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Point of Grace Church
PGI - October 15, 2023 Sunday Service
In our church we aim to make it feel like a home, where strangers feel they are part of the family, where smiles are overflowing and hugs are natural, because we believe that life is a journey, and that we are simply channel of blessings. In our church we value three things, gratitude because it's the proper response to God, excellence because God expects nothing less, and grace because we all need it.
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Point of Grace Church
15601 Sheridan St, Davie, FL 33331, USA
Sunday 9:00 AM
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CCLI License # 1613304
CCLI License # 1613304
October 15 | Leviticus 3 ISG
BLOOD FOR PEACE
Leviticus 3 (ESV)
1 “If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD. 2 And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons the priests shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar. 3 And from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as a food offering to the LORD, he shall offer the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 4 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. 5 Then Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering, which is on the wood on the fire; it is a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD.6 “If his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering to the LORD is an animal from the flock, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. 7 If he offers a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before the LORD, 8 lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it in front of the tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. 9 Then from the sacrifice of the peace offering he shall offer as a food offering to the LORD its fat; he shall remove the whole fat tail, cut off close to the backbone, and the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails 10 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. 11 And the priest shall burn it on the altar as a food offering to the LORD.12 “If his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD 13 and lay his hand on its head and kill it in front of the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. 14 Then he shall offer from it, as his offering for a food offering to the LORD, the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails 15 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. 16 And the priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering with a pleasing aroma. All fat is the LORD'S. 17 It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood.”
The Text in Context
Leviticus 3 continues Leviticus 1–7’s instructions on sacrificial worship at the tabernacle. The fellowship offering (or peace offering) is the only animal sacrifice that has no atoning value. Its purpose is not to atone for sin but to deepen a person’s relationship with God by expressing gratitude to God for various blessings. It is also the only animal offering that is eaten by the worshiper.
Historical and Cultural Background
On similar offerings among Israel’s neighbors, see Leviticus 1. Israel used breeds of sheep still known in the Middle East and Africa that had large, fatty tails and hind parts (see Lev. 3:9). The ancient historian and traveler Herodotus commented on the breeds of fat-tailed sheep that he discovered in Arabia. There are also in Arabia two kinds of sheep worthy of admiration, the like of which is nowhere else to be seen; the one kind has long tails, not less than three cubits in length, which, if they were allowed to trail on the ground, would be bruised and fall into sores. As it is, all the shepherds know enough of carpentering to make little trucks for their sheep’s tails. The trucks are placed under the tails, each sheep having one to himself, and the tails are then tied down upon them. The other kind has a broad tail, which is a cubit across sometimes.
Theological Insights
It appears that in the early days of humankind, people were supposed to be vegetarians (see Gen. 1:29). Permission to eat animals was not given until after the flood: “Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it” (Gen. 9:3–4). Now humankind could eat animal flesh, but with one stipulation: the blood must not be eaten (cf. Lev. 3:17). But what does it mean to eat blood? Jewish tradition takes it to mean eating meat without draining the blood thoroughly. But all meat has some blood in it, even if the rules of kosher are followed.
In 1 Samuel 14:31–35 we have clarification about what it means to eat meat with blood. Here, the wrong way to get meat is to just kill an animal, cut out a steak, and cook it. That is eating with the blood. The right way is first to pour out the blood on an altar—in this case, a large stone designated by Saul to serve as a simple altar—before consuming the meat. In other words, eating the flesh with the blood means eating the flesh without first pouring out the blood to God through sacrifice on an altar. With wild game not eligible to be fellowship offerings on the altar, Israelites had to pour out the blood on the ground like water; failure to do this was to “eat the blood” (Deut. 12:15–16).Through ritual slaughter Israelites acknowledged that God was the author and taker of life, and it was he who in Genesis 9 had given them permission to slaughter animals for food. For that reason, the blood had to be poured back to him as a way of saying thank you.
An Israelite would obtain butcher meat through the fellowship offering. The fellowship offering was an expression of gratitude to God for various blessings, but specifically for the meat itself. In pouring out the blood to God, the Israelite expressed gratitude for God’s permission to eat meat.
