Celebrating the restoration of shalom with the King and with our neighbors.
Leviticus 3:1-3 "If you present an animal from the herd as a peace offering to the LORD, it may be a male or a female, but it must have no defects. 2 Lay your hand on the animal's head, and slaughter it at the entrance of the Tabernacle. Then Aaron's sons, the priests, will splatter its blood against all sides of the altar. 3 The priest must present part of this peace offering as a special gift to the LORD. This includes all the fat around the internal organs,
From my previous post, you may get the idea that sacrificing animals began in the book of Leviticus but sacrifices have already been around ever since the first sin while man was still living in the Garden of Eden. Right after they left Eden the Bible moves on to Cain and Abel worshiping God and somehow they knew that they shouldn't approach God without a sacrifice.
The first sacrifice that the book of Leviticus shows us is the Burnt Offering which was a gift wholly given to God, they did not approach God casually like we do today. Next was the Grain Offering that was given to show our gratitude to God for providing for our needs.
After the worshiper finished the obligatory Burnt and Grain offerings it was natural to celebrate their renewed fellowship with God. It wasn't enough to have peace with God and just keep it to yourself, to receive shalom and not celebrate it would be a sign that you don't really appreciate the amazing deed that God has done for you.
Since God is the host of this party the food must be eaten in his house. Parts of the sacrificed animal belong to God, other parts to the priest and other parts to the person bringing the offering. It reminds me of the covenant meal that God served to Israel's leaders when they ratified the covenant at Mount Sinai.
Exodus 24:11 And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!
All of the religious systems around God's people had sacrifices and celebrations but none of them had the demand from God to be ceremonially clean and celebrate by his rules. This celebration time had to be free from the immoral practices that Israel had learned from the culture. (Leviticus 7:19-21)
Luke 1:78-79 Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.
God has done everything necessary to give us the only way to obtain peace with him.
The solution to our sin problem could only come from God and it was always his intention to go to the extreme to restore our relationship. Only the perfect sacrifice that God provided could provide our pardon and bring back the shalom that was lost in the garden.
God provided my peace offering which isn't really mine unless I accept it, I need to admit that Jesus is my only way to have fellowship with God, and he is the only way that I can come to the table and eat the bread and drink the cup. Do you have peace with God? (Romans 5:1-2)
God has done everything necessary for us to obtain peace with everyone.
The peace that I have with God should naturally bring joyful, peaceful and loving relationships with my enemies, my neighbors and especially with the rest of God's family. True peace should bring an amazing joy that has to come out and be shared with others. (Matthew 5:9)
When my sins, which are way more offensive to God, are forgiven how can I refuse to forgive other sinners who have sinned against me? If I cannot forgive the sins that have been committed against me, which are so small, then I must not appreciate the undeserved forgiveness that I received. (Matthew 18:21-35)
As a priest of the king of kings I need to do my job, showing the world the only source of everlasting peace with God that will bring great joy. (Mark 9:50 / 1 Peter 2:5, 9 / Colossians 1:19-20)
RELATED ARTICLES
Leviticus Chapter 3 – The Peace Offering (meetinggodinthemargin.com)
What is a peace offering? (gotquestions.org)
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (tabletopmagazine.com)
