Leviticus 7:11-34

FOR THE PEACE OFFERING 7:11-34
TEXT 7:11-34

11

And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace-offerings, which one shall offer unto Jehovah.

12

If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour soaked.

13

With cakes of leavened bread he shall offer his oblation with the sacrifice of his peace-offerings for thanksgiving.

14

And of it he shall offer one out of each oblation for a heave-offering unto Jehovah; it shall be the priest's that sprinkleth the blood of the peace-offerings.

15

And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten on the day of his oblation; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.

16

But if the sacrifice of his oblation be a vow, or a freewill-offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offereth his sacrifice; and on the morrow that which remaineth of it shall be eaten:

17

but that which remaineth of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire.

18

And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings be eaten on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.

19

And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire. And as for the flesh, every one that is clean shall eat thereof:

20

but the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace-offerings, that pertain unto Jehovah, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from his people.

21

And when any one shall touch any unclean thing, the uncleanness of man, or an unclean beast, or any unclean abomination, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace-offerings, - which pertain unto Jehovah, that soul shall be cut off from his people.

22

And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

23

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no fat, of ox, or sheep, or goat.

24

And the fat of that which dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn of beasts, may be used for any other service; but ye shall in no wise eat of it.

25

For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people.

26

And ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of bird or of beast, in any of your dwellings.

27

Whosoever it be that eateth any blood, that soul shall be cut off from his people.

28

And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

29

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace-offerings unto Jehovah shall bring his oblation unto Jehovah out of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings:

30

his own hands shall bring the offerings of Jehovah made by fire; the fat with the breast shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave-offering before Jehovah.

31

And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar; but the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons-'.

32

And the right thigh shall ye give unto the priest for a heave-offering out of the sacrifices of your peace-offerings.

33

He among the sons of Aaron that offereth the blood of the peace-offerings, and the fat, shall have the right thigh for a portion.

34

For the wave-breast and the heave-thigh have I taken of the children of Israel out of the sacrifices of their peace-offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons as their portion for ever from the children of Israel.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 7:11-34

134.

Is there some difference in the peace offering of thanksgiving and an ordinary peace offering?

135.

Isn-'t it strange to here read that leavened bread could be used in the offering of thanksgiving? Why is this exception made?

136.

What is meant in Leviticus 7:14 where reference is made to a heave offering?

137.

How is the word oblation used here? Give a synonym.

138.

There are peace offerings for vowswhat special regulations are given for such?

139.

How long can certain meat be kept before it is eaten? (Which meat and how long?)

140.

What happens to meat that is ceremonially unclean?

141.

How did it become unclean?

142.

God is very serious about what is clean and unclean. Why?

143.

What was the penalty of eating fat? For eating blood?

144.

Anyone bringing a thanksgiving (peace) offering must do so with his own hands. Why so?

145.

The worshipper was to wave the fat and the breast of the victim before the altar. Why?