Leviticus 3 outlines the procedure for the šhelamim sacrifice, which can be translated “wellbeing offering” (so-called “peace” or “fellowship” offering). The Hebrew term is a plural noun, found also in Ugaritic texts without vowels as šlmm.1 The root of the word is šlm, from which are also derived šalom (“peace”), šalem (“whole/sound”), and šillem (“repay”). On the basis of these and other etymological connections, including related Akkadian words that mean “covenant” and “gift,” interpreters have proposed various explanations of šelamim, none of which are conclusive.
The translation “well-being” (NJPS; NRSV) comes from the idea of šalem (“whole/sound”), reflecting the fact that this sacrifice is offered for happy circumstances (see below). “same time, “well-being” is not far removed from šalom (“peace”), which is more than absence of conflict. For example, Jacob told Joseph: “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me” (Gen. 37:14). The well-being offering is called zebaḥ šelamim (Lev. 3:1) because it belongs to the zebaḥ category of sacrifices. This category differs from burnt and purification offerings in that those who offer zebaḥ sacrifices eat the meat, thereby materially benefiting from their own sacrifices. In English Bibles zebaḥ is usually translated simply “sacrifice” because it is a slaughtered (verb zbḥ) offering, but it does not cover all kinds of sacrifices (unlike qorban).
Fat
Application of blood to the sides of the outer altar is the same as in the burnt offering. However, the suet (hard fat) portions are removed and only those parts are turned into smoke. Leviticus 7 provides additional information: While the offering as a whole is brought to the Lord (3:1, 6, 12) and the fat is burned for him (3:16), the breast and thigh are allotted by God to the priests as their commission (7:31–36) and the offerer eats the rest (7:15–21). So there is a three-way distribution of the body of the animal among the Lord, the priests, and the offerer.
The fat or suet is specifically the fatty membrane surrounding the intestines as well as the kidneys with the fat on them and the fat covering the liver. Suet is edible—it is an ingredient in Christmas, plum, and kidney puddings—and in Roman times it was used to cure various ailments (see, e.g., Pliny the Elder, Nat. 28.38, 62, 67, 70; 30.34, 37). However, the suet of sacrificial animals is not to be eaten or used by people, but instead given to God (see v. 16). Metaphorically, “fat” can refer to the “best” or “choice” portion of something (rendered “best” or “finest” in Gen. 45:18; Num. 18:12; Deut. 32:14; Pss. 81:16; 147:14). The breast and right thigh go to the priest as payment for his services (Lev. 7:33–35), and the rest to the worshiper for a meal celebrating how God has bestowed blessing (Deut. 12:7). The fat and kidneys and the covering or lobe of the liver are burned atop the morning burnt offering that smoldered throughout the day (Exod. 29:38–42; Lev. 6:9–13). In Mesopotamia hepatomancy—the examination of livers of sacrifices for divination purposes—was common (cf. Ezek. 21:21), though all divination was forbidden in Israel (Deut. 18:9–13). Burning the liver eliminates subsequent possibility of using it for divination. Why the kidneys are removed is uncertain. It may be no more than their association with suet or their having the color of blood, since suet and blood both belong to God (Lev. 3:16–17); or kidneys, like fat, may have been regarded as a delicacy and thus given to God (see Deut. 32:14, where “the finest wheat” is literally “the fat of the kidneys of the wheat”).2 This sacrifice, carried out in faith, produces “an aroma pleasing to the Lord,” an anthropomorphism meaning that it delights him the way the smell of food cooking might please us.
BLOOD FOR PEACE
Leviticus 3 (ESV)
1 “If his offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD. 2 And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons the priests shall throw the blood against the sides of the altar. 3 And from the sacrifice of the peace offering, as a food offering to the LORD, he shall offer the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 4 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. 5 Then Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering, which is on the wood on the fire; it is a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD.6 “If his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering to the LORD is an animal from the flock, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish. 7 If he offers a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before the LORD, 8 lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it in front of the tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. 9 Then from the sacrifice of the peace offering he shall offer as a food offering to the LORD its fat; he shall remove the whole fat tail, cut off close to the backbone, and the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails 10 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. 11 And the priest shall burn it on the altar as a food offering to the LORD.12 “If his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD 13 and lay his hand on its head and kill it in front of the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. 14 Then he shall offer from it, as his offering for a food offering to the LORD, the fat covering the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails 15 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys. 16 And the priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering with a pleasing aroma. All fat is the LORD'S. 17 It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood.”
