Chapter Seven
Instructions to the Priests Regarding Offerings Continued
7:1 “This is the law of the guilt offering. It is most holy. 2 In the place where they kill the burnt offering they shall kill the guilt offering, and its blood shall be thrown against the sides of the altar. 3 And all its fat shall be offered, the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, 4 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 The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering to the LORD; it is a guilt offering. 6 Every male among the priests may eat of it. It shall be eaten in a holy place. It is most holy. 7 The guilt offering is just like the sin offering; there is one law for them. The priest who makes atonement with it shall have it.
Using similar wording that described the location where the sin offering was to be killed (see Leviticus 6:25), the guilt offering is to be killed in the same location, which is the same location where the burnt offering was to be killed (see Leviticus 1:3, 5, 11). The blood was then to be cast down against the sides the bronze altar, followed by the priest offering the animal’s kidneys and all of its fat (including the fat from the tail, the fatty lobe of the liver, the fat that covers the intestines, and the fat that is on the kidneys) on the bronze altar.
The priests may eat the meat in a holy place, namely within the courtyard. The text makes a point that the guilt offering is just like the sin offering, that there is only one law for them, emphasizing that the priest who makes the atonement can eat the meat of the sacrifice.
7:8 And the priest who offers any man’s burnt offering shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering that he has offered.
After covering the additional provisions for the sin and guilt offerings, the subject of the discussion returns to that of the burnt offerings. Any priest that offers a burnt offering can keep the skin of the animal being offered.
7:9 And every grain offering baked in the oven and all that is prepared on a pan or a griddle shall belong to the priest who offers it. 10 And every grain offering, mixed with oil or dry, shall be shared equally among all the sons of Aaron.
In addition, any grain offering that is baked, or prepared on a pan or griddle, can be eaten by the priest who makes the offering. However, if the grain offering was mixed with oil or dry without cooking, the offering was to be shared with the other priests.
7:11 “And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings that one may offer to the LORD. 12 If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the thanksgiving sacrifice unleavened loaves mixed with oil, unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and loaves of fine flour well mixed with oil. 13 With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving he shall bring his offering with loaves of leavened bread. 14 And from it he shall offer one loaf from each offering, as a gift to the LORD. It shall belong to the priest who throws the blood of the peace offerings. 15 And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten on the day of his offering. He shall not leave any of it until the morning.
As discussed in Leviticus chapter three, the peace offering had multiple roles and was the only offering that permitted someone, other than a priest, to dine on the meat of the sacrifice. If the sacrifice was to be an offering of thanksgiving, it was to be offered with unleavened bread mixed with oil, unleavened wafers with oil applied and loaves of fine flour mixed with oil (since leaven was unacceptable, it too would be without leaven) The New Living Translation renders the instructions as, “If you present your peace offering as an expression of thanksgiving, the usual animal sacrifice must be accompanied by various kinds of bread made without yeast—thin cakes mixed with olive oil, wafers spread with oil, and cakes made of choice flour mixed with olive oil.” (Leviticus 7:12, NLT) One of each kind of bread made was to be given to YHWH and the priest who threw the blood on the bronze altar was allowed to eat the bread. The meat of the sacrifice was to be eaten on the day it was offered, none of the meat was to remain by the next morning.
7:16 But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow offering or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice, and on the next day what remains of it shall be eaten. 17 But what remains of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned up with fire. 18 If any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten on the third day, he who offers it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be credited to him. It is tainted, and he who eats of it shall bear his iniquity.
If the peace offering was in response to the completion of a vow to God or given as a freewill offering, the meat was allowed to be consumed on either the first or second day, however any meat left over on the third day must be burned. If any of the meat was eaten on the third day then the whole effort, the desire to please God, was completely negated, as the offering would not only be unacceptable, but it would also no longer benefit the person who was offering the animal. The meat would be considered contaminated, and the person would also be punished.
7:19 “Flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten. It shall be burned up with fire. All who are clean may eat flesh, 20 but the person who eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of the LORD’s peace offerings while an uncleanness is on him, that person shall be cut off from his people. 21 And if anyone touches an unclean thing, whether human uncleanness or an unclean beast or any unclean detestable creature, and then eats some flesh from the sacrifice of the LORD’s peace offerings, that person shall be cut off from his people.”
