Becoming a Living Sacrifice Ken Marquardt March 19, 2016

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1 Becoming a Living Sacrifice Ken Marquardt March 19, 2016 I d like to begin by turning to a scripture I know we are all familiar with, Romans 12:1. Paul says the following: Romans 12:1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (NKJV) Why should we do that? 2) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (NKJV) We ve heard and read that scripture many times over the years, but have we really stopped to think about what it is saying to us? Paul starts off by saying, I beseech you, and in my King James version, the word beseech is in all capital letters. This word beseech comes from Strong s 3870, parakaleo. It means to call near as to help, to implore, to entreat, to exhort, to admonish, or urgently ask. So Paul is raising his voice here to get our attention, because what he is saying is very important. Exactly what does it mean when it says we are to become living sacrifices? That is the title of today s message. Becoming a Living Sacrifice The words living sacrifice come from two words, Strong s 2198 and They literally mean a live victim. We are to become live victims. Then it says holy which is Strong s 40, which means consecrated, blameless, sacred or pure. Acceptable is Strong s 2101 and it means fully agreeable or well pleasing. Remember that term, well pleasing. Finally, Paul tells us that this is our reasonable service. In other words, it is what is expected of us. So how exactly are we supposed to go about doing that? Where in the scriptures would we go to get some insight into being living sacrifices? Well, the place to go that will give us insight into this subject is in the book of Leviticus. Surprisingly, other than chapters 11, 23 and 26, the church has, in general, been silent about this book. Not a lot of brethren have studied into it. A man named J. Vernon McGee, has a commentary series called Through the Bible. In his introduction to the book of Leviticus, he states the following:

2 Many years ago, I read a statement by Dr. S. H. Kellogg saying that he considered the book of Leviticus the most important book in the Bible. I felt at the time that he must have had his tongue in cheek to make a statement like that. Then I heard another great preacher in Memphis, Tennessee, Dr. Albert C. Dudley, also say that he considered the book of Leviticus the greatest book in the Bible. I found that very interesting because here we see a couple of men who did not have God s spirit and yet they felt that the book of Leviticus was the most important book in the Bible. Yet we, in the Church of God, have spent very little time in this book. I know that there has never been a minister in any of the church areas that I have attended that ever gave a Bible study on this book. That s probably not true everywhere, but it certainly has where I ve been. The first seven chapters in the book of Leviticus are dedicated to describing, in detail, the Old Covenant sacrificial system. And again, not many brethren in the church have spent a lot of time studying this section of scripture. I think there are several reasons for this. First reason: We don t do sacrifices today, so why should we bother looking into that? Second reason: We ve been told that these sacrifices all pointed to Jesus Christ, that He fulfilled them and they really have nothing to do with us. Third reason: The Apostle Paul told us in Hebrews 10:4 that it is not possible for bulls and goats to take away sins. So again, why bother looking at them? Fourth reason: Most people are under the impression that the sacrificial system was all about sin. You sinned, and you had to bring an animal to the tabernacle and the priest would sprinkle the blood which symbolically covered your sins. There is much more to these sacrifices than that. Some time back, I gave two sermons on God s law of love. We saw in those sermons that there was a spiritual side to most all of God s laws. That is also true of the sacrificial system as we will see. Turn to 2 Timothy, chapter 3. Paul is writing here. 2 Timothy 3:16. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, (NKJV) Note that it says all scripture. So those first seven chapters in the book of Leviticus are not there just to fill up space in this book. Could it be that understanding these sacrifices would help us to understand more fully what it means to be a living sacrifice? Let s take a look at the sacrifices in the book of Leviticus, keeping in mind what we just read here in 2 Timothy.

