Leviticus 7:11

The Bible says in Leviticus 7:11-21, “And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD.[12] If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.[13] Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.[14] And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest's that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings.[15] And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.[16] But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten:[17] But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire.[18] And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.[19] And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof.[20] But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.[21] Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the LORD, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.”

Notice the phrase in verse 12 “the sacrifice of thanksgiving.” This means that someone is so thankful for something that they make an offering to God in memory of it. They want to do something to express how thankful they are for something that God has done for them. In the New Testament this is what we do: Jesus gave His life for us, and therefore, to express our thankfulness to Him we give our lives for Him.

Starting in verse 18 the Israelites are told when not to eat the meat of the peace offering. They were not to eat it after the third day. Perhaps that was symbolic of the resurrection of Christ who lived again after three days, and of course, was no longer dead. But based upon the other restrictions given in this passage, this might be a dietary warning. Meat that has been lying around for three days probably should not be eaten to avoid food poisoning.

Verse 19 says “the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten.” This symbolizes the fact that Jesus was a perfect sacrifice for us. It also symbolizes that God wants us to live holy lives and not touch anything that is unholy. We can see from verses like this that there is a Biblical basis for the saying “cleanliness is next to godliness.” There is also a dietary component to these restrictions. It would not be a good thing to eat contaminated meat. It says in verse 21, “Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings...”

Of course, anyone who was to violate any of these restrictions would suffer the ultimate penalty. It says at the end of Leviticus7v21, “even that soul shall be cut off from his people.” Death is the penalty for failure to keep the law. One violation of any point in the law required death. That makes the law a terrible and frightening code to live under. And that is why it is so much better to live in the age of grace. How fortunate we are that we who know Jesus as Savior are not under law but under grace. We fail so easily and so often that it is not good to be under law. Instead of being under a covenant of death, through Christ we are under a covenant of life. Thank you, Lord Jesus.

The Bible says in Leviticus 7:22-27, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,[23] Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat.[24] And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use: but ye shall in no wise eat of it.[25] For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people.[26] Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings.[27] Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.” In verses 22 and 23 we see two of the requirements to being a prophet or a preacher: 1. Have a personal relationship with the Lord where your message comes from Him. 2. Take that message and deliver it to people. Another way of saying this is: you learn from God and you teach others what you have learned. God spoke to Moses, and then God said, “Speak unto the children of Israel.” In these verses the children of Israel were told three things as part of the law: do not eat fat or blood from the sacrifices, and if anyone disobeys this command, they shall be put to death. The law was very unforgiving. How blessed we are to live in the age of grace instead of being under the law. What a wonderful Savior we have to come give us the new covenant of grace and replace the covenant of the law.

The Bible says in Leviticus 7:28-38, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,[29] Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the LORD shall bring his oblation unto the LORD of the sacrifice of his peace offerings.[30] His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before the LORD.[31] And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons'.[32] And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings.[33] He among the sons of Aaron, that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part.[34] For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel.[35] This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister unto the LORD in the priest's office;[36] Which the LORD commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute for ever throughout their generations.[37] This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings;[38] Which the LORD commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.” Notice that in verse 30 one of the offerings is called a wave offering. It says, “may be waved for a wave offering before the LORD.” The human being makes an effort to make sure that God sees the offering. Of course, God sees it because God sees all things. Therefore, the action of waving before the Lord is more of a reminder to the human being. Human beings definitely need to be reminded that Jesus is their sacrifice. The reason that you can go boldly before the Lord is because Jesus is your sacrifice. The reason that God accepts you completely is because Jesus is your sacrifice. The reason that God will answer your prayers is because Jesus is your sacrifice. Wave your offering before the Lord: “Hello, Lord, I have a sacrifice here. It is the best of all sacrifices. I am coming to you because of my great sacrifice: Jesus Christ the righteous.”

Notice that starting in verse 35 a lot is said about “anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons.” In the Bible “anointing” signifies God’s calling and choosing. God has a will and a purpose for every single person on this earth. God wanted Aaron and his sons to be priests. Not just anyone could be a priest. It had to be God’s will and God’s calling according to how God arranged things. In the Old Testament it was based upon family and linage. God’s choosing was partly determined by the family that He had you born into. Those that were born into the tribe of the Levites became priests. Those who were not born into the tribe of the Levites could not become priests. One exception to this was Jesus. Jesus is the last priest: a high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. Your anointing will come once you accept Jesus as Savior. You will be given one or more spiritual gifts. As you understand what your gifts are, and develop those gifts, you will be given opportunities to use your spiritual gifts for the glory of Christ. That will be your anointing from God. The anointing is the Holy Spirit.

The Bible says in Leviticus 8:1-6, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,[2] Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;[3] And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.[4] And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.[5] And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done.[6] And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.” Out of all the children of Israel, God chose Aaron and his sons to be priests. God has a will for each believer, but only God only wants some believers to be preachers. (We do not have priests in the age in which we live because Jesus was the last priest as we are clearly taught in Hebrews chapters 6, 7, and 8. We have preachers, pastors, and teachers in the age in which we live.)

Notice in verse two that there had to be a “sin offering” for Aaron and his sons. It is a great privilege to be a preacher of the Gospel of Christ, but preachers are sinners too. They are not better than anyone else, but they do have an important calling. It is important that a preacher clearly understands the forgiveness of sins. Preachers must have a clear testimony of having come to Christ and must know what Jesus did for them in forgiving them of their sins.

In verse 6 it says that Moses “washed them with water.” The sacrifice is what symbolized the sacrifice of Christ, and is what accounted for the forgiveness that they needed. What was the washing with water all about? Water is the cleansing agent in the earth. And therefore water symbolizes forgiveness: being cleansed from sin. The water did not give forgiveness, but it symbolized the result of forgiveness. That is where baptism comes from: this Old Testament symbolism of water and cleansing. The water does not cleanse, but symbolizes the cleansing that already took place. And water baptism does not cleanse from sin. Water baptism only symbolizes the forgiveness that already took place. The real cleansing is a spiritual experience when a person calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus for salvation. For example, it says in Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” Notice the phrase “the washing of regeneration.” Regeneration is when we are given life through faith in Christ. It is a spiritual washing. If you have not been cleansed from your sins, you can turn to Jesus today and receive that cleansing.

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