If any of the meat touches any ceremonially unclean object it was not to be eaten, it was to be burned instead. Everyone eating meat given to YHWH as a peace offering also needed to be ceremonially clean. If someone was unclean and participated in the meal, they would be cut off from the people.[1] God then amplifies how someone could become unclean: If they touched any unclean thing, touched another person who is unclean, touched an unclean animal, or touched any “detestable creature” (Hebrew word ‘šě’·qěṣ’,[2] a detestable thing, often used to describe a forbidden object or animal, including some sea creatures, birds, and creatures that creep, see Leviticus chapter 11).
7:22 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, You shall eat no fat, of ox or sheep or goat. 24 The fat of an animal that dies of itself and the fat of one that is torn by beasts may be put to any other use, but on no account shall you eat it. 25 For every person who eats of the fat of an animal of which a food offering may be made to the LORD shall be cut off from his people. 26 Moreover, you shall eat no blood whatever, whether of fowl or of animal, in any of your dwelling places. 27 Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.”
The prohibition against eating fat was extended beyond sacrifices offered, even fat of an animal that dies naturally or is killed by another animal. Under no circumstance were the people of Israel to eat the fat of an animal. The penalty for eating the fat of an animal that was sacrificed or consuming the blood of any animal, was that they would also be cut off from their people (see verses 20-21). These regulations form the foundation for what will later be called “kosher,” from the Hebrew word ‘ḵā·šēr’,[3] meaning to be “right and proper.”
7:28 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 29 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to the LORD shall bring his offering to the LORD from the sacrifice of his peace offerings. 30 His own hands shall bring the LORD’s food offerings. He shall bring the fat with the breast, that the breast may be waved as a wave offering before the LORD.
God told Moses that whenever anyone presents a peace offering to YHWH, they are to bring part of it as a food offering[4] to Him with their own hands. They are to bring the fat, along with the breast and lift them up and wave them before YHWH, as a wave offering.[5]
7:31 The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be for Aaron and his sons. 32 And the right thigh you shall give to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifice of your peace offerings. 33 Whoever among the sons of Aaron offers the blood of the peace offerings and the fat shall have the right thigh for a portion. 34 For the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed I have taken from the people of Israel, out of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons, as a perpetual due from the people of Israel. 35 This is the portion of Aaron and of his sons from the LORD’s food offerings, from the day they were presented to serve as priests of the LORD. 36 The LORD commanded this to be given them by the people of Israel, from the day that he anointed them. It is a perpetual due throughout their generations.”
After the wave offering, the priest is to take the fat and burn it on the bronze altar and take the breast and make it available for any of the priests to eat. The right thigh is to be given as a contribution to the priest that offers the blood and fat of the sacrifice. These portions are God’s provisions for the priests. This regulation was to be maintained generation after generation.
7:37 This is the law of the burnt offering, of the grain offering, of the sin offering, of the guilt offering, of the ordination offering, and of the peace offering, 38 which the LORD commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day that he commanded the people of Israel to bring their offerings to the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.
This concludes the first section of the book of Leviticus that highlighted the five primary sacrificial offerings of the Old Testament. Here Moses summarizes the instructions for the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, and the peace offering that were given to him by YHWH on Mount Sinai for all the people of Israel to obey. Although not directly mentioned in the first seven chapters, the reference to an ordination offering (see Exodus 29:22, 26, 27, 31, 34) will be the focus in the next chapter.
Considerations
The meat from the peace offering was to be eaten shortly after being cooked. The offering given as a thanksgiving sacrifice required the meat to be consumed the same day, and the freewill (also called votive) sacrifice allowed the meat to be left over and eaten on the second day, but none were allowed to be eaten on, or after, the third day. Many have suggested that the strict regulation was for disease control due to the rapid decay without any refrigeration. While this is certainly a possibility, seeing the severe punishment associated with noncompliance, there may be something else, other than health, to consider.
Through the years many well-intended people have examined the food restrictions outlined in the book of Leviticus. Since God is the Creator, He knows what is and what is not healthy for people to eat and drink, but is that what the regulation is about? We need to remember that every element of God’s law is in response to the problem of sin and the process of atonement. While physical health is a benefit of the dietary restrictions and guidelines in the book, it should not distract us from the primary objective or purpose. The best objective for the people of Israel at that time was to follow God’s instructions, just as it is every Christian’s primary objective in life is to follow Jesus. Nothing can be more beneficial.
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[1] See commentary under Exodus 12:15, see also Genesis 17:14; Exodus 12:19; 30:33, 38; 31:14.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 8263.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 3787.
[4] See commentary under Exodus 29:15-18.
[5] See commentary under Exodus 29:23-24.