Leviticus 3
McGeeCHAPTER 3THEME: A sacrifice from the herd; a sacrifice from the flock; a sacrifice from the goats; the law of the peace offeringThis offering speaks of the communion and fellowship of believers with God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. The only way you and I can come to God is through Jesus Christ. He is the Way! No single offering can set forth the manifold wonders of the person of Christ and the many facets of His glory. Just as we need four Gospels in the New Testament to set forth His earthly life, so also we need the five offerings of Leviticus to set forth His person and work. We will notice that there are striking similarities between the peace offering and the burnt offering, but we will also note sharp contrast. So the peace offering is also a unique offering. The peace offering does not speak of the peace that Christ made through His blood on the Cross, as that has to do with sin and comes properly under the non-sweet savor offerings. It is concerning Christ being made our Peace as regards sin that Paul writes in Col_1:20-22: “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.” That is not the peace offering. Rather, the peace offering speaks more specifically of the peace to which Paul referred in Ephesians, the peace which brings all believers into communion with the Father by the Holy Spirit, through the Lord Jesus Christ. “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: and came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Eph_2:13-22). In the peace offering, the emphasis is not upon the peace that He made by the blood of the Cross, but upon the peace He is because of the blood of the Cross. He is the meeting place of all believers together and of each believer with God the Father. Christ is the only one who can break down the walls that separate individuals, families, religions, races, and nations. All are made one in Christ. Then they become a habitation of God in the Spirit and have access to the Father. You see, only believers can join together in partaking of the wonders, the beauties, and the glories of Christ. They can have communion with the Father and fellowship one with another as they share the things of Christ. This is what the apostle John is saying. “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1Jn_1:3). The peace offering brings us together. It is only as we meet around the person of Christ that we can be drawn together. Friends, don’t tell me to have fellowship with every Tom, Dick, and Harry! I cannot. But there is nothing that keeps me from fellowshiping with any person, I don’t care who he is, if he can meet with me around the person of Christ. We are all made one there. We are all on the same level there. We can all enjoy the person of Christ.
Leviticus 3:1
A SACRIFICE FROM THE HERDThe peace offering is in one sense all comprehensive. The sinner can come to God because Christ made peace by the blood of His Cross. There is also communion with God and fellowship with Him on the basis of peace by the blood of His Cross. Christ and His work of redemption is the complete satisfaction for peace. The emphasis of the peace offering, however, is chiefly on the communion. What is the gospel appeal to the sinner? Well, it is like this. God says to you and me as sinners, “You are lost. You are alienated from Me, so I will have to consign you to the darkness of eternity.” If God did that, He would be just and holy and all the angels in heaven would sing praises to His name. But, my friend, God is satisfied with what Jesus did for you and now you can come to God. The gospel message is this: “God is reconciled!” The question is, “Will you be reconciled?” God is satisfied with what Jesus did.
That is the message. That is the good news. God has already turned to you. Will you turn to Him? He will accept you because of what Christ has done. Will you be satisfied with Christ and what He has done, and will you come to God and have fellowship?
That is the peace that you can know. The peace offering is different from the burnt offering in several respects. In the burnt offering only a male could be offered, but here it can be either a male or femalebut without blemish. The offerer will never find as much in Christ as God finds in Him. In the burnt offering it speaks of what God sees in Christ. In the peace offering it is the offerer who finds something in Christ. The female offering was permitted because here the capacity of the offerer to enjoy Christ is in view. The offerer will never find as much in Christ as God finds in Him.
Leviticus 3:2
Up to this point, it duplicates the burnt offering.
Leviticus 3:3
Here the contrast with the burnt sacrifice is noted. All of the burnt offering was placed on that altar. In the peace offering, only a portion was offered. The portion was specified. It was to be the choice portion which included the fat and the inward parts. These speak of the hidden riches, the precious qualities, the priceless value of the character of Christ that God alone knows. Sometimes a loved one knows the real worth of a great man who has been bitterly assailed in public. Early in my ministry, I became acquainted with a great preacher, and he and his family became my friends. An attack was made upon him, and harsh things were said about him. His family knew and I knew that they were lies. Just so, there are a lot of things said about Christ that are not true. A great many people say, “I don’t understand this and I don’t understand that about Christ.” There is a lot I don’t understand about Him either. But God knows Him! God sees more in Him than you and I can see. God sees the inward parts. We just don’t know Him. That is why Paul cried out, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings …” (Php_3:10).
