The Sacrifices- the peace offering

[Reading Leviticus 3]

Laindon Bible Class21st September 2016

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The history of burnt offerings

• First mention with Cain and Abel – Genesis 4:3-8• Noah after the flood – Genesis 8:20-22• Abraham and his son Isaac – Genesis

22:1-13• Jacob when parting from Laban –

Genesis 31:51-55• Law of Moses – Leviticus 1

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The tabernacle

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Altar of the tabernacle

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Israelites had to be skilled butchers

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The six basic altar offerings

• Sin offering [chattaah] – confession of sin, seeking forgiveness• Trespass offering [asham] – acknowledgement of guilt and making

amends for sin against others• Burnt offering [olah] – voluntary offering signifying dedication and

righteousness (though sometimes commanded)• Peace offering [shelem=peace or unity] – spontaneous offering of

thanksgiving, seeking fellowship with God• Meal (meat) offering [minchah] – a dedication of a portion of the fruits

of our labour to God• Drink offering [necek] – an acknowledgement of God’s blessing

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The sequence of offering

TRANSITION

Sin offering

Trespass offering

The means of atonement

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The surrender of self to God

Thank offering

The giving of thanks for

God’s mercy

Freewill offering

The joy of fellowship with God

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Three circumstances of a peace offering

• Giving thanks for blessings/mercies received (Leviticus 7:12-15)

• A sacrifice in accordance with a vow made (:16-18)

• A spontaneous voluntary or freewill offering, an act of fellowship with God (also :16-18)

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The peace offering

• An animal of the herd/flock, male or female viz bull, cow, ram, ewe, goat

• An oblation, korban (3:1) – a gift, brought near (to the altar)

• Without blemish (3:1) – freewill offering ‘fit for food’ (see 22:23)

• In the case of the sacrifice of thanksgiving accompanied by unleavened and leavened bread (7:12-13)

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The peace offering

[In case of offering of thanksgiving]

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The peace offering – how it was made (1)1. Sacrifice of thanksgiving:• The offeror to prepare unleavened cakes and wafers• Also to prepare leavened bread• One cake selected to be a heave offering (chosen specially for God)• Offeror to lay his hand on the animals head and kill it at the door of the tabernacle• Blood to be sprinkled by the priest upon the all sides of the altar• The animal to be butchered and the fat, the kidneys and their fat, the fat above the

liver and the tail – all to be offered by fire to God upon the altar• Fat and the blood not to be eaten (representing vigour and life)• The rest of the animal divided between the priest (right thigh and breast) and the

offeror (the remainder, shared with family/friends?)• Nothing to be left, all consumed on the same day

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The peace offering – how it was made (2)2. Sacrifice resulting from a vow:• As with the thanksgiving offering except no meal offering and it could be eaten

over 2 days and the remainder burnt on the 3rd day (must not be eaten on the third day) – see 7:16-18

3. A voluntary or free will offering:• Voluntary, nebadah = spontaneous• Did not relate to a specific mercy received• As with the sacrifice resulting from a vow could be eaten over 2 days and the

remainder burnt on the 3rd day• It would appear therefore that the thanksgiving offering (with the meal offering)

was of greater urgency and importance

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“The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ”

• The Children of Israel were surrounded (in figure) by Christ:• The layout and content of the tabernacle• The sacrifices and offerings• The feasts and festivals• The laws concerning things clean and unclean• The role of the priesthood• The day of atonement

“…do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you” Deuteronomy 24:8

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Some key symbols in the peace offering (1)• Male or female without blemish – points to the salvation of both man and

woman through Christ• Hand upon the head – animal represented the offerer• Slain at the door of the tabernacle – bringing the worshipper closer to God• All of the fat and the kidneys given to God (burned on the altar) –

signifying the giving of our best – our energy and our innermost self (kidneys separate the good things from the poisons cf 1 Corinthians 12:23)• The balance of the meat given partly to the priesthood and partly for a

small feast with family and friends – representing the act of fellowship and communal worship cf Hebrews 10:25

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Some key symbols in the peace offering (2)• The commitment to thanksgiving witnessed to in Jonah’s prayer: “I will

sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.” Jonah 2:9• The unleavened cakes and wafers were prepared according to God’s

instructions, without leaven = without sin, which is our aspiration• The leavened bread points to reality and our need for forgiveness• The offering to God is as a meal taken in fellowship: “Ye offer polluted

bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible.” Malachi 1:7• Kidneys (together with the heart) considered the seat of emotions –

impulse, affection and moral sentiment: “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.” Psalm 26:2 & also Isaiah 11:5

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Over-riding lessons for us• Our need to show thankfulness: “Be careful for nothing; but in every

thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Philippians 4:6• “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of

my hands as the evening sacrifice” Psalm 141:2• God’s precise requirements to be met, which also applies to our service• Our promises to be fulfilled: “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not

thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.” Ecclesiastes 5:2• Our service not to be mere compliance but also a spontaneous response

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The end of the matter…

David said in prayer:“For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Psalm 51:16-17