The Peace Offering and our Worship

Leviticus in chapter 3, please. I'll see that I leave plenty of time for another brother with an exercise to speak. I want just to read with you some few words that give us a lovely illustration perhaps of what we've been about this morning.

Leviticus chapter 3 is the chapter of the peace offering. Most of us will know that and it's the chapter of that offering which is not given to God to make peace with him. It's the chapter of the offering of the enjoyment of peace with God.

It's a chapter of fellowship with God. The whole book of Leviticus is very illustrative for us and it's an illustration that we're looking at now. It was real, it was actual for the children of Israel in those days, but it's illustrative for us now.

And as the peace offering was being described by God, the offering is here in chapter 3, the law of the offering is in chapter 7. We're told at the beginning of the chapter that if the offering, the oblation comes from the herd, then the procedure is described down to verse number 5. And as we read it, certainly when I was a younger believer reading passages of scripture like this, I found it strange that there was all this detail about the inwards of animals and so much of it repeated. The section that we've just described, verses 1 to 5, we'll read it because the rest of the chapter is not entirely repetitive, but it is in principle repetitive. So verse 1 of chapter 3 says, if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd, whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord.

And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering. So he's identifying himself with the offering. He's going to kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

He does that, the offerer. He kills it. He has to feel the weight of the death.

He has to feel the weight of the sacrifice. So he identifies himself with the offering. He takes the life of the offering.

Then Aaron's sons, the priests, sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about, and he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering, an offering made by fire unto the Lord, the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the call above the liver with the kidneys, it shall he take away. And Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is upon the wood that is on the fire. It is an offering made by fire of a sweet savor unto the Lord.

Then from verse 6 to 11, the offering can be brought from the flock. The procedure is very much the same. And having taken now with priestly hands all the fat, all the inward excellence of that animal, it then says in verse 11, the priest shall burn it upon the altar.

It is the food of the offering made by fire unto the Lord. Then from verse 12 to 16, the offering can be a goat. The procedure very much the same.

Verse 16, the priest shall burn them, that is all the inwards, upon the altar. It is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savor, all the fat is the Lord's. Now we trust God will bless the reading of his word.

What is this illustrating for us? Well, this morning, by the grace of God, we've gathered around the emblems another time, perhaps the last time. And as we've gathered around them, we have been exercised by the spirit of God and with love in our hearts for the Savior. We've been exercised to speak to God about his son.

What can we possibly do? Begin to tell God about Christ that he does not already know in all its fullness. When we think of it on the human level, many here, certainly mature people here, many will have had professions, got professions, jobs for which they have studied hard, worked hard, got experience. And certainly for anything like this, poor man speaking to you now, if you've got a level of expertise in a particular avenue of things and somebody comes along who knows nothing or little about it and presumes to start telling you about it, it's quite irritating, isn't it? You think, well, you don't know what you're talking about.

You'd be better off if you just kept your mouth shut. Isn't it wonderful that God doesn't think of us like that? But the question remains, what can we ever say to God concerning Christ? On a very practical level, I've been very heartened that much of the contribution this morning has been from younger brethren. We're very pleased to see that and to hear that.

And of course, it's different for the sisters who, in accordance with Scripture, are keeping silent. But don't let that fact make you think for a moment that you don't have an offering of worship to give to the Lord on an occasion like this. The only reason the man is audible is because he's leading the company.

There's a collective element to the worship as well. And we signify our agreement with what he has said on behalf of the company with our amen. So first of all, on a practical note, let me say to younger brethren, I know it's daunting being there myself, but don't think that somehow you've got to try and match the language of more mature, spiritually mature brethren.

Don't think to yourself, I was about to take part this morning and thank God for his son, and then this older man stood up. Well, I mean, he could take us through Leviticus. This other brother could take us through Hebrews.

This man could take us through all the great detail of the cross, and they've got language that I can't use, and they've got knowledge that I haven't got, and so I'll just sit here and I'll keep quiet. But then when you think, if you have the most knowledgeable and most eloquent brother on the face of the earth, what can he ever say to God about Christ that God doesn't already know? So how do these verses help us that we've just read? Well, now, if you follow carefully the procedure of the peace offering, this man is bringing his offering out of thankfulness to God for what God has done for him. It's a thanksgiving offering.

