Lectures on Leviticus (11) : Peace Offering (1)
1. The Meaning of the Peace Offering
From now I’ll talk about peace offering. Leviticus 3 verse 3 explains that a peace offering is an offering of blood. It is giving a bull, a lamb, or a goat. The Peace Offering has similarities, but also has differences compared with the Burnt Offering.
First of all, you should understand the purpose of giving a peace offering. Sometimes people think that the purpose of a peace offering is for the forgiveness of sins, but actually it is not so. So, what you usually think of as a peace offering is not really a peace offering.
Of course, you should be forgiven to have peace with God. Offerings for the forgiveness are the guilt offering and sin offering. Peace offering is given for other purpose. The Peace Offering is given after you are forgiven and come to communicate with God through guilt offering and sin offering. The main purpose of peace offering is that you have peace with God and rely on Him absolutely.
In Leviticus chapter 7, there are several examples of peace offerings such as Offering of Thanksgiving, of Vow, and of Freewill. Even today when we give the same thanks offerings, there are various meanings. We give thanks offerings to God for giving us eternal salvation and daily bread. There are many purposes in peace offering, but the main purpose is that saved children of God enjoy fellowship with God and depend on God wholeheartedly committing their lives to Him.
God’s children can enjoy His presence when they have peace with Him. He gives them the strength to live by the truth and answers to the desires of their hearts. He helps them carry out their vows. I explained in covering Leviticus chapter 2, that the Grain Offering is also a thanks offering, but it has a different meaning than the thanks of the Peace Offering. A grain offering is general thanks offering, giving thanks to God for saving and protecting us, and of giving us our daily bread. So we always give thanks offering every Sunday. If we have a special reason to be thankful, we give a separate thanks offering for it. Also, sometimes we give with freewill without any special reason to be thankful. When we give to God, being full of the love and grace of God, to please Him with self-commitment, it also becomes a peace offering.
Even in the relationship between parents and children, it is normal for the children to serve their parents with sincere hearts, but if the children express their love with unexpected gifts, the parents should be pleased. In the same way, peace offerings with self-commitment please God and makes peace. Also, when God’s people made a vow to dedicate themselves to live according to God’s word, they used to give offerings for the special vows. In some cases they made special vows before God to receive the answer to special requests.
For example, Samuel’s mother, Hannah, could not have a baby, so when she made a vow before God to give her a son, she said she would give the son to God. When we make a vow before God, we must keep our promise. If we make a vow easily and not keep it later following our own way or desires, it is mocking God. Then we will not be in peace but will make God angry. So we should not make a vow thoughtlessly. We have to be very careful about it.
In the same way, God’s children can call God “Father” joyfully and ask Him for anything courageously.
1 John 3:21-22 say, “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight..” This kind of person can ask anything confidently before God and receive the answer.
If you have confidence before God in this way by living in the truth, you experience the power of God for anything you ask. You are in the protection of God wherever you may go, and are accompanied with the evidence that God is with you.
Furthermore, if you give God offerings pleasing to God, how soon you will receive the blessings and answer from God! You should give offerings more pleasing to God by distinguishing between the spiritual meanings of peace offering and grain offering when you give offerings of thanksgiving.