Peace

Leviticus 3

 My wife and I have a certain routine before we go to bed. After we are done reading our Bibles or watching T.V. and it is time to say goodnight, we need to turn off all the lights and make sure everything is locked. One of us will go around and flip the switches of the lights and then make sure the doors are locked and the windows are shut. We do it this for different reasons like making sure that we are secure, that we do not have pointless lights on and waste electricity, and that we will have less work to do in the morning.

Israel would be in the routine of sacrifices to God. We looked at two different ones so far. There was the burnt offering mentioned in chapter 1 and there was the grain offering in chapter 2. Chapter 3 is about the peace offering and how it should be done.

Fellowship Offering

The peace offering mentioned in this chapter is also called the fellowship offering. It was the one offering the sacrifice was acknowledging that God was King by giving him the sacrifice there was peace. The animals that were to be offered could be male or female but needed to be without blemish. The part of the bull, sheep, or goat that was to be offered was the fat that surrounded the internal organs. The fat that was burned was a sweet aroma to the Lord. The one thing that is different between the three animals is that the sheep would have its tail cut off because in this area were sheep were raise their tails would reach up to four to five feet in length and way up to fifty pounds and that would be upon the altar to be burned as well. 

The peace offering had three people involved with making the sacrifice; the man offering the sacrifice, the priest administering the sacrifice, and God who would receive the sacrifice. This shows how there was fellowship between God and his people and how the priests would stand as the mediator between the two.

 We have Fellowship Today

Have you ever had a best friend that were in a fight with and there was no peace? Something needed to be done to make peace between the two of you. Maybe it was one person apologizing for something, maybe one brought the other person their favorite cookies. Whatever it was something needed to happen for the peace in the relationship.

A sacrifice needed to be done for fellowship to happen between God and his people.  A burnt offering spoke of Christ’s dedication and the grain offering spoke of his perfection. The peace offering speaks of how he is the author of our peace and satisfaction. Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Israel had peace but it was based on them offering the sacrifice and being obedient to what God required in the Law. We have peace not because of anything we did or do but because what Christ did once and for all for us. He died and shed his blood for our cleansing. He died as the offering to make peace between us and God. We now have peace with our Creator, it is not based on an animal, but on His Son. Do not take this peace for granted.