The Lord God gave the law regarding the burnt offerings and the grain offerings. Now, he gave Moses the law for the peace offerings. The burnt offering represented receiving forgiveness of sins. The grain offering represented making a sacrificial offering to God, like tithes and offerings for providing for their needs. And now, the peace offering represented having fellowship with God out of thankfulness for all He had done.
‘When his offering is a sacrifice of a peace offering, if he offers it of the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of meeting; and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood all around on the altar. (Leviticus 3:1-2)
'Then he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire to the Lord. The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove; and Aaron’s sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is on the wood that is on the fire, as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. (Leviticus 3:4-5)
‘If his offering as a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord is of the flock, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. If he offers a lamb as his offering, then he shall offer it before the Lord. And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of meeting; and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. (Leviticus 3:6-8)
‘Then he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as an offering made by fire to the Lord, its fat and the whole fat tail which he shall remove close to the backbone. And the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove; and the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire to the Lord. (Leviticus 3:9-11)
‘And if his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the Lord. He shall lay his hand on its head and kill it before the tabernacle of meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood all around on the altar. Then he shall offer from it his offering, as an offering made by fire to the Lord. The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove; and the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma; all the fat is the Lord’s. This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor blood.’” (Leviticus 3:12-17)
Again, everything done under the old covenant was a foreshadowing of what Christ Jesus would fulfill under the new covenant. The purpose of laying his hand on the head of his offering was to symbolize laying our sins on Christ Jesus, the final offering without blemish. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— (Colossians 1:19-22)
The peace offering had to be killed before the tabernacle of meeting, in the presence of God and all the children of Israel, just like Christ Jesus was crucified before all and for all. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,... (I Peter 3:18) Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. (Romans 4:23-25)
Finally, the fat of the peace offering and blood of all the offerings were not to be eaten; you shall eat neither fat nor blood. We've studied in many lessons previously that God commands us not to eat the blood of an animal nor take the life of anyone because the life is in its blood; But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. (Genesis 9:4-5)
The fat of the peace offering was supposed to be offered to God and not eaten because it was the best of all the offerings. We today can relate how desirable and tasty yet unhealthy the fatty part of animal meat is. Sacrificing that part to God and not eating it symbolized putting their bodies under submission to God. As Christ Jesus taught, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 16:24-25)
What do we have to deny ourselves? The pleasures of this world. Nothing can take the place of or be more important to us than being obedient to the Word and Will of God. As the sacrificing of the fat of the animal to God represents and as the apostles taught the Gentile converts, "...abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath. ... For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well." (Acts 15:20-21, 28-29) AMEN!
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