Leviticus 3:5
The offering was consumed by fire and this speaks of the total dedication of Christ and His human testing and sufferings. It is specifically labeled, “a sweet savour unto the LORD.” The emphasis is still upon the person of Christ and not upon His work. It is His perfect life that is in view, not His death for sin. His sufferings in life were not for the sins of the world. Even in the first three hours on the Cross, His suffering was at the hands of men. It was during the last three hours on the Cross that it became an altar on which the Son of God was offered. Darkness veiled from the eye of man those last three hours when it pleased the Lord to bruise Him, when He put Him to grief, when He made His soul an offering for sin (Isa_53:10). Notice that the peace offering was put together with the burnt offering. They belong together in order to get the full view of the inward values and glories of Christ.
Leviticus 3:6
A SACRIFICE FROM THE FLOCKThe lamb sets forth in a peculiar way the character of Christ and is, therefore, unusually appropriate as a sacrifice in the peace offering. By contrast the bullock, or the heifer from the herd, sets forth the servant side of our Lord’s ministry. The bullock was a domesticated animal, used to bear burdens and to plow fields, and so represented transportation and commerce in that day. The bullock was a servant and a friend of man. The bullock represents Christ as a servant. This is the aspect of Christ’s ministry which is set forth in the Gospel of Mark. We need to emphasize that Christ as a servant was not a bellboy or a shoeshiner for man. He did not run at man’s bidding. The Gospel of Mark sets Him forth as God’s Servant. He came to do the will of God. However, the lamb sets forth Christ in His complete identification with man in life and in death. Have you ever noticed that? At the beginning of His ministry, John the Baptist pointed Him out as “…the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (Joh_1:29). That referred to His work. Later, he said, “…Behold the Lamb of God!” (Joh_1:36)referring to His person. From the beginning, the Lamb has set forth His quality and ability to take the place of man in bearing the sin of the world. The very first offering made by Abel was the sacrifice of a lamb. I think that God clothed Adam and Eve with lambs’ skins. I can’t prove that, but I believe it in view of the fact that Abel brought a lamb. Isaiah 53 makes it very clear that Jesus Christ was our substitute, carrying our sins and iniquities. “…He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isa_53:7). He is pictured as a lamb. The Lamb becomes our substitute. He is also called a lamb in His resurrection. “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth” (Rev_5:6). Again, He is a Lamb in His return in glory. “And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Rev_6:16-17). The lamb is probably the most complete representation of Christ of all the sacrifices.
Leviticus 3:8
The ritual is similar to that given concerning one of the herd. The fat was God’s portion. It was considered the better part of the animal. A fat animal was the best type, and the best was offered to God. There are many passages to illustrate that fat was considered the best: “…Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet …” (Neh_8:10). “And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined” (Isa_25:6). “And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry” (Luk_15:23). Today, those of us who need to reduce our weight try not to eat the fat, but it is obvious that the fat was considered the choice part. God precisely declared, “all the fat that is upon the inwards and the two kidneys and the fat that is upon them” was to be for Him. God demanded the best. We see here the deep and full meaning of the peace offering. Fellowship with God rests upon the blood of Christ, it is true, but there is another aspect of this fellowship. To make it complete and final there must be the presentation of the life of the believer in total dedication. Both of these aspects are included by Jesus Christ in His wonderful, inclusive invitation: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mat_11:28). There is a rest that He gives, which is typified by the shed blood. This is the rest of redemption. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Mat_11:29-30)this is a rest that we find, which is represented by the fat. We must come to Him and offer ourselves to Him. This is the rest of dedication. The expression “the whole rump” is translated in the American Standard Version of 1901 as “the fat tail entire.” This has reference to a special breed of sheep peculiar to that geographical area. The tail of this breed weighs as much as 15 pounds, and is very fatty.