PARAPHRASE 7:11-34

Here are the instructions concerning the sacrifices given to the Lord as special peace offerings: If it is an offering of thanksgiving, unleavened shortbread shall be included with the sacrifice, along with unleavened wafers spread with olive oil and loaves from a batter of flour mixed with olive oil. This thanksgiving peace offering shall be accompanied with loaves of leavened bread. Part of this sacrifice shall be presented to the Lord by a gesture of waving it before the altar, then it shall be given to the assisting priest, the one who sprinkles the blood of the animal presented for the sacrifice. After the animal has been sacrificed and presented to the Lord as a peace offering to show special appreciation and thanksgiving to Him, its meat is to be eaten that same day, and none left to be eaten the next day. However, if someone brings a sacrifice that is not for thanksgiving, but is because of a vow or is simply a voluntary offering to the Lord, any portion of the sacrifice that is not eaten the day it is sacrificed may be eaten the next day. But anything left over until the third day shall be burned. For if any of it is eaten on the third day, the Lord will not accept it; it will have no value as a sacrifice, and there will be no credit to the one who brought it to be offered; and the priest who eats it shall be guilty, for it is detestable to the Lord, and the person who eats it must answer for his sin. Any meat that comes into contact with anything that is ceremonially unclean shall not be eaten, but burned; and as for the meat that may be eaten, it may be eaten only by a person who is ceremonially clean. Any priest who is ceremonially unclean but eats the thanksgiving offering anyway, shall be cut off from his people, for he has defiled what is sacred. Anyone who touches anything that is ceremonially unclean, whether it is uncleanness from man or beast, and then eats the peace offering, shall be cut off from his people, for he has defiled what is holy.
Then the Lord said to Moses, Tell the people of Israel never to eat fat, whether from oxen, sheep, or goats. The fat of an animal that dies of disease, or is attacked and killed by wild animals, may be used for other purposes, but never eaten. Anyone who eats fat from an offering sacrificed by fire to the Lord shall be outlawed from his people. Never eat blood, whether of birds or animals. Anyone who does shall be excommunicated from his people.
And the Lord said to Moses, Tell the people of Israel that anyone bringing a thanksgiving offering to the Lord must bring it personally with his own hands. He shall bring the offering of the fat and breast, which is to be presented to the Lord by waving it before the altar. Then the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar, but the breast shall belong to Aaron and his sons, while the right thigh shall be given to the officiating priest. For I have designated the breast and thigh as donations from the people of Israel to the sons of Aaron. Aaron and his sons must always be given this portion of the sacrifice.

COMMENT 7:11-34

Leviticus 7:11 We are here introduced to a wider application and meaning for the peace offering. The element of gratitude has always been implicit in the peace offering. The peace offering was only used following the burnt offering, i.e. when we are accepted by God we then have peace and a peace offering is in order. It is easy to see in this relationship how thankfulness became a part of the purpose of the peace offering. Psalms 107:1-43 discusses how God delivers man from manifold trials-some of them are: traveling in the desert, a voyage at sea, captivity, sickness. When such deliverance has happened a sacrifice of thanksgiving or a peace offering would be appropriate.

In time of stress or danger a vow of love, gratitude or loyalty could be made, i.e. if God would only deliver me. Such sacrifices of thanksgiving and peace should include much more than a ritual, although many of them did not. Cf. Psalms 116:1 ff. Then there were those spontaneous sacrifices of overflowing thankfulness. Perhaps these free will offerings were the best form of the several peace offerings. Cf. Psalms 119:108; Hebrews 13:15.

Leviticus 7:12 The meal or grain offering was to accompany the peace offering. We have noticed before that the grain offering is primarily an expression of thanksgiving, so when the peace offering is brought it seems very appropriate to accompany such with the grain offering. We have discussed earlier the various ways of preparing the unleavened cakes of the grain offering. There were three types here stated: (1) unleavened loaves mingled with oil; (2) unleavened wafers smeared with oil; (3) loaves from a batter of dry flour mixed with olive oil.

Leviticus 7:13-14 In the peace-thanksgiving offering we have the following procedure: This sacrificial gift the offerer was to present upon, or along with, cakes of leavened bread (round, leavened bread-cakes), and to offer -thereof one out of the whole oblation,-' namely, one cake of each of the three kinds mentioned in Leviticus 7:12, as a heave-offering for Jehovah, which was to fall to the priest who sprinkled the blood of the peace-offering. (Keil & Delitzsch) Here is a remarkable reference to leavened bread being offered. Only in a peace offering could this be possible. Having made peace through the burnt offering the worshipper is expressing his deep appreciation. At the same time he needs to be reminded that whereas he was perfectly forgiven he had not perfected holiness, i.e. he had not escaped all sin simply because he stood before God just as if he had never sinned. Perhaps this leavened loaf was intended to remind the worshipper that he was yet compassed about with many infirmities and was only accepted because of his sacrifice and not because of his goodness. As to the action of heaving and waving: one cake was held in the hand of the priest and elevated above his head as he stood before the altar of burnt offering. As he did this he moved (or waved) it towards the four corners of the compass. Of course this is done with the leavened cakes before the whole assembly. It is actually a method of asking God to accept our leavened lives because of the sacrifice He has provided. This becomes a dramatic way of expressing thankfulness.

