Peace offering: Lv 3

Looking at the above scheme we see that with the Peace Offering there is a transition from the already discussed Guilt offering and Sin offering to the other two remaining sacrifices: Grain- and Burnt Offering. The Guilt- and Sin Offering were focusing on how to avoid death as result of sin and were therefore compulsory sacrifices if one wanted to stay alive. They referred to the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. His perfect sacrifice was and is the only way to escape from the consequence of sin: death.
In the symbol of the baptism we identify ourselves with Him. Putting off the body of sin that was kept as slave of rebellion against the Lord, we die with Christ. This makes us free from the bondage of sin.

But is being free from sin the end? When we die to sin, it indeed has no authority over us any longer. Paul teaches us in Rm 6: 4-11 the following:
We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him. The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

So death is not the final station! In Christ we do not only die to sin but we also resurrect in a new life, into a state of freedom! The next three types of sacrifices – the Peace Offering, the Grain Offering, and the Burnt Offering – are linked to the new life that we have in Jesus Christ.
The Peace Offering, the Grain Offering and the Burnt Offering are voluntarily. Bringing one of these offerings derives from a delivered heart and therefore bring-forth a fragrant smell for the Lord. There is no connection with sin. We are put in a new position that is actually the original position that God had in mind when He created us: worshippers and glorifiers of God:
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks (Jn 4:23).

Let us still remember how we have got into this position of liberty: only through the perfect offering of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I would like to depict the principle of the Peace Offering by reflecting on a story that we find in Ex 24:1-11:
Then He said to Moses, Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him. When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, Everything the Lord has said we will do. Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey. Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words. Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise His hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.

It starts with saying that God invites Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and the 70 elders of Israel to come to Him. Do we understand that such an invitation was unthinkable in that period? Just before this event God had ordered the Israelites not to touch the mountain on which He dwelled because of His holiness:
Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, 'Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death’ (Ex 19:12).

But in Ex 24 the Lord orders the people to come up to Him. We recognize that there was one condition: first Moses had to bring sacrifices and sprinkle the blood of the offerings on the people. This act re-enforced the significance of the covenant between God and the people as we read in verse 8. In this we see the principle of the Peace Offering: the sinful people could only approach a holy God based on the blood that had to be shed. This blood covered their sins and gave them free-pass to enter God’s presence as we see in the next verse:
Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel (vs 10).
Through the sacrifice their sins were covered and consequently they could see God! In verse 11 it is confirmed: God did not blow away the people; no, instead they ate and drank with Him! Isn’t this remarkable? Based on the sacrifices they made on the altar at the foot of the mountain, God permitted them to dine at His table. They were not consumed by God’s holiness, but they entered God’s favour. They were accepted by God. They were in peace with God. They had fellowship with God.
To understand the main contents of the Peace Offering I want to highlight the two latter terms: first about peace and subsequently about fellowship.

Peace with God
Cl 1:20: And through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.
The primary significance of the Peace Offering of the Old Testament is to be found in its antitype, Jesus Christ.
Through Christ, our Peace Offering, we can now enjoy the same as the Israelites that very day on the mountain: being in peace with God. In the eyes of God we have become holy and pure. Relating keywords for this new state of life are: wholeness, completeness, acceptance, friendship, and fellowship. The condition is the same as Adam and Eve experienced when they had communion with God when they walked with Him in the Garden of Eden.
Are we really conscious of this perfect position? It is the new life that we have got. God doesn’t consider our sinful past or the fact that we initially were not worthy. As a Father He now looks at us as holy sons & daughters with Whom He has a relationship. Despite our failures our position will never change. Despite our difficulties we are whole in God’s eyes. Nothing is lacking because Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient to raise us to this level of perfect peace.

Isaiah prophesied about Jesus Christ that He would be the Prince of Peace (Is 9:6). And in the beginning of the gospel of Luke we already read at the proclamation of Christ’s birth on earth that He will establish peace between men and God (Lk 2:14). He is the ultimate Peace Offering!

After His resurrection Christ appeared several times to His followers and every time He greeted them with the words “Peace to you”. These words were not a hollow phrase but contained the deepest truth. Authors in the New Testament start and end often their letters with the similar greeting like “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”, reminding us about the same truth.

Peace of God
Peace is a core-property of the Kingdom of God. Rm 14:17 says that the Kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
With this verse we see that because of the peace with God we are being confronted with something even higher: the peace of God. When having peace with God a process starts to workout: peace goes out from Him and transforms us into similar nature. Through the Holy Spirit we start to bear fruit and peace is one of these.
This kind of peace is not something that we recognize around us. It doesn’t exist in the world. It is not built-in in our human nature. It even seems supernatural at times. Logic can often not be applied on it. There are no explanations why people who are confronted with the most terrifying situations feel incomprehensible peace.
Personally I like so much the wonderful verse in Ph 4:7: the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ has put us on paved work of sapphire stone like the very heavens in its clarity!

