Lev 7:11-21 | KingComments | STEP | The description of the peace offering in Leviticus 3 is mainly about the connection with the altar. Its application to us is found par excellence in the Lord’s Supper at the Lord’s Table. The peace offering is a fellowship offering, which is represented for us in the Table of the Lord ( ). However, there are also other occasions where believers have fellowship with each other. Every time they come together, for whatever reason, they have fellowship with each other. God wants to be there. Fellowship as believers among each other is only possible and good if God can and may be present. The peace offering is a festival sacrifice ( ). Someone who is happy can spontaneously bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving. He can slay an animal and celebrate. The eldest son in Lukas 15 wants the same. But he only wants to celebrate with his friends, without his father ( ). That cannot be a feast. Our joy and happiness are always based on the work of the Lord Jesus, and that is also what God rejoices in. This sacrifice of thanksgiving must be accompanied by a grain offering. If we thank God for the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, it is impossible to ignore His perfect life up to the cross. We would also like to tell God about this, to offer it to Him. Also cakes of leavened bread are brought ( ). This cannot speak of the Lord Jesus. Leaven speaks of sin and in Him is no sin. But there is leaven in us. Sin is still in us. These cakes tell in picture that we come in the awareness that sin is still in us ( ), although sin no longer is allowed to rule us neither is that necessary. We have to consider ourselves dead to sin. This we do when we realize that He has deprived sin of its power ( ). shows that God must first receive His portion before we share with others. It is a portion that is offered to Him as a heave offering (so footnote NASB). A heave offering means that it is lifted above everything else, while at the same time everything else gets the value of this heave offering. We can apply this to the Lord Jesus Who offered Himself to God above all else. We offer Him to God. Because of this, everything else we enjoy about Him and His offering together also receives the value He has for God. The priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering represents the believer who is aware that fellowship is based on nothing but the blood poured out by Christ. The blood makes him think of the price paid for him and through which he is now entirely of Christ ( ). This brings great gratitude and joy. The believer who knows this presupposes that gratitude and joy also in other believers and desires to share it with such believers, to have fellowship therein. The feast, the eating, must take place on the same day that the sacrifice is offered ( ). This prescription shows that the connection to the altar is of great importance. When the flesh is eaten the next day, the thought of the offering being brought on the altar is blurred. God does not want that. With every sacrifice of thanksgiving He expects the thought of the cross of Christ. There is no thanksgiving possible without the cross. We can’t live on yesterday’s experience. God expects us to come to the altar with a new offering of praise every day. We may examine the Scriptures daily ( ), for these testify about the Lord Jesus ( ). We notice new compassions of the Lord every morning ( ). Then we have an abundance of reasons for a new sacrifice of praise every day, don't we? A votive or freewill offering may be eaten the next day ( ). This is an offering that has a more sustainable character than the offering of thanksgiving. An offering of thanksgiving is brought more spontaneously. A votive or freewill offering has been considered. When we meet, it may be that we start sacrificing more spontaneously as the service progresses. It is also possible that during the week we have already been busy with the meeting and the offering of the Lord Jesus. The gratitude in connection with the cross also has a longer effect. But even then it is not so that we can move forward for a long time with what we have seen of the Lord Jesus. That is what have to say to us. There will be a growing desire to see more of Him. Thoughts that linger and that we only cherish because we don’t want to discover new things from the Lord Jesus are counterproductive. They become an obstacle in our spiritual life. Growth stops. Then we must judge ourselves and our thinking, to become free from iniquity. This creates space for the preparation of a new votive or freewill offering that is pleasant to God and in which fellowship with others can be experienced. When fellowship manifests itself in fixed forms and along well-trodden paths, it degenerates into dead orthodoxy. Practicing fellowship as suggested in partaking of this sacrificial meal is subject to conditions ( ). The table, the expression of fellowship, is the Table of the Lord and therefore holy. The offerings belong to God ( ). Worship belongs to God. What goes on in our hearts during the service does not belong to us. God has put it in our hearts, to our joy, that we may partake of what Christ’s offering means to Him and in His own joy about it. No uncleanness may be associated with this. This uncleanness can be caused in different ways. In the first place it can happen that the flesh has come into contact with something unclean ( ). An application of this is that if anyone has wrong thoughts about the Person or the work of the Lord Jesus, he is unclean and cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal at the Lord’s Table. He can only partake when he has corrected his wrong thinking about the Person or the work of the Lord Jesus. A second case is that the person who wants to eat the flesh is unclean himself ( ). An application is that one does not judge sin in his life. From such a person it must be concluded that he has not only fallen into sin, but that he lives in sin. If anyone does not judge sin in his life and after several attempts by others is not willing to judge that sin ( ), he cannot take part in the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal held at the Lord’s Table. Such a person is called “the wicked man” and, if he already partake of the Lord’s Supper, must be removed from among the believers ( ). He can only (again) take part when he judges and confesses his sin for God and people. A third case is that someone, although clean himself, is unclean by consciously staying in contact with uncleanness ( ). An application is if someone wants to partake of the Lord’s Supper, while he is part of a church where no discipline is exercised over public evil. For example, that group allows unmarried cohabitation or living in a homosexual relation and allows people who live this way to partake of their supper. Anyone who stays in touch with it remains in touch with the wickedness that is present in that church and is therefore defiled. Such a person cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal held at the Lord’s Table. He can only partake if he withdraws from this wickedness, which in practice means that he withdraws from that church ( ).