3 Let me state up front that I am by no means the end-all expert on this subject, but I m just going to give you some highlights as we go through this. First of all, there are five different types of offerings described in those seven chapters. So right away, that should tell us that if this system was just related to sin, then why would we not have just one offering? Why have five different offerings? Actually of those five, only two are related to sin. The other three have nothing to do with sin. The first three of those offerings are: The burnt offering The meal offering The peace offering They are called sweet savor offerings which means something well pleasing to God, We saw that the word acceptable back in Romans 12:1 had the same meaning, of being well pleasing. The last two of the offerings are called expiation offerings. They are the ones related to sin. What we will be focusing on for this message will be just the highlights of the first three of these offerings, the ones that are a sweet savor to God, because it is these three that give us a lot of insight of what being a living sacrifice means. For some of you who actually may have studied into offerings in the past, you may be familiar with a very good book on the subject entitled, The Law of Offerings by Andrew Jukes. This is a helpful book related to this subject, but the author states something in his introduction that is very important, but yet many people don t notice it, because when you open the book, he has it divided by sections on the various offerings. Therefore, a lot of people just open it to study the burnt offering and they turn to that section and don t read his introduction. On page 42 of his introduction he says: At present, I purpose going no further than Christ viewed as the offering, and that we may more particularly enter into this one aspect, this first aspect of Christ as the sum of the offerings. So he tells us that the focus of this book is strictly on how Christ fulfilled these offerings, not on all the other aspects of them. That is important to understand when using this book. He is not presenting the complete picture or understanding of them. So if you decide to get that book and do some further study, keep that in mind. It s very important.

4 There is no doubt that what each of these offerings pictured were fulfilled by Jesus Christ, and they relate to things He has done for us and is doing for us. But what we will find is that the sacrificial system was actually a very carefully designed teaching tool, created by God, to teach us some very important lessons, not only about what Christ has done, but what He requires of us as living sacrifices, because we are, after all, supposed to become like Christ. The Burnt Offering Let s turn to Leviticus, chapter 1 which begins with the burnt offering, which is the first of those three sweet savor offerings. We will read verses 3 through 9. This particular offering could be a bull, a sheep, a goat, a pigeon or a turtle dove. There were several choices. Starting in verse 3, the offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, so this is focusing on if this was a bull. Leviticus 1:3. If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD. 4) And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. 5) And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 6) And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. 7) And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: 8) And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: 9) But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD. (KJV) Verses 10 through 13 basically repeat the same instructions, but related to goats or sheep. Verses 14 through 17 give instructions for the birds, which could be a pigeon or a turtle dove. First, we could ask, why three choices? Well, there are two reasons possible. It could be actually both. First of all, as you know, Israel was an agricultural society. Just as today, farmers focus on different areas. They raise different things. Some may have focused on raising cattle. Others may have focused on sheep or goats. The birds were allowed to accommodate the very poor in society who could not afford a bull or a sheep or a goat. This would enable them to make this offering.

5 The second thing about the choices is that they could also represent the level of spiritual maturity of the one bringing the offering. That would probably be more applicable today than it would have been back then. In verse 3, the Hebrew word for burnt is Strong s 5930, olah and it means to ascend or to go up. This offering is also called the whole burnt offering, because it was the only offering in which the entire animal was completely burnt on the altar. If the offering was from the herd or the flock, it had to be a male and it had to be without blemish, which indicated that it was to be the best that a person had, not a sick or old or dying, damaged animal that you just wanted to get rid of. Actually, if you look at the book of Malachi, the priests there were indicted because they were allowing damaged and diseased animals to be brought to the temple. Now this, of course, did represent Jesus Christ who was perfect. But, it also represents what is expected of us, giving our best to God. We are all familiar with Matthew 5:48, which tells us to become perfect even as our Father in Heaven is perfect. The entirety of this offering was burned upon the altar. What this pictured, relating to Christ, is that He totally dedicated and gave His life to God and to the work that God had for Him to do, which eventually led Him to giving up His life for mankind. For us, this offering also pictures that we too must offer our lives totally to God, as we are told in Romans 12:1-2. Now as we fight against our human nature and as we resist its pulls, we are sacrificing ourselves to God and to His purpose. We too must give ourselves totally to God just as the burnt offering was totally consumed. Let s turn to Matthew 10 and we will read verses 37 and 38. This is Christ speaking. Matthew 10:37. He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38) and he that takes not his cross, and follows after me, is not worthy of me. (KJV) This mentions things that would be most dear to a person; our parents, our children. That indicates that if we are not to put them ahead of God, by implication, we should not put anything else ahead of Him either. The first two of the Ten Commandments are also related to this: having no other god before the true God, and not making any kind of an image or idol or graven image. Let s turn to Ezekiel, chapter 14. Ezekiel 14:3. Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?

