteousness of God. Sin has stained it. The vessel must be cleaned. Scouring and rinsing in water speaks of cleansing through the Word of God (Ephesians 5:26).

When the anointed priest or people have sinned (Leviticus 4:6; 17), the blood of a sin offering is brought into the tent of meeting (Leviticus 6:30). In that case there is no one who can eat the sin offering, for all are guilty and therefore unfit to eat it.

Leviticus 10:2

The Law of the Sin Offering

After the law of the grain offering, the law of the peace offering does not come, as in the earlier description of the offerings, but first follows the law of the sin offering. The emphasis here again is on the priest eating it.

The first thing that is said by the LORD in the law of the sin offering is that the sin offering must be brought in the place of the burnt offering. This immediately indicates that whoever has to bring a sin offering may also see that the Lord Jesus is also the burnt offering. We come in the awareness that we have deserved the judgment because of the sin we have committed and that the Lord Jesus has entered that judgment in order to deliver us from it. Added to this we also come to the awareness that the Lord Jesus has glorified God in that same work and that on that basis we are made pleasant. How versatile and great is the miracle of His work! It is indeed “most holy”.

The sin offering is about sins. Someone has sinned and comes with a sin offering to the priest, who offers it and eats it. Bringing a sin offering speaks of acknowledgment in God’s presence – “in the holy place” (Leviticus 6:26) – that the Lord Jesus had to die for that sin. Eating the sin offering means identification with the sin that the other has committed.

To point out the sin that another has committed is one thing; to identify with it is another. It is the awareness that it could have happened to me too. I am in no way better (Job 33:6; Galatians 6:1). Ezra and Daniel confess this, each in chapter 9 of the book named after them (Ezra 9:1-15; Daniel 9:1-19). They have eaten the sin offering. They themselves are innocent of the condition of the people, but they identify themselves with it and confess the sins of the people as their own. That is eating the sin offering.

Eating is the most perfect identification of the priest and the sacrificed animal representing the sin of the offeror. Christ is always both the Priest and the Victim. The action of the priest as he eats the sin offering, shows how Christ made sin His. This eating of the offering shows us the heart of Christ Who, when we sin, makes our cause His.

The priest did not commit sin. On the contrary, he has made atonement for it by the blood he has sprinkled. Yet he fully identifies with it. In this way Christ has also prepared the most perfect comfort for us. He Himself, Who is blameless and Who has worked atonement, has identified Himself with all our sins.

Now He is, because His one offering has been brought once and for all, active as Advocate with the Father in the case of sin. He works in connection with fellowship, not with atonement. There is nothing more to do in terms of offering or bloodshed. That work has been completely accomplished. On the basis of that work He now serves as Advocate.

The sin offering has a sanctifying effect. Everything it comes into contact with becomes holy. The work of the Lord Jesus for sin is perfect in its effect. Nothing in His whole work bears the character of decided holiness, of complete and perfect separation from God, so much as His bearing of sin. That God has judged Him, the Son of His love, when He is made sin is the clearest proof of how much God hates sin. Whoever sees this, will have a holy aversion to all things that have to do with sin and will want to live in complete holiness before God.

If blood from the sin offering comes on a garment, the garment must be washed with water (Leviticus 6:27). This shows the powerful effect of the blood on my behavior, as can be observed by others. If I suddenly realize again the meaning of the blood of Christ, which has been made sin for me, it will have influence on my life. More humility will be seen in my life. The water of the Word will cleanse my life of things that conflict with humility.

The flesh of the sin offering must first be cooked in order to be able to eat it. This can be done in an earthenware or bronze vessel. An earthenware vessel represents our body (2 Corinthians 4:7). This, as an instrument used by sin, must be broken. Nothing of natural man may be linked to the work of the Lord Jesus. The bronze vessel speaks of what we have become after we have come to faith. Bronze speaks of the righteousness of God. Sin has stained it. The vessel must be cleaned. Scouring and rinsing in water speaks of cleansing through the Word of God (Ephesians 5:26).

When the anointed priest or people have sinned (Leviticus 4:6; 17), the blood of a sin offering is brought into the tent of meeting (Leviticus 6:30). In that case there is no one who can eat the sin offering, for all are guilty and therefore unfit to eat it.

Leviticus 10:3

The Law of the Sin Offering

After the law of the grain offering, the law of the peace offering does not come, as in the earlier description of the offerings, but first follows the law of the sin offering. The emphasis here again is on the priest eating it.

The first thing that is said by the LORD in the law of the sin offering is that the sin offering must be brought in the place of the burnt offering. This immediately indicates that whoever has to bring a sin offering may also see that the Lord Jesus is also the burnt offering. We come in the awareness that we have deserved the judgment because of the sin we have committed and that the Lord Jesus has entered that judgment in order to deliver us from it. Added to this we also come to the awareness that the Lord Jesus has glorified God in that same work and that on that basis we are made pleasant. How versatile and great is the miracle of His work! It is indeed “most holy”.

The sin offering is about sins. Someone has sinned and comes with a sin offering to the priest, who offers it and eats it. Bringing a sin offering speaks of acknowledgment in God’s presence – “in the holy place” (Leviticus 6:26) – that the Lord Jesus had to die for that sin. Eating the sin offering means identification with the sin that the other has committed.

To point out the sin that another has committed is one thing; to identify with it is another. It is the awareness that it could have happened to me too. I am in no way better (Job 33:6; Galatians 6:1). Ezra and Daniel confess this, each in chapter 9 of the book named after them (Ezra 9:1-15; Daniel 9:1-19). They have eaten the sin offering. They themselves are innocent of the condition of the people, but they identify themselves with it and confess the sins of the people as their own. That is eating the sin offering.

Eating is the most perfect identification of the priest and the sacrificed animal representing the sin of the offeror. Christ is always both the Priest and the Victim. The action of the priest as he eats the sin offering, shows how Christ made sin His. This eating of the offering shows us the heart of Christ Who, when we sin, makes our cause His.

The priest did not commit sin. On the contrary, he has made atonement for it by the blood he has sprinkled. Yet he fully identifies with it. In this way Christ has also prepared the most perfect comfort for us. He Himself, Who is blameless and Who has worked atonement, has identified Himself with all our sins.

Now He is, because His one offering has been brought once and for all, active as Advocate with the Father in the case of sin. He works in connection with fellowship, not with atonement. There is nothing more to do in terms of offering or bloodshed. That work has been completely accomplished. On the basis of that work He now serves as Advocate.

The sin offering has a sanctifying effect. Everything it comes into contact with becomes holy. The work of the Lord Jesus for sin is perfect in its effect. Nothing in His whole work bears the character of decided holiness, of complete and perfect separation from God, so much as His bearing of sin. That God has judged Him, the Son of His love, when He is made sin is the clearest proof of how much God hates sin. Whoever sees this, will have a holy aversion to all things that have to do with sin and will want to live in complete holiness before God.

If blood from the sin offering comes on a garment, the garment must be washed with water (Leviticus 6:27). This shows the powerful effect of the blood on my behavior, as can be observed by others. If I suddenly realize again the meaning of the blood of Christ, which has been made sin for me, it will have influence on my life. More humility will be seen in my life. The water of the Word will cleanse my life of things that conflict with humility.

