Leviticus
chapter 7 gives us an overview and some additional information about
the offerings already detailed in previous chapters. As tedious as
these details become, they never confuse the role of the priest, the
sacrifice and the offerer. Each has its designated part to play in
the reconciliation. Verse 7 tells us in the guilt offering, the sin
offering and the grain offering, a portion goes to the priest. We
are reminded the blood and the fat belong to God and the offerer does
not benefit from the offering. Next we are told, “the
meat of the fellowship offering must be eaten the same day it is
offered, he must leave none until morning“.
What a great reminder that God desires our fellowship daily. We are
not supposed to gorge ourselves on Sunday and then starve the rest of
the week. Our fellowship with God should be a daily event. Verse 19
tells us, “Meat
that touches anything ceremonially unclean must not be eaten, it must
be burned up“.
Remember the fellowship offering was a celebration of our peace with
God and it should not be polluted. Living a life of purity is
presented as so un-hip in our culture, particularly with young
people, but how refreshing when we see it. Like cool clean water on
a hot day, purity is irresistible!
We
are again reminded in all of the offerings, the blood and the fat
belong to God. The shedding of blood is a constant reminder of the
penalty of sin. It is so precious and costly because sin is
expensive. The chapter closes with a few reminders; first, “Anyone
who brings a fellowship offering to the Lord is to bring it with his
own hands“.
Our fellowship with God is to be personal and intimate. We also
read that God designates specific portion of the offering to the
priest, “I
have taken the breast that is waved and the thigh that is offered and
given them to Aaron and his sons as their regular share“.
Another good reminder that our giving should be regular, not just
when we have a little extra.
All
of these sacrifices and offerings are designed to point the nation of
Israel to the coming Messiah. Jesus Christ alone became the offerer
and the sacrifice, He is our Priest and He is our God. He was born
and became a man, yet He was fully God. He was sinless because only
a sinless sacrifice could pay the price to redeem mankind. His blood
became our atonement and paid the price to restore us with God
Almighty. He defeated death and Hebrews 10: 12 says, “He,
having offered one sacrifice for sin for all time, sat down at the
right hand of God“.
And now we may have intimate fellowship with God through our Savior
not through religious rituals, by faith. Hebrews 11:6 declares,
“Without
faith It is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must
believe that He is, and He is the rewarder of those who seek Him“.
Seek Him and receive your reward!