He doesn't have to bring it. He wants to bring it. He wants to give something back to God in appreciation for what God has done for him.

So in the procedure, it seems a bit gory to us maybe, but having taken the life of the offering, he stands back and he watches the priests go about their work, and they open up the animal. Now, the man's responsibility, remember, was to bring the best of his herd or his flock. He's done that, but now as it's opened up before him, he can start to see what made it the best, the inward excellence of it, the inwards, and the fat particularly.

All the fat is the Lord's, says God about the peace offering. It's all mine. And we're thinking now about the inward excellence of this peace offering.

The priests take it. It's certainly not discarded. They take it to the altar, and on the altar, the burnt offering of Leviticus chapter 1 is already ascending.

There's already a burnt offering upon the altar. Whether it be the morning or the evening sacrifice, this lamb is upon the altar. Now, the burnt offering, I'm sure you're aware, speaks to us of what the sacrifice of Christ meant to God, what was for him.

Calvary preeminently was for God and for his honor and glory. That's what Christ had in mind. Everything else flowed from that.

So the burnt offering is already on the wood that is on the fire that's upon the altar. But then as we follow the procedure, we find that what the priest does now, he takes the fat of the man's peace offering, and he puts it upon the burnt offering. The verses we've read have told us that the fat of the man's offering becomes the food of the burnt offering.

The burnt offering is going to feed upon the fat of the peace offering. What's going to happen is that the priest puts all this fat upon the slowly burning fire of the burnt offering. The Spirit of God is very deliberate in his language in the book of Leviticus, throughout the Scripture, of course.

But in Leviticus, a different word is used for the burning of those offerings which were for the pleasure of God. A different word is used from the fire that is used for offerings for sin. Where there are offerings for sin, the thought is of the Holocaust.

That that which has become the personification of sin and guilt must be reduced to ashes. It must be completely consumed. It must be done away with.

But when there's an offering that is for the pleasure of God, like the burnt offering or the peace offering, a sweet savor offering, it's not being burnt to consume it, particularly. It's being burnt to release its fragrance. So a slow fire is used.

It's the word used for the burning of incense. You don't burn incense to get rid of it. You burn incense to release its fragrance.

So here on the altar is a burnt offering. Its fragrance is already ascending to God, speaking of what Christ means to him. Now comes a priestly man and he puts upon that burnt offering the fat of the offerer's peace offering.

And that suet is going to sit upon the burnt offering. The heat of it, of the fire, is going to cause it to melt. It will slowly melt.

You can see the fat now. It's melting. It's flowing down across the flanks of the burnt offering.

And as the as the fat of the peace offering flows down the flanks of the burnt offering, it reaches the fire. And as it reaches the fire, the fire flares. And as the fire flares, so it causes a fresh wave of the fragrance of the burnt offering to ascend to God.

The burnt offering is feeding upon the fat of the man's peace offering. Have we got the picture? So now believers like you and me, we come together, drawn by the Spirit of God and out of love for Christ, and we come as part of our remembrance of him to speak to God concerning Christ. And we seek to bring of the best.

And as guided by the Spirit of God, we bring the fat of our peace offering. And it becomes the food of the burnt offering. Our feeble, with respect, our feeble appreciation, our stammering words, our very limited vocabulary, it becomes the food of the burnt offering.

It causes a fresh wave of the fragrance of all that Christ means to God to ascend to him. Brethren, sisters, have we grasped the holy privilege of this morning ministering to the heart of God? It's not my words. It's not my thoughts.

It's not my appreciation. It's all the fragrance of the burnt offering that has risen again to the heart of God. And we've had the privilege of ministering to him of that which he delights in, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Dear younger men, don't be limited. Don't feel restricted. It's perfectly natural, as I say, we've been there.

You feel you can't match the knowledge, the words, whatever, of the older men. But none of us, none of us, this side of glory will ever give any adequate expression or appreciation of what Christ means to the heart of God. But he's provided this.

See, that very man who's at the right hand of God now, he's the one through whom our prayers are directed. And so we've brought joy to the heart of God this morning. Your appreciation, dear sister, though not publicly expressed, your appreciation as you've meditated on the glories of Christ, has with the rest of us been the fat of our peace offering that has become the food of the burnt offering and a fresh wave of the fragrance of Christ has arisen to God from this place today.

What a holy privilege. May God help us to appreciate it more.