The Grammar of Fellowship: The Peace Offering Text: Leviticus 3:6-11
Introduction: More Than Just Forgiveness
When modern Christians think of the Levitical sacrifices, our minds tend to go to one place: sin and forgiveness. We think of the blood, the death, the atonement, and we rightly see in all of it a bloody finger pointing down through the centuries to the cross of Jesus Christ. And that is absolutely correct. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. But if that is all we see, we are like a man who looks at a grand feast and only notices the butcher's block out back. We see the preparation for the meal but miss the meal itself.
The sacrificial system was not a monotonous, one-note affair. It was a rich and textured liturgy, a divine audio-visual aid designed to teach Israel, and us through them, the multifaceted glories of relating to a holy God. They had the guilt offering, which dealt with sin. They had the ascension offering, or whole burnt offering, which was about total consecration to God. But then they had this, the peace offering, or as it is sometimes called, the fellowship offering. This was not primarily about getting right with God, but rather about enjoying the reality of being right with God. This was the communion meal. This was the feast.
In the grand liturgical movement of the sacrifices, there was a logical and theological order: guilt, ascension, and then peace. This is the same pattern we see in our own worship, whether we recognize it or not. We begin with a confession of sin, acknowledging our guilt. Then we have the ascension, the offering of praise, the reading and preaching of the Word, where we consecrate ourselves to God. And what does it all culminate in? It culminates in the peace offering, the Lord's Supper, the table of fellowship. Guilt, consecration, communion. Leviticus was teaching us the grammar of worship from the very beginning.
So as we come to this text, we must adjust our thinking. This is not about a cowering sinner trying to appease an angry God. This is about a forgiven sinner being invited to dinner with a gracious God. This is about what happens after you've been justified. This is about the joy of reconciliation. This is God teaching His people how to have table fellowship with Him.
The Text
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. If he is going to bring near a lamb for his offering, then he shall bring it near before Yahweh, 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. 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, 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. Then the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire to Yahweh.
(Leviticus 3:6-11 LSB)
The Foundation of Fellowship (v. 6-7)
The instructions begin with the nature of the offering itself.
"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. If he is going to bring near a lamb for his offering, then he shall bring it near before Yahweh..." (Leviticus 3:6-7)
The first thing to notice is the kind of offering: a "sacrifice of peace offerings." The Hebrew word is shelamim, which comes from the root shalom. Shalom is not just the absence of conflict; it is wholeness, completeness, flourishing, and right-relatedness. This sacrifice is about celebrating and enjoying the shalom that exists between the worshiper and Yahweh. It is a covenant meal that affirms the peace established between two parties.
The animal could be from the flock, a lamb or a goat, and it could be "male or female." This is a significant detail. In the sin and ascension offerings, the requirements were often more stringent, usually specifying a male. But here, in the fellowship offering, there is more latitude. This points to the expansive and celebratory nature of this meal. It is not about meeting the bare minimum for atonement, but about the joyous freedom of fellowship.
However, one requirement is not relaxed: the animal must be "without blemish." You cannot have true fellowship with a holy God on the basis of a flawed offering. Peace with God is not a cheap peace. It is not a truce where God agrees to overlook our mess. It is a peace that is purchased on the basis of perfection. For the Israelite, this meant bringing the best of his flock. For us, it means that our fellowship with the Father is grounded entirely in the blemish-free perfection of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, "a lamb without blemish or spot" (1 Peter 1:19). Our communion with God is not based on our performance, but on Christ's perfection.
Identification and Substitution (v. 8)
Next, we see two crucial actions performed by the worshiper.
"...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." (Leviticus 3:8)
The "laying on of hands" is a profound act of identification. In the sin offering, this action symbolized the transfer of guilt from the sinner to the substitute. But here, in the peace offering, the meaning is slightly different. It is not about imputing sin; it is about union. The worshiper is saying, "This animal represents me. Its death is my death, and its acceptance on the altar is my acceptance before God." He is identifying with the perfect victim that will form the basis of the fellowship meal. In the same way, our fellowship with God is not abstract; it is based on our union with Christ. We are "in Christ." His death was our death, and His resurrection life is our life. We lay our hands on Him by faith, identifying with Him completely.
