Give Peace a Chance

Some years ago, several artists were commissioned to paint a picture of peace. One artist depicted peace as a calm and tranquil sea under the moonlight. Another depicted peace as a mother and child reading a book together in a sunlit garden. But the picture that won the prize pictured a turbulent mountain waterfall with its noisily plunging waters. Yet half hidden behind the waterfall, not far from the thundering waters, was a bird's nest with a mother bird sitting quietly and serenely on her eggs. That was true peace, a safe and quiet little space during a noisy and raucous world.

This morning in Leviticus 3 we come to the third of five sacrifices that God ordained His people to bring to Him in worship. Through these five offerings, God was teaching the Israelites that he loved them so much that He, their one and only true God, was going to come down to earth, live a sinless life without blemish, sacrifice Himself for them as a burnt offering so that all who would believe in Him would live forever with Him. God wanted the Israelites and us to know that He wanted a relationship with His creation, and these offerings were to foreshadow a time when He would make that a reality. For us all five offerings are a picture of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross.

In the burnt offering God offered a way for His people to be atoned for and be reconciled to Him and so begin a personal relationship with Him. It foreshadowed us coming to salvation through Jesus Christ. In the grain offering God gave them a way to respond to His love and salvation by offering a gift of thanksgiving that acknowledged God's provision of their physical and spiritual needs, and a remembrance of the covenant promises made to each other. This foreshadowed our pursuit of holiness and sanctification in that our works for the Lord are acceptable in Jesus.

The third sacrifice is called by many names. It is called the fellowship offering, the well-being offering or the peace offering. Once we have accepted God’s offer of salvation and responded with thankfulness and dedication, we are able to have peace. We can be in fellowship with God in an intimate way. The peace we will study today is the supernatural peace we can have through God’s presence in our lives and knowing that He is in control of all things no matter how chaotic, troubled or out of control our lives seem to be. The fellowship or peace offer will teach us that we can have peace amid trouble and conflict and in a noisy and raucous world. We have the surety that God will ultimately work all things for the good to those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose. We see that is Romans 8:28. It is impossible to have a fulfilled and satisfied life without the peace that comes from being in a close, personal relationship with God. This is the peace that is pictured by the painting of the mother bird sitting on her eggs behind the turbulent waterfall. This is the kind of peace we can have, and the kind God wants to give us. That brings us to our big idea this morning that God desires His people to live at peace with Him.

Let’s pray, Heavenly Father, we come into your presence this morning with surrendered hearts and minds. Open our eyes and ears to what your Holy Spirit wants to say to each one of us. Teach us your holy Word and help us to obey all your commands. Give us your truth so that we can share with those who don’t know you. Help us to apply those truths to our own lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Our first point, The Herd, is found in Leviticus 3:1-5. This is what God’s Word says, “‘If your offering is a fellowship offering, and you offer an animal from the herd, whether male or female, you are to present before the Lord an animal without defect. You are to lay your hand on the head of your offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall splash the blood against the sides of the altar. From the fellowship offering you are to bring a food offering to the Lord: the internal organs and all the fat that is connected to them, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys. Then Aaron’s sons are to burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering that is lying on the burning wood; it is a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord.”

The Hebrew word used for “fellowship” indicates a voluntary offering of thanksgiving much like the grain offering but with the added idea of alliance and friendship with God. This alliance would bring peace between two parties. The Hebrew word for “peace” is “shalom” which is a state of harmony, prosperity, happiness, friendship and unity. It is a state of wholeness and contentment. The burnt offering brought a state of atonement, the grain offering brought acceptance and satisfaction and the peace offering brings fellowship, communion and interaction between God and man. As with the burnt offering, we see the same sequence of events taking place with the peace offering. First, the proper animal had to be selected. The Israelites were able to choose from three types of animals. The first was an animal from their herd. But there were differences between this offering and the burnt offering. One difference was that the worshipper could present either a male or female animal as a sacrifice. Whereas the burnt offering was all about God and so required male animal, the peace offering was more about His people. He wanted to live in peace with all people and so a male or a female was acceptable. This was also to be a celebratory offering to God and with God from His people.

