The Guilt Offering
(Leviticus 5:14–19; Leviticus 6:1–7)
1“Now this is the law of the guilt offering, which is most holy: 2The guilt offering must be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and the priest shall splatter its blood on all sides of the altar.
The guilt offering required sacrificing a ram (Leviticus...
3And all the fat from it shall be offered: the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, 4both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which is to be removed with the kidneys. 5The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering to the LORD; it is a guilt offering. 6Every male among the priests may eat of it. It must be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy.
7The guilt offering is like the sin offering; the same law applies to both. It belongs to the priest who makes atonement with it. 8As for the priest who presents a burnt offering for anyone, the hide of that offering belongs to him. 9Likewise, every grain offering that is baked in an oven or cooked in a pan† or on a griddle† belongs to the priest who presents it, 10and every grain offering, whether dry or mixed with oil, belongs equally to all the sons of Aaron.
The Peace Offering
11Now this is the law of the peace offering that one may present to the LORD:
Worshipers would present the peace offering for three...
Worshipers would present the peace offering for three reasons:
as thanks to God,
as payment of a vow (Leviticus 7:16), or
as a voluntary gift (see 3:1–7).
A worshiper showed thanks by giving a grain offering with the peace offering (2:1–16). A grain offering included unleavened cakes, wafers, or fine flour cakes. They mixed all of them or spread olive oil on them. They set aside a portion to burn (2:9). The grain offering came with loaves of "leavened bread" (7:13).
as thanks to God,
as payment of a vow (Leviticus 7:16), or
as a voluntary gift (see 3:1–7).
12If he offers it in thanksgiving, then along with the sacrifice of thanksgiving he shall offer unleavened cakes mixed with olive oil, unleavened wafers coated with oil, and well-kneaded cakes of fine flour mixed with oil.
13Along with his peace offering of thanksgiving he is to present an offering with cakes of leavened bread. 14From the cakes he must present one portion of each offering as a contribution to the LORD. It belongs to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering. 15The meat of the sacrifice of his peace offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day he offers it; none of it may be left until morning.
Worshipers presented the "peace offering of thanksgiving" to...
Worshipers presented the "peace offering of thanksgiving" to show gratitude to the Lord (Leviticus 7:12–15). This was unlike the vow offering linked to a promise made by a worshiper. After, they celebrated with a meal. The meal was less formal and could continue into the next day. But since the vow offering involved a promise to God, it had stricter rules than the voluntary offering, which could even use a deformed animal (22:23).
16If, however, the sacrifice he offers is a vow or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day he presents his sacrifice, but the remainder may be eaten on the next day. 17But any meat of the sacrifice remaining until the third day must be burned up. 18If any of the meat from his peace offering is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted. It will not be credited to the one who presented it; it shall be an abomination, and the one who eats of it shall bear his iniquity.
Anything ceremonially unclean could not touch what was...
Anything ceremonially unclean could not touch what was holy (Leviticus 7:20). Although uncleanness was not sinful by itself, it symbolized what was unholy (see Exodus 19:10).
19Meat that touches anything unclean must not be eaten; it is to be burned up. As for any other meat, anyone who is ceremonially clean may eat it.
cut off: This expression can mean three serious...
cut off: This expression can mean three serious things:
God judged the person, and they died early from natural causes (Leviticus 17:10–14).
The community executed the person (see Exodus 31:14).
The person lost membership in Israel. This was either by expulsion (like excommunication) or being shunned and treated as ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 18:24–30; see 23:29–30, where "cut off" seems different from "destroy").
God judged the person, and they died early from natural causes (Leviticus 17:10–14).
The community executed the person (see Exodus 31:14).
The person lost membership in Israel. This was either by expulsion (like excommunication) or being shunned and treated as ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 18:24–30; see 23:29–30, where "cut off" seems different from "destroy").
20But if anyone who is unclean eats meat from the peace offering that belongs to the LORD, that person must be cut off from his people. 21If one touches anything unclean, whether human uncleanness, an unclean animal, or any unclean, detestable thing, and then eats any of the meat of the peace offering that belongs to the LORD, that person must be cut off from his people.”
Fat and Blood Forbidden
In the sacrificial system, the fat and blood...
In the sacrificial system, the fat and blood of all altar offerings belonged to God. People offered them before eating any part of the sacrifice. God forbid the Israelites of consuming blood because it represented the animal's life (Leviticus 17:10–16). The rule against eating fat might have been because fat, considered the best part, belonged to God.
22Then the LORD said to Moses, 23“Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘You are not to eat any of the fat of an ox, a sheep, or a goat. 24The fat of an animal found dead or mauled by wild beasts may be used for any other purpose, but you must not eat it.
25If anyone eats the fat of an animal from which a food offering may be presented to the LORD, the one who eats it must be cut off from his people.
The command not to eat blood was very...
The command not to eat blood was very important. The Council at Jerusalem even included it in their instructions for non-Jewish (gentile) believers (Acts 15:29).
26You must not eat the blood of any bird or animal in any of your dwellings. 27If anyone eats blood, that person must be cut off from his people.’”
The Priests’ Portion
28Then the LORD said to Moses, 29“Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘Anyone who presents a peace offering to the LORD must bring it as his sacrifice to the LORD. 30With his own hands he is to bring the food offerings to the LORD; he shall bring the fat, together with the breast, and wave the breast as a wave offering before the LORD.
31The priest is to burn the fat on the altar, but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons. 32And you are to give the right thigh to the priest as a contribution from your peace offering. 33The son of Aaron who presents the blood and fat of the peace offering shall have the right thigh as a portion.
34I have taken from the sons of Israel the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and his sons as a permanent portion from the sons of Israel.’”
35This is the portion of the food offerings to the LORD for Aaron and his sons since the day they were presented to serve the LORD as priests. 36On the day they were anointed, the LORD commanded that this be given them by the sons of Israel. It is a permanent portion for the generations to come.
37This is the law of the burnt offering, the grain offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the ordination offering, and the peace offering, 38which the LORD gave Moses on Mount Sinai on the day He commanded the Israelites to present their offerings to the LORD in the Wilderness of Sinai.