‏ Leviticus 7:11-21

The Law of the Peace Offering

The description of the peace offering in Leviticus 3 is mainly about the connection with the altar. Its application to us is found par excellence in the Lord’s Supper at the Lord’s Table. The peace offering is a fellowship offering, which is represented for us in the Table of the Lord (1Cor 10:15-21). However, there are also other occasions where believers have fellowship with each other. Every time they come together, for whatever reason, they have fellowship with each other. God wants to be there. Fellowship as believers among each other is only possible and good if God can and may be present.

The peace offering is a festival sacrifice (Psa 118:27). Someone who is happy can spontaneously bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving. He can slay an animal and celebrate. The eldest son in Lukas 15 wants the same. But he only wants to celebrate with his friends, without his father (Lk 15:29). That cannot be a feast. Our joy and happiness are always based on the work of the Lord Jesus, and that is also what God rejoices in.

This sacrifice of thanksgiving must be accompanied by a grain offering. If we thank God for the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, it is impossible to ignore His perfect life up to the cross. We would also like to tell God about this, to offer it to Him.

Also cakes of leavened bread are brought (Lev 7:13). This cannot speak of the Lord Jesus. Leaven speaks of sin and in Him is no sin. But there is leaven in us. Sin is still in us. These cakes tell in picture that we come in the awareness that sin is still in us (1Jn 1:8), although sin no longer is allowed to rule us neither is that necessary. We have to consider ourselves dead to sin. This we do when we realize that He has deprived sin of its power (Rom 6:6-11).

Lev 7:14 shows that God must first receive His portion before we share with others. It is a portion that is offered to Him as a heave offering (so footnote NASB). A heave offering means that it is lifted above everything else, while at the same time everything else gets the value of this heave offering. We can apply this to the Lord Jesus Who offered Himself to God above all else. We offer Him to God. Because of this, everything else we enjoy about Him and His offering together also receives the value He has for God.

The priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering represents the believer who is aware that fellowship is based on nothing but the blood poured out by Christ. The blood makes him think of the price paid for him and through which he is now entirely of Christ (1Pet 1:1-2). This brings great gratitude and joy. The believer who knows this presupposes that gratitude and joy also in other believers and desires to share it with such believers, to have fellowship therein.

The feast, the eating, must take place on the same day that the sacrifice is offered (Lev 7:15). This prescription shows that the connection to the altar is of great importance. When the flesh is eaten the next day, the thought of the offering being brought on the altar is blurred. God does not want that. With every sacrifice of thanksgiving He expects the thought of the cross of Christ. There is no thanksgiving possible without the cross.

We can’t live on yesterday’s experience. God expects us to come to the altar with a new offering of praise every day. We may examine the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11), for these testify about the Lord Jesus (Jn 5:39). We notice new compassions of the Lord every morning (Lam 3:22-23). Then we have an abundance of reasons for a new sacrifice of praise every day, don't we?

A votive or freewill offering may be eaten the next day (Lev 7:16). This is an offering that has a more sustainable character than the offering of thanksgiving. An offering of thanksgiving is brought more spontaneously. A votive or freewill offering has been considered. When we meet, it may be that we start sacrificing more spontaneously as the service progresses. It is also possible that during the week we have already been busy with the meeting and the offering of the Lord Jesus. The gratitude in connection with the cross also has a longer effect.

But even then it is not so that we can move forward for a long time with what we have seen of the Lord Jesus. That is what Lev 7:17-18 have to say to us. There will be a growing desire to see more of Him. Thoughts that linger and that we only cherish because we don’t want to discover new things from the Lord Jesus are counterproductive. They become an obstacle in our spiritual life. Growth stops. Then we must judge ourselves and our thinking, to become free from iniquity. This creates space for the preparation of a new votive or freewill offering that is pleasant to God and in which fellowship with others can be experienced. When fellowship manifests itself in fixed forms and along well-trodden paths, it degenerates into dead orthodoxy.

Practicing fellowship as suggested in partaking of this sacrificial meal is subject to conditions (Lev 7:19-21). The table, the expression of fellowship, is the Table of the Lord and therefore holy. The offerings belong to God (Lev 7:20-21). Worship belongs to God. What goes on in our hearts during the service does not belong to us. God has put it in our hearts, to our joy, that we may partake of what Christ’s offering means to Him and in His own joy about it.

No uncleanness may be associated with this. This uncleanness can be caused in different ways. In the first place it can happen that the flesh has come into contact with something unclean (Lev 7:19). An application of this is that if anyone has wrong thoughts about the Person or the work of the Lord Jesus, he is unclean and cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal at the Lord’s Table. He can only partake when he has corrected his wrong thinking about the Person or the work of the Lord Jesus.

A second case is that the person who wants to eat the flesh is unclean himself (Lev 7:20). An application is that one does not judge sin in his life. From such a person it must be concluded that he has not only fallen into sin, but that he lives in sin. If anyone does not judge sin in his life and after several attempts by others is not willing to judge that sin (Mt 18:15-20), he cannot take part in the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal held at the Lord’s Table. Such a person is called “the wicked man” and, if he already partake of the Lord’s Supper, must be removed from among the believers (1Cor 5:13b). He can only (again) take part when he judges and confesses his sin for God and people.

A third case is that someone, although clean himself, is unclean by consciously staying in contact with uncleanness (Lev 7:21). An application is if someone wants to partake of the Lord’s Supper, while he is part of a church where no discipline is exercised over public evil. For example, that group allows unmarried cohabitation or living in a homosexual relation and allows people who live this way to partake of their supper. Anyone who stays in touch with it remains in touch with the wickedness that is present in that church and is therefore defiled. Such a person cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper, the fellowship meal held at the Lord’s Table. He can only partake if he withdraws from this wickedness, which in practice means that he withdraws from that church (2Tim 2:19-22).