6 7) For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourns in Israel, which separates himself from me, and sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself: 8) And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and you shall know that I am the LORD. (KJV) Actually, read all of verses 1 through 8 when you have time. Having idols in their hearts was a problem for Israel, and it has been and is a problem in the world today and in the church today. It s easy to put something in front of or before the true God in our minds. Being a living sacrifice requires being on guard against anything that could come between us and God. Let s notice 2 Corinthians, chapter 10 and verse 5. Paul is writing. 2 Corinthians 10:5. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (KJV) This is talking about idols in our hearts. Bringing every thought into subjection to God is not an easy task and it requires a lot of diligence. I can speak from experience. I m sure we all can. In Leviticus 1 it states that this offering was to be of his own voluntary will. In other words, it was a free-will offering like we give on the holy days. This phrase comes from the Hebrew word, ratson which according to Zodhiates means delight, good will, inclination, favor or willfulness. It s something that we willfully do. In other words, the offering is given as a free-will gift in order that the one that offers would be accepted by God. The covenant that we make with God must be freely given. It must be something that we do on our own. We can t be forced into it. This offering then was not atonement for sin, but rather a requirement for righteousness. Christ did not obey God because He had to, but because He wanted to. He loved God and He believed what God believed. For us, this has many spiritual implications as well. It pictures that we too must give our lives voluntarily to God in complete and total surrender to Him. Mankind s acceptance before God depends on righteousness, but we all know that we are not perfectly righteous, nor will we ever be and yet we are accepted before God. Romans 4:4-6 tells us why that is. Romans 4:4. Even as David also describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes righteousness without works,

7 5) Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 6) Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. (KJV) As we repent of our sins, God simply does not impute them to us. Instead, He imputes His righteousness to us. We must remember that the word repent means to turn and go in the other direction. It does not mean to keep doing the same things and just continue to ask God to keep forgiving us. We are able to come to God through His sacrifice for us, and so it is not just the matter that He died for us, but it is very important how He lived His life, and that He now lives in us. Therefore, how we live our lives becomes vital. Turn to Matthew 22. We have here a lawyer who came to Christ, tempting Him. In verse 30 he was basically asking what the greatest commandment is. In verses 36 through 38, he says: Matthew 22:36. Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37) Jesus said unto him, you shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38) This is the first and great commandment. (KJV) When you think about that, that is pretty all inclusive, isn t it? In order for us to love God like this, we must give our all which is exactly what the burnt offering pictured. This involves the three things that He mentions here, the heart, the soul and the mind. The heart pictures our emotions. The soul pictures our physical lives. The mind pictures our thoughts. We ll come back to that later as well. Notice 1 Corinthians 6, verses 19 and 20. Paul says: 1 Corinthians 6:19. What? know you not that your body is the temple of the holy spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? 20) For you are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. (KJV) As this states, once we make a covenant with God through baptism and repentance, we no longer belong to ourselves. We need to strive to live our lives accordingly, which is again exactly what the burnt offering pictured, the giving of our lives totally to God without holding some parts back for ourselves. Back in Leviticus 1:4 we read that the person bringing the offering was to lay his hands on the head of the offering. The purpose for that was that he gained acceptance, and it says an atonement for him. This was not a matter of atoning for sin, but rather giving

8 something satisfying to God. The word atonement there implies making satisfaction. There is something that satisfies God more than someone s death to atone for sin; that is that we live perfect lives before Him in obedience to Him just as Jesus Christ did. Ezekiel 33:11 says: Ezekiel 33:11. Say unto them, As I live, says the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live (KJV) God would much prefer repentance than seeing people die in the lake of fire. Turn to Hebrews 10, verse 5. Hebrews 10:5. Wherefore when he comes into the world, he says, Sacrifice and offering you would not, but a body have you prepared me: (KJV) This is actually referring to Christ. But for us, we too must live our lives and present them before God to be accepted by Him. Let s go back to Leviticus, chapter 1. The person who brought the bullock in actually killed the animal himself, and the priest then would take the blood and sprinkle it round about the altar, that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. Leviticus 1:5. And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 6) And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. (KJV) As I said, the person bringing it in actually did the killing. This represents the one who offers making a gift of himself and devoting his life entirely to God. The priest actually had very little to do here in the case of the bulls, the sheep and the goats. However, in the case of the birds, the priest actually does almost everything. Why that difference? Well, the one who offers pictures the person offering himself to God. The priest represents Jesus Christ in His official office as our High Priest and our Mediator. For us as Christians, as we go through our lives, we hopefully are gaining more understanding and becoming more mature spiritually as time passes. As we do this, we come to realize just how intensely Christ, in the flesh, had to cry out to God for the strength and the ability to keep Himself from sinning, to be able to submit His thoughts totally to God, all of His emotions and His life and His will every single day. Those who are newer in the faith and less spiritually mature tend to see Christ only as, Well, He s there as a high priest and when I repent, I m forgiven. There s a difference there. As you understand more, you begin to see what is required of you and how intense it has to be in order for you to resist sin. That is one of the reasons why there were differences of the offerings, as given in some of the books that I ve read. As we

