Leviticus

3.1-17

Chapter three describes the statutes of the Peace/Fellowship Offering. Of the five types of sacrifices described in the first seven chapters of Leviticus, this is the only one that allows the person presenting the sacrifice to participate in the consumption of the animal presented to Yahweh. This would allow for fellowship not only with God but also with their families and the priests who consume the remaining portion of the meat sacrifice not burned to God. The Peace, or Fellowship Offering, is the sacrifice that underscores the covenant fellowship with the LORD and His people (as does the salt additive to the grain offering from 2:13, whose purpose often mirrors that of the offering it accompanies). The fellowship offering functioned as a shared meal between Israel and Yahweh that confirmed and celebrated their covenant. By giving Yahweh the best portion (the fat, vv3-4,9-10,14-15), they honored Him as the One worthy of all glory and praise. Although this statute appears to simply divide the types of offerings into those brought from either the herd (vv1-5) or the flock (vv6-16), special care is given to further delineate between the manner of sacrifice for the sheep and the goats of the flock (cf. Mt 25:31-46). Differing from the Burnt Offerings of chapter one (which were for the atonement of sins), both male and female sacrifices were allowed for Peace Offerings (vv1,6). Sacrifices of different types and purposes could be made with each other, but they were still made in the correct order. It would be incorrect to participate in fellowship with God while unrepentant of sin. Burnt offerings made with Peace offerings were always made with fellowship following atonement (9:15-21).

CHAPTER 3

The Statutes of Peace Offerings

1 ‘Now if his offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings, if he is going to bring near one from the herd, whether male or female, he shall bring it near without blemish before Yahweh.
2 ‘Then he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall splash the blood around on the altar.
3 ‘From the sacrifice of the peace offerings he shall bring an offering by fire near to Yahweh, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails,
4 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.
5 ‘Then Aaron’s sons shall offer it up in smoke on the altar on the burnt offering, which is on the wood that is on the fire; it is an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to Yahweh.
6 ‘But if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh is from the flock, he shall bring it near, male or female, without blemish.
7 ‘If he is going to bring near a lamb for his offering, then he shall bring it near before Yahweh,
8 and he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it before the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons shall splash its blood around on the altar.
9 ‘And from the sacrifice of peace offerings he shall bring near as an offering by fire to Yahweh its fat, the entire fat tail which he shall remove 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, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.
11 ‘Then the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire to Yahweh.
12 ‘Moreover, if his offering is a goat, then he shall bring it near before Yahweh,
13 and he shall lay his hand on its head and slaughter it before the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall splash its blood around on the altar.
14 ‘And from it he shall bring near his offering as an offering by fire to Yahweh the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails,
15 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.
16 ‘And the priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire for a soothing aroma; all fat is Yahweh’s.
17 ‘It is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your places of habitation: you shall not eat any fat or any blood.’”