The flesh of the sin offering must first be cooked in order to be able to eat it. This can be done in an earthenware or bronze vessel. An earthenware vessel represents our body (2 Corinthians 4:7). This, as an instrument used by sin, must be broken. Nothing of natural man may be linked to the work of the Lord Jesus. The bronze vessel speaks of what we have become after we have come to faith. Bronze speaks of the righteousness of God. Sin has stained it. The vessel must be cleaned. Scouring and rinsing in water speaks of cleansing through the Word of God (Ephesians 5:26).

When the anointed priest or people have sinned (Leviticus 4:6; 17), the blood of a sin offering is brought into the tent of meeting (Leviticus 6:30). In that case there is no one who can eat the sin offering, for all are guilty and therefore unfit to eat it.

Leviticus 10:5

The Law for the Guilt Offering

Here we find the actual description of the guilt offering. We would expect this in Leviticus 6. But there is the aspect of compensation in the foreground, while here it is about the priestly contribution.

The guilt offering, like the sin offering, is “most holy”. The guilt offering meets all the holy demands of God with regard to the guilt in which a man stands before Him. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering is closely connected to the burnt offering (Leviticus 6:25). The guilt offering and the sin offering are brought to the place of the burnt offering. It suggests that whoever has to bring a guilt offering may also see that the Lord Jesus is also the burnt offering. We have loaded guilt upon ourselves, but the Lord Jesus has taken that guilt upon Himself. He has received the punishment we deserved. That is a wonderful grace.

But grace goes much further. Not only has something been taken away from us – our guilt and the punishment for it – but we have also gotten something infinitely great through His work. Because of the work of the Lord Jesus we are now holy and blameless before God as His sons. God now sees us in Him (Ephesians 1:4-6).

A believer who, as a priest, brings the guilt offering, gets a special appreciation for the Lord Jesus and His work. He is occupied with Him and His work. Although the reason for this is the need for atonement because guilt has arisen, its effect is an increasing admiration for Christ and His work. The special portion of the priest (Leviticus 7:7) is specified in the following verse (Leviticus 7:8).

The guilt offering has aspects that we did not come across in the sin offering. Thus the blood of the guilt offering is sprinkled all around on the altar. This will clear the way for worship. The fat, the entrails and the fat that covers them are also offered to the LORD as an offering by fire. It points to the idea that the Lord Jesus, with all His strength, has accomplished the work by which the guilty one has been freed from guilt and above that God has been glorified.

Thinking about this is food for the priest. This food can only be eaten in a holy place. Being busy in this way with the Lord Jesus as the guilt offering requires that we separate ourselves: the “most holy” must be eaten in “a holy place”.

Leviticus 10:6

The Law for the Guilt Offering

Here we find the actual description of the guilt offering. We would expect this in Leviticus 6. But there is the aspect of compensation in the foreground, while here it is about the priestly contribution.

The guilt offering, like the sin offering, is “most holy”. The guilt offering meets all the holy demands of God with regard to the guilt in which a man stands before Him. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering is closely connected to the burnt offering (Leviticus 6:25). The guilt offering and the sin offering are brought to the place of the burnt offering. It suggests that whoever has to bring a guilt offering may also see that the Lord Jesus is also the burnt offering. We have loaded guilt upon ourselves, but the Lord Jesus has taken that guilt upon Himself. He has received the punishment we deserved. That is a wonderful grace.

But grace goes much further. Not only has something been taken away from us – our guilt and the punishment for it – but we have also gotten something infinitely great through His work. Because of the work of the Lord Jesus we are now holy and blameless before God as His sons. God now sees us in Him (Ephesians 1:4-6).

A believer who, as a priest, brings the guilt offering, gets a special appreciation for the Lord Jesus and His work. He is occupied with Him and His work. Although the reason for this is the need for atonement because guilt has arisen, its effect is an increasing admiration for Christ and His work. The special portion of the priest (Leviticus 7:7) is specified in the following verse (Leviticus 7:8).

The guilt offering has aspects that we did not come across in the sin offering. Thus the blood of the guilt offering is sprinkled all around on the altar. This will clear the way for worship. The fat, the entrails and the fat that covers them are also offered to the LORD as an offering by fire. It points to the idea that the Lord Jesus, with all His strength, has accomplished the work by which the guilty one has been freed from guilt and above that God has been glorified.

Thinking about this is food for the priest. This food can only be eaten in a holy place. Being busy in this way with the Lord Jesus as the guilt offering requires that we separate ourselves: the “most holy” must be eaten in “a holy place”.

Leviticus 10:7

The Law for the Guilt Offering

Here we find the actual description of the guilt offering. We would expect this in Leviticus 6. But there is the aspect of compensation in the foreground, while here it is about the priestly contribution.

The guilt offering, like the sin offering, is “most holy”. The guilt offering meets all the holy demands of God with regard to the guilt in which a man stands before Him. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering is closely connected to the burnt offering (Leviticus 6:25). The guilt offering and the sin offering are brought to the place of the burnt offering. It suggests that whoever has to bring a guilt offering may also see that the Lord Jesus is also the burnt offering. We have loaded guilt upon ourselves, but the Lord Jesus has taken that guilt upon Himself. He has received the punishment we deserved. That is a wonderful grace.

But grace goes much further. Not only has something been taken away from us – our guilt and the punishment for it – but we have also gotten something infinitely great through His work. Because of the work of the Lord Jesus we are now holy and blameless before God as His sons. God now sees us in Him (Ephesians 1:4-6).

A believer who, as a priest, brings the guilt offering, gets a special appreciation for the Lord Jesus and His work. He is occupied with Him and His work. Although the reason for this is the need for atonement because guilt has arisen, its effect is an increasing admiration for Christ and His work. The special portion of the priest (Leviticus 7:7) is specified in the following verse (Leviticus 7:8).

The guilt offering has aspects that we did not come across in the sin offering. Thus the blood of the guilt offering is sprinkled all around on the altar. This will clear the way for worship. The fat, the entrails and the fat that covers them are also offered to the LORD as an offering by fire. It points to the idea that the Lord Jesus, with all His strength, has accomplished the work by which the guilty one has been freed from guilt and above that God has been glorified.

Thinking about this is food for the priest. This food can only be eaten in a holy place. Being busy in this way with the Lord Jesus as the guilt offering requires that we separate ourselves: the “most holy” must be eaten in “a holy place”.

Leviticus 10:8

The Law for the Guilt Offering

Here we find the actual description of the guilt offering. We would expect this in Leviticus 6. But there is the aspect of compensation in the foreground, while here it is about the priestly contribution.

The guilt offering, like the sin offering, is “most holy”. The guilt offering meets all the holy demands of God with regard to the guilt in which a man stands before Him. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering is closely connected to the burnt offering (Leviticus 6:25). The guilt offering and the sin offering are brought to the place of the burnt offering. It suggests that whoever has to bring a guilt offering may also see that the Lord Jesus is also the burnt offering. We have loaded guilt upon ourselves, but the Lord Jesus has taken that guilt upon Himself. He has received the punishment we deserved. That is a wonderful grace.

But grace goes much further. Not only has something been taken away from us – our guilt and the punishment for it – but we have also gotten something infinitely great through His work. Because of the work of the Lord Jesus we are now holy and blameless before God as His sons. God now sees us in Him (Ephesians 1:4-6).

A believer who, as a priest, brings the guilt offering, gets a special appreciation for the Lord Jesus and His work. He is occupied with Him and His work. Although the reason for this is the need for atonement because guilt has arisen, its effect is an increasing admiration for Christ and His work. The special portion of the priest (Leviticus 7:7) is specified in the following verse (Leviticus 7:8).