Second, like the burnt offering, the animal had to be perfect, without blemish or stain. This was to remind the worshippers that they were not perfect but sinful human beings and that the only way to approach God was by His grace. Do we honestly dwell on our sinfulness and how blemished we are. Do we take our repentance seriously? Do we contemplate our salvation and how Jesus suffered and died on the cross for pour sins? Van Meter says, “As we loathe our condition, we will increasingly love God’s salvation.” If we are to have peace with God, we must recognize that we are sinful human beings, that we fall short of the glory of God and must be reconciled to Him. We must be broken because of our sin but at the same time rejoice exceedingly for what Jesus has done on the cross for us. Third, like the burnt offering, the worshipper had to lean with all their strength on the head of the sacrifice signifying that the perfect animal was their substitute and was taking their place on the altar. This symbolized that their sins were transferred onto the sacrificial animal. But this offering was not given for atonement; it implies that the worshipper is already atoned for. Joseph Benson, citing Conradus, gives a description of the meaning of this gesture –“This laying on of hands signifies devotion and faith, with an acknowledgment of the benefits, for which we can offer nothing of our own, but only return to God what we have received; that we may understand gratitude and thanksgiving to be the greatest sacrifices.”

Fourth, the worshipper had to slaughter the animal by their own hand at the entrance of the tent of meeting. This symbolized that their sacrifice gave the worshipper access to the Lord. As they were doing this, they would have been praising and thanking God for His gift of salvation which brought them fellowship, well-being and peace with Him. Fifth, Aaron’s sons, the priests, were to collect the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar. This publicly demonstrated that a life had been taken for their atonement and reconciliation with God to take place. It points us to Jesus Christ who poured out His blood for us so we could have peace with God through Him. We may wonder why God ordained all this blood. It’s because there can be no atonement and reconciliation without the blood of a sacrifice. Hebrews 9:22 says, “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” It’s because our sin is so heinous and repulsive to God that the means of our salvation is bloody and gruesome. When we contemplate the bloody sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ it is supposed to give us pause when we are tempted to sin and purpose to live holy lives aided by the Holy Spirit.

Sixth, the worshipper was to bring a “food” offering from the peace offering to the Lord. This food offer consisted of the internal organs or the entrails and all the fat that was connected to them. It also consisted of both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver. Once removed from the animal, Aaron’s sons were to burn it on the altar on top of the burnt offering that was lying on the wood. Why did God demand all the fat to be offered as a food offering to Him? Fat was symbolic of the best part of the animal and so symbolic of the worshipper’s best. The worshipper, thankful and appreciative of God’s blessing of salvation, responded by offering to Him their very best. God expects to receive the best the worshipper has to give. Colossians 3:17 and 23 says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” God desires His people to give Him their very best in response to His salvation and peace. Giving God our best should be a time of celebration and joy for what He has done for us. But how many of us stop celebrating and rejoice in the fact that we have been saved from our sins? When was the last time you praised, thanked and glorified God for your salvation? Let us be people who purpose to give the Lord our very best in appreciation of our salvation through Jesus Christ. That brings is to our first next step which is I will give the Lord my very best in appreciation of His salvation given freely to me through Jesus Christ.

We also notice that God demanded the liver and kidneys to be burned to Him on the altar along with the fat. In the Bible, the kidneys were considered the seat of their emotions. They symbolized giving God the hidden, internal part of oneself, a complete and sincere devotion beyond outward actions. They represented heartfelt gratitude and the emotional response of the worshipper toward God. Today, we say that our hearts ache or are overflowing with love for someone. In ancient cultures, a romantic husband may have said to his wife, “I love you with all my kidneys!” To offer God the kidneys was symbolic of worshipping Him with their emotions. Wenham writes, “It is possible that offering the kidneys and internal fat symbolizes the dedication of the worshipper’s best and deepest emotions to God. For the peace offering was often tendered in intrinsically emotional situations, when a person made vows or found themselves seeking God’s deliverance or praising him for his mercy.” This brings a question before us: Are we moved in our spirit and body when we contemplate what Jesus did for us on the cross? God is an emotional God and He desires His people to worship Him with their whole being and that includes their emotions.