Transformation
Those who think this transformation goes by itself and bearing the fruit of peace as the fruit of the Spirit goes without effort, are mistaken. As said, the Peace of God is provided for us by Jesus Christ. But we have to practice to experience this peace. In Hb 12:11 we read that No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
It occurs that training and discipline is needed! Discipline means pain, effort and trouble. Apparently we have to go through difficulties to learn to exercise the peace of God. Another one of my favourite verses is Is 26:3: You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind stays in You, because he trusts You.
It comes to being exposed to situations in which we will be forced to trust the Lord; circumstances with no other escape than grasping on our faith; conditions that drive us to only rely on Him. It is painful. But then, later, it produces the fruit: the peace of God becomes part of our new nature!

Peace among each other
The Divine peace was obtained on the cross by our Peace Offering. But we get identified with it by leading a life in the Spirit. Our minds get controlled by the Spirit (Rm 8:6). This is the natural way of spiritual growth. We are called to peace and this brings us toward the 3rd step in the process: peace with God – peace of God – peace among each other.
Cl 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
When we are trained to possess the peace of God, that is the same as the peace of Christ as in the above verse, we will radiate it outwards. Other people will notice our calmness and serenity. They see the inner rest of security that we have. It makes the Body of Christ so special: it is composed of members that bear the fruit of peace. With that attitude the Body honours its Head: Jesus Christ. All the members characterize that which Jesus obtained when He resurrected: new life that consists in peace.

Fellowship
Some English versions have translated the “Peace Offering” by the “Fellowship Offering.” Both terms, “peace” and “fellowship” are appropriate. Through Christ’s death we have peace and fellowship with God and peace and fellowship with man.
In order to understand the Peace Offering as we find in Lv 3, let us imagine for a moment that we are Israelites in the days of Moses, and that we are about to make a Peace Offering.
Mind that the Peace Offering was a voluntary offering: one could offer a Peace Offering as an act of thanksgiving or as a freewill offering. These were optional offerings, which an Israelite could offer at any time.
We would begin by selecting an animal without any defect, either male or female, from the herd or from the flock. We would then bring this animal to the doorway of the tent of meeting, where we would lay our hands upon its head thus identifying our sin with this animal and ourselves with its death. When we have slain the animal, the priests will collect the blood that is shed and sprinkle it around the altar. The animal would then be cut into pieces. The priests would then take the fat of the animal, along with the kidneys and the liver, and burn it on the Altar of Burnt Offering. God’s portion of the Peace Offering will be the blood and the fat. The priests will be given the breast and the right thigh of the animal. The remainders are for us, the offerers, to eat. And then finally we enjoy the meal after the sacrifice together with our fellow-Israelites, whom we have invited. It is clear that with the Peace Offering the fellowship with God, with the priest and with the others of God’s people, stays central.

The Peace Offering helps the believer to understand the significance of a special meal that we celebrate every Sunday: the meal on the Lord’s Table. The Lord’s Supper is in large measure, the New Testament version of the Peace Offering festive meal. The Peace Offering sacrifice is offered, Christ, Who died once for all, making peace between men and God, and between men and men. This celebration goes on by eating the meal, every Sunday until Jesus Christ returns. In the communion we are reminded of our unity with God, as well as our unity with the others:
Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread (1 Cr 10:16-17).

Finally we concentrate on an important verse that we find in Lv 7:20,21: But if anyone who is unclean eats any meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the Lord, that person must be cut off from his people. If anyone touches something unclean- whether human uncleanness or an unclean animal or any unclean, detestable thing- and then eats any of the meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the Lord, that person must be cut off from his people.'

Because of the significance of the Lord’s Table, as it points at the peace which Christ has accomplished on the cross, misconduct at this table is taken most seriously. Any Israelite that dealt carelessly with the Peace Offering was abandoned from fellowshipping with God and with his people. For us it is the same: having new life, in the close presence of God, with our feet on the paved work of sapphire stone, it is impossible that we behave or carry something unholy! Let us realize that every time again when we celebrate the Peace Offering.

May God enable us to meditate more on the peace, which Christ has won for us on the cross: peace with God, peace of God and fellowship with eachother.

Questions
1.The Peace Offering was a compulsory/voluntarily offering
2.The Peace Offering follows after the … Offering
3.The Peace Offering refers to the … life
4.In this sermon the Peace Offering focuses on mainly two issues: … and …
5.Why could the 74 Israelites come into the presence of God?
6.What is the difference between the peace with God and the peace of God?
7.How do we exercise to bear the fruit of peace?
8.How do we celebrate the Peace Offering practically?
9.When celebrating the Peace Offering we are reminding the unity between … and … and between … and …
10.What is a condition to participate in the celebration of the Peace Offering?