Chapter Three
Regulations Regarding Peace Offerings
3:1 “If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD. 2 And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar. 3 And from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as a food offering to the LORD, he shall offer the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 4 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. 5 Then Aaron’s sons shall burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering, which is on the wood on the fire; it is a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
The next type of offering was called a peace offering (also known as a fellowship offering, Hebrew word ‘šelā·mîm’,[1] from the root meaning completion or fulfillment, a restored relationship, peace). The animal selected could be from the herd (verses 1-5), the flock (verses 6-11), or a goat (verses 12-17). While most often considered voluntary, offered for thanksgiving (see Leviticus 7:12-15) or as a freewill worship (see 1 Samuel 11:15; 1 Kings 3:15; 8:63-64); the peace offering was required on several occasions including:
The peace offering also differed from the other sacrifices as some of the meat was permitted to be eaten by the person making the offering and shared with their guests (see additional instructions for the peace offering in Leviticus 7:11-21), allowing the participants to share the meal with God, enjoying fellowship with Him. Some believe that this meal serves as a precursor to the Lord’s Supper.
Plus, unlike the burnt offering, any animal (male or female) that was without blemish could be offered from the herd. However, the procedure of killing the animal was similar to the burnt offering, as the person making the offering was to place their hand on the animal’s head and kill it at the entrance to the Tabernacle, followed by the priests throwing the blood against the sides of the altar. From there the procedure varies from the burnt offering, as only the kidneys, the fat covering the intestines, and the fatty lobe of the liver were to be burned, instead of the entire animal.
3:6 “If his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering to the LORD is an animal from the flock, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. 7 If he offers a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before the LORD, 8 lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it in front of the tent of meeting; and Aaron’s sons shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. 9 Then from the sacrifice of the peace offering he shall offer as a food offering to the LORD its fat; he shall remove the whole fat tail, cut off close to the backbone, and the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails 10 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. 11 And the priest shall burn it on the altar as a food offering to the LORD.
The procedure for a peace offering of an animal from the flock (in this case it appears to be a reference to only sheep) is the same, with the exception of the cutting up of the animal. As before, the fat, the kidneys, and the fatty lobe of the liver are to be burned. In addition, the “whole fat tail”[2] is to be cut off and burned as part of the offering.
3:12 “If his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD 13 and lay his hand on its head and kill it in front of the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. 14 Then he shall offer from it, as his offering for a food offering to the LORD, the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails 15 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. 16 And the priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering with a pleasing aroma. All fat is the LORD’s. 17 It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood.”
The protocol for offering a goat is essentially the same as for offering an animal from the herd, followed by proclaiming that, “All fat is YHWH’s.” The section then concludes by stating that these peace offerings were to be an ongoing requirement for the Israelites regardless of where they lived, plus they were to not to consume the fat or the blood.
Since blood represents life and the essential element of the atonement of sin,[3] it was to be devoted wholly to God in the sacrifice, and not ever eaten. Fat is often thought of being the “best part” or the portion that has the greatest flavor of cooked meat. In recent years it has been discovered that when fat is consumed, particularly in large quantities, it is detrimental to good health. Some believe that God had the health aspect in mind when He established the prohibition. Regardless of reason, it was what God desired.
Considerations
Paul calls Christians, “the aroma of Christ,” (see 2 Corinthians 2:15), creating another connection between the sacrifices of the Old Testament to Christians. Since Jesus did all the work for the salvation of all believers, strictly speaking, the ‘aroma’ would therefore be of Him, not us. Paul continues to write, “To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this? You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us.” (2 Corinthians 2:16-17, NLT) Even though sacrifices are no longer required, a Christian’s ‘aroma’ should be that of Jesus Christ, however not regarding their own salvation, but for the salvation of others. Christians need to ask themselves, is their aroma (what they say, how they act, what their priorities are, etc.) pleasing to God?
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 8002.
[2] See commentary under Exodus 29:22.
[3] See commentaries under Genesis 3:21 and Exodus 4:9.