9 grow spiritually, we too must come to understand the depth to which we must sacrifice ourselves in order to fully obey God. Verses 8 and 9 describe the cutting up of the animal. It talks about the head and the fat which were then put on the altar and verse 9 says: 9) But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD. (KJV) When this offering was cut up, it had to be done in a very prescribed fashion. It wasn t just take your machete and chop it up any old way just to get it in pieces so you could throw it on the altar. It was done very specifically and each of those parts symbolized something for us. The head pictured a person s thoughts and attitudes. The fat was symbolic of a person s general health, their vigor, their strength and their energy. The innards pictured a person s feelings and emotions and affections. The legs symbolized their walk in life, the way a person lived their life, all of our actions and conduct. When we put these parts together, we have a picture of total devotion and total surrender of a person s life to God. We saw almost that exact thing in Matthew 22 regarding the first and great commandment which, of course, spoke of loving God with all of our heart, all of our soul and all of our mind. In Christ s life, all of His thoughts and energies and His emotions and actions were in complete subjection to the Father. He was without spot and without blemish. For us too, we must learn to surrender every aspect of our lives to God. Nothing must be held back. Nothing is kept for ourselves. Notice what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:27. 1 Corinthians 9:27. But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (KJV) He was very concerned about this in his life. Now there are other aspects of the burnt offering that we could talk about. But I think we ve covered enough of the highlights to enable us to see what this offering pictures for us. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, lived what this offering pictured, and we, as living sacrifices, must do the same. The Meal Offering Let s go to Leviticus, chapter 2. We will talk about the second of the sweet savor-type offerings and that is the meal offering. If you have a King James version, they use the term meat offering which, of course, in today s use of English would imply that it is some kind of flesh, but it consisted only of grain, so the proper term is a meal offering.

10 Leviticus 2:1. And when any will offer a meal offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon: 2) And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests: and he shall take there out his handful of the flour thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD: (KJV) Again, something acceptable to God. So this offering consisted of wheat that was ground into flour. It was mixed with oil and as it describes here, the priest would take a part of that and burn it on the altar along with all of the frankincense. Verses 4 through 7 described various ways they prepared what was left. We won t go into that, but let s turn to verses 10 and ) And that which is left of the meal offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire. 11) No meal offering, which you shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for you shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire. (KJV) So this offering could not be prepared with leaven nor could it be made with honey, both of which would cause fermentation. Fermentation would, of course, be something they didn t want in those offerings. 12) As for the oblation of the first fruits (KJV) This is talking about the loaves that were prepared at Pentecost, the first fruit offering. 12b) you shall offer them unto the LORD: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savor. (KJV) That s because they were made with leaven. 13) And every oblation of thy meal offering shalt you season with salt; neither shalt you suffer the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your meal offering: with all your offerings you shall offer salt. (KJV) The meal offering represented the fruits of a person s life, and as such, those fruits should be pleasing to God. Let me read a couple of things from two different sources regarding this offering. The first one is from the 1903 Expositor s Bible on Leviticus. I m going to read a couple of things from pages 64 to 66. In the burnt offering, it represented a life given to God. In the meal offering, it was never a life, but always the products of the soil.