The guilt offering has aspects that we did not come across in the sin offering. Thus the blood of the guilt offering is sprinkled all around on the altar. This will clear the way for worship. The fat, the entrails and the fat that covers them are also offered to the LORD as an offering by fire. It points to the idea that the Lord Jesus, with all His strength, has accomplished the work by which the guilty one has been freed from guilt and above that God has been glorified.

Thinking about this is food for the priest. This food can only be eaten in a holy place. Being busy in this way with the Lord Jesus as the guilt offering requires that we separate ourselves: the “most holy” must be eaten in “a holy place”.

Leviticus 10:9

The Law for the Guilt Offering

Here we find the actual description of the guilt offering. We would expect this in Leviticus 6. But there is the aspect of compensation in the foreground, while here it is about the priestly contribution.

The guilt offering, like the sin offering, is “most holy”. The guilt offering meets all the holy demands of God with regard to the guilt in which a man stands before Him. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering is closely connected to the burnt offering (Leviticus 6:25). The guilt offering and the sin offering are brought to the place of the burnt offering. It suggests that whoever has to bring a guilt offering may also see that the Lord Jesus is also the burnt offering. We have loaded guilt upon ourselves, but the Lord Jesus has taken that guilt upon Himself. He has received the punishment we deserved. That is a wonderful grace.

But grace goes much further. Not only has something been taken away from us – our guilt and the punishment for it – but we have also gotten something infinitely great through His work. Because of the work of the Lord Jesus we are now holy and blameless before God as His sons. God now sees us in Him (Ephesians 1:4-6).

A believer who, as a priest, brings the guilt offering, gets a special appreciation for the Lord Jesus and His work. He is occupied with Him and His work. Although the reason for this is the need for atonement because guilt has arisen, its effect is an increasing admiration for Christ and His work. The special portion of the priest (Leviticus 7:7) is specified in the following verse (Leviticus 7:8).

The guilt offering has aspects that we did not come across in the sin offering. Thus the blood of the guilt offering is sprinkled all around on the altar. This will clear the way for worship. The fat, the entrails and the fat that covers them are also offered to the LORD as an offering by fire. It points to the idea that the Lord Jesus, with all His strength, has accomplished the work by which the guilty one has been freed from guilt and above that God has been glorified.

Thinking about this is food for the priest. This food can only be eaten in a holy place. Being busy in this way with the Lord Jesus as the guilt offering requires that we separate ourselves: the “most holy” must be eaten in “a holy place”.

Leviticus 10:10

The Law for the Guilt Offering

Here we find the actual description of the guilt offering. We would expect this in Leviticus 6. But there is the aspect of compensation in the foreground, while here it is about the priestly contribution.

The guilt offering, like the sin offering, is “most holy”. The guilt offering meets all the holy demands of God with regard to the guilt in which a man stands before Him. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering is closely connected to the burnt offering (Leviticus 6:25). The guilt offering and the sin offering are brought to the place of the burnt offering. It suggests that whoever has to bring a guilt offering may also see that the Lord Jesus is also the burnt offering. We have loaded guilt upon ourselves, but the Lord Jesus has taken that guilt upon Himself. He has received the punishment we deserved. That is a wonderful grace.

But grace goes much further. Not only has something been taken away from us – our guilt and the punishment for it – but we have also gotten something infinitely great through His work. Because of the work of the Lord Jesus we are now holy and blameless before God as His sons. God now sees us in Him (Ephesians 1:4-6).

A believer who, as a priest, brings the guilt offering, gets a special appreciation for the Lord Jesus and His work. He is occupied with Him and His work. Although the reason for this is the need for atonement because guilt has arisen, its effect is an increasing admiration for Christ and His work. The special portion of the priest (Leviticus 7:7) is specified in the following verse (Leviticus 7:8).

The guilt offering has aspects that we did not come across in the sin offering. Thus the blood of the guilt offering is sprinkled all around on the altar. This will clear the way for worship. The fat, the entrails and the fat that covers them are also offered to the LORD as an offering by fire. It points to the idea that the Lord Jesus, with all His strength, has accomplished the work by which the guilty one has been freed from guilt and above that God has been glorified.

Thinking about this is food for the priest. This food can only be eaten in a holy place. Being busy in this way with the Lord Jesus as the guilt offering requires that we separate ourselves: the “most holy” must be eaten in “a holy place”.

Leviticus 10:11

The Law for the Guilt Offering

Here we find the actual description of the guilt offering. We would expect this in Leviticus 6. But there is the aspect of compensation in the foreground, while here it is about the priestly contribution.

The guilt offering, like the sin offering, is “most holy”. The guilt offering meets all the holy demands of God with regard to the guilt in which a man stands before Him. Like the sin offering, the guilt offering is closely connected to the burnt offering (Leviticus 6:25). The guilt offering and the sin offering are brought to the place of the burnt offering. It suggests that whoever has to bring a guilt offering may also see that the Lord Jesus is also the burnt offering. We have loaded guilt upon ourselves, but the Lord Jesus has taken that guilt upon Himself. He has received the punishment we deserved. That is a wonderful grace.

But grace goes much further. Not only has something been taken away from us – our guilt and the punishment for it – but we have also gotten something infinitely great through His work. Because of the work of the Lord Jesus we are now holy and blameless before God as His sons. God now sees us in Him (Ephesians 1:4-6).

A believer who, as a priest, brings the guilt offering, gets a special appreciation for the Lord Jesus and His work. He is occupied with Him and His work. Although the reason for this is the need for atonement because guilt has arisen, its effect is an increasing admiration for Christ and His work. The special portion of the priest (Leviticus 7:7) is specified in the following verse (Leviticus 7:8).

The guilt offering has aspects that we did not come across in the sin offering. Thus the blood of the guilt offering is sprinkled all around on the altar. This will clear the way for worship. The fat, the entrails and the fat that covers them are also offered to the LORD as an offering by fire. It points to the idea that the Lord Jesus, with all His strength, has accomplished the work by which the guilty one has been freed from guilt and above that God has been glorified.

Thinking about this is food for the priest. This food can only be eaten in a holy place. Being busy in this way with the Lord Jesus as the guilt offering requires that we separate ourselves: the “most holy” must be eaten in “a holy place”.

Leviticus 10:12

Additional Provisions

In these verses we have some additions to the law on the guilt offering. Being busy with another person’s guilt is not easy. Whoever, as a priest – that is someone who is accustomed to God’s presence and knows His thoughts – is called upon to occupy himself with the guilt of someone, gets here, in the picture, a great encouragement. He is reminded of the burnt offering and what his portion in it is: the skin of the burnt offering. With this he may, as it were, clothe himself. This gives the picture that he may be aware that he stands before God in the value of the Son’s sacrifice: he is “pleasant in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). Knowing who you are in Christ is something else than experiencing that you are in Christ. The latter will manifest itself in worship of the Father and the Son.

For the priest who brings the guilt offering, there is also a part of the grain offering. He may feed himself with the Lord Jesus, Whom He was for God. A believer who has to deal with the guilt of someone else will receive a special appreciation for the perfect devotion that the life of the Lord Jesus shows. This is in contrast to the life of the guilty person, but also to his own life, which is no better than that of the guilty person. In all things only the life of the Lord Jesus shines. That is food for the heart of imperfect people who have surrendered themselves to Him for precisely that reason.

A believer who, from that consciousness, helps a failing believer to clear up his guilt, gains insight into the different aspects of the life of the Lord Jesus, as it is presented in the different forms of the grain offering. These forms and the parts of that offering were discussed in Leviticus 2.

