Commentary - Leviticus 19:5-8

Bird's-eye view

In this section of the Holiness Code, the Lord lays out specific regulations concerning the peace offering. This particular sacrifice was unique in that it was a meal shared between the priest, the worshiper, and his family, signifying fellowship and communion with God. The central point of this passage is the strict time limit placed upon this celebratory meal. It must be consumed on the first or second day, but anything remaining until the third day becomes an abomination. This is not a lesson in food safety, but rather a profound theological point. The regulations surrounding this offering teach us that fellowship with God is a serious business, conducted entirely on His terms. More than that, the prohibition against the third day is a stark typological pointer to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A sacrifice that remains into the third day is a picture of death and decay, something utterly antithetical to the new life Christ secured when He rose on the third day.

Outline

Context In Leviticus

Leviticus 19 is a central chapter in what is often called the Holiness Code (chapters 17-26). The refrain, "You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy," sets the tone for the entire section. These are not arbitrary rules for an ancient tribe; they are the very fabric of a society being built around the presence of a holy God. The laws here cover a wide range of life, from worship to ethics to civil justice. This specific instruction about the peace offering fits squarely within this theme. Holiness is not just about avoiding sin; it is about approaching God in the right way, with the right heart, and according to His explicit commands. This passage demonstrates that even in an act of fellowship and celebration like the peace offering, God's holiness demands precision and obedience.

Commentary Verse-by-Verse

Verse 5: ‘Now when you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted.

The peace offering, or fellowship offering, was an expression of thanksgiving and communion. Unlike the burnt offering, which was wholly consumed on the altar, or the sin offering, which dealt with guilt, the peace offering resulted in a shared meal. It was a tangible picture of being at peace with God. But notice the condition here. The offering is not a way to manipulate God or to earn His favor on your own terms. You are to offer it in a particular way, following all the regulations, for a particular purpose: "so that you may be accepted." Acceptance is the goal of all true worship. A sinner cannot simply decide to have fellowship with a holy God. The way must be prepared, and the sacrifice must be offered as God commands. This is not about earning salvation through works, but about recognizing that God alone sets the terms of approach. All our worship, if it is to be accepted, must be offered through the one perfect sacrifice that guarantees our acceptance, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 6: It shall be eaten the same day you offer it and the next day; but what remains until the third day shall be burned with fire.

Here we have the specific timeframe. The blessing of this meal, this tangible sign of fellowship with God, is to be enjoyed with a certain urgency. It is for today and tomorrow. This is a time of feasting and joy in the presence of the Lord. But there is a boundary. The holiness of the consecrated meat has a time limit for its purpose as food. What is left over is not to be discarded carelessly or left to rot. It must be disposed of with reverence: "it shall be burned with fire." Fire in Scripture is a purifying agent and an instrument of God's presence and judgment. By burning the remainder, the worshiper acknowledges that this was no ordinary meal. It was a holy thing from start to finish, and its disposal must reflect that holy status. You don't treat holy things like common leftovers you find in the back of your fridge.

Verse 7: So if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an offense; it will not be accepted.

Now the negative command, and it is severe. Eating the meat on the third day is not a minor infraction. It is an "offense." The Hebrew word here is piggul, which means a foul, putrid, or abominable thing. The act of eating transforms what was a holy sacrifice into a disgusting object of contempt. The consequence is stark: "it will not be accepted." The entire act of worship is nullified. Your sacrifice, your fellowship, your celebration, all of it is rendered invalid and becomes offensive to God. Why the third day? This cannot be arbitrary. The sacrifice that remains until the third day is a picture of death, corruption, and decay. But on the third day, our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the grave, conquering death and corruption forever. To partake of the old sacrifice on the third day is, typologically, to reject the resurrection. It is to prefer the decaying flesh of the old covenant to the living and glorious Lord of the new. It is to say that fellowship is still found in what is dead, rather than in Him who is the resurrection and the life. This is why it is an abomination.

Verse 8: And everyone who eats it will bear his iniquity, for he has profaned the holy thing of Yahweh; and that person shall be cut off from his people.

The consequences are both personal and corporate. First, personal: "everyone who eats it will bear his iniquity." This is legal language. The guilt for this act of sacrilege rests squarely on the head of the offender. He is liable for his own sin. The reason is given: "for he has profaned the holy thing of Yahweh." To profane something is to treat what is holy as if it were common. He has taken what God set apart and dragged it through the mud of his disobedience. Second, the punishment is corporate: "that person shall be cut off from his people." This is excommunication. It is to be cast out of the covenant community, away from the presence of God and the fellowship of His people. In the Old Testament economy, this was a sentence of spiritual death. It demonstrates that how we worship is not a private affair. Profaning God's holy things is a contagion that threatens the sanctity of the entire camp. This is a solemn warning that carries straight into the New Covenant. To treat the holy things of God, like the Lord's Supper, with contempt is to invite judgment and to risk being cut off from the body of Christ.

Application

This passage, like all of Leviticus, is dripping with gospel truth. We are not saved by offering animal sacrifices, but we are saved by the one who fulfilled all the sacrifices. The peace offering shows us that God desires fellowship with His people, a desire ultimately fulfilled in the communion we have through Christ.

The strict rules teach us that we must come to God on His terms, not our own. We cannot invent our own worship and expect it to be accepted. True worship is obedient worship. The prohibition of the third day is a glorious signpost pointing to the resurrection. Our fellowship with God is not based on a dead sacrifice, but on a living Savior who conquered the grave. Our hope is not in a system that decays, but in the one who is alive forevermore.

Finally, the penalty of being "cut off" is a sober reminder of the seriousness of worship and the importance of the purity of the church. To profane the holy things of God is to risk our fellowship with Him and with His people. We are to handle the things of God with reverence, joy, and strict obedience, knowing that our acceptance was purchased at an infinite price, and our fellowship is with the holy God who rose again on the third day.