Some Lessons From The Peace Offering

by J.M. Lindsay, Edinburgh, U.K. | Category: General | Jul 1985

(Please read Leviticus ch. 3)

THE regulations relating to the peace offering are set out in Leviticus 3 although there had been earlier offerings which served the same purpose. These early offerings were multi-purpose and were described as burnt offerings. One such was an offering made by Noah when he emerged from the Ark after the flood. He raised an altar and offered every clean beast and every clean fowl. It says, "The "LORD smelled the sweet savour" (Gen. 8:21).

The peace offering is a sweet savour offering. The obligatory sin and trespass offerings had priority over the peace offering, for the offerer must first be cleansed. But there is no mention of sin or of the need for forgiveness in the context of the peace offering. Forgiveness was never intended to be an end in itself but rather it was meant to be but the door to communion, service and a full relationship with God. That is what the peace offering was about. With the exception of special occasions, it was completely voluntary and, as a result, many may never have felt the need to bring it. This offering was brought only by thankful, appreciative people who wanted to recognize the goodness of God in a tangible way by a means which He had Himself ordained. Perhaps this was as a result of some special blessing which had been experienced or may simply have been an expression of gratitude from a grateful heart for God's great goodness.

The offering could be either a male or a female of the herd or the flock. The offerer's responsibility was simply to ensure that it was the best available to him and that it was without blemish. Thereafter he probably leads it with his own hand to the altar. There he lays his hand upon its head in identification and kills it. Its blood was sprinkled around the altar of burnt offering and the animal was thereafter carefully dissected.

The peace offering was unique in that God, the priest and the offerer all got a portion. The inward parts (the fat, the kidneys and the caul above the liver) were for God alone. This would speak to us of the inner excellencies and beauties of Christ seen in His earthly life and sin-atoning death, by a God who looks not on the outward appearance. Some evidence of these inner glories was occasionally glimpsed by men as He walked among them but the glorious substance was exclusively for the appreciation and enjoyment of His God. Aaron and his sons got the breast, and the priests, the shoulder and the thigh.

In the case of the sweet savour offering, the word used means "to burn slowly" and the same word is used also in the context of the burning of the sin

and the burnt offerings. It was not without significance that the fragrance lingered and the sweetness was prolonged. In contrast the same word used to describe the transgression offering burnt outside the camp carries the thought of a rapid burning, almost as if God wanted to have the matter of sin dealt with as quickly and as expeditiously as possible.

TODAY'S LESSONS

Today, God's people have the opportunity, on a voluntary basis, to bring a peace offering on a Lord's Day morning when we can bring the spiritual fat to our God, dwelling on the excellencies of Christ; bringing of our spiritual wealth an appreciation of Him which will be a sweet savour to God. The requirement is to bring of our best. So a mature brother brings his bullock - a spiritual appreciation of substance, well laid out, and the Great High Priest has less to do as He presents this offering to His God. Another, less mature, brings a much more modest offering but it is still the best he can manage. The High Priest has more to do to make the latter acceptable to His God but both are equally satisfying. It is when a man, capable of bringing a bullock, elects to bring something less that there is disappointment. We can so easily become lazy and lacking in warm-hearted appreciation so that God waits in vain for our sweet savour offering on a Lord's Day morning. Then there is the silence of ingratitude and poverty when not only is God acutely aware of our ingratitude but fellow saints lose out too and the remembrance fails to be the heart-warming time it is meant to be. To express even a simple word of thanks is within the capability of all brethren. Of course sisters too, can and should be bringing their unspoken offerings and although their role is a silent one, it is by no means unimportant and its proper fulfilment can only bring great joy and satisfaction to our Great High Priest and His God.

Lastly note that not only did God get a portion but so did the high priest and the offerer. When we bring our spiritual peace offering to our God, speaking to God our appreciation of Christ, so our Great High Priest knows a great personal sweetness and satisfaction as He ministers in the sanctuary and savours these offerings which we bring. What a contemplation that we, with all our limitations and shortcomings, can bring such pleasure to the heart of our Great High Priest. The offerer also savours the sweetness of his and others' contemplation of Christ and goes away satisfied with a special sweetness in his own soul. A portion for everyone, a spiritual priesthood sharing together in the sweet savour offering and all for the glory and gratification of our God.

J.M. Lindsay, Edinburgh, U.K. | Jul 1985
General