Shared Fellowship. Leviticus 3 The Hebrew word for peace means “wholeness, completeness, soundness, and health.” When a person embodies these qualities, they will be at peace. This offering was a way to express gratitude for the opportunity to fellowship with God and also shows hope that this partnership will continue. The fat was for God, serving as a reminder to the worshiper that our richest and best belong to God. Colossians 1:20 reminds us that Christ’s death and resurrection have made peace possible for us by being the perfect peace offering.
As someone who observes those ancient people who knew God and learned more of Him through obedience and service, I can understand how, why, and what they offered in the peace offering. The full meaning and details of the offerings they brought were explained to them (and to us) more completely later. The person who offered the peace offering appreciated God and knew what pleased Him. The burnt offering was kept constantly on the altar because the entire offering was for God. God's portion of the meat (meal) offering was placed on that burnt offering, and the fragrance of the frankincense rose to God as the priests ate the cakes of unleavened bread.
In this event, the offering was presented, signifying that there is something that God, the priests, and the offeror all share in the peace offering. This animal, whether from the cattle or the flock, was to be a perfect male or female. Provision for peace is made for everyone. The ever-burning burnt offering symbolizes acceptance with God. The meat offering was a gift expressing gratitude to God. The peace offering of this perfect animal was shared among various people, demonstrating fellowship with God by both the offeror and the priest.
The sweet savor offerings are special because the offering itself is what matters most. The perfection of Christ, which satisfied God's righteous claims and thus secured our acceptance in the Beloved, has been established, allowing us to benefit from what pleases God. How wonderful it is to be accepted by God through His acceptance of the perfect God-Man, our Lord Jesus Christ! The meat offering is also very significant to us because, in Christ, we see what makes Him so unique and satisfying, not only to God but also to us.
Our appreciation for Christ deepens our worship of Him, allowing us to honor God by exalting Him, while also revitalizing our own spirits. In this perfect peace offering, we realize that our fellowship is made possible and maintained through our Lord Jesus Christ. "He is our peace." The sacrifices offered were such that each part could be given willingly to every participant without hesitation.
Looking at that scene from many years ago, I wondered how the offeror could see Christ clearly enough to believe in Him before He even arrived on earth. Then, through meditation on the act at the door of the Tabernacle before the altar, I see the offeror placing his hand on the sinless animal's head as a symbol of personal identification. Essentially, he says, "I am not perfect nor sinless, but this living creature is. This is for me. I have peace with God because of the perfection of this offering."
The offeror would watch as the priests sprinkled the blood in the right places. He would see all the fat removed and the kidneys along with the fat, even that lump of fat on the liver, and the priest would place it on the burnt offering that was burning. As the fat flared into flame, there would be the scent that was a sweet savor to God that both the offeror and the priests would see as they ate of the flesh of the same animal.
The offering of Christ pleased God, and He took delight in the sacrifice He made. The offering of Christ satisfies me because of His perfection that is credited to me and enables meaningful fellowship with God. The offering of Christ was pleasing to Him. "He shall see of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied." The peace offering met the needs of the priest's children.
There is complete provision for the Church to be in communion with God because our standing in Christ is secure. However, many members of the Body of Christ do not find their satisfaction and peace in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Instead, they try to get from religion and/or the world what God has already provided for them in Christ. Rather than finding joy in seeing what delights God and feeding their souls on what creates and sustains fellowship with Him, they turn to things that cannot satisfy them. Knowing Christ as our Savior does not automatically make our fellowship secure. Our standing is secure, but unless we "go on to know the Lord and practice what we know," there will be no genuine sharing of fellowship with the Father and the Son and the peace that accompanies it.
I am challenged as I watch the flame from the burning fat of the peace offering rise to God. As I see the priest and his family eating the body of the offering and the offeror himself sharing in that same spiritual food, I say to myself, "Peace has been made through the blood of the cross." I can declare to others and for my own benefit, "We preach peace by Jesus Christ," and be assured in my own soul that fellowship with God has been established based on the value of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. God and I enjoy fellowship because we share the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the Mediator who has reconciled us to God through His death. Because of His nature, His Person, His character, His work, and the many "offices He bears," fellowship with God is possible.
When we gather at the Lord's Supper to remember Christ and to proclaim His death until He comes again, we find ourselves in fellowship with God. The sacrifice Christ made was primarily for God. The passion and energy symbolized by the fat speak to us of the desire to please God that motivated the Savior to give Himself as a ransom for us. Fat on the flanks shows His confidence in God, and the caul (lump of fat) on the liver signifies His glory - all that brought delight to God. The flesh of which the offeror and priest partook - and in a spiritual sense, we too partake — speaks of the strength, the life, and the holy walk of the Lord Jesus, delights us because we know we lacked all of that ourselves. Without it, we could never please God. But He did that for us. "Hallelujah, what a Savior."
Christ has made peace, and the sinner and God are reconciled through the death of the Mediator. Having made peace through the blood of His cross, He has reconciled all things to Himself—whether things on earth or in heaven—by Him. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your minds because of wicked works, now He has reconciled you. Colossians 1:20-21. Now, we share eternal life in fellowship with God and the Savior. It is my privilege to share in that same Person in whom God finds His joy, and we are at peace.
Peace seems so difficult for men to find that no matter which path we take, we can't achieve it through what we acquire or earn. Either it's absent, or it's buried beneath the clutter of worldly possessions. Everyone longs for peace, but only a few truly grasp its value.
For me to have peace, God must first be satisfied. That can only happen if the Peace Offering has died for me. When I place my hand on the head of the sinless sacrifice, peace is established for me through faith. God looks at the Offering first because that is what He can see. Once, in the past, God said, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." That occurred on the night when the death angel, in judgment, passed through Egypt. Similarly, the Lord Jesus on the cross first satisfied God. Then He could pass over me because He saw the witness of blood.
Now, God and the one He has saved find their joy and delight in Christ. God alone knows the deep passion and cost; I know Him by faith, not sight. I am limited to the written record to appreciate what has been done by God on my behalf. His holiness, His walk, and His redemption, He graciously provided to me. God delights in what is uniquely His and finds joy in His Son. I feed on what I know of my Lord and what He has done for me. However, I can understand it even more deeply when reading His word for fellowship and communion with God. I have all I truly need. Fellowship is real because Christ made peace when He died on the cross in my place. Fellowship is maintained when I pause to remember all that salvation cost. Fellowship and communion continue when eternal life is shared. Fellowship and joy are real when, in spirit, I return to Calvary.
Some things are meant only for God. The priest at the altar must be careful to ensure that God receives His portion from every sacrifice because those things belong to God forever. Peace has been established between God and humans. The practice they followed was given by God, who, through symbols and types at that time, provided visible signs that people could see. Peace has been made.
The fat and the blood belonged to God. When the fat was offered to God and burned on the altar, it rose in a cloud of smoke, visible to the man standing there, watching and learning as best as he could. There was fellowship between him and God. He gave the Lord what his wealth allowed, from the best of what he had. His appreciation was evident. The peace made by our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross cast its shadow in the peace offering. The one who offered that sacrifice would know, “I am reconciled to God.”
Today, as I reflect on that scene from long ago, I am reminded that a just peace has been established. The cross-death of Christ was not optional but a “must.” There was no other way I could be reconciled—eternally!