Leviticus 10:13

Additional Provisions

In these verses we have some additions to the law on the guilt offering. Being busy with another person’s guilt is not easy. Whoever, as a priest – that is someone who is accustomed to God’s presence and knows His thoughts – is called upon to occupy himself with the guilt of someone, gets here, in the picture, a great encouragement. He is reminded of the burnt offering and what his portion in it is: the skin of the burnt offering. With this he may, as it were, clothe himself. This gives the picture that he may be aware that he stands before God in the value of the Son’s sacrifice: he is “pleasant in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). Knowing who you are in Christ is something else than experiencing that you are in Christ. The latter will manifest itself in worship of the Father and the Son.

For the priest who brings the guilt offering, there is also a part of the grain offering. He may feed himself with the Lord Jesus, Whom He was for God. A believer who has to deal with the guilt of someone else will receive a special appreciation for the perfect devotion that the life of the Lord Jesus shows. This is in contrast to the life of the guilty person, but also to his own life, which is no better than that of the guilty person. In all things only the life of the Lord Jesus shines. That is food for the heart of imperfect people who have surrendered themselves to Him for precisely that reason.

A believer who, from that consciousness, helps a failing believer to clear up his guilt, gains insight into the different aspects of the life of the Lord Jesus, as it is presented in the different forms of the grain offering. These forms and the parts of that offering were discussed in Leviticus 2.

Leviticus 10:14

Additional Provisions

In these verses we have some additions to the law on the guilt offering. Being busy with another person’s guilt is not easy. Whoever, as a priest – that is someone who is accustomed to God’s presence and knows His thoughts – is called upon to occupy himself with the guilt of someone, gets here, in the picture, a great encouragement. He is reminded of the burnt offering and what his portion in it is: the skin of the burnt offering. With this he may, as it were, clothe himself. This gives the picture that he may be aware that he stands before God in the value of the Son’s sacrifice: he is “pleasant in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). Knowing who you are in Christ is something else than experiencing that you are in Christ. The latter will manifest itself in worship of the Father and the Son.

For the priest who brings the guilt offering, there is also a part of the grain offering. He may feed himself with the Lord Jesus, Whom He was for God. A believer who has to deal with the guilt of someone else will receive a special appreciation for the perfect devotion that the life of the Lord Jesus shows. This is in contrast to the life of the guilty person, but also to his own life, which is no better than that of the guilty person. In all things only the life of the Lord Jesus shines. That is food for the heart of imperfect people who have surrendered themselves to Him for precisely that reason.

A believer who, from that consciousness, helps a failing believer to clear up his guilt, gains insight into the different aspects of the life of the Lord Jesus, as it is presented in the different forms of the grain offering. These forms and the parts of that offering were discussed in Leviticus 2.

Leviticus 10:15

The Law of the Peace Offering

The description of the peace offering in Leviticus 3 is mainly about the connection with the altar. Its application to us is found par excellence in the Lord’s Supper at the Lord’s Table. The peace offering is a fellowship offering, which is represented for us in the Table of the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:15-21). However, there are also other occasions where believers have fellowship with each other. Every time they come together, for whatever reason, they have fellowship with each other. God wants to be there. Fellowship as believers among each other is only possible and good if God can and may be present.

The peace offering is a festival sacrifice (Psalms 118:27). Someone who is happy can spontaneously bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving. He can slay an animal and celebrate. The eldest son in Lukas 15 wants the same. But he only wants to celebrate with his friends, without his father (Luke 15:29). That cannot be a feast. Our joy and happiness are always based on the work of the Lord Jesus, and that is also what God rejoices in.

This sacrifice of thanksgiving must be accompanied by a grain offering. If we thank God for the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, it is impossible to ignore His perfect life up to the cross. We would also like to tell God about this, to offer it to Him.

Also cakes of leavened bread are brought (Leviticus 7:13). This cannot speak of the Lord Jesus. Leaven speaks of sin and in Him is no sin. But there is leaven in us. Sin is still in us. These cakes tell in picture that we come in the awareness that sin is still in us (1 John 1:8), although sin no longer is allowed to rule us neither is that necessary. We have to consider ourselves dead to sin. This we do when we realize that He has deprived sin of its power (Romans 6:6-11).

Leviticus 7:14 shows that God must first receive His portion before we share with others. It is a portion that is offered to Him as a heave offering (so footnote NASB). A heave offering means that it is lifted above everything else, while at the same time everything else gets the value of this heave offering. We can apply this to the Lord Jesus Who offered Himself to God above all else. We offer Him to God. Because of this, everything else we enjoy about Him and His offering together also receives the value He has for God.

The priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering represents the believer who is aware that fellowship is based on nothing but the blood poured out by Christ. The blood makes him think of the price paid for him and through which he is now entirely of Christ (1 Peter 1:1-2). This brings great gratitude and joy. The believer who knows this presupposes that gratitude and joy also in other believers and desires to share it with such believers, to have fellowship therein.

The feast, the eating, must take place on the same day that the sacrifice is offered (Leviticus 7:15). This prescription shows that the connection to the altar is of great importance. When the flesh is eaten the next day, the thought of the offering being brought on the altar is blurred. God does not want that. With every sacrifice of thanksgiving He expects the thought of the cross of Christ. There is no thanksgiving possible without the cross.

We can’t live on yesterday’s experience. God expects us to come to the altar with a new offering of praise every day. We may examine the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11), for these testify about the Lord Jesus (John 5:39). We notice new compassions of the Lord every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Then we have an abundance of reasons for a new sacrifice of praise every day, don’t we?

A votive or freewill offering may be eaten the next day (Leviticus 7:16). This is an offering that has a more sustainable character than the offering of thanksgiving. An offering of thanksgiving is brought more spontaneously. A votive or freewill offering has been considered. When we meet, it may be that we start sacrificing more spontaneously as the service progresses. It is also possible that during the week we have already been busy with the meeting and the offering of the Lord Jesus. The gratitude in connection with the cross also has a longer effect.

But even then it is not so that we can move forward for a long time with what we have seen of the Lord Jesus. That is what Leviticus 7:17-18 have to say to us. There will be a growing desire to see more of Him. Thoughts that linger and that we only cherish because we don’t want to discover new things from the Lord Jesus are counterproductive. They become an obstacle in our spiritual life. Growth stops. Then we must judge ourselves and our thinking, to become free from iniquity. This creates space for the preparation of a new votive or freewill offering that is pleasant to God and in which fellowship with others can be experienced. When fellowship manifests itself in fixed forms and along well-trodden paths, it degenerates into dead orthodoxy.

Practicing fellowship as suggested in partaking of this sacrificial meal is subject to conditions (Leviticus 7:19-21). The table, the expression of fellowship, is the Table of the Lord and therefore holy. The offerings belong to God (Leviticus 7:20-21). Worship belongs to God. What goes on in our hearts during the service does not belong to us. God has put it in our hearts, to our joy, that we may partake of what Christ’s offering means to Him and in His own joy about it.

No uncleanness may be associated with this. This uncleanness can be caused in different ways. In the first place it can happen that the flesh has come into contact with something unclean (Leviticus 7:19). An application of this is that if anyone has wrong thoughts about the Person or the work of the Lord Jesus, he is unclean and cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal at the Lord’s Table. He can only partake when he has corrected his wrong thinking about the Person or the work of the Lord Jesus.

