Good Morning.
And he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of meeting; and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall sprinkle the blood all around on the altar. (Leviticus 3:2)
Unlike the burnt offering (עלה olah), only a small piece of the peace offering (שלמים shalamim) was burnt upon altar. The rest of the flesh, except for the priest’s portion, was eaten by the worshiper, his family and his guests as part of a solemn meal that followed the sacrifice. In other words, this was considered to be sacred food because it was connected to the covenantal relationship between God and the worshipper. In fact, later in this chapter, the portion given to the LORD as an offering was to be burned “on the altar as food.”
As part of the process, blood from the animal was dashed against the altar in the event the person had done anything to render him unworthy to partake of the sacrificial meal. So, not only was this an offering of reconciliation between God and man, but the peace attained was ratified with a sacred meal, not to entered into unworthily. This, of course, brings to mind Paul’s admonition of not eating the Passover unworthily.
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.” (1Corinthians 11:26-31)
None of us would go to our earthly parent’s dinner table with dirty hands and complete disregard for the food they set before us. Likewise, we should not be so presumptuous to think we can go to the LORD’s table in such a manner spiritually speaking. Covenant is a very important thing to God and is not to be treated flippantly and with disrespect. Blood has been shed to signify its sanctity and a sacred meal is shared to confirm the relationship between God and man. Therefore, it behooves us all to continually examine ourselves — our actions, words and thoughts — and remove all things that would offend our Master that we may continue to live at peace with Him and with others.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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