11 Then they go on to state that this offering couldn t be just anything that grew by itself, but it had to be the result of cultivation, something that you put your labor into, and specifically wheat. Next they say As the burnt offering represented the consecration of the life of the person to God, so the meal offering represented the consecration of the fruit of his labors to God. They then state, and this is very important: The meal offering is no longer an ordinance of worship today, but the duty which it signified remains in full obligation, not only in general are we to surrender our persons without reserve to the Lord as in the burnt offering, but onto him must also be consecrated all of our works. This is a very interesting statement. So what they are referencing here is the spirit of the law, and as they state, what this offering signified is still in force for us today. One final thing from them: In the meal offering we are reminded that the fruit of all our spiritual labors is to be offered to the Lord. Then I would like to read two sentences from the Law of Offerings from Andrew Julkes. On page 77 he says: On page 78: Corn, the fruit of the earth, on the other hand is man s part in creation. As such, it stands the emblem of man s claim or what we owe to man. Here in the meal offering as fulfilling man s duty to man. Let s turn back to Matthew 22:39. We already read verses 36 through 38. This is Christ speaking. Matthew 22:39. And the second is like unto it, you shall love thy neighbor as yourself. (KJV) We talked about this in regard to the burnt offering. The first and the greatest commandment is represented by the burnt offering while the second part of this, loving our neighbors as ourselves, is represented by the meal offering. We mentioned how the burnt offering pictured Christ s total obedience to God. The grain offering pictures His life of service to others, and we show God that we have truly committed our lives to Him by how we treat and serve our fellow human beings. The

12 priests had a number of duties that they performed every single day. For some of those things, they actually went inside the tabernacle, but they had to perform each morning and each evening a sacrifice on the altar that s in the outer court. Notice something related to this morning and evening sacrifice. Turn to Numbers 28:31. Numbers 28:31. You shall offer them beside the continual burnt offering, and his meal offering (KJV) The two were always offered together on the altar. There are quite a number of scriptural references that refer to this as well. Actually in chapter 29, it talks about all of the offerings made during the holy days, but it actually states this over and over again. Verses 19, 22, and 28 are all examples. Let s pick up in verse 22. Numbers 28:22. And one goat for a sin offering (KJV) This is besides the continual burnt offering and his meal offering. Again, the two were always offered together. Christ pointed this out to us in Matthew 22, when He stated that the second was like unto it. Like unto means of equal importance. You cannot love God if we do not love our fellow man. Let s notice some things in 1 John, because John talks a lot about this. 1 John 3:14. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loves not his brother abides in death. 16) Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 18) My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. (KJV) 1John 4:7. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loves is begotten of God, and knows God. 8) He that loves not knows not God; for God is love. 20) If a man says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21) And this commandment have we from him, that he who loves God loves his brother also. (KJV) What John is showing us here is that you cannot really have the one without the other, and this is why the morning and evening sacrifice always put the two together, the burnt and the meal offering. This is very symbolic for us. In Luke, chapter 10:27-37, a lawyer tempts Christ.

13 Luke 10:25. And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26) He said unto him, What is written in the law? how read you? 27) And he answering said, you shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. 28) And he said unto him, You have answered right: this do, and you shalt live. 29) But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, and who is my neighbor? (KJV) Then, of course, what did Christ do? He launched into the parable of the good Samaritan. That parable points to what the meal offering pictures. As Christians we must realize that service to others is actually an act of worship to God. Christ made this very clear to us during the Passover service. In John 13, we find that He washed the disciples feet as a servant. This act was symbolic of what He always did and of His entire way of life. He told us in verse 15 that it was an example for us to follow. Service towards others must be a part of our lives as it was a part of Christ s life. So when we are told to follow that example, it wasn t talking about just on the Passover night. It was talking about the way we live our lives, not just once a year, but every day. Let s notice John 15:13. John 15:13. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (KJV) What this is talking about is giving of our time and effort to help someone, not throwing ourselves in front of a bus, because a dead person can t help anyone. It s talking about a live person, a live sacrifice, doing things for others. Back in Leviticus 2:1, we read that oil was used on the meal offering. This was a necessary part of that offering. It was not acceptable to God without that oil. The oil, of course, symbolized God s holy spirit which shows us that our sacrifices towards others need to be motivated by the spirit of God. Let s notice John, chapter 5 in verse 19. This is Christ speaking again. John 5:19. Then answered Jesus and said unto them, truly, truly, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do: for what things so ever he does, these also does the Son likewise. 30) I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which has sent me. (KJV) Christ recognized that He could do nothing on His own, and that it was the holy spirit that gave Him the ability to serve others. As Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13, that if we had all knowledge and all faith and we gave everything we had to others, it would all be