A second case is that the person who wants to eat the flesh is unclean himself (Leviticus 7:20). An application is that one does not judge sin in his life. From such a person it must be concluded that he has not only fallen into sin, but that he lives in sin. If anyone does not judge sin in his life and after several attempts by others is not willing to judge that sin (Matthew 18:15-20), he cannot take part in the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal held at the Lord’s Table. Such a person is called “the wicked man” and, if he already partake of the Lord’s Supper, must be removed from among the believers (1 Corinthians 5:13b). He can only (again) take part when he judges and confesses his sin for God and people.

A third case is that someone, although clean himself, is unclean by consciously staying in contact with uncleanness (Leviticus 7:21). An application is if someone wants to partake of the Lord’s Supper, while he is part of a church where no discipline is exercised over public evil. For example, that group allows unmarried cohabitation or living in a homosexual relation and allows people who live this way to partake of their supper. Anyone who stays in touch with it remains in touch with the wickedness that is present in that church and is therefore defiled. Such a person cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal held at the Lord’s Table. He can only partake if he withdraws from this wickedness, which in practice means that he withdraws from that church (2 Timothy 2:19-22).

Leviticus 10:16

The Law of the Peace Offering

The description of the peace offering in Leviticus 3 is mainly about the connection with the altar. Its application to us is found par excellence in the Lord’s Supper at the Lord’s Table. The peace offering is a fellowship offering, which is represented for us in the Table of the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:15-21). However, there are also other occasions where believers have fellowship with each other. Every time they come together, for whatever reason, they have fellowship with each other. God wants to be there. Fellowship as believers among each other is only possible and good if God can and may be present.

The peace offering is a festival sacrifice (Psalms 118:27). Someone who is happy can spontaneously bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving. He can slay an animal and celebrate. The eldest son in Lukas 15 wants the same. But he only wants to celebrate with his friends, without his father (Luke 15:29). That cannot be a feast. Our joy and happiness are always based on the work of the Lord Jesus, and that is also what God rejoices in.

This sacrifice of thanksgiving must be accompanied by a grain offering. If we thank God for the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, it is impossible to ignore His perfect life up to the cross. We would also like to tell God about this, to offer it to Him.

Also cakes of leavened bread are brought (Leviticus 7:13). This cannot speak of the Lord Jesus. Leaven speaks of sin and in Him is no sin. But there is leaven in us. Sin is still in us. These cakes tell in picture that we come in the awareness that sin is still in us (1 John 1:8), although sin no longer is allowed to rule us neither is that necessary. We have to consider ourselves dead to sin. This we do when we realize that He has deprived sin of its power (Romans 6:6-11).

Leviticus 7:14 shows that God must first receive His portion before we share with others. It is a portion that is offered to Him as a heave offering (so footnote NASB). A heave offering means that it is lifted above everything else, while at the same time everything else gets the value of this heave offering. We can apply this to the Lord Jesus Who offered Himself to God above all else. We offer Him to God. Because of this, everything else we enjoy about Him and His offering together also receives the value He has for God.

The priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering represents the believer who is aware that fellowship is based on nothing but the blood poured out by Christ. The blood makes him think of the price paid for him and through which he is now entirely of Christ (1 Peter 1:1-2). This brings great gratitude and joy. The believer who knows this presupposes that gratitude and joy also in other believers and desires to share it with such believers, to have fellowship therein.

The feast, the eating, must take place on the same day that the sacrifice is offered (Leviticus 7:15). This prescription shows that the connection to the altar is of great importance. When the flesh is eaten the next day, the thought of the offering being brought on the altar is blurred. God does not want that. With every sacrifice of thanksgiving He expects the thought of the cross of Christ. There is no thanksgiving possible without the cross.

We can’t live on yesterday’s experience. God expects us to come to the altar with a new offering of praise every day. We may examine the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11), for these testify about the Lord Jesus (John 5:39). We notice new compassions of the Lord every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Then we have an abundance of reasons for a new sacrifice of praise every day, don’t we?

A votive or freewill offering may be eaten the next day (Leviticus 7:16). This is an offering that has a more sustainable character than the offering of thanksgiving. An offering of thanksgiving is brought more spontaneously. A votive or freewill offering has been considered. When we meet, it may be that we start sacrificing more spontaneously as the service progresses. It is also possible that during the week we have already been busy with the meeting and the offering of the Lord Jesus. The gratitude in connection with the cross also has a longer effect.

But even then it is not so that we can move forward for a long time with what we have seen of the Lord Jesus. That is what Leviticus 7:17-18 have to say to us. There will be a growing desire to see more of Him. Thoughts that linger and that we only cherish because we don’t want to discover new things from the Lord Jesus are counterproductive. They become an obstacle in our spiritual life. Growth stops. Then we must judge ourselves and our thinking, to become free from iniquity. This creates space for the preparation of a new votive or freewill offering that is pleasant to God and in which fellowship with others can be experienced. When fellowship manifests itself in fixed forms and along well-trodden paths, it degenerates into dead orthodoxy.

Practicing fellowship as suggested in partaking of this sacrificial meal is subject to conditions (Leviticus 7:19-21). The table, the expression of fellowship, is the Table of the Lord and therefore holy. The offerings belong to God (Leviticus 7:20-21). Worship belongs to God. What goes on in our hearts during the service does not belong to us. God has put it in our hearts, to our joy, that we may partake of what Christ’s offering means to Him and in His own joy about it.

No uncleanness may be associated with this. This uncleanness can be caused in different ways. In the first place it can happen that the flesh has come into contact with something unclean (Leviticus 7:19). An application of this is that if anyone has wrong thoughts about the Person or the work of the Lord Jesus, he is unclean and cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal at the Lord’s Table. He can only partake when he has corrected his wrong thinking about the Person or the work of the Lord Jesus.

A second case is that the person who wants to eat the flesh is unclean himself (Leviticus 7:20). An application is that one does not judge sin in his life. From such a person it must be concluded that he has not only fallen into sin, but that he lives in sin. If anyone does not judge sin in his life and after several attempts by others is not willing to judge that sin (Matthew 18:15-20), he cannot take part in the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal held at the Lord’s Table. Such a person is called “the wicked man” and, if he already partake of the Lord’s Supper, must be removed from among the believers (1 Corinthians 5:13b). He can only (again) take part when he judges and confesses his sin for God and people.

A third case is that someone, although clean himself, is unclean by consciously staying in contact with uncleanness (Leviticus 7:21). An application is if someone wants to partake of the Lord’s Supper, while he is part of a church where no discipline is exercised over public evil. For example, that group allows unmarried cohabitation or living in a homosexual relation and allows people who live this way to partake of their supper. Anyone who stays in touch with it remains in touch with the wickedness that is present in that church and is therefore defiled. Such a person cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal held at the Lord’s Table. He can only partake if he withdraws from this wickedness, which in practice means that he withdraws from that church (2 Timothy 2:19-22).

Leviticus 10:17

The Law of the Peace Offering

The description of the peace offering in Leviticus 3 is mainly about the connection with the altar. Its application to us is found par excellence in the Lord’s Supper at the Lord’s Table. The peace offering is a fellowship offering, which is represented for us in the Table of the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:15-21). However, there are also other occasions where believers have fellowship with each other. Every time they come together, for whatever reason, they have fellowship with each other. God wants to be there. Fellowship as believers among each other is only possible and good if God can and may be present.