Leviticus 3:11
This is a strange clause and some have tried to associate it with pagan offerings. We know from an Assyrian inscription of Esarhaddon that offerers sacrificed victims to the gods and then feasted with the gods. However, in the peace offering, the very opposite is true. God feasts the offerer. God makes this very clear in Deu_12:6-7: “And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: and there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.” The fat was totally consumed, but the priest received the breast and the shoulder. The offerer ate the remainder, and he did it in God’s house. God was the host and the offerer, the sinner was the guest. Heathenism has it backwards and that was the basis of Isaiah’s charge against Israel when they went into idolatry. “But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number” (Isa_65:11). Isa_65:11(ASV) says, “that prepare a table for Fortune, and that fill up mingled wine unto Destiny.” God provides the table and the peace offering! This throws light upon many verses of Scripture: “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies …” (Psa_23:5). “They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house …” (Psa_36:8). “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever …so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me” (Joh_6:51, Joh_6:57). “…Take, eat; this is my body” (Mat_26:26). The Lord prepares the table of salvation and fellowship. This is emphasized in the peace offering. This helps us to understand the parable of the prodigal son. It is the Father who kills the fatted calf when the son is restored to fellowship. In the parable of the great supper, it is the Lord who invites, “…Come; for all things are now ready” (Luk_14:17). This is the table of salvation which God has provided. And then read 1 John chapter 1 again and again. Fellowship with God rests upon the redemption of Christ through His blood and upon our knowing Christ and confessing our sins. First we accept God’s salvation by accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior; then we come to the table of fellowship. Modern man thinks he can provide a table of salvation of his own works and invite God to come to eat. My friend, that is a purely pagan notion. God provides the table of salvation; God provides the table of fellowship.
Leviticus 3:12
A SACRIFICE FROM THE GOATSThis is the third and final type of sacrifice for the peace offering. All three types of sacrifice are essential to portray the different aspects of Christ in the peace offering. The goat represents the complete identification of Christ as adequate to take away the sin of man. He was made sin for us. That is not just a nice statement but an actual fact. He is the propitiation for our sins, which means that He adequately and totally paid the penalty for our sins. You hear the expression, “I don’t want anyone to make a goat of me.” Well, friends, Christ was willing to be made a goat for you. He took the full penalty of your sin and my sin. His offering for sin is clearly set forth in Heb_10:6-14. The ritual of it follows the pattern of the offering of the herd and of the flock.
Leviticus 3:13
There are two statements here that should detain us for a moment: “all the fat is the LORD’s” and “that ye eat neither fat nor blood.” These two prohibitions are indeed striking. They are amplified in the law of the peace offerings in chapter 7. The reason for the prohibition of eating blood is stated in Lev_17:10-14, and we will go into that later in our study. The reason for the prohibition of eating the fat is given here. The fat is the Lord’s. Man was reminded that he was redeemed by blood. That is the basis and ground of our acceptance before God. That brings us to the table of communion and fellowship with God. But the fat is the Lord’s. He demands the best. If we are to enjoy to the fullest our fellowship with Him, it is imperative that we give Him our best. There must be total dedication to Him. Loving sacrifice of our lives must follow our redemption in order to enter into His sweet peace of communion. This is the message of Romans 12, Joh_15:14, and Php_3:10-14. Salvation is by the blood. Sanctification and service are by the fat. THE LAW OF THE PEACE OFFERINGThe law of the peace offering is given in Lev_7:11-38. It is the most extensive of all the instructions of the five offerings and it is the last. The value of the other offerings must be entered into before we can enjoy the peace of God. We will go into more detail in chapter 7. Suffice it to say here that Aaron and his sons, the priests, received as their portion of the peace offering the breast and the shoulder. The breast speaks of the love of Christ for us and the shoulder speaks of the power and strength of Christ. He is able to save to the uttermost. This is our portion in Christ. Do you hear Him, Christian friend, do you hear Him in His peace offering?