14 in vain unless we did it because of the love of God. If we didn t have the love of God, which comes from the holy spirit, our service wouldn t be motivated by love. So it is impossible to truly love our neighbor as ourselves without being converted and having God s spirit in us. Another thing to remember is that the meal offering was actually an act of worship toward God. We mentioned that already. It was to be accepted by Him, not by man, not by the person we are serving, but by God. He is the one we do the acts to. As a meal offering made to God, we gave our lives to Him at baptism, and we cannot take our lives back and refuse to serve because it s not convenient or because we don t like someone or because the going gets tough and there are trials. So just as the burnt offering pictured that first and great commandment to love God with all of our hearts and souls and minds, the meal offering pictures the second great commandment, to love our neighbors as ourselves. The two go hand in hand and cannot be separated. Notice what Christ Himself said in Matthew 25. This is the parable of the sheep and the goats. Matthew 25:40. And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, In as much as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me. (KJV) That is a very good summation of the meal offering. The Peace Offering Let s turn to Leviticus 3 and we will talk about the peace offering which is the third of the sweet savor offerings. Like the previous two offerings, it has absolutely nothing to do with sin. This offering, however, is quite different from the other two, because here the one that brings the offering is allowed to participate in the eating of it, whereas in the other offerings, nothing remained for the one offering the sacrifice. Leviticus 3:1. And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD. 2) And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. (KJV) This offering could be either a male or female. It could be from the herd, or in verse 6, it talks about the same offering from the flock, and verse 12, from the goats. Basically, those sections all repeat what the first section says. But it had to be without blemish. The one who offers, lays his hands on the offering, he kills it and then the priests take the blood and sprinkle it on the altar. 3) And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covers the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,

15 4) And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away. 5) 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. (KJV) So the fat, the kidneys and the bile sack above the liver were God s part of this offering and they were burnt on the altar. Let s turn to chapter 7. Leviticus 7:29. Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, He that offers 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 you give unto the priest for a heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings. (KJV) Here we see that the breast and the right thigh were to be given to the priest and that was to become his food. Now let s turn to Numbers, chapter 18. Numbers 18:11. And this is yours; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto you, and to your sons and to your daughters with you, by a statute forever: every one that is clean in your house shall eat of it. (KJV) The priest s family could partake of this with the priest. We note here it says, everyone that is clean and we will come back to that. Now let s turn to Leviticus 19. Leviticus 19:5. And if you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, you shall offer it at your own will. 6) It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and on the morrow: and if anything remains until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire. 7) And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted. (KJV) So the person bringing the offering could also sit down with the priest and his family and eat a portion of this offering.

16 All of this has great significance for us today. The peace offering foreshadowed a communion with God, the bringing together of God and man in unity. This is why it is called a peace offering. The eating of the flesh by all parties brings together God, Christ and man in unity and peace. The same symbolism exists when we eat the symbolic flesh of Christ in the broken bread at the Passover service. Let s notice Ephesians, chapter 2. Ephesians 2:13. But now in Christ Jesus you who sometimes were far off are made near by the blood of Christ. 14) For he is our peace [He is our peace offering], who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us; (KJV) Verse 15 I want to read from Fred Coulter s translation because he makes it a bit clearer. 15) Having annulled in His flesh the enmity, the law of commandments contained in the decrees of men. (Coulter) The King James says ordinances. 16) So that in Himself He might create both into one new man so making peace. (Coulter) Christ is called the Prince of Peace because of the effect of His work of bringing people together in peace with both God and with one another. This is why we see the family of the priest was able to partake of the offering with the priest and the individual doing the offering. The priest s family pictures the church, and thus anyone who is in true communion with God must also be in communion with everyone he communes with. As we look at our situation today in the Churches of God, we see that this has become somewhat of a problem, hasn t it? There is a lot of exclusivity out there and a lot of separation in the various groups. It seems that somehow they don t understand what the peace offering was all about. Notice some of the instruction that the Apostle John gives us in this regard. 1 John 1:7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. (KJV) Notice that if we are walking in the light, then we will have fellowship with one another. So are we really walking in the light? It s an interesting question we should all ask ourselves.