The peace offering is a festival sacrifice (Psalms 118:27). Someone who is happy can spontaneously bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving. He can slay an animal and celebrate. The eldest son in Lukas 15 wants the same. But he only wants to celebrate with his friends, without his father (Luke 15:29). That cannot be a feast. Our joy and happiness are always based on the work of the Lord Jesus, and that is also what God rejoices in.

This sacrifice of thanksgiving must be accompanied by a grain offering. If we thank God for the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, it is impossible to ignore His perfect life up to the cross. We would also like to tell God about this, to offer it to Him.

Also cakes of leavened bread are brought (Leviticus 7:13). This cannot speak of the Lord Jesus. Leaven speaks of sin and in Him is no sin. But there is leaven in us. Sin is still in us. These cakes tell in picture that we come in the awareness that sin is still in us (1 John 1:8), although sin no longer is allowed to rule us neither is that necessary. We have to consider ourselves dead to sin. This we do when we realize that He has deprived sin of its power (Romans 6:6-11).

Leviticus 7:14 shows that God must first receive His portion before we share with others. It is a portion that is offered to Him as a heave offering (so footnote NASB). A heave offering means that it is lifted above everything else, while at the same time everything else gets the value of this heave offering. We can apply this to the Lord Jesus Who offered Himself to God above all else. We offer Him to God. Because of this, everything else we enjoy about Him and His offering together also receives the value He has for God.

The priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering represents the believer who is aware that fellowship is based on nothing but the blood poured out by Christ. The blood makes him think of the price paid for him and through which he is now entirely of Christ (1 Peter 1:1-2). This brings great gratitude and joy. The believer who knows this presupposes that gratitude and joy also in other believers and desires to share it with such believers, to have fellowship therein.

The feast, the eating, must take place on the same day that the sacrifice is offered (Leviticus 7:15). This prescription shows that the connection to the altar is of great importance. When the flesh is eaten the next day, the thought of the offering being brought on the altar is blurred. God does not want that. With every sacrifice of thanksgiving He expects the thought of the cross of Christ. There is no thanksgiving possible without the cross.

We can’t live on yesterday’s experience. God expects us to come to the altar with a new offering of praise every day. We may examine the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11), for these testify about the Lord Jesus (John 5:39). We notice new compassions of the Lord every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Then we have an abundance of reasons for a new sacrifice of praise every day, don’t we?

A votive or freewill offering may be eaten the next day (Leviticus 7:16). This is an offering that has a more sustainable character than the offering of thanksgiving. An offering of thanksgiving is brought more spontaneously. A votive or freewill offering has been considered. When we meet, it may be that we start sacrificing more spontaneously as the service progresses. It is also possible that during the week we have already been busy with the meeting and the offering of the Lord Jesus. The gratitude in connection with the cross also has a longer effect.

But even then it is not so that we can move forward for a long time with what we have seen of the Lord Jesus. That is what Leviticus 7:17-18 have to say to us. There will be a growing desire to see more of Him. Thoughts that linger and that we only cherish because we don’t want to discover new things from the Lord Jesus are counterproductive. They become an obstacle in our spiritual life. Growth stops. Then we must judge ourselves and our thinking, to become free from iniquity. This creates space for the preparation of a new votive or freewill offering that is pleasant to God and in which fellowship with others can be experienced. When fellowship manifests itself in fixed forms and along well-trodden paths, it degenerates into dead orthodoxy.

Practicing fellowship as suggested in partaking of this sacrificial meal is subject to conditions (Leviticus 7:19-21). The table, the expression of fellowship, is the Table of the Lord and therefore holy. The offerings belong to God (Leviticus 7:20-21). Worship belongs to God. What goes on in our hearts during the service does not belong to us. God has put it in our hearts, to our joy, that we may partake of what Christ’s offering means to Him and in His own joy about it.

No uncleanness may be associated with this. This uncleanness can be caused in different ways. In the first place it can happen that the flesh has come into contact with something unclean (Leviticus 7:19). An application of this is that if anyone has wrong thoughts about the Person or the work of the Lord Jesus, he is unclean and cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal at the Lord’s Table. He can only partake when he has corrected his wrong thinking about the Person or the work of the Lord Jesus.

A second case is that the person who wants to eat the flesh is unclean himself (Leviticus 7:20). An application is that one does not judge sin in his life. From such a person it must be concluded that he has not only fallen into sin, but that he lives in sin. If anyone does not judge sin in his life and after several attempts by others is not willing to judge that sin (Matthew 18:15-20), he cannot take part in the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal held at the Lord’s Table. Such a person is called “the wicked man” and, if he already partake of the Lord’s Supper, must be removed from among the believers (1 Corinthians 5:13b). He can only (again) take part when he judges and confesses his sin for God and people.

A third case is that someone, although clean himself, is unclean by consciously staying in contact with uncleanness (Leviticus 7:21). An application is if someone wants to partake of the Lord’s Supper, while he is part of a church where no discipline is exercised over public evil. For example, that group allows unmarried cohabitation or living in a homosexual relation and allows people who live this way to partake of their supper. Anyone who stays in touch with it remains in touch with the wickedness that is present in that church and is therefore defiled. Such a person cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal held at the Lord’s Table. He can only partake if he withdraws from this wickedness, which in practice means that he withdraws from that church (2 Timothy 2:19-22).

Leviticus 10:18

The Law of the Peace Offering

The description of the peace offering in Leviticus 3 is mainly about the connection with the altar. Its application to us is found par excellence in the Lord’s Supper at the Lord’s Table. The peace offering is a fellowship offering, which is represented for us in the Table of the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:15-21). However, there are also other occasions where believers have fellowship with each other. Every time they come together, for whatever reason, they have fellowship with each other. God wants to be there. Fellowship as believers among each other is only possible and good if God can and may be present.

The peace offering is a festival sacrifice (Psalms 118:27). Someone who is happy can spontaneously bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving. He can slay an animal and celebrate. The eldest son in Lukas 15 wants the same. But he only wants to celebrate with his friends, without his father (Luke 15:29). That cannot be a feast. Our joy and happiness are always based on the work of the Lord Jesus, and that is also what God rejoices in.

This sacrifice of thanksgiving must be accompanied by a grain offering. If we thank God for the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, it is impossible to ignore His perfect life up to the cross. We would also like to tell God about this, to offer it to Him.

Also cakes of leavened bread are brought (Leviticus 7:13). This cannot speak of the Lord Jesus. Leaven speaks of sin and in Him is no sin. But there is leaven in us. Sin is still in us. These cakes tell in picture that we come in the awareness that sin is still in us (1 John 1:8), although sin no longer is allowed to rule us neither is that necessary. We have to consider ourselves dead to sin. This we do when we realize that He has deprived sin of its power (Romans 6:6-11).

Leviticus 7:14 shows that God must first receive His portion before we share with others. It is a portion that is offered to Him as a heave offering (so footnote NASB). A heave offering means that it is lifted above everything else, while at the same time everything else gets the value of this heave offering. We can apply this to the Lord Jesus Who offered Himself to God above all else. We offer Him to God. Because of this, everything else we enjoy about Him and His offering together also receives the value He has for God.

The priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering represents the believer who is aware that fellowship is based on nothing but the blood poured out by Christ. The blood makes him think of the price paid for him and through which he is now entirely of Christ (1 Peter 1:1-2). This brings great gratitude and joy. The believer who knows this presupposes that gratitude and joy also in other believers and desires to share it with such believers, to have fellowship therein.