The worshiper then slaughters the animal himself. This was not a detached, sterile affair. The cost of this meal was visceral. Life is precious, and the peace being celebrated was purchased with blood. This brings us to the second action, performed by the priests: they "shall splash its blood around on the altar." Why the blood? Because "the life of the flesh is in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11). Blood represents the life given up in death. The altar is the place where God and man meet. Splashing the blood on the altar signifies that the basis of this meeting, the foundation of this peace, is a life poured out. It is the blood of the covenant. Without that shed blood, there can be no meeting, no peace, no fellowship. Our communion with God is not based on warm feelings; it is based on the violent, substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. His blood makes our peace.
God's Portion (v. 9-10)
After the death of the animal, the choicest parts are set aside for God.
"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, 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." (Genesis 3:9-10)
This is a very specific list. In ancient cultures, the fat was considered the richest, most energy-laden, and therefore the best part of the animal. The kidneys and liver were also considered vital and choice organs. The principle is simple: God gets the best. In any fellowship, the honored guest is given the best portion. In this covenant meal, Yahweh is the host and the guest of honor, and so He receives the richest parts.
This teaches us a fundamental principle of worship and fellowship. Our fellowship with God is not a matter of giving Him our leftovers, our spare time, or our pocket change. True communion with God means giving Him the fat of our lives, the best of our energy, the richest of our affections, the first of our resources. To try and have fellowship with God while holding back the best for ourselves is to fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the relationship. He is worthy of all, and true joy is found not in keeping the fat for ourselves, but in delighting to offer it up to Him.
The Divine Meal (v. 11)
The conclusion of this section describes what happens to God's portion.
"Then the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire to Yahweh." (Leviticus 3:11)
The priest, acting as the mediator, takes the fat and burns it on the altar. The smoke ascending to heaven is described as a "food, an offering by fire to Yahweh." Now, this is not to be understood in a crude, pagan sense, as though the transcendent God of the universe gets hungry and needs to be fed. The pagans believed their gods needed sustenance. Yahweh is the one who gives breath and food to all. This language is covenantal and metaphorical. It is the language of table fellowship.
When you eat a meal with someone, you are affirming a bond of peace and fellowship. By describing the offering as "food," God is communicating to His people in terms they can understand. He is saying, "We are at peace. We are sharing a meal together. I am your God, and you are my people, and we will now sit down and eat in fellowship." The altar becomes the table of the Lord, and the smoke ascending is the aroma of that accepted communion. The rest of the animal, as we know from other passages, would be eaten by the priests and the worshiper's family. God gets His portion, the priest gets his portion, and the worshiper gets his. It is a shared meal, a picture of perfect shalom.
From Altar to Table
As with every detail of the Levitical code, this is a shadow, and the substance is Christ. The peace offering finds its ultimate fulfillment in the Lord's Supper. The entire logic of Leviticus 3 is the logic of our communion service.
We come to the table because we are at peace with God. That peace was made possible only by the one who is "without blemish," Jesus Christ. We are united to Him by faith, just as the worshiper laid his hand on the head of the lamb. Our fellowship is grounded in His shed blood, the blood of the new covenant, which is the only thing that allows us to draw near to the holy altar of God's presence.
At His table, we offer up to God the "fat" of our lives, the best of our praise and thanksgiving. We offer ourselves as living sacrifices. And in this meal, God has fellowship with us. The Lord's Table is the new covenant peace offering. It is where God eats with His people. Christ is the sacrifice, Christ is the priest, and Christ is the meal. He is the host who invites us, and He is the food we feast upon.
Therefore, we should never treat the Lord's Supper as a funeral. It is a feast. It is not primarily about mourning our sin, though we should come in repentance. It is about celebrating our shalom. It is the family meal of the people of God, hosted by our Father. It is the place where we taste and see that the Lord is good. It is the joy of being right with God, made possible by the blood of the Lamb, and expressed in the simple act of eating and drinking together in His presence. This is the grammar of fellowship, first written in the smoke of the altar, and now written in the bread and the wine.