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Articles, Bible studies, and sermons that contain Leviticus 3:6:
Leviticus 3:6-11
Excerpted from: Why Is Atonement a Fall Festival?These passages that I have read contain many details but we need to highlight only a few. The first is that the offerer lays his hands on the animal before killing it to show a transference to it or an identification with the animal that it represents the offer. So it is a symbolic expression of the substitution of the animal for the worshipper. But note, when we read that passage, that even though the man who is making the offering puts his hands on the animal, sins are not confessed over it. Not like the atonement offering when the hands were laid on the animal, all the sins of Israel were confessed over it and it was led into the wilderness. That is in chapter 16, verse 21.
In the peace offering, the hands are laid on it but no sins are confessed over it. Now, the offerer has surely committed sins but the peace offering does not really contemplate them that seriously. And the assumption is that they have already been forgiven, they have already been dealt with. And how do I know that? Because the peace offering is called a sweet aroma to the Lord. That is in Leviticus 3:5. It indicates that the offering pleases God as it is. He would not be pleased if it contained sin. The sin offering, even though it was made, was burned outside the camp. God wanted it as far away from Himself because it was full of sin. That is in chapter 4, verse 12.
But this offering was not, this was accepted by God. He ate part of it. Remember I showed you there, it said it was burned on the altar as food—meaning food for God. Then a portion of it was given to the priest for his food and the remainder came back to the offerer for his food and all those he asked to join in the feast to eat the remainder of that animal, that lamb.
The second thing we need to look at, or at least note among these two passages in Leviticus 3:7, did you notice that the animal's blood was sprinkled around the sides of the altar? And probably it was done that way to present a life given to God. The animal did die. A life was taken and the blood, which is the life of the animal, is sprinkled around the altar as a means of saying that this life was sacrificed. But it was not sacrificed for sin. In the sin offering the blood was sprinkled on things to cleanse them. This was not sprinkled on anything for cleansing.
But my point here it was not sprinkled or thrown against the altar for cleansing but to show the sacrifice of a life.
The third thing is its name. It is a peace offering. Believe it or not, the word for peace offering is very close to the word for shalom. It is a shalom offering, if you will. It is also called a thanksgiving offering or a fellowship offering. It pictures the offerer, the priest, and God Himself in fellowship eating a meal together. Each of the parties receives a portion of the lamb to eat. And it depicts all three of these parties in an amiable relationship, in fellowship with one another, like our Thanksgiving dinner should be. I do not know if they always are (if you like the Cowboys, they are probably not). But when you eat in fellowship with people you enjoy, you have a really good time. It is a great setting. You get along, you rejoice, you feel a great deal of well being and satisfaction when all the elements come together and you have this peaceful meal of good fellowship. And that is why it is called a shalom offering because there is well being and satisfaction among all the participants—the offerer, the priest, and God.
So in this peace offering, there is no taint of transgression. There is no dark side bringing down the joy of this offering and meal. It shows a harmonious relationship of peace and instead of being angered or offended by sin, God is pleased. He is grinning from ear to ear, if you will, because now His child and His great Son and He are sitting around the table eating together, talking, having a good time. So God is pleased and He participates in the rejoicing of the feast. Everyone is on good terms and the … . . .
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