17 1 John 2:9. He that says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now. 10) He that loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling in him. (KJV) Again, reflecting back on the Churches of God today, we find that there is a lot of animosity between them. There is a general lack of respect and a lack of love between the groups. Of course, we were warned about this by Christ in Matthew 24: Let s notice Philippians, chapter 2. Paul says: Philippians 2:1. If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, 2) Fulfil you my joy, that you be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3) Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. (KJV) These things are all related to the symbolism of the peace offering. Let s look at Colossians, chapter 1. Colossians 1:18. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19) For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell; 20) And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 22) In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless and unreproveable in his sight: (KJV) Notice that we are reconciled in the body of His flesh. It was the eating of the body of the sacrifice that brought together God, priest and man in fellowship together with their families. This shows us that Christ is the key to unity and peace in His body which is the church, as is pointed out by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. Let s turn to 1 Corinthians, chapter 12. He gives a wonderful analogy here of the body. In verses 13 and 14 he says: 1 Corinthians 12:13. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. 14) For the body is not one member, but many. 27) Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular. (KJV)

18 One other thing that was mentioned in Numbers 18 is that everyone that was clean in the house could eat or partake of the meal of the peace offering. Being unclean, of course, represented sin and sin cuts a person off from God. The important thing here to understand is that just because a person fellowships with a congregation, does not mean that that person has fellowship with God. God expects a certain conduct from His people, and those who were unclean, that is contaminated by the world, could not share in the peace offering. Symbolically for us, this means that in order to be clean, we need to be washed by the word of God and by the holy spirit. We can find that in Ephesians 5:26. Something else that the scriptures explain in a number of places about the person who was unclean is that they lost time. They could not approach God at the tabernacle if they were in an unclean condition. The Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 5:16 that we should redeem the time, because the days are evil. When we become contaminated spiritually, we lose time, and time is precious. We cannot afford to waste it on things that are cut off from God and from the body of Jesus Christ. So what the peace offering in Leviticus 3 pictures is the work of Christ in bringing the church to be at peace with the Father, with Himself and in fellowship with one another. Notice Christ s desire for us in John, chapter 17. John 17:11. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep through your own name those whom you have given me, that they may be one, as we are. (KJV) That is His desire for us, to be one. There is one other thing we can mention about the peace offering, and that is found in Leviticus, chapter 7. Leviticus 7:11. And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD. 12) If he offers 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 16) But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offers his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten: (KJV) So there were two reasons given, two varieties of the peace offering. One was a thanksgiving type offering, and the other was a vow type offering.

19 The thanksgiving offering was for the purpose of praising and glorifying God, whereas the vow offering was something done in service to God. The one reflects our desire to become more like God and the other reflects our service to Him. So what have we seen in these three sweet-savor offerings with regard to becoming living sacrifices? We saw that the burnt offering represented the first of the two great commandments; to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul and all our mind, our emotions, our thoughts and our way of life. We saw that we are expected to give our entire lives to God, not holding anything back for ourselves. We saw that the meal offering pictured the second of those two great commandments, to love our neighbor as ourselves. It showed us that the fruits we produce in our lives are shown by how we treat and serve others. Our actions must match our words. Finally, we saw that the peace offering represented the reconciliation between God and man and between man and man, which also shows us how we must live our lives. These three offerings show us what is required of us when we make a covenant with God, and in effect, the symbolism of these three sacrifices would actually be excellent baptismal counseling. I wish that I had known more about these things before I was baptized. What these three sweet-savor offerings represented is still very much a requirement in our lives today. They teach us how to truly serve God and man. They were and they are a teaching tool, and they will be again in the future when the temple is rebuilt and the priesthood is reestablished. I would like to close by restating, in my own words, something I quoted earlier from the Expositor s Bible related to the meal offering. The meal offering (and I will add the burnt offering and the peace offering) are no longer ordinances of worship for us today. However, the duties which they signify, that is the things they represent and symbolize for us, remain in full obligation for us today.