The Text in Context
Leviticus 3 continues Leviticus 1–7’s instructions on sacrificial worship at the tabernacle. The fellowship offering (or peace offering) is the only animal sacrifice that has no atoning value. Its purpose is not to atone for sin but to deepen a person’s relationship with God by expressing gratitude to God for various blessings. It is also the only animal offering that is eaten by the worshiper.
Historical and Cultural Background
On similar offerings among Israel’s neighbors, see Leviticus 1. Israel used breeds of sheep still known in the Middle East and Africa that had large, fatty tails and hind parts (see Lev. 3:9). The ancient historian and traveler Herodotus commented on the breeds of fat-tailed sheep that he discovered in Arabia. There are also in Arabia two kinds of sheep worthy of admiration, the like of which is nowhere else to be seen; the one kind has long tails, not less than three cubits in length, which, if they were allowed to trail on the ground, would be bruised and fall into sores. As it is, all the shepherds know enough of carpentering to make little trucks for their sheep’s tails. The trucks are placed under the tails, each sheep having one to himself, and the tails are then tied down upon them. The other kind has a broad tail, which is a cubit across sometimes.
Theological Insights
It appears that in the early days of humankind, people were supposed to be vegetarians (see Gen. 1:29). Permission to eat animals was not given until after the flood: “Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it” (Gen. 9:3–4). Now humankind could eat animal flesh, but with one stipulation: the blood must not be eaten (cf. Lev. 3:17). But what does it mean to eat blood? Jewish tradition takes it to mean eating meat without draining the blood thoroughly. But all meat has some blood in it, even if the rules of kosher are followed.
In 1 Samuel 14:31–35 we have clarification about what it means to eat meat with blood. Here, the wrong way to get meat is to just kill an animal, cut out a steak, and cook it. That is eating with the blood. The right way is first to pour out the blood on an altar—in this case, a large stone designated by Saul to serve as a simple altar—before consuming the meat. In other words, eating the flesh with the blood means eating the flesh without first pouring out the blood to God through sacrifice on an altar. With wild game not eligible to be fellowship offerings on the altar, Israelites had to pour out the blood on the ground like water; failure to do this was to “eat the blood” (Deut. 12:15–16).Through ritual slaughter Israelites acknowledged that God was the author and taker of life, and it was he who in Genesis 9 had given them permission to slaughter animals for food. For that reason, the blood had to be poured back to him as a way of saying thank you.
An Israelite would obtain butcher meat through the fellowship offering. The fellowship offering was an expression of gratitude to God for various blessings, but specifically for the meat itself. In pouring out the blood to God, the Israelite expressed gratitude for God’s permission to eat meat.
Leviticus 3 outlines the procedure for the šhelamim sacrifice, which can be translated “wellbeing offering” (so-called “peace” or “fellowship” offering). The Hebrew term is a plural noun, found also in Ugaritic texts without vowels as šlmm.1 The root of the word is šlm, from which are also derived šalom (“peace”), šalem (“whole/sound”), and šillem (“repay”). On the basis of these and other etymological connections, including related Akkadian words that mean “covenant” and “gift,” interpreters have proposed various explanations of šelamim, none of which are conclusive.
The translation “well-being” (NJPS; NRSV) comes from the idea of šalem (“whole/sound”), reflecting the fact that this sacrifice is offered for happy circumstances (see below). “same time, “well-being” is not far removed from šalom (“peace”), which is more than absence of conflict. For example, Jacob told Joseph: “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me” (Gen. 37:14). The well-being offering is called zebaḥ šelamim (Lev. 3:1) because it belongs to the zebaḥ category of sacrifices. This category differs from burnt and purification offerings in that those who offer zebaḥ sacrifices eat the meat, thereby materially benefiting from their own sacrifices. In English Bibles zebaḥ is usually translated simply “sacrifice” because it is a slaughtered (verb zbḥ) offering, but it does not cover all kinds of sacrifices (unlike qorban).
Fat
Application of blood to the sides of the outer altar is the same as in the burnt offering. However, the suet (hard fat) portions are removed and only those parts are turned into smoke. Leviticus 7 provides additional information: While the offering as a whole is brought to the Lord (3:1, 6, 12) and the fat is burned for him (3:16), the breast and thigh are allotted by God to the priests as their commission (7:31–36) and the offerer eats the rest (7:15–21). So there is a three-way distribution of the body of the animal among the Lord, the priests, and the offerer.