Leviticus 7:15 Why insist on the eating of the animal on the same day it was offered? There are several possible answers: (1) The meat would decay and be unfit to eat later. This might be true of some meat of some days, but it hardly seems a viable static reason; (2) Others have thought it would prevent acts of covetousness such as storing or hoarding the meat; (3) Still others have seen the opportunity for brotherly love since several would be needed to eat the supply in one day. We like the suggestion of Andrew Bonar that Israel might hereby be taught to offer thanksgiving while the benefit was still fresh and recent. The worshipper could see on the same day that he had brought his sacrifice obvious evidence that God had accepted it. The priests would not be eating it if God had not accepted it.

Leviticus 7:16-17 Please notice the distinction here for the three types or purposes of the peace offering: (1) The praise-offering i.e. the offering brought to praise God for deliverance from some difficulty; (2) The vow-offering or brought to keep a vow made in time of danger; (3) Free-will offering i.e. just a spontaneous expression of thankfulness. In the case of the last two the animal can be kept for two days before it is eaten. Not until the third day, whatever remains until the third day is to be burned. Are we reading too much into this ancient action to be reminded that our sacrifice did not see corruption but on the third day He was changed?

Leviticus 7:18 How exceedingly careful God is in all His regulations. How perfectly does law and love combine: anyone who has a need or a desire can and should make an offering. But when it is made it must be made according to divine instructions. Eating meat on the third day was not only a mistake, it was a sin! Even in this we can see the fairness of the law. The priest is held more severely responsible than the worshipper. As priests unto God are we to be held less responsible today for our knowledge and fulfillment of His law? Cf. James 3:1 ff.

Leviticus 7:19 The definition of uncleanness has been given earlier. The major cause of uncleanness was contact with the body of an animal, bird or reptile which had not been slain according to the law of sacrifice. There were other causes for ceremonial uncleanness. It has been well said that God wanted a clean sacrifice and a clean participant in the sacrifice. To see the specific application of this verse, read John 18:28.

Leviticus 7:20-21 To be cut off from his people is the same as excommunication, i.e. removal from the camp of Israel. This means a separation from any participation in the worship services. Of course this would be very serious when applied to priests. We think of the bounds God placed around Sinai and the severe penalty for anyone who would break through. The unclean cannot eat of God's sacrifice. The source of the uncleanness is not nearly as important as the fact of it. Can we compare willful persistent sin to this uncleanness? We cannot and we will not enjoy the benefits of peace while we continue in sin. We cut ourselves off from the true worship of our Lord by such an attitude.

Psalms 22:27 says, The meek shall eat, and be satisfied. The meek are they who bow to God's will, and follow His rules. They may freely eat when complying with His rules. (Ibid.)

Leviticus 7:22-23 The prohibitions against the use of fat has reference only to the fat used in the sacrifice. We have earlier described in elaborate detail the particular fat portions that belong to the Lord. The other fat parts of the flesh of these animals is not meant. What belongs to the Lord must not be used for our own gain. This was the sin of Ananias and Sapphira. Acts 5:1-11.

Leviticus 7:24-25 Even if a beast is found dead in the field, or a torn beast is discovered, the fat can be used for a fire or lard can be rendered from it, but that portion which belongs to God must not be eaten. We like the thought that the fat compares to our inmost desires which must forever and always belong to God. Man must never feast upon them. They are no portion for man. The strength of our desires and feelings is already given away; we cannot spend it on any but God Himself.

Leviticus 7:26-27 We have considered the prohibition against the eating of blood in Leviticus 3:17. We refer the reader to these pages for further discussion upon this point.