The feast, the eating, must take place on the same day that the sacrifice is offered (Leviticus 7:15). This prescription shows that the connection to the altar is of great importance. When the flesh is eaten the next day, the thought of the offering being brought on the altar is blurred. God does not want that. With every sacrifice of thanksgiving He expects the thought of the cross of Christ. There is no thanksgiving possible without the cross.

We can’t live on yesterday’s experience. God expects us to come to the altar with a new offering of praise every day. We may examine the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11), for these testify about the Lord Jesus (John 5:39). We notice new compassions of the Lord every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Then we have an abundance of reasons for a new sacrifice of praise every day, don’t we?

A votive or freewill offering may be eaten the next day (Leviticus 7:16). This is an offering that has a more sustainable character than the offering of thanksgiving. An offering of thanksgiving is brought more spontaneously. A votive or freewill offering has been considered. When we meet, it may be that we start sacrificing more spontaneously as the service progresses. It is also possible that during the week we have already been busy with the meeting and the offering of the Lord Jesus. The gratitude in connection with the cross also has a longer effect.

But even then it is not so that we can move forward for a long time with what we have seen of the Lord Jesus. That is what Leviticus 7:17-18 have to say to us. There will be a growing desire to see more of Him. Thoughts that linger and that we only cherish because we don’t want to discover new things from the Lord Jesus are counterproductive. They become an obstacle in our spiritual life. Growth stops. Then we must judge ourselves and our thinking, to become free from iniquity. This creates space for the preparation of a new votive or freewill offering that is pleasant to God and in which fellowship with others can be experienced. When fellowship manifests itself in fixed forms and along well-trodden paths, it degenerates into dead orthodoxy.

Practicing fellowship as suggested in partaking of this sacrificial meal is subject to conditions (Leviticus 7:19-21). The table, the expression of fellowship, is the Table of the Lord and therefore holy. The offerings belong to God (Leviticus 7:20-21). Worship belongs to God. What goes on in our hearts during the service does not belong to us. God has put it in our hearts, to our joy, that we may partake of what Christ’s offering means to Him and in His own joy about it.

No uncleanness may be associated with this. This uncleanness can be caused in different ways. In the first place it can happen that the flesh has come into contact with something unclean (Leviticus 7:19). An application of this is that if anyone has wrong thoughts about the Person or the work of the Lord Jesus, he is unclean and cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal at the Lord’s Table. He can only partake when he has corrected his wrong thinking about the Person or the work of the Lord Jesus.

A second case is that the person who wants to eat the flesh is unclean himself (Leviticus 7:20). An application is that one does not judge sin in his life. From such a person it must be concluded that he has not only fallen into sin, but that he lives in sin. If anyone does not judge sin in his life and after several attempts by others is not willing to judge that sin (Matthew 18:15-20), he cannot take part in the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal held at the Lord’s Table. Such a person is called “the wicked man” and, if he already partake of the Lord’s Supper, must be removed from among the believers (1 Corinthians 5:13b). He can only (again) take part when he judges and confesses his sin for God and people.

A third case is that someone, although clean himself, is unclean by consciously staying in contact with uncleanness (Leviticus 7:21). An application is if someone wants to partake of the Lord’s Supper, while he is part of a church where no discipline is exercised over public evil. For example, that group allows unmarried cohabitation or living in a homosexual relation and allows people who live this way to partake of their supper. Anyone who stays in touch with it remains in touch with the wickedness that is present in that church and is therefore defiled. Such a person cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal held at the Lord’s Table. He can only partake if he withdraws from this wickedness, which in practice means that he withdraws from that church (2 Timothy 2:19-22).

Leviticus 10:19

The Law of the Peace Offering

The description of the peace offering in Leviticus 3 is mainly about the connection with the altar. Its application to us is found par excellence in the Lord’s Supper at the Lord’s Table. The peace offering is a fellowship offering, which is represented for us in the Table of the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:15-21). However, there are also other occasions where believers have fellowship with each other. Every time they come together, for whatever reason, they have fellowship with each other. God wants to be there. Fellowship as believers among each other is only possible and good if God can and may be present.

The peace offering is a festival sacrifice (Psalms 118:27). Someone who is happy can spontaneously bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving. He can slay an animal and celebrate. The eldest son in Lukas 15 wants the same. But he only wants to celebrate with his friends, without his father (Luke 15:29). That cannot be a feast. Our joy and happiness are always based on the work of the Lord Jesus, and that is also what God rejoices in.

This sacrifice of thanksgiving must be accompanied by a grain offering. If we thank God for the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, it is impossible to ignore His perfect life up to the cross. We would also like to tell God about this, to offer it to Him.

Also cakes of leavened bread are brought (Leviticus 7:13). This cannot speak of the Lord Jesus. Leaven speaks of sin and in Him is no sin. But there is leaven in us. Sin is still in us. These cakes tell in picture that we come in the awareness that sin is still in us (1 John 1:8), although sin no longer is allowed to rule us neither is that necessary. We have to consider ourselves dead to sin. This we do when we realize that He has deprived sin of its power (Romans 6:6-11).

Leviticus 7:14 shows that God must first receive His portion before we share with others. It is a portion that is offered to Him as a heave offering (so footnote NASB). A heave offering means that it is lifted above everything else, while at the same time everything else gets the value of this heave offering. We can apply this to the Lord Jesus Who offered Himself to God above all else. We offer Him to God. Because of this, everything else we enjoy about Him and His offering together also receives the value He has for God.

The priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering represents the believer who is aware that fellowship is based on nothing but the blood poured out by Christ. The blood makes him think of the price paid for him and through which he is now entirely of Christ (1 Peter 1:1-2). This brings great gratitude and joy. The believer who knows this presupposes that gratitude and joy also in other believers and desires to share it with such believers, to have fellowship therein.

The feast, the eating, must take place on the same day that the sacrifice is offered (Leviticus 7:15). This prescription shows that the connection to the altar is of great importance. When the flesh is eaten the next day, the thought of the offering being brought on the altar is blurred. God does not want that. With every sacrifice of thanksgiving He expects the thought of the cross of Christ. There is no thanksgiving possible without the cross.

We can’t live on yesterday’s experience. God expects us to come to the altar with a new offering of praise every day. We may examine the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11), for these testify about the Lord Jesus (John 5:39). We notice new compassions of the Lord every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Then we have an abundance of reasons for a new sacrifice of praise every day, don’t we?

A votive or freewill offering may be eaten the next day (Leviticus 7:16). This is an offering that has a more sustainable character than the offering of thanksgiving. An offering of thanksgiving is brought more spontaneously. A votive or freewill offering has been considered. When we meet, it may be that we start sacrificing more spontaneously as the service progresses. It is also possible that during the week we have already been busy with the meeting and the offering of the Lord Jesus. The gratitude in connection with the cross also has a longer effect.

But even then it is not so that we can move forward for a long time with what we have seen of the Lord Jesus. That is what Leviticus 7:17-18 have to say to us. There will be a growing desire to see more of Him. Thoughts that linger and that we only cherish because we don’t want to discover new things from the Lord Jesus are counterproductive. They become an obstacle in our spiritual life. Growth stops. Then we must judge ourselves and our thinking, to become free from iniquity. This creates space for the preparation of a new votive or freewill offering that is pleasant to God and in which fellowship with others can be experienced. When fellowship manifests itself in fixed forms and along well-trodden paths, it degenerates into dead orthodoxy.

Practicing fellowship as suggested in partaking of this sacrificial meal is subject to conditions (Leviticus 7:19-21). The table, the expression of fellowship, is the Table of the Lord and therefore holy. The offerings belong to God (Leviticus 7:20-21). Worship belongs to God. What goes on in our hearts during the service does not belong to us. God has put it in our hearts, to our joy, that we may partake of what Christ’s offering means to Him and in His own joy about it.

