Commentary - Leviticus 3:6-11

Bird's-eye view

Leviticus chapter 3 details the regulations for the peace offering, or fellowship offering. Unlike the burnt offering, which was entirely consumed on the altar, or the sin offering, which dealt with specific transgressions, the peace offering was a celebratory sacrifice. It was a communal meal shared between God, the priests, and the worshiper, signifying restored fellowship and shalom. This particular passage (vv. 6-11) focuses on the peace offering when it is brought from the flock, either a lamb or a goat. The central elements are all here: the worshiper's identification with the unblemished animal, the sprinkling of the blood by the priests, and the offering of the fat portions to Yahweh as His special food. This is a picture of communion, a holy meal that anticipates the Lord's Supper, where we have peace with God through the blood of the true Lamb.

The detailed instructions about which parts are to be burned are not arbitrary kitchen notes. They teach us profound theological truths. The fat, representing the best and richest part, is given to God. The life, represented by the blood, is returned to God. What remains is a meal of fellowship, enjoyed in the presence of God. This offering was not primarily about atonement for sin, though that is the necessary backdrop for any fellowship with a holy God. Rather, it was about the joy and celebration that flows from that atonement. It is a picture of what Christ has secured for us: not just a ticket out of hell, but a seat at the Father's table.

Outline

Context In Leviticus

Chapter 3 is situated in the opening section of Leviticus, which lays out the five primary types of offerings. We have already seen the burnt offering (chapter 1), which speaks of total consecration, and the grain offering (chapter 2), which speaks of dedicating the work of our hands to God. Now comes the peace offering, which is about communion and fellowship. This order is significant. Before we can truly have fellowship with God, there must be a basis of atonement and consecration. The peace offering builds on what has come before. It is the happy result of being made right with God. The subsequent offerings, the sin and guilt offerings (chapters 4-5), will detail the remedies for specific breaches in the covenant relationship. But here, in chapter 3, the focus is on the joy of that relationship itself. This is the meal you eat after you've been reconciled. It's the celebration that follows the cleansing.

Key Issues

Verse by Verse Commentary

6But 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.

The peace offering, as we've noted, is about fellowship. The Hebrew word is shelamim, related to shalom, which means much more than the absence of conflict. It means wholeness, completeness, well-being, and prosperity. This offering celebrates the state of shalom between the worshiper and God. Unlike the burnt offering, which had to be a male, the peace offering could be male or female. This points to the inclusive nature of this fellowship; all of God's people, male and female, are invited to His table. But the requirement of being "without blemish" remains constant. Fellowship with a holy God requires a perfect representative. We cannot approach God with our flawed and blemished selves. We need a substitute, and that substitute must be perfect. This is a constant drumbeat in Leviticus that points us relentlessly to the spotless Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

7If he is going to bring near a lamb for his offering, then he shall bring it near before Yahweh,

The focus now narrows to a specific animal from the flock: a lamb. The lamb is, of course, a potent symbol throughout Scripture. It represents gentleness, innocence, and vulnerability. From the Passover lamb in Exodus to John the Baptist's declaration, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29), the lamb is the quintessential sacrificial animal. The worshiper brings this lamb "before Yahweh," to the entrance of the tent of meeting. Worship is not a private affair conducted on one's own terms. It is a public, covenantal act, done at the place God has appointed and in the way He has prescribed.

8and 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.

Here we have two crucial actions. First, the laying on of the hand. This is a formal act of identification. The worshiper, by placing his hand on the lamb's head, is saying, "This animal stands for me. Its death will be my death. Its acceptance will be my acceptance." It is a vivid picture of substitution. We cannot read this without thinking of our own sin being laid upon Christ. He became our representative. Second, the slaughter. The worshiper himself kills the animal. This was not a sanitized ritual performed by professionals at a distance. The cost of sin and the price of peace were viscerally present. The life of the animal is given up. Then, the priests, Aaron's sons, take the blood and splash it around the altar. The blood represents the life poured out (Lev. 17:11). By applying it to the altar, the life that was forfeited is given back to God, satisfying His justice and cleansing the ground for fellowship to occur.

9And 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,

Now we get to the specifics of God's portion. It is the fat. In a world where fat meant energy, richness, and abundance, the fat was considered the best part. The "entire fat tail" of the particular breed of sheep common in that region was a great delicacy. God is not to be given the leftovers. He is to be honored with the very best. This principle runs straight through the Bible. We are to give God our firstfruits, not what remains after we have satisfied ourselves. The fat that covers and is on the entrails represents the internal richness and health of the animal. God desires truth in the inward parts (Psalm 51:6). This offering of the internal fat signifies the giving of our deepest, richest affections and loyalties to Him.

10and 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.

The kidneys and the liver were considered by the ancients to be the seat of the deepest emotions and will. The Bible often speaks of God testing the "reins" or kidneys (e.g., Psalm 7:9, Jeremiah 17:10). To offer these organs to God was to offer the very center of one's being, the seat of one's desires and decisions. It is a symbolic way of saying, "Lord, my deepest affections, my will, my inmost being, I give to you." This is what it means to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. It is a total surrender of the inner man, which is then consumed by the fire on God's altar.

11Then the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire to Yahweh.

The priest acts as the mediator, taking what the worshiper offers and presenting it to God. The offering ascends "in smoke," which the Old Testament calls a "soothing aroma" to the Lord. This is anthropomorphic language, of course, but it communicates a beautiful truth: God is pleased, satisfied, and delighted by the sacrifice. And notice the startling language: it is offered as "food" to Yahweh. This doesn't mean God has a physical body or gets hungry. It is covenantal language. Sharing a meal together was the ultimate sign of fellowship and peace in the ancient world. By calling the sacrifice His "food," God is declaring that He is sitting down to eat with His people. He is their host and their covenant partner. The altar is His table, and the sacrifice is the meal that seals their fellowship. This is a staggering privilege. The holy God of the universe invites sinners, cleansed by blood, to dine with him. This is the gospel in miniature, a foretaste of the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Application

First, we must recognize that we have no peace with God on our own terms. We are not "without blemish." We need a substitute, and God has provided one in His Son. Jesus is our peace offering. He is the Lamb of God upon whom our sin was laid, and through whose blood we are brought near to God (Eph. 2:13-14). All our worship must begin with this reality. We don't come to God with our own goodness; we come clinging to the cross of our perfect substitute.

Second, the peace offering was a meal. The Christian life is not just about being forgiven; it is about being brought into fellowship. We celebrate this reality every Lord's Day at the communion table. The Lord's Supper is our peace offering meal, where we feast with God and with His people. We are reminded that Christ is our food and drink, and that we have true shalom with the Father through Him. This should cultivate in us a deep sense of joy, gratitude, and celebration. The Christian faith is not a grim affair; it is a feast.

Finally, God claims the best, the innermost parts. Our fellowship with God requires that we give Him not just our outward actions, but our inward affections, our deepest desires, our will, the "fat" and the "kidneys." He wants our hearts. True worship is the glad surrender of our whole selves to be consumed by the fire of His presence. We are to present our bodies, and everything that goes with them, as a living sacrifice, which is our spiritual worship (Rom. 12:1). This is the only right response to the one who gave His all for us.