Aaron’s sons were to burn these offerings on the altar. The word for burn means incense, or a fragrant offering meaning that these sacrifices were being offered to please God. When we worship the Lord the way He commands and we do it with the right heart and attitude, He is pleased with us and delights in us. Notice where this offering was burned. The peace offering was placed directly on the morning’s burnt offering which was already on the wood on the fire. The burnt offering symbolized the worshipper’s complete surrender and that Jesus Christ would be their atonement. Placing the peace offering on the burnt offering signified that their peace was based on the foundation of their atonement and reconciliation with God. Since the peace offering was always resting on atonement there was always the opportunity to have fellowship and peace with Him. Lastly, the very best of their lives including their emotions, were to be returned to the Lord by fire as a food offering to Him so they could have true shalom or peace with God.

So how do we have peace with God? God gives us peace from within. When we trust his promises to be true, when we turn over the task of running our lives to him and leave all our circumstances in his hands, then we will have peace. As Philippians 4:6-7 says, we are not to be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present our requests to God. And when we do this the peace of God, which we can’t fathom or understand, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Paul goes on to say if we are thinking on the things of God; things that are true, noble, righteous, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy and we put these into practice, the God of peace will be with us. That brings is to our second next step which is I will live in peace with God by trusting in Him, allowing Him to run my life and thinking on the things of God daily. Seventh, we see what God’s response to the peace offering was. When the Israelites came before the Lord, bringing the proper sacrifice in complete obedience to His commands, it was a pleasing aroma for Him. When we studied the burnt offering, we looked at Ephesians 5:1-2, which said that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was the sweetest aroma to His Father. The only way we can have peace with God is through our “peace” offering, Jesus Christ, and that causes us to be a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Our second point, The Flock: Sheep, is found in Leviticus 3:6-11. This is what God’s Word says, “If you offer an animal from the flock as a fellowship offering to the Lord, you are to offer a male or female without defect. If you offer a lamb, you are to present it before the Lord, lay your hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall splash its blood against the sides of the altar. From the fellowship offering you are to bring a food offering to the Lord: its fat, the entire fat tail cut off close to the backbone, the internal organs and all the fat that is connected to them, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys. The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering presented to the Lord.”

The second animal the Israelites could bring as a peace offering was one from the flock and two different flock animals were acceptable. The first was a sheep. The Hebrew word for lamb here signifies a full-grown sheep in its prime. Again, like the herd animal, it could be a male or female and had to be without blemish pointing us to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Like with the herd animal, the worshipper was to lean his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it before the tent of meeting where God resided. With the sheep we see an additional command about the fate of the animal. There was a species of sheep in the ANE called the broad-tailed sheep that were very numerous and had a very long and fat tail. Their tail could be up to four feet long and weigh fifteen pounds or more. It consisted of a combination of fat and marrow and was considered a delicacy. When a broad-tailed sheep was sacrificed, they were to take care to cut the tail off close to the backbone. This along with the rest of the fat, kidneys and liver, were reserved for God alone. The Hebrew word for “backbone” means to “shut one’s eyes firmly” or resolutely. Isaiah 14:26-27 says, “This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the Lord Almighty has purpose, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” The fat of the broad-tailed sheep is being compared to the firm and fixed purposes of the Lord. The fixed purposes of Jesus completing His work and giving us His salvation allows us to be accepted and to have peace with God. We see the fixed purposes of God lived out in Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and going to His death in Jerusalem. The instructions for burning the fat parts, the kidneys and the liver were reiterated to ensure that God’s commands were obeyed to the fullest. Nothing was left to chance or questioned because it all foreshadowed Jesus Christ.

The priest again was to burn all the fat, the fat tail, the kidneys and the liver on the altar. Again, the word for burn signifies incense, or a fragrant offering meaning that when these offerings were brought just as commanded and with the proper heart, it would be a pleasing aroma to God and He would be pleased with His people. In verse 11, we see that the priest shall burn them on the altar as “food.” The word for “food” here is “bread.” This means that just as this offering would be food or “bread” for God, it would also be “bread” for the worshipper. The ultimate purpose behind the peace offering was fellowship and communion with God. One way that we fellowship with others is by sharing a meal together. It promotes friendship and getting to know one another better. This chapter focuses on our friendship and fellowship with God which anticipates two things. One, the perfect table that is set before us because of Jesus’ sacrifice. Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Our Lord and Savior want to have intimate fellowship with us and when we are at peace with Him, that is possible. We will have this peace when He returns and takes us to be with Him for all eternity. Two, it anticipates Holy Communion that we as His followers are to participate in to remember His sacrifice on cross. Holy Communion is a sacred meal ordained by Jesus for Hs followers to partake in until He comes again.