No uncleanness may be associated with this. This uncleanness can be caused in different ways. In the first place it can happen that the flesh has come into contact with something unclean (Leviticus 7:19). An application of this is that if anyone has wrong thoughts about the Person or the work of the Lord Jesus, he is unclean and cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal at the Lord’s Table. He can only partake when he has corrected his wrong thinking about the Person or the work of the Lord Jesus.

A second case is that the person who wants to eat the flesh is unclean himself (Leviticus 7:20). An application is that one does not judge sin in his life. From such a person it must be concluded that he has not only fallen into sin, but that he lives in sin. If anyone does not judge sin in his life and after several attempts by others is not willing to judge that sin (Matthew 18:15-20), he cannot take part in the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal held at the Lord’s Table. Such a person is called “the wicked man” and, if he already partake of the Lord’s Supper, must be removed from among the believers (1 Corinthians 5:13b). He can only (again) take part when he judges and confesses his sin for God and people.

A third case is that someone, although clean himself, is unclean by consciously staying in contact with uncleanness (Leviticus 7:21). An application is if someone wants to partake of the Lord’s Supper, while he is part of a church where no discipline is exercised over public evil. For example, that group allows unmarried cohabitation or living in a homosexual relation and allows people who live this way to partake of their supper. Anyone who stays in touch with it remains in touch with the wickedness that is present in that church and is therefore defiled. Such a person cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal held at the Lord’s Table. He can only partake if he withdraws from this wickedness, which in practice means that he withdraws from that church (2 Timothy 2:19-22).

Leviticus 10:20

The Law of the Peace Offering

The description of the peace offering in Leviticus 3 is mainly about the connection with the altar. Its application to us is found par excellence in the Lord’s Supper at the Lord’s Table. The peace offering is a fellowship offering, which is represented for us in the Table of the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:15-21). However, there are also other occasions where believers have fellowship with each other. Every time they come together, for whatever reason, they have fellowship with each other. God wants to be there. Fellowship as believers among each other is only possible and good if God can and may be present.

The peace offering is a festival sacrifice (Psalms 118:27). Someone who is happy can spontaneously bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving. He can slay an animal and celebrate. The eldest son in Lukas 15 wants the same. But he only wants to celebrate with his friends, without his father (Luke 15:29). That cannot be a feast. Our joy and happiness are always based on the work of the Lord Jesus, and that is also what God rejoices in.

This sacrifice of thanksgiving must be accompanied by a grain offering. If we thank God for the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, it is impossible to ignore His perfect life up to the cross. We would also like to tell God about this, to offer it to Him.

Also cakes of leavened bread are brought (Leviticus 7:13). This cannot speak of the Lord Jesus. Leaven speaks of sin and in Him is no sin. But there is leaven in us. Sin is still in us. These cakes tell in picture that we come in the awareness that sin is still in us (1 John 1:8), although sin no longer is allowed to rule us neither is that necessary. We have to consider ourselves dead to sin. This we do when we realize that He has deprived sin of its power (Romans 6:6-11).

Leviticus 7:14 shows that God must first receive His portion before we share with others. It is a portion that is offered to Him as a heave offering (so footnote NASB). A heave offering means that it is lifted above everything else, while at the same time everything else gets the value of this heave offering. We can apply this to the Lord Jesus Who offered Himself to God above all else. We offer Him to God. Because of this, everything else we enjoy about Him and His offering together also receives the value He has for God.

The priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering represents the believer who is aware that fellowship is based on nothing but the blood poured out by Christ. The blood makes him think of the price paid for him and through which he is now entirely of Christ (1 Peter 1:1-2). This brings great gratitude and joy. The believer who knows this presupposes that gratitude and joy also in other believers and desires to share it with such believers, to have fellowship therein.

The feast, the eating, must take place on the same day that the sacrifice is offered (Leviticus 7:15). This prescription shows that the connection to the altar is of great importance. When the flesh is eaten the next day, the thought of the offering being brought on the altar is blurred. God does not want that. With every sacrifice of thanksgiving He expects the thought of the cross of Christ. There is no thanksgiving possible without the cross.

We can’t live on yesterday’s experience. God expects us to come to the altar with a new offering of praise every day. We may examine the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11), for these testify about the Lord Jesus (John 5:39). We notice new compassions of the Lord every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Then we have an abundance of reasons for a new sacrifice of praise every day, don’t we?

A votive or freewill offering may be eaten the next day (Leviticus 7:16). This is an offering that has a more sustainable character than the offering of thanksgiving. An offering of thanksgiving is brought more spontaneously. A votive or freewill offering has been considered. When we meet, it may be that we start sacrificing more spontaneously as the service progresses. It is also possible that during the week we have already been busy with the meeting and the offering of the Lord Jesus. The gratitude in connection with the cross also has a longer effect.

But even then it is not so that we can move forward for a long time with what we have seen of the Lord Jesus. That is what Leviticus 7:17-18 have to say to us. There will be a growing desire to see more of Him. Thoughts that linger and that we only cherish because we don’t want to discover new things from the Lord Jesus are counterproductive. They become an obstacle in our spiritual life. Growth stops. Then we must judge ourselves and our thinking, to become free from iniquity. This creates space for the preparation of a new votive or freewill offering that is pleasant to God and in which fellowship with others can be experienced. When fellowship manifests itself in fixed forms and along well-trodden paths, it degenerates into dead orthodoxy.

Practicing fellowship as suggested in partaking of this sacrificial meal is subject to conditions (Leviticus 7:19-21). The table, the expression of fellowship, is the Table of the Lord and therefore holy. The offerings belong to God (Leviticus 7:20-21). Worship belongs to God. What goes on in our hearts during the service does not belong to us. God has put it in our hearts, to our joy, that we may partake of what Christ’s offering means to Him and in His own joy about it.

No uncleanness may be associated with this. This uncleanness can be caused in different ways. In the first place it can happen that the flesh has come into contact with something unclean (Leviticus 7:19). An application of this is that if anyone has wrong thoughts about the Person or the work of the Lord Jesus, he is unclean and cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal at the Lord’s Table. He can only partake when he has corrected his wrong thinking about the Person or the work of the Lord Jesus.

A second case is that the person who wants to eat the flesh is unclean himself (Leviticus 7:20). An application is that one does not judge sin in his life. From such a person it must be concluded that he has not only fallen into sin, but that he lives in sin. If anyone does not judge sin in his life and after several attempts by others is not willing to judge that sin (Matthew 18:15-20), he cannot take part in the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal held at the Lord’s Table. Such a person is called “the wicked man” and, if he already partake of the Lord’s Supper, must be removed from among the believers (1 Corinthians 5:13b). He can only (again) take part when he judges and confesses his sin for God and people.

A third case is that someone, although clean himself, is unclean by consciously staying in contact with uncleanness (Leviticus 7:21). An application is if someone wants to partake of the Lord’s Supper, while he is part of a church where no discipline is exercised over public evil. For example, that group allows unmarried cohabitation or living in a homosexual relation and allows people who live this way to partake of their supper. Anyone who stays in touch with it remains in touch with the wickedness that is present in that church and is therefore defiled. Such a person cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal held at the Lord’s Table. He can only partake if he withdraws from this wickedness, which in practice means that he withdraws from that church (2 Timothy 2:19-22).