Leviticus 7:28-31 Leviticus 7:28-29 are a little obscure. A better rendition of them could read: He that comes to present a peace offering as his sacrifice shall do so by bringing the requisite parts. (Ibid.) There is much to learn from these verses. The sacrifices must not be brought or made by proxy. Each man must feel his own need and bring his own offering. In this particular instance the fat portions which belong to the Lord are presented to the priest before the altar. We appreciate the comparison of this part of the offering to the deepest desires of the human heart. These belong to God and are gladly offered to Him. The priests are to receive the breast of the animal for food. It is not burned as is the fat, but it is none-the-less offered to God. The receiving and eating of this portion by the priests gave the worshipper full assurance that his sacrifice was acceptable. We have no doubt about our sacrifice. He has already been accepted. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1-2) The breast and shoulder of the animal were given to God for the priest. We remember that the high priest wore the names of the twelve tribes on his heart as they were inscribed upon the stones of the breastplate, and also upon his shoulders on the stones that held the breastplate. The priest carried the responsibility and compassion of God for his people. We have a high priest who shares the same portions in the same offering!

Leviticus 7:32-33 There is some question as to whether the Hebrew word is shoulder or thigh. In either case the priest received it on behalf of God for the worshipper. The symbol of strength carries through for either the shoulder or thigh. We wonder if the priest and the worshipper talked together? We can-'t imagine that they didn-'t. If the priest knew the meaning of each of his actions he could share it with the worshipper. As an example: the very best portions of the animal were given to the priest, but the real lesson in it was God received through the priest the best part of the animal.

Leviticus 7:34 We believe the explanation given by S. H. Kellogg as related to the waving and heaving of the offerings is worth thoughtful reading:

The breast was to be heaved; that is, elevated heavenward. The symbolic meaning of this act can scarcely be missed. By it, the priest acknowledged his dependence upon God for the supply of this sacrificial food, and, again, by this act consecrated it anew to Him as the One that sitteth in the heavens.

But God is not only the One that sitteth in the heavens; He is the God who has condescended also to dwell among men, and especially in the tent of meeting in the midst of Israel. And thus, as by the elevation of the breast heavenward, God, the Giver, was recognized as the One enthroned in heaven, so by the waving of the thigh, which, as the rabbis tell us, was a movement backward and forward, to and from the altar, He was recognized also as Jehovah, who had condescended from heaven to dwell in the midst of His people. Like the heaving, so the waving, then, was an act of acknowledgment and consecration to God; the former, to God, as in heaven, the God of creation; the other, to God, as the God of the altar, the God of redemption. And that this is the true significance of these acts is illustrated by the fact that in the Pentateuch, in the account of the gold and silver brought by the people for the preparation of the tabernacle (Exodus 35:22), the same word is used to describe the presentation of these offerings which is here used of the wave-offering.

And so in the peace-offering the principle is amply illustrated upon which the priests received their dues. The worshippers bring their offerings, and present them, not to the priest, but through him to God; who, then, having used such parts as He will in the service of the sanctuary, gives again such parts of them as He pleases to the priests.

FACT QUESTIONS 7:11-34

172.

In what area is the application of the peace offering enlarged?

173.

Psalms 107:1-43 itemizes incidents out of which a peace offering could be given. Name three of them.

174.

How does a vow relate to the peace offering?

175.

What is meant by a free will peace offering?

176.

Show how the grain offering was naturally related to the peace offering.

177.

What was the meaning of the leavened loaf in the peace offering?

178.

Explain the action and purpose in heaving and waving the leavened and unleavened cakes.

179.

Why eat the animal the same day it was slain?

180.

There is a circumstance in which the animal can be kept for two days before it is eaten. What was it?

181.

Eating meat on the third day after it was killed was more than a mistake. Discuss.

182.

How could a person know if an animal was clean or unclean?

183.

What is meant by the expression cut off-' as here used?

184.

How can we become unclean today? Discuss.

185.

Was all fat eliminated from the diet of the Jews?

186.

To what shall we compare the fat portion that belongs to God? i.e., how does it relate to us?

187.

Why not send someone else in our place with our sacrifice? i.e. can we sacrifice by proxy?

188.

How did the worshipper know his sacrifice was accepted?

189.

What portions were given to the priest? What comparison is possible here?

190.

Explain the significance of heaving and waving the sacrifice.