The fat or suet is specifically the fatty membrane surrounding the intestines as well as the kidneys with the fat on them and the fat covering the liver. Suet is edible—it is an ingredient in Christmas, plum, and kidney puddings—and in Roman times it was used to cure various ailments (see, e.g., Pliny the Elder, Nat. 28.38, 62, 67, 70; 30.34, 37). However, the suet of sacrificial animals is not to be eaten or used by people, but instead given to God (see v. 16). Metaphorically, “fat” can refer to the “best” or “choice” portion of something (rendered “best” or “finest” in Gen. 45:18; Num. 18:12; Deut. 32:14; Pss. 81:16; 147:14). The breast and right thigh go to the priest as payment for his services (Lev. 7:33–35), and the rest to the worshiper for a meal celebrating how God has bestowed blessing (Deut. 12:7). The fat and kidneys and the covering or lobe of the liver are burned atop the morning burnt offering that smoldered throughout the day (Exod. 29:38–42; Lev. 6:9–13). In Mesopotamia hepatomancy—the examination of livers of sacrifices for divination purposes—was common (cf. Ezek. 21:21), though all divination was forbidden in Israel (Deut. 18:9–13). Burning the liver eliminates subsequent possibility of using it for divination. Why the kidneys are removed is uncertain. It may be no more than their association with suet or their having the color of blood, since suet and blood both belong to God (Lev. 3:16–17); or kidneys, like fat, may have been regarded as a delicacy and thus given to God (see Deut. 32:14, where “the finest wheat” is literally “the fat of the kidneys of the wheat”).2 This sacrifice, carried out in faith, produces “an aroma pleasing to the Lord,” an anthropomorphism meaning that it delights him the way the smell of food cooking might please us.
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https://open.spotify.com/show/1PtjmWN3kTOagTfG1QPnbT?si=f76ab3059e7049beFinancial Report for the month of August.
Giving: $ 6,730.45
Expenses: $ 8,962.64
------------------------------
Needed: -$ 2,232.19
Financial Report for the month of September.
Giving: $ 8,392.45
Expenses: $ 9,072.37
—--------------------------
Needed: -$ 679.92
Giving: $ 6,730.45
Expenses: $ 8,962.64
------------------------------
Needed: -$ 2,232.19
Financial Report for the month of September.
Giving: $ 8,392.45
Expenses: $ 9,072.37
—--------------------------
Needed: -$ 679.92
References:
Sprinkle, Joe. Leviticus and Numbers (Teach the Text Commentary Series). Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academic, 2015.
Gane, Roy. Leviticus, Numbers: The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004.
Sprinkle, Joe. Leviticus and Numbers (Teach the Text Commentary Series). Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academic, 2015.
Gane, Roy. Leviticus, Numbers: The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004.
Guide Questions
1.Different from the burnt offering and the grain offering, this peace offering is offered differently. Identify how? (Leviticus 3:3-4, 9-10, 14-17)
2.Why does God commands to offer the suet (fat) with liver and kidneys? What could this represent? (refer to the material)
3.The main feature of this sacrifice is that parts of the sacrifice was given back to the offeror to eat in the presence of God (Leviticus 7:15), on the condition that he remains ritually clean (7:19-21). What New Testament event do you see parallel to this sacrifice? (Hint: 1 Corinthians 11:27-34)
4.Part of the protocol for peace offering was to give the right thigh of the animal sacrifice as their portion (7:33-36), what do you think could be the application of this in the New Testament? (1 Timothy 5:17-18)
Prayer
1.Pray for specific prayer requests.
2.Pray for a new place of worship for 2024.
1.Different from the burnt offering and the grain offering, this peace offering is offered differently. Identify how? (Leviticus 3:3-4, 9-10, 14-17)
2.Why does God commands to offer the suet (fat) with liver and kidneys? What could this represent? (refer to the material)
3.The main feature of this sacrifice is that parts of the sacrifice was given back to the offeror to eat in the presence of God (Leviticus 7:15), on the condition that he remains ritually clean (7:19-21). What New Testament event do you see parallel to this sacrifice? (Hint: 1 Corinthians 11:27-34)
4.Part of the protocol for peace offering was to give the right thigh of the animal sacrifice as their portion (7:33-36), what do you think could be the application of this in the New Testament? (1 Timothy 5:17-18)
Prayer
1.Pray for specific prayer requests.
2.Pray for a new place of worship for 2024.