Articles
“The Peace Offering”
And the priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering with a pleasing aroma. All fat is the LORD’s. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood.
Leviticus 3:16-17
We’ve been exploring the various sacrificial offerings described in the opening chapters of Leviticus. In chapter 1, we saw that the burnt offering symbolized Israel’s total commitment to the Lord, as the entire animal was consumed by fire on the altar. In chapter 2, the grain offering served as a way for the people to ask God to “remember” them with favor. In both offerings, Israel was instructed to give their very best—the animal for the burnt offering was to be “without blemish,” and the flour for the grain offering was to be “fine flour.” This same theme of honoring God with wholehearted devotion continues in the peace offering, described in chapter 3, but with several unique details.
Directions for the peace offering. Chapter 3 provides instructions for peace offerings from both the herd (i.e., bulls, 1-5) and the flock (i.e., sheep or goats, 6-16). The chapter concludes with a prohibition against eating fat or blood (17), since the peace offering was unique in that it was the only sacrifice from which the worshiper was permitted to eat. The procedure for the peace offering is similar to that of the burnt offering. The worshiper would bring an animal without blemish to the entrance of the tent of meeting, lay his hands on it, and slaughter it (1-2a). From that point, the priests would take over: they would throw the animal’s blood against the sides of the altar (2b), butcher the animal (3-4), and place the designated portions on the altar of burnt offering where it was burned as a “food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord” (5).
Uniqueness of the peace offering. While the burnt offering was entirely consumed on the altar, in the peace offering only the “fat portions” were offered to God (3-5). These fatty cuts of meat were considered by ancient Israel to be the very best parts of the animal—like filet mignon today. The remaining meat was divided between the priest (7:31-34) and the offeror (7:15-21) and consumed as a sacrificial meal. Thus the peace offering was a meal—a “food offering” (5, 11, 16)—consumed by three parties: the Lord, the priest, and the offeror. As the name suggests, it was a celebration of peace and fellowship with God.
Significance of the peace offering. In ancient Israel, sharing a meal was not only an act of hospitality (Gen. 18:1-8; 24:32-33, 54), but also a way to honor others, especially by giving them the best portion of the food (43:33-34; 1 Sam. 9:23-24). By offering the fat portions of the peace offering to God, Israel was acknowledging that he deserves the highest honor (Lev. 3:3-4, 16).
In addition, shared meals would confirm a covenant relationship. Today, we seal agreements with signatures or handshakes, but in the ancient world, covenants were often formalized over a meal. For example, when Isaac and Abimelech entered into a covenant, they shared a meal to mark the occasion (Gen. 26:28-30). A similar event took place between Jacob and Laban (31:44-46, 53-54).
This tradition also appears in the establishment of the Mosaic covenant: after God entered into covenant with Israel qt Mount Sinai (Ex. 20-24), Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders went up the mountain to eat a meal in God's presence: “… [they] went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.” (Ex. 24:9-11)
Eating the peace offering reminded Israel of three important things:
Honor belongs to the Lord — By reserving the very best portions of the animal—the fat—for the Lord, Israel acknowledged that God alone deserves the highest honor. Leviticus 3:16 ends with the statement, “all fat is the Lord’s,” and verse 17 establishes a lasting prohibition against eating fat. This principle was violated by Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, who took the fat for themselves and "treated the offering of the Lord with contempt.” (1 Sam. 2:12-17) God later rebuked Eli for allowing this abuse: “Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?” (1 Sam. 2:29) Their violation showed a failure to give God his due.
Life belongs to the Lord — In addition to not eating fat, Israel was also prohibited from eating blood (Lev. 3:17). The reason for this is not spelled out here but echoes God’s words to Noah. After the flood, humanity was permitted to eat the flesh of animals but forbidden to eat “flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” (Gen. 9:4) Blood represented the animal’s life and thus belonged to God, the Creator and Sustainer of life. This is explained in God’s instructions for the Day of Atonement (Lev. 17:10-12; cf. Deut. 12:23). By abstaining from fat, Israel acknowledged that God deserved all honor. By abstaining from blood, Israel acknowledged that God is sovereign over all life.
Israel belongs the Lord — The peace offering was not only a celebration of fellowship with God, but also a reminder of Israel’s covenant responsibilities. By participating in this sacred meal, the worshiper recalled the blessings that came with being God’s covenant people—and the loyalty, obedience, and faithfulness that covenant required. The peace offering was a joyful moment, but also a sobering one: to sit at God's table was a privilege that came with covenant commitments. Sharing this sacrificial meal with the Lord was a way for Israelites to say, “Thank you, Lord, for redeeming me. I acknowledge that I belong to you—and I will live accordingly.”
These same concepts are present in the Christian’s covenant meal, the Lord’s Supper (cf. Lk. 22:20 and Ex. 24:8). Like the peace offering, the Lord’s Supper serves as a time for Christians to celebrate their redemption won through Christ’s death on the cross (1 Cor. 11:26). And like the peace offering, it is also a time for self-examination (11:28) and for reaffirming our covenant commitment to the Lord and to his church (10:17; cf. 11:20-22). Unlike the peace offering, however, Jesus was the one who offered the sacrifice on our behalf—a self-sacrifice in which his own blood gave us peace with God (Eph. 2:11-22).
He joins us here, He breaks the bread,
The Lord who pours the cup is risen from the dead,
The One we love the most is now our gracious host,
Come take the bread, Come drink the cup, Come share the Lord.