That brings us to our third point, The Flock: Goats, found in Leviticus 3:12-17. This is what God’s Word says, “‘If your offering is a goat, you are to present it before the Lord, lay your hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the tent of meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall splash its blood against the sides of the altar. From what you offer you are to present this food offering to the Lord: the internal organs and all the fat that is connected to them, both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the long lobe of the liver, which you will remove with the kidneys. The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the Lord’s. “‘This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.’”

The third type of peace offering that would be accepted was a goat. The reason for including the goat was because of the difference in the tails of the two offerings. The instructions for this offer were pretty much the same as the other two. The goat was brought before the Lord; the worshipper leaned on the sacrifice and killed it. The sons of Aaron splashed its blood around the altar. The fat covering the entrails, the two kidneys and the liver were removed and the priests burned them on the altar as a sweet aroma to the Lord. Verse 16b and 17, wraps the chapter up with the most important information that God wanted the Israelites to know. First, “All the fat is the Lord’s.” This symbolized that the very best was to be dedicated solely to the Lord. This law about fat only applies to these specific animals. In Deuteronomy 12, we see non-sacrificial animals mentioned. They are commanded not to eat the blood, but nothing is said about not eating the fat. The lesson is that anything that symbolized Jesus Christ was forbidden and reserved for God alone. The law of fat was to be a lasting ordinance for generations to come no matter where they lived. It was to last if the Law of Moses lasted and that ended when Jesus ushered in the new covenant. Garrett says, “The law of the fat portion is fulfilled in Christ; it is set aside in Christ; and it is annulled in Christ.” Second, they were also commanded to not eat blood because the blood of the sacrifice belonged to God. The blood that brought atonement was not to be used for common purposes. Hebrews 10:29 says, “How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?”

In conclusion, these offerings not only foreshadowed Jesus, but they were also the way God wanted the Israelites to come before Him in proper worship. The same is true for us today. Through these offerings we can understand how God wants us to properly worship Him. Gail shared a devotional with me this week about worship. William Temple, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said “Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness, Nourishment of mind by His truth, purifying of imagination by His beauty, Opening of the heart to His love, And submission of will to his purpose. And all this gathered up in adoration is the greatest of human expressions of which we are capable.” It is the surrender of our will and our self that makes true worship possible. Using William Temple’s definition, we see that worship in this sense produces an intimate, intentional relationship with God daily — the process of sanctification.

“Henri Nouwen once asked Mother Teresa for spiritual direction. Spending one hour each day in adoration of your Lord,' she said. Such simple yet profound advice. Worship is the act of the abandoned heart adoring its God. It is the union that we crave. Few of us experience anything like this on a regular basis, let alone for an hour each day. But it is what we desperately need. “Simply showing up on Sunday is not even close to worship. Neither does singing songs with religious content pass for worship. What counts is the posture of the soul involved, the open heart pouring forth its love toward God and communing with him. It is a question of desire. Augustine said, ‘Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.’ Our only hope for rest from the incessant craving of our desire is in God, and us united to him. When we are truly desiring God with our whole being, heart, mind, soul and strength, we will be at peace with Him. Do you truly desire to be at peace with God? Do you truly desire to worship the Lord the way He has commanded? Do you truly desire a closer and more intimate relationship with him? Do you truly desire God with your whole being this morning? That brings us to our last next step which is I will desire my Lord and Savior with my whole being: heart, mind, soul and strength.

Let’s pray: Dear Heavenly Father, we truly want to desire you this morning, but we fall short. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us so that we can desire you with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. Lord, give us your true peace that only comes from accepting your salvation for ourselves. Help us to trust in you, allow you to run our lives and think about your things daily. Help us to give you our very best in appreciation of your salvation given freely to us through your sacrifice for on the cross. May our lives be a pleasing aroma to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Opening: “The Way of Wholeness” by Ray Stedman

Conclusion: https://www.citizen-times.com/story/life/2016/09/02/devotional-daily-worship-means-opening-oneself-god/89594972/

Give Peace a Chance

God desires His people to live a peach with Him.

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